I was cutting ash with my 154SG and had not thought about the 20" 3/8 .050" 72DL bar and chain that i have had on it for a couple of years. But I have the same bar and chain on a 572XP that I was using to cut larger diameter stuff off the same ash tree. I know there a engine size difference here and I am not comparing the two saws, but what it did was bring to my attention that it is too much bar for the 154SG. I am thinking about dropping to an 18" bar or drop down one tooth size on the drive sprocket. I do like the added reach of the 20" bar. I also noticed the high idle position for a warm restart does not hold, it falls off the high idle position unless the choke is set. Will have to take things apart and investigate. There is a big difference in WOT RPM between the two saws, but the 154SG has more torque and throttle response. The 572XP likes WOT for any cutting.
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16's or 18's on my 54's. All .325. I always go for weight and balance on the smaller saws as opposed to reach. Like you, several bigger saws with longer bars are at ghe ready. At least with standard bars. 20" lightweights like an Oregon speed cut set up give you the next size up, without the weight penalty.
Main thing though is to enjoy those heated grip saws while winter is here. Ran my 560xpg today. Heard another saw off in the distance. Might of been you. ffsmiley
Thanks Bob. I cut with it again today. I don't like way it is cutting with this 20" bar on it so I will switch to a shorter bar. I may even have a .325 That I can put on.
You may laugh but I had a guy show up to work cutting in the bush up north where I use to live with a 154 running 18 inch .325 setup , Told him lets see what you got to show me . He did quite well and saw ran good . Trees are not as big up there but lots are 20 inch diameter hardwood or so . Only thing he alwats carried spare engine mounts cause about once a week he would pull the saw in half , he could put her back together in minutes
Today I switched this 154SG to a .325 drive sprocket, 7 pin. I also have an 8 pin but will try the 7 pin first. .325" pitch .058" gauge 18" bar. I went this route based on I had everything and did not need to buy anything to switch this saw from 3/8" to .325". We will see how this works.
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It'll have no problem running the 8 pin. Keep the reports coming in! ffsmiley
Three tanks of fuel on each sprocket. New chain with each sprocket, just to keep it as fair as I could. I like the 7 pin better. although I have an 8 pin on a 61 and that thing will just slice and dice. The 154SG cuts better with the 18" bar and .325" pitch. I think the reason I had the chains is my 550XP is the same chain. And I picked up two of the bars when a local hardware store dropped Husqvarna and went all in on the Stihl products. I picked up several bars at $10.00 each. And lots of files. I need a deal like that again.
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I still need to take the handle apart and determine why the high idle does not stay engaged when the choke is off. Choke on the high idle stays on the high idle cam.
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Nice little saws. I run .325 on mine as well. 18" bar.
So as I was digging through acceptable bars and chains to run on the 154SE and 154SG I have a 16" Hard nose super bar in .050". Also, the same bar with a replaceable sprocket tip. What are the pros to a hard nose bar? What are they best suited for?
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Well I figured out the warm restart high idle speed position problem. It was me causing the problem for lack of understanding this saws high idle position system. I thought the operator presence lever (throttle lock) on the handle was what held the fast idle. But this system is activated be the choke being moved to the full choke position, then if needed push the choke off and the high idle will stay in position until the throttle is pulled, then it falls of the high idle cam. I do have a 266 where the high idle is put on by the throttle lock lever. I just assumed the 154SG was the same, and it is not. When all else fails, read the owners manual.
From what I can gather the hard nose bar is best suited for work where the wood may be dirty. But not much of any other advantage. Seems harder to find a hard nose bar verses a sprocket tip bar.
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Added a heat reflective insulation tape to the top cover. Want to try an keep the top cover as nice as possible.
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I was comparing two saws I have. 154SE and 154SG. The 154SG muffler opens up in two parts exposing the inside and the baffle area. The 154SG also has an aluminum heat shield between the muffler and the cylinder head. Am I missing parts and should I try and find another heat shield for the 154SE? Is cleaning up the rust and painting the muffler a good or bad idea? Obviously heat-resistant paint. The bolt for the exhaust bracket goes into the chain bar oil tank. Should I put Teflon on the threads for this bolt?
ADDED: When I look at my printed parts fold-out dated 1983, I do not see that heat shield and the muffler is not shown as two parts.
What seals to two halves of the muffler?
