Finally buying a decentsaw

[SawTroll]

Some extra oil for break in sounds good......

I specifically asked my Stihl dealer if that was a good idea when I bought my MS361.
He adviced me not to do it - as it would be doing no good......better let the saw get used to the fuel I would run it with later......

Does it really do any good, or is it only "old wives tales"?

[Kevin]

I maintain a steady diet of 40:1 for my saws that are said to require 50:1.

[SawTroll]

I think that I read at one of these forums not to long ago about a test series that showed higher engine temperatures with more oil (than nesessery) in the gas.
Any thoughts on that?

[StihlDoc]

I do not wish to disagree with those that are getting good results from mixing at richer ratios but wanted to point out the negative side of what can and does occur with richer than recommended ratios.

Running rich oil mix is an old habit carried over from the past when sometimes it was necessary to run richer ratios to keep the engines "alive", before there were any industry standards for air cooled two-cycle oil formulations. There are now high tech additives used in air cooled two-cycle engine oils and internationally recognized performance standards for these lubricants. These modern oils mixed at a 50:1 ratio provide bettter protection (and detergent additives) than old formulations that were mixed at richer ratios. Mixing at richer ratios will lead to combustion deposit build-up. The deposits are very abrasive and any build-up in the exhaust port can cause ring wear and piston scoring. Richer ratios can also lead to deposit build-up on the crankshaft bearings and connecting rod bearings. The deposits act like fine sand inside the engine. This damage occurs over a long term since it takes many running hours before the amount of deposit build-up becomes a problem. I have analyzed many engine failures caused by mixing more oil in the fuel than recommended.

[Scuba_Dave]

OK, now I'm going to have to check my saws at home. I could swear that the instructions for the McCulloch I bought last year instructs me to mix at 40:1.  I thought the Sears saw was the same, and I think the oil mix bottles I have said 40:1.
The McCulloch has been a dissapointment, doesn't seem to run right...maybe I've been giving it too much oil?


I was thinking more then 40:1 for break in for the Husky
I haven't looked at the manual for the Husky yet?
The main room looked like Christmas* with the boxes spread all over as I opened everything & verified no damage due to shipping. Boxes are still spread out all over, luckily the wife is in CA & won't be home until tomorrow night

[fishhuntcutwood]

OK, now I'm going to have to check my saws at home. I could swear that the instructions for the McCulloch I bought last year instructs me to mix at 40:1.  I thought the Sears saw was the same, and I think the oil mix bottles I have said 40:1.

They probably are 40:1.  Older saws did call for higher ratios.  Whether that was because of the older metallurgy, or the older tech oil, they called for it.  My 056's manual calls for 40:1, and I run it at that, and it runs fine.  Once I tried to keep only one ratio of gas (my new saws call for 50:1) and run 40 in all of my saws, it was obvious that my new saws like the 50 better.  They smoked, coked and got dirty.  Someone on another forum said that it was a matter of tuning, and you can tune that out of a saw.  I'm sure you can, but I'd prefer to just run the oil as it's called for, and I do.  50:1 runs fine in my new saws. 

Jeff

[StihlDoc]

fishhuntcutwood,
Just wanted to let you feel at ease that it is okay to run 50:1 mix ratio with STIHL oil in your STIHL 056. The oil formulation was changed in 1990 and has a higher percentage of lubricant additive and anti-scuff additive than the previous STIHL 40:1 oil. This was the reason for the change in the STIHL operater's manuals to now recommend a 50:1 fuel to oil ratio.

[fishhuntcutwood]

Sweet.  Thanks.

Jeff

[Scuba_Dave]

Thanks all, still raining in New England. So I'm still waiting to try the saw out. Supposed to be a good weekend, but I have a backhoe being delivered Sat to do a bunch of yard work.
But I want to cut the big trunks up while I have the back hoe, that way I can move them with the backhoe. Save me some work.

[Minnesota_boy]

Chainsaws work just fine in the rain. 

[tony_marks]

if u will  be using it regular ,id go with the 357 xp. if just occasionally the 55 is fine. but the 357 is lite strong and a pro model. with your wife standing there ,im betting she would say get it. jmo. good luck.

[Scuba_Dave]

Finally got the saw going Saturday. Checked everything out Friday night, went & mixed 50:1 gas & made sure I was ready to go for Sat am.  Went out started it up, made 2 cuts (big trunk 28"+) & checked everything over.  I was back inside in about 10 minutes, the wife wanted to know what the problem was.
I said "Nothing, the 1st trunk is done!!!" It was like a hot knife thru butter. I only had maybe 8 cuts on the 1st trunk, clean wood. Perfect cuts.
The 2nd trunk was 52" across, hollow 10' up the trunk - on the ground. I knew this one was going to be a pain - big enough to crush you. I braced the trunk with logs on the opposite side to prevent it from rolling into the fence & started to cut. I made 2 partial cuts on one side, then went to the other side to finish up. I'm on the 2nd piece when all of a sudden fluid is spraying everywhere!!!  I thought I was going to cry.  Then I realized it wasn't gas or oil, it was water, the middle of the hollow had caught all the rain & filled up.  Took a while to drain, I made cuts on the top in the mean time.  Then problem #2 cropped up, due to the ants/damage to tree, the inside of this was like dirt - and was dulling the blade pretty quick.  So I started to practice my sharpening skills. I think test #1 & #2 didn't do too much.  The 3rd time I sharpened I noticed a big difference.  Can't think of how many chains I've simply tossed out over the years (Craftsman 18" chain saw)
So about 7 hours & a ton of wood cut up.  Back hoe was delivered about 6pm & I spent 2 hours with the backhoe moving the big logs up to an area to fully dry out for splitting this fall.  Some were too big for the backhoe to lift. I simply rolled those to one side
Then Sun & Monday I switched to digging. Dug a new trench & moved my pool backwash hose, the original installers (years ago) ran it right into the stream!!
I have new found respect for the guys that run these machines (and chainsaws) all day. This was a smaller version backhoe & I only put 8 hours on in 2 days.

Saw is ready to go again this weekend.  After the big stuff is done I'll switch from the 28" bar to the 20" bar.  It's not the chain saw in the rain I was worried about, it's slipping with a saw in my hand.I had to abandon the backhoe Sunday night & run for the house as lightning started flashing. The wife kinda thought that big metal claw/machine may have attracted a strike....

Thanks everyone