Bark box muffler cover

[Nealm66]

Anyone have experience with these in dry weather? I've been debating throwing one on a saw for timber cutting and removing it during the dry season but curious if anyone else has used them 

[bigblockyeti]

Following

I'm curious about their claims of 6-10% increase in horsepower, seems easy to state and a bit more work to prove.  $80 for 1/4 of a muffler seems about right for 2022.

[charles mann]

i was wondering the same thing. i couldn't find any dyno tests of the cover vs. stock cover but there are several cookie cutter timed cuts and the bark box is in the 6+% increase over stock, and the egan straight shot is double the bark box. again, this few vids were timed cuts cutting cookies off a log. instead of buying either, i built my own and with a max-flow filter and the my cover, i can feel it is more grunty in a cut, both milling and felling/bucking logs to length. Im running a 2016 661C/M with a 36" bar, standard round filed stihl chain. 

my first build, i used .125" stainless for the base and .090" for the exhaust deflector, tacked it to a piece of 2" tubing, heat and beat to fold it over the tubing to get a 90° round bend and welded it to the base cover. but i put the exhaust port running horizontal to the cover/deflector, instead of vertical and further inward to catch the full radius of the rounded over deflector. i started building 2 more, 1 for the 661 and 1 for a 660 but using .060" stainless for everything and let my son do the layout and cutting of the exhaust port, and he laid and cut it out on the back/inside of the cover base, so the port will be at the end of the deflector closer to the felling dogs, vs. more inboard towards the bar oil fill cap. iv gotta either cut a piece of filler plate and weld it up, cut the new opening where it needs to be, or cut out a new cover. i also didn't use stainless mesh for a spark arrestor, but did order some from mc master carr and will install it on both new muffler covers. 


WEAR EAR PROTECTION if getting either the bark box, egan straight shot or building your own. they are deafening and sounds like a 2 stroke dirt bike rally, esp when doing long runs, like cam milling. my osha approved ear muffs are enough to cancel out a huge portion of the sound, but can't say that for other muffs, so for anyone planning to install either production cover or your own build, please use adequate hearing protection. 

[Nealm66]

I've ran a lot of different modified saws both husky and stihl and I've just had to be paying attention for smoke when dawged in. Most of the ones I run have added little covered side ports. Just purchased a 500i and the mechanic said they open up very well with a bark box so I was just curious if anyone had issues with starting fires every time they turn around or if comparable to normal ported mufflers 

[beenthere]

Discussed last year.
Bark Box/Muffler mod for Stihl MS462c in Chainsaws

If wanting "loud", that may be the way to get it. Curious if "more power". 

[charles mann]

Just purchased a 500i and the mechanic said they open up very well with a bark box so I was just curious if anyone had issues with starting fires every time they turn around or if comparable to normal ported mufflers

With a spark arrestor mesh, it should limit the chances of sparks compared to no mesh. 
It was mid summer when i built mine with no mesh, and my cumulative weeks over 2 months, i didnt have any issues. 
Unfortunately, i dont have the specific cover you are asking about and cant answer to that specific cover. 
Maybe email gordy (west coast saw) and jason (egan performance saws) and ask them of any reports. Granted they may have a biased view. But if cutters that are buying them and using on USFS or cali state land had issues, big brother would have stepped in. 

[Nealm66]

Doesn't really say much on that thread. I don't like loud saws while milling or chunking trees down. Makes my ears throb but no problems just making stumps and I just use ear plugs when cutting but I have had problems with a couple modified muffler designs making every stump smoke. I just ordered the straight shot and I guess I'll figure it out. Maybe just switch back to the stock plate in the dry season. I've made my own crude hot rod saws and I definitely noticed power gains opening up the exhaust on the types I modified. Well, happy sawing!

[ehp]

Yes it is louder . I never timed any cuts with a bark box on against a stock saw . I feel it's abit more power than a stock muffler . Saw starts and runs like normal and I have not seen any fire problems . The stock muffler on the 462 and the 500i run so hot I'm thinking the bark box runs maybe abit cooler as its letting more ext out . The stock muffler I have had my clothes try to burn touching the outer muffler parts in the winter time .  Bark box is a fairly well built part and made out of fairly heavy stainless steel 

[charles mann]

 The stock muffler on the 462 and the 500i run so hot I'm thinking the bark box runs maybe abit cooler as its letting more ext out .  Bark box is a fairly well built part and made out of fairly heavy stainless steel

from what a some of the youtube vids are showing, yep, running about 15-25° cooler vs. stock, so not that much, but still runs cooler. as for heavy stainless, not really, bark box is .060" (16ga) vs. the egan straight shot which is .130" (10ga). both are stout enough, and i think the 10ga is a bit over kill, but the is what he went with. 

my next builds will be out of 10ga.

