Hello I'm new to this forum. I've been cutting wood for a few years,I'm an amateur Chainsaw user and mainly use a mtronic ms 261. I'm cutting large fallen beech and oak trees and fine my current saw too small as some trunks of these trees are 30-35 inch in diameter. I would like to get a larger saw like the Stihl ms 461 and put a 25 inch bar on it. What put me off is that fact it has an adjustable carburettor and I would struggle to retune it when the need arises. Is it as difficult as I'm imagining or is it relatively easy? I have seen that the Stihl ms 462 is out in the UK next year,mtronic,I'm thinking maybe I should wait for that. Any help and advice would be much appreciated
Might be me but I have a strong preference for the adjustable. I replaced my 460 several years ago to avoid the 461 that was coming out and I would do the same in your situation.
Can't stand all this auto stuff. One more thing to break and on top of that there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that the auto tuning is running way too lean and folks are having issues. Maybe not but it sure seems that way.
Are they easy enough to adjust though? Any after you buy a new saw that's set at factory settings do they need to be re-tuned within a short time? Thanks for reply
My latest adjustable carbed saws come with limiter caps with a special tool slot in the heads. That special head screw driver is not available to order. The dealer has thst special tool.
So I ended up removing the caps and then was able to get at the adjustment screws with a regular flat screw driver. Real pain to remove the caps plus your warranty is voided when they've been tampered with.
I have good experience with the latest Stihl MTronics
The Husky AutoTune not so much.
I am an adjustable carburetor guy also ( I bought a 461 because it is so equipped) but I also see merit in these new fangled automatic fueling systems.
Unless you are hauling it up and down mountains or running with dirty air filters or junk fuel you dont have to screw with the carburetor to keep a saw running right. I rarely touch the screws on my saws once set, Ill bet it has been 10 years since my 036 has seen an adjustment. Let the dealer set up the 461, take it back for a reset after 10 tanks of fuel and worry about it no more unless you note some change in operation.
That being said the 462 will have better anti vib and the Mtronic seems to be working well on the other models. I would bet that there will be a pretty big jump in price over the current 461 and there is a weight consideration too.
I haven't had to adjust my 461 yet. We don't keep track of tank fulls but it's probably had between 15 and 20 gallons through it. None of my jonsered or huskys with the adjustable carb ever need to be adjusted very often my newest 2166 is a little over a year old and I haven't had to mess with it yet
Thank you all for your replies,sounds like the 461 won't be as difficult as I imagined and probably cheaper than the new 462 will be to buy
If you don't know how to tune a saw i would recommend you get a autotune. or let your stihl dealer do it
I am sure that most chainsaw owners can't tune a saw! I use chainsaws since age 16 (not full time) and i can tune a saw so she works fine but i'm by no means an expert on tuning.
Best word of advice how to tune your saw is read the owner's manual.
Well I am here to tell you guys, 9 out of 10 tree guys around me locally don't ever re-tune a saw their whole entire career!!!!
As a matter of fact most average chainsaw users don't have a clue about tuning a chainsaw....
If you use a saw a lot, yes you should know how to tune it...if you have good hearing, it's simple....
As far as the 461, go buy one today.....they are great saws....I have had one for 2-years now, no problems whatsoever....
I cut hardwoods mainly, and keep a 25" bar on my 461....I have to drop a maple a few months ago and got a chance to see what she could do with a 32" bar.....well I am here to tell you I was shocked how well the saw did.....I won't be scared to slap the 32" on agian if I need to....
Quote from: Ptayls on October 30, 2017, 12:21:33 PM
Are they easy enough to adjust though? Any after you buy a new saw that's set at factory settings do they need to be re-tuned within a short time? Thanks for reply
A saw is easier to adjust when you know how she should sound
when she is right.
But for certain, you need to know to never leave the saw runing too
Lean, meaning not enough fuel getting in, rich means more fuel is present.
Adjusting the L for low, screw, is only neccessary if your saw is bogging down
when you try to rev it up, but before you touch it, ensure your fuel oil mix is
correct and a high enough octane rated fuel was used, also ensure your
air filter is clean, and your muffler is not blocked,
they have a spark screen in there, that needs to be kept clean,
if it is getting dirty and clogged way too often then your either
using slightly too much two stroke oil in your mix, or there is too much fuel
going into your engine and not being burned, or both.
Addressing these issuse may in fact cure your problem, or go a long way
towards resolving it.
