New member with a new saw.

Adam_MA · March 31, 2009, 10:56:04 AM

Hey everyone.

Great forum you have going here with tons of great advice.

This past winter I finally got around to installing a wood stove in my house. This year I have plenty of opportunities to take wood from all over and not have to pay for it. This past weekend after being let down by my saw I decided to pick up something that would do the job, and after about 7-8 years of abusing my little Husky 36 I picked up a new saw. When I say that I abused the Husky I mean abused it. I have taken some real monster trees with this little 16" saw, and cut trees so big that it would take a 4 sided cut and still leave a couple of inches of wood in the middle. The saw was great though and usually just laughed at the challenge and asked for more. This year though it really started to show it's age, and is getting real tired.

I've already done a carb rebuild, new filters, fuel line, bar, chain, sprocket, and I'll get to doing the top end eventually but for now it still works as a great little brush saw. I'll likely never get rid of it, and once it's rebuilt it will still serve a purpose.

All that being said, and seeing some of the trees that I will be cutting up I decided on the Stihl MS390. It seemed to be the best balance of price, features, and performance. I picked it up last night after work. I haven't had the chance to cut anything with it yet, but I'm anxious that's for sure. Anyway one of my main reasons for this post is I'm wondering about breaking in the saw. The manual says to not run the saw at full power for the first few tanks of gas, but then goes on to say always start the cut at full power.

So, what is the best way to go about breaking in this saw so I can ensure everything is seated properly, not damage the saw, and get through the first 5-15 tanks of fuel so the saw will start operating at full power?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to some great advice.
Adam

beenthere · March 31, 2009, 11:39:49 AM

Welcome to the forum.

The breakin mentioned for the first three tankfuls refers to reving without load.
(sometimes done to set the carb)

Full throttle in the cut is ok.

You mention abusing your "little Husky" by cutting large trees. I doubt the saw new the difference between a large or small tree.

Don't think it was abuse on your part.

Good luck and happy cutting with the MS390. I'd only recommend that you don't use gas with ethanol in it.