Made It to the Major Leagues Today

[WV_hillbilly]

 I'm  so happy with my chainsaw purchase today. I           just took delivery on a new Husky 372 XP . I only got to run it for about 15 min. before it got dark. It is an awesome piece of equipment. Wish I would have bought a bigger saw a few years ago. I have been running a Stihl 028 and an old tired 041 to cut firewood for the last 16 years. The are great saws . I recently traded 2 1/2 cords of firewood for a brand new Husky 350. It is a nice saw also but I needed a bigger saw to cut down some trees on my property So I can get Dugsaws or MtnJack to teach me how to saw lumber  on their mills Think that wiil work if I supply the logs  ? .

[Tom]

way to go Hillbilly.

After 10 years, my old faithful Husky 61 failed me today.  That's a pretty good record but it sure quit running in the middle of a job.  It ran out of gas and I had to mix up somemore.  I had a 5 gallon can on the truck for mixing.  The saw sputtered and quit running.  We did everything but tear out the piston and couldn't get it to run.  After about an hour and a half, the log owner showed up and said, "that smells like diesel".  

My nose doesn't work but I got the 5 gallon can down and everybody agreed it smelled like diesel.  I put some in my hand and, Yep, it was diesel.

Don't put diesel in your huskey, even if you put 2 stroke oil in it.   It won't burn it.

Some fresh gas and after the smoke cleared, I was back in business with a screamin' meemie.

[carhartted]

Way to go, I have a 272xp and have run a 372 on occasion, they are said to be the smoothest saw on the market.

What I found is the saw is very smooth but it seems there is some sort of high fequency vibration that made my hands feel very strange after running it for only a short while. FWIW

Jonathan

[IndyIan]

I have a 372 too, its a fun saw!  I have some problems with the fuel pump but now that its fixed it runs nice!  

Once its out of warranty I'm thinking of getting a walker muffler for it.  Give it a little power boost and let the saw run cooler for a bit longer life.

Also if your having problems adjusting the carb let me know, It took me quite a while to figure out how to get past the limiters.

Enjoy your saw!
Ian

[qatanlison]

You could of course get another muffler, mod it, change it back if it came to some problems... I'd recommend the "jungle-muffler" no restrictions in that one...

I just got 372's big brother, the 385. Got it with a 28", but I'm off today to try it out with a 15" bar(!) should be interesting to see how hard I can push it. Changed the rim to a 8 tooth as well for just this occation.

Good luck with that 372, I've never heard anything but good things about it. Not even from the mechs at Husqvarna factory.
Also, this saw is said to respond very well to muffler mods...
Tell me if you'll ever need the spare-part papers on it; I think I can get them for you.

/Ola

[WV_hillbilly]

 About the modified mufflers . Can you just order one or do you have to send them the saw  ?    All though I think the saw runs pretty good .  I would be interrested in extending the life of the saw if possible and get a little more power if it is reasonably obtained.

[IndyIan]

Walker's will mod just your muffler if you mail it to them, also they will just send you a modded one as well.  I imagine all the saw tuners would send you a modded muffler.
You will have to adjust the carb for the new muffler as well.  

I know some people do their own mufflers but I think you can get into trouble with losing power.  I did that "experiment" in grade 8 with my dirtbike, taking the pipe off just gets the neighbors mad and your bike slow!  I also put a few dents in the pipe but they seem to have much effect.

Ian

[qatanlison]

I'd say the main difference between sending a muffler to Walkers or get one from them, and doing the mods yourself, is that the work done will probably look a bit better made by those who do it for a living - But then again; Isn't it performance that counts?
If you keep the total exhaust outlet area just less or equal to the inlet area from the cyl. you shouldn't loose any power - but gain ca. 20%. Oh, and don't forget to readjust the carb; It'll run leaner with the mods done - so a more rich setting is aquired.

Good luck!


/Ola

[IndyIan]

Hi Qatanlison,
Is Ola your name or nickname?  Its easier to type than Qatanlison

From my very basic (and maybe flawed) understanding of 2 stroke exhaust tuning, I think you have to watch where you put the holes in your muffler.  I notice that no one puts the holes directly in front of the exhaust port for example.

Piped 2 strokes use the expansion chamber to reflect the exhaust pressure wave back into the cylinder.  If timed right this jams unburnt air/gas back into the cylinder from the pipe and increases the amount of air/gas available to explode.  This why dirtbikes have a "power band" and part of the reason an 80cc dirtbike makes far more hp than 120cc saw.

I'm not sure if chainsaws can use this effect at all given the small muffler, I imagine that the engineers try though so I could see how one might end up with more noise and less power.  

I also hope that walker's saw shop actually dynoed a couple different designs before they settled on the one they sell.  

I'm not saying that someone at home can't get more power with holes in their muffler, but if I ever do it I'd do some test cuts before just to see if it worked.

My $.02
Ian

[qatanlison]

Ola is my name, qatanlison derived from a person who couldn't read my signature once and thought it to be qatanlison (!)

I've spoken to the people at Husqvarna laboratory, where they do all kinds of funny things and there's no doubt that you gain power when opening up the muffler. The muffler is for one purpose only; To bring down the noise. Nothing else. I've done some testing with my 262XP and lately on my 385XP and there is a difference. No question. There ought to be some difference as to where the new holes are positioned, at least when dealing with a muffler without any bafflers, but I've seen them with holes right in front as well. The main reason for opening up the muffler is of course to rid some of the much too high resistance in the default muffler - making the saw run cooler and stronger. The loss of resistance makes the saw run leaner and thus, richen it up will boost more gas - more power. Get a new muffler, test with the old - change back if you don't like the change. Just don't make a bigger total outlet-area than the inlet; It'll run too cool and I think seizure is the next experience you'll get...

/Ola

[IndyIan]

Ola,
That is some good news about the muffler.  It's great you're able to talk to the engineers directly.

I've stihl got another 5 months of warranty left so I'll have to wait to increase my 372's appetite

Thanks for the information,
Ian

[Dugsaws]

Hillbilly,

Congrats on the new husky, hope you have good luck with it.