Chain Saw Advice

[weesa20]

Running an engine out of fuel would make it run lean, not rich. I disagree that running a small 2 stroke out of gas is bad for it. The oil is below the combustion chamber on the rings, cylinder walls, and crank and rod bearings where it continues to lubricate even if there isn't enough gas to continue running. Running the engine lean for a long time (minutes or more might be bad but generally as soon as it starts to rev 1-3 seconds, up it gets shut down to make it easier to start after fill up) I do agree on not using ether. My father has a Paulan that is 30 years old and the only thing he has had to do to it is change the recoil and rope and of course plugs over the years. Still a great saw, it has cut LOTS of wood over the years, most of which a split and stacked! He has always run the saw out of gas with no problems.

Please do not pull half cut trees down...that is an accident waiting to happen.

W

 

[weesa20]

Now for some recs:
Go to the stores and try all the saws out. You are probably going to want something with a 16" bar in a small to medium displacement because bigger displacements, generally, will be harder to pull because of greater compression and bigger engine internals. Look for safety features and anti-kick bars and chains. Look for ease of adjusting the chain tension and refilling gas and bar oil reservoirs as this can save time throughout the day. Make sure you hold them and make sure it is comfortable in terms of hand placement and hold it on its side as if you were felling a tree. Also, try to start them if you can because the amount and strength of vibrations of different brands can be huge.

W

 

[Renze]

After reading about new carburators being less tolerable on gas, i havent read any about the ASPEN synthetic fuel sold by Husqvarna dealers here in Holland.

My brother swears by it as it allways gives the correct oil mix ratio and the oil doesnt settle from the gas when the fuel jar is left on a shelf for a month.

My neighbor, also a chainsaw, and wood stove enthusiast, wore out his new Husqvarna chainsaw in about 3 to 4 years, as he cuts a good 2 truckloads of firewood each year.
He used ASPEN just to empty the jar he bought, and says he got a headache of the exhaust fumes and insists on home mixed 2 stroke mixture.

Do these synthetic fuels really make a difference ?

BTW my Husqvarna 141 is still sitting on the shelf in my workshop, with new cylinder/piston repair kit in the box since last winter... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif I just cant find the time to assemble it, clean out that workshop first because i decided i can no longer work in that junkheap... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


...Oh, and can anyone agree that it is essential to spray some WD40 on bearings and piston during assembly, before the first time firing it up with a new piston kit ?

 

[EddieWalker]

Renze,

I have no idea of what your talking about. Synthetic fuel??

It always makes me wonder what else they have out there. We're starting to see some mixes of fuel with various organic sources, but nothing that's called synthetic.

I even wonder if you have the same type of gasaline as us, but doubt it since we have diverent formulas in different states. California adds MTB to their gas to cut down on air polution, but now it's proven to be poisoning the underground water table. Go figure.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

nothing I hate more than some dang city slicker comming out into the country buying a nice wooded property then cutting it all down cause the trees were there! here are plenty of pasture / tillable land that is already cleared for these dorks to use yet they pay top buck then clear out all the woods & habitat & wild life for a 10 acre lawn!?!?!?

Since you probably directed that comment at me, let me explain a few things to you.

You haven't seen my property and have no idea what you are talking about. I have 40 acres, most of it 15% slope or more on the north face of Bolt Mountain. There are precisely zero acres of pasture/tillable land. There might be 200 square feet of garden plot somewhere, but it is scattered pretty thoroughly over the 40 acres.

The soil is rock & decomposed granite. The land was logged over 60 years ago and in some places there is some fairly nice second growth, but 2/3 of it is scrub oak, manzanita, and a few madrones. There might be 2-300 fairly nice pine/fir/cedars, and I doubt I am going to cut more than 3 or 4 of them, and only for the purpose of a driveway & homesite.

The homesite is going in an area of scrub oak, manzanita and one or two pines.

The stuff I am going to cut down is primarily scrub oak -- a lot of it dead scrub oak. I am not intending on selling any timber. I might trade some firewood to someone interested in clearing the stuff I want to get rid of.

We haven't even started building the house -- right now my project is to cut down 6-8 oaks to make a clearing to park our motorhome for a place to stay while we get the home built.

It is in my best interest to preserve the value of this property. The folks we bought it from live 2 lots over and wanted to build on exactly the same spot we are intending. They had owned the land for 60 years and studied the land for most of that time. They realized last year that they were not ever going to be able to build, and for personal financial reasons sold the land, and were quite happy to get the price we paid, which is going to make their retirement a lot easier.