ADDED: Looks like just friction and a tight fit of the two overlapping halves. When assembled and running I see no signs of exhaust leaking between the seams of the two muffler halves.
"The bolt for the exhaust bracket goes into the chain bar oil tank. Should I put Teflon on the threads for this bolt?"
A lot of huskies with this bracket type have the holes go right into the oil tank. There's no need from my experience for teflon tape or any other sealer. It won't leak. The fun part is when working on a saw with the muffler removed and you tip it on end to work on something and you notice a pool of oil forming on the bench. Hmmm, where's that coming from ffcheesy
2800 rpm at idle. No chain creep. 10,400 rpm wot no load. Seems like it's a little rich at wot. As I lean it out it would climb to 11,000 rpm. Spec says 9,000 rpm. So I richened up the high speed screw to drop rpm to 10,400. It sure acts rich though. No lag in throttle response.
Quote from: DHansen on February 09, 2025, 10:56:55 AM(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/64252/1000009955.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=357753)
How hard is it to get the muffler apart? Can see some baffles and such in my 84 model sg. Tried but might muck it up getting it apart. Seems pretty tightly held together
Don, It was harder to squeeze them back together than take them apart. I was surprised when it came off in two. The two hollow round rods that are laying inside the muffler in the photo are what the two bolts go through and prevent you from bending the muffler when the bolts are tightened to the cylinder head. I did 18' lbs. on a hot engine for a retorque of the muffler bolts. My muffler is clearly just a press fit. I have other 154SE mufflers I can look at tonight. I have about 6 of them. I am also looking to see how may of those heat shields I have. I like the shield.
Thanks! I tried pretty hard to get mine separated but it looks like it is together pretty tight. Cant see any type of spot weld or any sign of weld at all. Just don't want to bang it up.
Tried again tonight but I think this one is bonded or pressed somehow. Can't even force the lip away or drive a sharp screw driver between. I was thinking of gutting the inside of it and opening the outlet some as the exit hole is pretty tiny. Think I'll think on it now ffsmiley
Hope Spike can shead some light on the issue. Maybe it's carbon build up. You could spray some carburetor spray into the seem and let it soak. Going together it was tight like a Tupperware lid.
There was and still is just one baffle inside my 154SG muffler. It is at the outlet side of the muffler. Then a flap, spark arrestor and outlet deflector.
She's running way to rich. 154/254 should be spinning up around 13,500. Those saws share a muffler, (along with a bunch of other stuff), with the 51/55 chassis. The early 154 muffs had a little too much baffle nonsense in them. Any cheap aftermarket 55 muffler would be a nice alternative to that one.
Quote from: donbj on February 10, 2025, 12:47:28 AM "The bolt for the exhaust bracket goes into the chain bar oil tank. Should I put Teflon on the threads for this bolt?"
A lot of huskies with this bracket type have the holes go right into the oil tank. There's no need from my experience for teflon tape or any other sealer. It won't leak. The fun part is when working on a saw with the muffler removed and you tip it on end to work on something and you notice a pool of oil forming on the bench. Hmmm, where's that coming from ffcheesy
Can't think of a single time I've done that. Couple dozen times? That would be more accurate. ffcheesy
Thanks Bob. Will update after a carb adjustment.
Lots of baffle for sure. Finally managed to dig the outlet "pipe" out. Made the hole bigger and had to corkscrew the rigging out after getting a good grip with vice grips. Baffles that remain inside have lots of holes so should be better. Just have to tidy up the exit somehow.
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Don, the outlet on your muffler is round and in the upper corner. Mine is centered on the right side of the front cover and rectangle in shape with an outlet deflector.
Quote from: DHansen on February 13, 2025, 06:34:52 AMDon, the outlet on your muffler is round and in the upper corner. Mine is centered on the right side of the front cover and rectangle in shape with an outlet deflector.
Yes. I noticed there were two styles for this saw. I like yours better ffcheesy .
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This is another 154SE I have. WOT no load high mix screw is out one turn. Been running good for more than a year without touching carb adjustments. The 154SG i can only get to 11000 RPM. And high mix screw is 1/4 turn out. I have stopped cutting with it , the SG, till I figure this out. Air filters and mufflers are different.
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The SE that obtains a higher RPM has this muffler with the two gills.
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The SG with the lower RPM has this muffler with one large side outlet.
