The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Chainsaws => Topic started by: sd locke on December 21, 2009, 12:15:33 PM
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i have read that some people cut were they have to use screens . i live in michigan and do not cut when it is to dry it is just to hot for me i like to cut when it is cold snowing .my grandfather said to me .that way u get heat out of your wood twice . i have never heard of a forest fire caused bye a chainsaw . tractors , logsplitters donot have them and i take mine into the woods. just wondering that is all . i quess if u are lumberjack and do it for a living then they are a good thing to have on . please dont think i am dump my old saws dont have them at all .
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If you get caught out here cuttin' on FS land without a spark screen... you will see a heavy fine. They are required. They don't "choke out" a saw when maintained properly.
Gary
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yeah i still use them.never had a problem with them. i just thinks it is funny never heard of a forest fire caused bye a chainsaw
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Ohh... it's happened I'm sure.
Around here you are hard pushed to even light a fire 99% of the time, so it's not an issue. But some places it gets so hot and dry that a loud fart could cause a fire.
I dont worry about them, but I dont live in a fire prone area.
Ian
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I don't either, mine all get tossed.
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I have lit wood on fire and had to put it out, from the mufflers on both my Husky 365/372. I can see easily starting a fire without a screen in a dry place. Especially with dry grass or under brush.
.
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Loggers I know in Utah do not log in the summer due to fire danger.
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In this portion of the country you would be hard pressed to start a fire in the woods from a loose spark from a saw . No big deal though .If you wanted to fiddle with the muffler just cut the hole bigger and put the screen back in .
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SD,
I live in Michigan also. The humidity is so high and trees so green here that it would be very difficult to start a fire with a match most of the time.
In the west many forest fires are started by lightening. It gets very dry at certain times of the year and fires spring up from broken glass etc. Completely different situation west of the Mississippi.
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yeah i still use them.never had a problem with them. i just thinks it is funny never heard of a forest fire caused bye a chainsaw
Trust me... it can happen.
Gary
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All offroad equipment, tractors included, are supposed to have fire screens here. And even then in fire season the woods close at 1:00 pm, or sometimes don't open at all for a few days. I have seen smoldering bark or needles from setting down a hot saw in a careless way, that wasn't even running at the time. Believe me, if you live where this is a factor you won't doubt the seriousness one bit.
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allt hte cuttin down saws had had to have a good mufler so it didnt catch the leaves on fire but pap would allow holes in the muffler in the yard saws. ive cut big trees with a saw that had a bad muffler .. if you keep the saw at the same spot the bark got black and started smokin and would eventually start to glow so i wouldnt doubt that the leaves would catch due to a saw
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Just give the screen a shot of carb cleaner once in a while, it will stay clean.
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I would definately bet that dry leaves here in upstate NY would catch from errant sparks, though have never seen it happen...they can be really dry and flammable durring dry times of the year
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I bet more fires are started by errant cigarette butts than are started by saws with no screens,not an issue here in the winter.16yrs in the Fire service and never went to a fire caused by a saw,but all areas and conditions are differant i am sure.
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I have never seen it happen yet but I,m sure it,s possible in certain parts of the country. As far as performace go,s for removing the screen go,s I,ve read in some Forestry Publications. That you will only gain 0.2 ( 2 tenths ) hp by removing the screen.
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Sawing at night, I've seen "sparks" blowing out of a muffler with a damaged screen. And I've had to put out some smoldering duff after using the saw when I shouldn't have (summer of 2003).
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As far as performance go,s for removing the screen go,s I,ve read in some Forestry Publications. That you will only gain 0.2 ( 2 tenths ) hp by removing the screen.
I won't opine yea or nay about muffler screens ,that's up to the individual and area cutting conditions . Now .2 HP might be debatable depending on the size of the saw etc with just pulling the screen and nothing else .
Completley gutting a muffler although not really the topic will usually show more initial gains than almost any other thing a person can do to enhance the preformance of a stock chainsaw . However as has been stated a zillion times there certainly is a way to rework a muffler and keep the security of the sceen intact if one so desires .
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Chainsaws can start fires when working during periods of high fire danger and in flamable fuels. I've seen it happen a few times. Your spark arresters are required and may be checked when operating on National Forest system lands and on many state forest lands.
Remember that you are responsible for any fires that you may start. ;)
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We have to use screens on brush saws, there can be 30 saws buzzing away on a work site. ;) Ansil pack on the harness and one on the gas can. Also, pith cans with water , one per 3 operators.
On one Friday afternoon a grad. student left a woods yard by turning his pickup and backed up into a brush pile. Drove off toward home. Within hours, one of the largest forest fires in the last 20 years was ablaze. One of the requirements of working on crown forest land is to turn your vehicle toward home so if something like this happens your there to report it or put it out. Also, it's a good idea if your on a narrow woods road that might not be all the well maintained or you need a tow or boost.
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Many years ago I was bucking a big old buckskin fir with my 2100 Husky. It started to char the log. Now whether it would have actually started to burn, I don't know because I threw water on it as soon as I saw it. I've also had the FS and DNR check my saws for screens.
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What I was going to say about the brush saw screens, is we have to modify them with either drain screen or window screening. The original will clog up in a day or two, brand new I guarantee it if used 8 hours a day. Everyone does it, have to, to get anything cut. The inspectors have no trouble with it. On private land, a lot don't have screen at all. No one has set any fires on private in NB with a brush saw. As far as I know, never even came close. Everyone is out of the woods by noon in fire weather extremes by law, and you won't be cutting any brush when it's that hot, it's 20 degrees hotter or more with the green brush radiating the heat back to the sky. Last few summers it never stops raining long enough to get too hot.