LittleLebowski's big inspirational chainsaw thread

[OlongJohnson]

If you don’t want conventional chainsaw engine issues, start and run your chainsaw once a month. That applies to all small engines.

Maybe not the best plan, but I put a splash of SeaFoam in, run it for a couple of minutes, then drain it and run it until dry. Then put them up for the heart of winter.

I've had good luck with the "run it dry" strategy.

My powerwasher was given to me by a guy who left the tank full. It all evaporated out of the float bowl, leaving the float bowl full and all carb passages full of varnish. I put on a new carb (OE Chinesium, not generic Chinesium) from fleabay and fired it right up. Run it dry, put it away. Next time I use it (which can be many months, more than a year sometimes), I just pour in some gas and pull the cord.

Similar with motorcycles, etc.

My MS200 and other yard equipment engines are all sitting with empty tanks.

[hufnagel]

spare parts.
everyone needs 'em.
spare chains definitely.
would also recommend getting a spare bar.
the idler on mine just decided it no longer wants to spin, so i'm down for now in cutting up the wood I got.
Not good.

[Cookie Monster]

Ran the Stihl polesaw today for an hour or two getting a little more distance from ground to canopy for fire protection around the homestead. I am off this week and will be burning the clearing piles I got and continuing the fire mitigation thinning around the place.

I need more firewood but need to get caught up with all the little projects and winterizing all the small engines. The blower and chainsaw get used every month so just clean them up and keep them ready.

[cornstalker]

We were limbing and bucking a blowdown today. I have had a rootball stand-up before so I had the wife record it this time. How do you say "Timber" backwards?

https://youtube.com/shorts/J9NQhnT3IPA?feature=share

[1slow]

We were limbing and bucking a blowdown today. I have had a rootball stand-up before so I had the wife record it this time. How do you say "Timber" backwards?

https://youtube.com/shorts/J9NQhnT3IPA?feature=share

SHIT !!!

[cornstalker]

@Cookie Monster @AKDoug Or anyone else with info that may help.

I ran two tanks of gas through the MS462C-M, ending with the cut in the video above. I fueled the saw, then after that, the saw would not start. I pulled the plug, which was a little wet, so I cleared the cylinder. It still didn't start. When I got home, I tested the ohms reading on the spark plug, which was erratic. I was not sure if it was an issue with the spark plug or if it was erratic due to a contact issue with my multimeter leads. I bought a new spark plug and air filter and installed them, it fired right up. I started the saw again this morning before we headed up to the cutting area and it started normally. When we got to the cutting area I topped off the tank and tried to fire it up, but it would not start. I pulled the plug and it was a little wet, but not what I would call flooded. Just the same, I tried another new plug. No dice. I tested for spark. My finger ended up providing a path to ground that proved there was at least some spark. When we got back home I drained the fuel tank and replaced it with gas from a new sealed can. (I have only used Stihl Motomix in this saw) No love. It still won't start. The pull feels like it has decent compression.

The local Stihl service centers that have an MDG1 to test the MTronic system that I have contacted so far are backed up for a couple of weeks.

Any ideas about what might be going on?

[Cookie Monster]

@Cookie Monster @AKDoug Or anyone else with info that may help.

I ran two tanks of gas through the MS462C-M, ending with the cut in the video above. I fueled the saw, then after that, the saw would not start. I pulled the plug, which was a little wet, so I cleared the cylinder. It still didn't start. When I got home, I tested the ohms reading on the spark plug, which was erratic. I was not sure if it was an issue with the spark plug or if it was erratic due to a contact issue with my multimeter leads. I bought a new spark plug and air filter and installed them, it fired right up. I started the saw again this morning before we headed up to the cutting area and it started normally. When we got to the cutting area I topped off the tank and tried to fire it up, but it would not start. I pulled the plug and it was a little wet, but not what I would call flooded. Just the same, I tried another new plug. No dice. I tested for spark. My finger ended up providing a path to ground that proved there was at least some spark. When we got back home I drained the fuel tank and replaced it with gas from a new sealed can. (I have only used Stihl Motomix in this saw) No love. It still won't start. The pull feels like it has decent compression.

The local Stihl service centers that have an MDG1 to test the MTronic system that I have contacted so far are backed up for a couple of weeks.

Any ideas about what might be going on?

My de-flooding procedure is to set the bar on a log and hold the throttle open with choke off and pull it 30 to 40 times until the gas is cleared and it pops. The spark plugs have a crush washer that I prefer to keep in place.

If you get the saw running you can run the re-calibration procedure.

The electronic carb saws are usually great until they are not.

I am a hack, I’d listen to @AKDoug.

[EMC]

I picked up a new Echo DCS-5000 56v electric recently for occasional home and UTV trail use. So far I'm pretty impressed with the power. I opted for electric because I expect long periods of non-use and light duty use case.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-eFO...18C2/318468514

Echo beat out several electric brands on the project farm youtube channel but it was their older 58v system featured in that test.

[jeep45238]

My de-flooding procedure is to set the bar on a log and hold the throttle open with choke off and pull it 30 to 40 times until the gas is cleared and it pops. The spark plugs have a crush washer that I prefer to keep in place.

If you get the saw running you can run the re-calibration procedure.

The electronic carb saws are usually great until they are not.

I am a hack, I’d listen to @AKDoug.

I go through a similar procedure for a flooded saw, and assuming I can catch it before someone has yanked on it for oh.....an hour or so, it's usually running in less than a dozen pulls. Push in the decomp if the saw has one. The only problem I had out of the electronic carbs are faulty solenoids, which frankly is akin to a standard carb needing a rebuild.

I activate the chain brake, saw on the ground, right knee on the top cover (not keeping the decomp from opening), left hand on the rear handle holding the throttle, right hand ripping the cord. Once it runs I let off the throttle immediately. Body is bladed away from the chain.

Don't run a saw without chaps, but I can not stress this enough, don't even think about this method without chaps. Make damn sure the chain brake is fully engaged before pulling the cord as well, making sure body weight is mostly off the saw to help with keeping your body stable.


I no longer own a 462 (no longer in the tree service, a 261 is plenty for me now), but this has worked for every saw I've been handed that "won't start". Unfortunately, I can't get the current crop of jokers to stop starting hot saws on half choke.




Frankly, start simple and stop taking the plug out constantly, assuming that it is the correct plug for that saw. Get it running, and let it cool off in the shade. Recalibrate the saw when cold, and go from there. If the saw never has a chance to just -work- then the calibration is probably way off.

[cornstalker]

It took a couple of weeks to get to it, but my Stihl dealer has determined that the saw has low compression and needs a top-end rebuild. When I went down there the advisor took me back into the shop to show me my saw. He stated that he was a little puzzled in that there was no scoring on the intake side indicating grit/dust intrusion and that the air intake is spotless. There is no scoring on the exhaust side suggesting that it was damaged by straight gas, and that the decomp valve is not stuck open. They are not sure exactly why the compression is low. He indicated that it may be a defect that did not show up until after the warranty period ran out. I bought the saw in December 2020, and have cut less than seven cords of wood with it. As I mentioned previously, I have only run Motomix through it. (for $30 per gallon) The dealer is not offering a concession. Stihl claims to have a one-year warranty and will double it if you buy Motomix or their premium two-stroke oil at the time of purchase. I was not aware of this until after I bought the saw, so although it has lived on Motomix, my purchase receipt does not reflect it. They want $650 for the repair.

I have reached out to Stihl directly to ask for some consideration. Hopefully, they will take a look at my situation.