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Photo of the two different air filters. SG (screen mesh air filter) -11,000 RPM on top. SE (black air filter) 14,000 RPM on bottom.
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Both 7 pin .325" one 16" the other 18" bars.
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I put a new air filter on the 154SG, I seated both the low and high mixture screws and turned the low out 1.5 and the high out 1. I leaned low out to obtain a good sounding idle, then reduced idle speed to 2800 RPM. Then adjusted high to obtain 12,500 RPM at WOT no load. Ended up at about 7/8 turn out on the high. I feel more comfortable with it set like this and will cut more with both saws tomorrow. With the higher RPM I will have to try the 8 pin again.
I'm thinking of turning the SE richer to slow it down, and lean the SG a bit more.
54's are the one series that I wonder why I don't run as much as I would expect. Always something in the que that needs to be run. At 54cc, they are right smack in the middle between 50 and 60cc class saws. I have 5 of the things. Two 154's. One a G like Dave's, and three 254's. None that pretty. 254 I run the most is downright ugly. But handles whatever I throw at it. Although the crankcase is shared with the 257 and 262, several other parts are shared with the 55, hence its lighter than the 57 or 62. Underrated and underappreciated model.
Ran both saws today. 8°F. Both are cutting great now. Sure do like the SG with the heated handles on a day like today. I don't see any need to play with trying to get the SG RPM any higher. Thanks for the help Bob and Don. The .325 and shorter bar are nicer.
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Now to pit them against the 550XP and see which I like better.
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Competition begins.
Anxious to see how this turns out. ffsmiley
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The 154SE was cutting great, but was not oiling the bar, so did not even run a complete tank of fuel on that saw. But it sure cut nice. The 154SG was my favorite of the day. It cuts great and has great throttle response. To me it just seems to have more power than the 550XP. The 550XP cuts nice, but needs the RPM kept at the top (WOT) during cutting. Easier to bog the 550XP down verses the 154SG. I did use the 572XP on some of the larger stuff, that's a good saw. So, for this time out the 154SG was cutting better than the 550XP. Will put new chains on each one, fix the 154SE bar oil issue and do more comparisons today.
One thing that I did find is the location of the on/off switch on the 154SE or SG. With gloves on and quickly pushing the choke to the off position I bump the on/off switch to the off position. As this happens you think oh, I pushed the choke off too soon. And you set the choke and pull, pull and pull with no fire up. Then you see the ignition switch is off. Did this on each 154 yesterday and it has happened to me before. Hopefully I will learn and be more careful. Another operator error.
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Well, the issue with the 154SE that I thought was a lack of bar oil, was a failed nose sprocket. Very low hours on that bar. It does not have a grease port to that sprocket, so I couldn't grease it if I wanted to. You can see from previously posted photos how new the two bars are on the 154's. I do not see any physical damage to the bar or tip. Rails look good, no bends. Sprocket can be forced to spin if I push it across some wood. But never free enough to spin by hand. It's a laminated bar and not a replaceable sprocket tip. I guess ill soak it and see if it will free up. For now, I just put on a new bar.
I cut today with the 154SE and the 550XP. They sound and feel different. But as far as cutting and getting the job done, they are both great saws and a toss-up to me as far as productivity. Before starting today both got new LGX Oregon chain. There is close to 40 years between manufacturing dates on these two saws. The 550Xp is lighter and you can tell. 54cc verse 50cc the 154 seems to have more torque, but if you keep the chain speed up they both cut the same.
I should point out the 550XP is a Mark II. In hindsight I wish I bought it in the XPG version.
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Picked up two more inexpensive replacement bars for the 550XP and the 154's. Hardwear store that wants to get rid of old stock that is not STIHL. Been a good spot for me to pick up discounted Husqvarna, Jonsered and John Deere stuff. I also ordered a Husqvarna solid bar with replaceable sprocket tip from the saw shop. Same size and spec as these.
Husqvarna sure has a lot of marketing names on their chainsaw bars. Farm Tough, Rancher, X-Force, X-Tough, X-Tough Light, X-Tough Solid and X-Tough Professional. And there are differences in the bars. I wonder if it is done to fit into the customers price ranges or actual performance and customer needs. Maybe a blend of both.
I richened up the 154SE to lower max RPM by 1000 RPM.
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The NOS Total Super bar on the 154SE.
