Chainsaw 101 for novices!

[varmint]

Being a rural homeowner, I had a little experience with chainsaws, but no real need. I got along with an Echo 270, but then we got a fireplace insert, and an opportunity to get a lot of firewood when a neighbor had 7 or 8 large trees bulldozed to clear land for a horse riding rink. I looked at Stihls, pricey, but I found a "new" Echo 490 for half price, and grabbed it. After performing the exhaust mods and carb retuning, I still wasn't happy with the cutting speed. A little research resulted in ordering a "professional" Oregon chain, to replace the low-kickback safety chain it came with. Wow! Now, instead of sawdust, I am cutting with chips at about 3 times the speed. Kickback is manageable, with attention. Today I discovered NAPA has premixed non-ethanol premium 2-cycle gas for under $18 a gallon. Not that you'd normally use it, but sure makes for easy starts after storage, and I will run a tank thru before putting the saw away for storage. Maybe some other novices will find this useful?

 

[dragoneggs]

Never bought premium 2 cycle gas but something to look into. Thanks varmint.

 

[davesl708]

I mix my own premium pure gas for $2.83 a gallon.

 

[Garandman]

I buy MOGAS at an airport for $4.95 a gallon. There aren't any other pure gas pumps in MA or NH except racing fuel.

 

[davesl708]

I buy MOGAS at an airport for $4.95 a gallon. There aren't any other pure gas pumps in MA or NH except racing fuel.

Wow. that too bad about the pure gas. Is MOGAS the 110 octane avgas?

 

[MossRoad]

No! MOGAS is not aviation fuel (AVGAS). It's car gas sold at airports for aircraft certified to use MOGAS. Why? Its cheaper than AVGAS.

 

[davesl708]

No! MOGAS is not aviation fuel (AVGAS). It's car gas sold at airports for aircraft certified to use MOGAS. Why? Its cheaper than AVGAS.

Ok. was not sure of the distinction. We get pure 93 octane for about $2.49 gal and 87 octane for $2.27 gal.

 

[Coyote machine]

Depending on where one lives, NON-Ethanol gas may be available as a premium pump product. If so, it mixed with Stihl's Ultra oil makes for the best mix one can run for a reasonable price. That's all I use in ALL my saws and other 2 cycle mix engines.

 

[Garandman]

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

 

[varmint]

Thanks for posting (again?) the ethanol free gas station list! Sadly, there's no place reasonably close for me to get straight gas. I once took a 5 gal. container to the Eastern Shore to get some, but I am not crazy about traveling with gas inside a car. I know it is fairly widely available in farming states- curiously those states that produce corn for ethanol- the farmer's don't want it! I was suggesting using it as needed, not as a steady diet of fuel when you are using your chainsaws a lot.