[Skeans1]

Doesn't really say much on that thread. I don't like loud saws while milling or chunking trees down. Makes my ears throb but no problems just making stumps and I just use ear plugs when cutting but I have had problems with a couple modified muffler designs making every stump smoke. I just ordered the straight shot and I guess I'll figure it out. Maybe just switch back to the stock plate in the dry season. I've made my own crude hot rod saws and I definitely noticed power gains opening up the exhaust on the types I modified. Well, happy sawing!

During fire season I won't run one just for liability reasons but the rest of the year I do when falling it's nice how it gets the muffler back off the bark especially in the doug or cedar.

[Nealm66]

Sounds like you have experience with them. Seems like I've ran that style of cover somewhere in my memory banks on a modified 064 back in the day. A guy in Elbe Washington put it together if I remember correctly. Only used it for tree work chunking down at the time and it made my ears flutter with the cone filter. We ran the modified 56's for falling. Seems like that style muffler cover wasn't great for back baring undercuts if I remember but too many moons ago. Oh well, I'll see here pretty soon 

[Ianab]

The spark arrestor is like a lot of things. Taking it out won't automatically start a fire, heck in my part of the world it's usually hard to even start a fire, even with a lighter. 

But it's not impossible. Might be 1,000 to 1 chance. But if you use your saw for 1,000 days, odds are you might set something alight. 

So if you are in a fire risk area, then best not to risk it. 

Sometimes it's a silly things that start a fire. The enquiry into a big wildfire in Aussie 
found that it was actually started by an air force chopper that was scouting out potential landing spots for firefighting choppers. But at some point they landed so some of the crew could have a pee. But they didn't turn off the spotlight under the chopper, and it set fire to the grass under the chopper. They got the scorched chopper airborne and back to base, but by then the fire was out of control. 

So sometime the most unexpected thing can start a fire, and saw exhaust is one of them. 

[ehp]

The heavier the metal the more heat its going to hold which is not what you want cause that heat is going to go back into the cylinder and heat is what kills a saw cylinder .  There is a reason mufflers are so thin and it's to get rid of the heat as fast as it can. If the govt would allow the saw companies would have a larger out let on muffler to get rid of heat faster but with these rules it's hard for them to do so

[Woodfarmer]

I use an exile cover, made in Canada. I think HL supply parts carry them now in the States.

[chep]

I have a bark box on my 400c . It def made a difference power wise.  Very easy to take on and off for summer use if that's what ya gotta do.
Really well built worth every penny in my op

[ehp]

As far as fires go the stock muffler on the 500i is about as bad as it gets for trying to set the moss on the butt of the trees on fire when cutting 

[barbender]

My Husky 390xp likes to start moss on fire too. I'd never experienced that with my other saws.

[fluidpowerpro]

I've started punky wood on fire with both of my saws, Stihl and Johnsreds.

[Nealm66]

I got it in the mail yesterday. Looks well built. I'll stick it on when I need the saw.I'll know pretty quickly if flipping the saw burns my knuckles or leaves steam coming off the stump. Hope not. Can't believe how much stuff is geared for the homeowners who just want faster. You literally have to purchase an aftermarket product to make the ms400 a full wrap and this is in their pro lineup saws!! Huskies are Just as bad in other ways. Sorry for the rant. 

[Al_Smith]

I get a kick out of all the hoopla about  mufflers .I've seen the so called "bark box " cover  ,they are loud .Weather they work any better than a reworked stock muffler is a bone of contention with varied opinions .Where I live as a far as I know we have no chainsaw police and it would take a napalm drop from a B-52 to set the woods afire .

[ehp]

I'm happy with the bark box on my 462 arctic , I got a couple on the new 500i that I have yet to in service , also got another new 462 arctic setup with a barkbox

[beenthere]

Are you using all of those saws? 

Or a saw for different jobs? 

[ehp]

I use 462 arctic to fall with running a bark box and a 500i on the landing to buck up with . I have not ran any 500i with the bark box but they are sitting there , one of the guys here that runs my ported saws had I think 26 saws stolen 8 days ago so he came last night and took one of my 400c to cut firewood with , I offered him to take a 500i as well but he was happy to get a 400c. I'm sure the saws will show up at a dealer around here cause they are not meant to run on low test gas and he had a 3120 that was very fast for running on gas but bolt a long bar on that saw like a 48 inch and she will burn up so that should show up pretty fast

[ehp]

I use to carry 6 saws with me to work but now I'm down to 4 cause I run 2 and the only time I use the 3rd is when I'm stuck bucking up , yes it happens and anybody that says they never get stuck is either lieing or never cuts wood

[Woodfarmer]

Do you have a list of them Ed, see if they pop up on Marketplace?