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The 550 XP MII
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Quote from: Spike60 on February 23, 2025, 06:58:13 AMAnxious to see how this turns out. ffsmiley
After leaning out the 154SG and richening up the 154SE. Removing the 3/8" - 20" bars and going to the .325 - 16 and 18" The 154's are cutting very nice and an improvement from what they were like.
The 550XP is lighter in weight, but all three feel good, balance well and cut great. I cannot say one is superior over the other. There is a sound difference and weight difference, but they all get the job done. The 550XP is auto tune and stock. If wanted I can lean out the 154 and pick up another 1,000 RPM.
This is a great thread. Wish you were in driving distance. Post #51 broke me up. Stringing all those marketing terms together shows that someone in marketing should have applied the brakes at some point.
Throwing in the new 550 to compare with the 154's is a good way to show how far we have or haven't come over the years. However, the conclusions from these models is unique to them and wouldn't necessarily apply to other saws. For instance, IMO the 242xp is one saw that has truly never been replaced. The current 543xp is nice, but doesn't come close. The icon 372 is a tough act to follow. The 572 seems to have succeeded where the 575 and 576 fell short. 288 vs 385/390? I'll go with the 288. So sometimes the new model raises the bar, other times the outgoing saw remains the preferred model.
Much of this is objective and personal preference that goes beyond what can be measured with cookie times, compression numbers and scale weights. When concentrating on the job at hand some saws just feel better to work with than others. There's no right or wrong, it's like adjusting the seat in your pick up to where you like it. And you've done that here with the 54's by changing the bar and chain setups to make the saws more enjoyable to work with.
The best thing though is shining the spotlight on this chassis and sharing the info with everyone else. Keeping the older models in focus is the only way to broaden our saw options now that we are down to essentially 3 manufacturers. Granted, the old saw option is mostly limited to guys who are handy and can work on the things. And parts availability will always be a changing dynamic. But if we were limited to only what was new at the local Husky, Stihl, or Echo dealer this wouldn't be any fun at all. (And Shindaiwa; the Japanese Jonsered) ffsmiley
Don, I took two more of the mufflers off and looked at taking the two halves apart. Both of these have a rolled edge were the bolt passes through that holds the two halve together. If I wanted to attempt separating the two halve I would need to dremel off the rolled edge or drill the top area off with an oversized drill bit. I think this rolled area hold the two sleeve in place inside the muffler. The bolts pass through these sleeves. With the RPM I am getting I question the need for any muffler modifications. That is so far. We will see.
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You were more observant than I was noticing that. There is just about as much metal inside the muffler as the outside from what I saw in mine, though I did manage to snake some out.
Must be several slightly different designs of these mufflers. This next 154SE muffler came apart with a little wiggle and pull. The rolled edge on this one was only on one halve of the muffler, keeping the sleeves attached to that halve. The sleeves stay attached to one side of the muffler shell on this one. I think I will modify this one and use it on the 254SE and also do some work on the air filter to carburetor elbow and see what happens.
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Was looking into why the air filter change and carburetor adjustment affected WOT RPM by 2500RPM. I started looking at 5 different used air filter and noted the outlet of the air filters were not all the same size. I see online that this is a modification that is common on this saw. I was unaware of this detail. The ones I have measure from .493" to .640" Since these are all used saws and filter that I have only had for a few years, I do not know what the stock diameter is for the outlet diameter. But changing the air filter to a larger outlet diameter and adjusting the carburetor for this change in air flow has a definite effect on WOT RPM. The difference is measurable on the tachometer. The carburetors have been HDA35B, HDA17A and HDA18A.
As to my opening question, the 154/254 saw works great with the 16" - 18" .325" bar. The 7 pin vs 8 pin drive sprocket depends on the engine and what you are cutting. The 8 pin is fast and makes a great saw with the 16" bar, and hard to beat that combination. The 7 pin worked better for me on the 18" bar and bucking large red oak for firewood. Spike's advice was right on target.
Don, found another variation of a 154SE muffler, I like this one. The outlet is further forward, it is lower on the muffler. And outlet lines up on the metal chain guard plate that has a deflector that prevents the exhaust from heading toward the clutch or chain. Keeps the heat moving forward. No rolled edges to secure the internal bolt sleeves. A center buffer plate that comes right out. I made no modification to this muffler as the outlets were never more than 80% of the cylinder outlet area. I hope I find more of these.
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