This is not agricultural land -- the state of Oregon doesn't even think it is very good forest land, they put it in their lowest category.

What the land is good for is a nice retirement home with a view. And the people who sold it were more than happy to have the money we paid for it.

I am devoting a lot of thought to developing the homesite without scarring the land, cutting down anything I don't have to, or creating an eyesore I have to live with.

I am certain that you view me as a "city slicker", but this land is going to get developed by someone with or without me. My intention is to develop one homesite & preserve as much of the habitat and natural beauty as possible.

That way, I get to enjoy it, while creating a much more valuable piece of property.

 

[Renze]

Eddie i was in the workshop today and read the jar.
It said acrylic 2-stroke fuel.
Exhaust fumes smell like the fumes of burning PVC. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Husqvarna dealers sell it. it is more expensive than a custom mixture you buy from the gas shop in town.

 

[RFB]

Curly Dave,

I cannot apologize for the words or actions of another, but it is too bad that you had to hear that, particularly being new here.

I have heard the arbitrary "you are new here" and "you are not a local" enough to see through it. It is just a thin veneer over a very liberal mindset that simply tries to say "I want to make the rules for your private property".

Good reply, and the bottom line is that you own it, and private property (and the rights to use it as you see fit) is a value that
transcends a lot of "We were here firstism".

 

[SnoFalls]

Curlydave,

I don't think that post was directed at *you* ... probably more aligned to the trends that are occuring.

Aka, "city folk" buy 10 ac out in the wilds, rape it clean, and then a neighbor does the same, then another, and now rather than the "wild" that they all sought, it has become a "clear cut" with homes.

Go to your library and check out this book. In grants pass, it might not be "tailored" to your zone as it is for me, but the concepts apply. It's a "balance" for your needs on the property and that of wildlife/nature to keep pests/weeds/etc in check. Your local extension service and "conservation" agencies can also be a great service.

I like that birds that thrive on mosquitos/flies/etc that I feed, give haibtat to, etc THRIVE ... guess what, I have no mosquito/fly/etc problems!

 

[CurlyDave]

Thanks, I will get the book, although my intent is to sit pretty lightly on the land.

In 40 acres we will have our home, a fairly large shop, a place to park a motorhome and maybe a 1 bedroom guest house. Ok, there is also the well house and the septic field, but that is about it.

After the home is built, the main uses for the tractor are going to be building the shop and improving a the old logging roads so we can get access to most of the property.

We have 2 springs, a herd of deer, a flock of wild turkeys and a bunch of smaller wildlife.

The only things I intend to try to wipe out are poison oak (good luck on that one) and the hornet nests too close to the roads.

Even with the two springs, we don't currently have a mosquito problem.

The back property line borders a square mile or so of BLM land. Whatever they do, which right now is absolutely nothing, is going to dominate the wildlife situation. My puny few acres pales in comparison to their holdings. Fortunately, the property gets steep enough that there is considerable scrambling to even get to the BLM border, so I doubt there will be many casual hikers and hunters coming in that way.

SPIKER didn't even get close to the real environmental issue, which is persistent rumors of gold on the land. My curiosity will probably get the better of me and I will do a little prospecting, but if we find anything I will have a horrible dilemma. As much as I would like to own a gold mine, I sure don't want to live near one...

 

[MarkV]

Hi Dave, sounds like you have a nice place to start the retirement home. As far as the trees that need to be removed I would also suggest you try dropping them as a whole like Eddie suggested. Your 110 is more than capable and once you get the hang of it dropping the tree and stump at once is much faster than cutting and digging the stump. I’ll go as far as to say I often feel safer with this method than I do cutting and dropping a tree with a saw.

My method has been to dig a trench on the side I want the tree to fall and then reposition the tractor to the opposite side and dig trenches perpendicular to the first. That leaves me three sides dug and the tractor on the side that has not been dug. Most of the time I can now reach up with the backhoe and push the tree slowly over. On occasions the undug side of the tree will need a shallow dig to break a major root. What I watch for the most is whether the tree can get hung in adjoining trees branches enough to change the direction of the intended fall. Of course that is a dangerous if not more dangerous situation when you are on the ground with a saw also.

I’ve used this method for years with out a tree heading the wrong way. Give it a try on some trees that you feel comfortable with and see what you think.

MarkV