Got a new XP346 today

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Thats good to hear, I ran it all day today, and it had a stumble off idle, but no issues under full load. I found myself keeping it in the mid-range more often than I would have liked to have delimbing and walking along the trunk with a saw at 5k requires attention to detail. It was very noticable delimbing the trunks. I love the "No Loss" side cover nuts,and the side chain tension is quick and non cumbersom, it also runs cleaner than the 51, very little saw dust and debris around the sprocket and inside the cover compared to the 51.

I dunno if this applies to as sophisticated a saw as the 550 but every saw I ever had that stumbled off idle was do to a lean condition upon acceleration. With a traditional saw, this is abated temporarily by pulling out the choke a bit. Then you know you either need a screw adjustment or you have a carb orifice plugged up a little. With your saw Tolly, I'd be at a loss to figure that one out. May be the saw needs time to sort it out on its own but after a half dozen tankfuls or so and its still doing it, I'd want to inquire about it at your dealers. If you do have an L adjustment somewhere on your carb, turn it out a quarter turn and see if your problem goes away. If you do and it doesn't fix, i'd go straight back to the dealers as no properly tuned saw should be doing that. You may also want to check that you are indeed "flooring" the saw where you have no more take up on the trigger. Some times a thick or soft glove can prevent full acceleration depending on what part of the finger the operator uses on the trigger itself.

 

[Tollster]

I think its clearing up,I am on my 4th or 5th tank,and today it ran better. It stalled once or twice, and I had one time after a warm start it would not fire after a stall. I had it back to life after a half dozen pulls at various "switch" positions.
Its still a pleasure to run as I ran the 51 on some of the dirty logs, really don't know what I was missing to tell ya the truth. I honestly think I can almost do twice as much with this saw as I could with the 51. The 18" bar is a lot easier on my lower back and it lighter, I also love the Xtorque for limbing as it seems instantly off the bottom under load.
I have not been clearing my property since march, wacked my knee with the 51 in March, had a rotator cuff repair in May, then my ma pased away in September, so my mind has been elsewhere and figured it would be best to stay out of the woods working alone(Accident prone all my life! ). Actually Ma had a stoke in February, 3 weeks later I thought it would be good to clear my mind in the woods, hence the chainsaw in the knee. I don;t think I was fully attentive and left my human performance tool kit in the truck!
So now I am a bit outa shape, but I didn't have to soak in the tub after running the 550 all day,like I normally would with the 51,mostly my back. It really is like night and day, and think it will continue to improve.
I do not have a dealer equipt to work on this new digital saw for over 100 miles. I checked with 3 husky dealer found on the husky website and none have the software to work on it, that is why i was hasitant on the purchase. But the more user reviews i read, the more I was swayed. I think the 562 will be a new flagship,just too big for my needs, so I settled on the 550. I think the digitals will be here to stay and its just a matter of time before the tecnology catches up here locally (I failed to mention we are still waiting on Y2K, LOL). My Husky products (2 saws, 1 pole saw, 1 gas hedge trimmer) have always been outstanding,and never in the shop unless it was an owner upgrade. (Bar and pully swap to 3/8"on the 51, Weed wacker conversion to a tri bladed brush cutter).

 

[Tollster]

The 550 is running much better, my wife came up to see theproperty I have been clearing and seemed surprised at how much I have done. I think the saw really is more productive then the old 51. I know I feel better when I get home after a day in the woods. I have 8 piles to burn.Not bad considering I have not had any equipment up there to move any logs or brush,just me and the dog.

 

[Bluegill2]

Sounds good! That saw should be Much more productive than the old 51!

 

[Tollster]

The 550 runs like a top now, I just kept using it. I took it aprt and cleaned it real good, checked the air filter, wiped it down and touched up the chain. I actually find myself refraining from full throttle use at times. I need 5 of me to keep up with the limbs and logs for the burn piles! I now have 12 piles the size of the toyota truck. Its been too dry to burn them, waiting for some snow or rain. Kind of running outa places to make pile as I wanna keep them away from the big oak roots asmuch as I can as I heard the heat will kill them.
I cut 3 hemlocks today, all where 12-15" diameter. Had one hang up on me on a side hill. It settled right back down on the back cut and stayed there. Tried the wegdes but didn't have a sledge, so I cut the hinge on the side till it came down. Didn't like doing it but it had to come down. I was outa the line of fire as it wanted to fall on the back cut side, which really would have been a big hang up.
Did I mention I hate hemlocks?