So clean spark arrestor, and use fresh fuel with the highest octane you
can get, and mix to the correct ratio.
Then if saw boggs down during accelleration, let it warm up,
then turn out the L screw untill the saw accelerates without hesitation, and
you should be pretty close, note that if you keep turning the L screw
out, you will note that past a certain point no further gain will be acheived
in regard to making the saw rev quicker, and will in fact cause it to have
less power owing to too much fuel in the cylinder that can not be burned
off, so if your saw is almost perfect in the L setting, very little will be required
to make her take throttle and resolve the bogging, also screw the L back in a little if you suspect you have passed the area where any gains have been noted, also be aware that your saw should rev without hesitation even when cold, though not ice cold, and it is better to let any engine heat a little before
revving, though in this instance, a rev ot two when cold should establish whether the engine is in the bogging zone or not.
The H or high screw, again ensure fuel and screen are right before adjusting.
First you need to know why you are adjusting the H screw,
is your saw running too rich, ie a bit of fuel coming out exhaust,
this can also be contributed to too much oil in the mix, so be clear
that is not the problem,
Is your saw running a little slow, or dying too much in the cut,
then if so and all the other factors like oil and air filter being clean have
been addressed, you could adjust the H jet.
Warm up your saw, then throttle it full open for two seconds,
listen intently, is the saw fourstroking, making a burbling noise
at full throttle, it should be, and especially if you think your saw
is dyiing in the cut, this burbling fourstroking sound is caused by
too much fuel getting in, this is the safe side of the fence to be on.
To take away a little of the burbling sound, is to screw IN the H screw.
This leans the mix, puts less fuel in the saw, and if over done will fry
your saw, so on a saw that is almost perfect in the cut, only a little room
remains for screwing in the H screw, 1/16 of a turn may suffice.
It all depends on ensuring the engine is fourstroking a little.
Now at the high setting, DONT be fooled by the limited coils,
they too make the engine cut and sound like its fourstroking,
so to make sure this is not happening, buy a Tachometer and
look what RPM your saw is currently running at, and note the
manufacturers MAX RPM and where the coil cuts in.
Keep way below max rpm, you do not need to be anywhere near
it to have a good cutting saw, a saw chain going too fast is useless,
it will only hop of the wood, and your engine is being worked out,
and over heated in the process due to it being run lean to acheive
the crazy useless high rpms.
Note too that leaning the H will slightly lean the L,
it will be minimal though, and may not require re adjusting
of the L, if how ever you have to lean the H a lot, then keep
an eye to ensure your saw is not bogging down as you excellerate,
and if so a tiny adjustment out on the L should suffice.
Keep your idle within factory spec too, riching the L
will cause the idle speed to drop, depending on how high
the idle was initially set and the amount the L was enriched,
your saw may fire and die (not counting when it does this on choke),
this is simply because the idle screw is no longer touching the
idle mixture lever, so adjust the idle an 1/8 turn, your saw should start,
if not, another 1/8 turn.
It would be highly irregular to find that your adjustment of the L
screw would contribute your saw firing and dying, so check idle first
as I have never seen a reasonably adjusted L causing starting trouble.
Regardless, idle should be set when saw is warm, and should be adjusted
just high enough to ensure your saw starts in COLD weather, after this has
been acheived, idle is only a matter of prefference, usually adjust to
keep saw barking even if it is jumping about a little, if your saw is reving
up and down too much at idle, that is a sign of too low idle, or not enough juice, but as we just set the L to give us fast accelleration, it should be the
idle that needs to go up a bit..
Use a quality oil in your mix, one that has plenty of detergents to keep
your engine clean, the current highest spec regarding detergents is HD,
HC is also perfect. Mix it correctly especially if your saw has a catalitic converter, and a spark screen, a tiny bit too much is ok, but too much will
cause the cat to have problems, and block your spark screen.
So depending on your circumstances, 40:1 to 50:1, one will run a little cleaner than the other.
People also tell me that a saw running a little rich in fuel to air ratio
will lubricate and run cooler, than trying to acheive the same lubrication
by adding more oil as in 40:1 mix.
If your in a very warm climate, use Fully synthetic, if not, standard oil
or synthetic blended oil mix is more than good enough, just use FD or FC
spec to keep the engine and muffler screen clean.
Again, much easier to pay the dealer 30 dollars to tune your saw,
he will already know the limitations of your particular saw, and will
have a tachometer if he needs to double check.
Hope this helps.
Regards, john