abnormal fuel consumption??

[errolc]

You don't say how the saws running...have you checked the colour of the plug...I run my 2077 which about relates to your 85 and get from 20 to 30mins out of a tank (1ltr) if I'm working hard...plug runs a medium tan colour and just fourstrokes on a very light cut with a 24" bar.

If you want hungry...my 3120 doesn't get 15mins from 11/2 ltrs on the mill and a 65" bar and just over a ltr of oil...plug runs the same colour though.

Gas is cheap...wait till you've leaned a saw out too much and cooked a piston and barrel...seen a few guys do that

I hear those funny cars gulp 20ltrs in 4.5 secs...thats using gas!

If you're worried about the cost of gas...theres always the axe :-? but I think the mountain man meal you'd need at the end of the day would cost more than the fuel a saw would use...nuff said aye

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Maine dont lett afew little comments get to you mate  ;) We have all copped it at some point in time when we where younger   ;) not much fun at the time but some times funny when you look back years from now Mate  ;) :D ;D
I know ive had mine like the time when i was 14 and pulled my first starter recoil apart  the dang thing took me 1/2 an hour to get back together the hole while Dad having a crack saying havent you got that bloody thing back together Yet son Or do you want me to do it for you  ;) :D  :D :D ;D

Now with the 385/95xps they are a good saw but being the little brothers of the 3120 they all Like a Drink  ;) :D :D :D if its not hitting peak prefomance id get someone in your crew or local area thats known for gettin saws tuned up and running Sweet to look at it ;) luckly for me thats my Dad  ;D ;D ;D
With the starter a good place to start  if its all clean and has nothing fowling it up  ;)  is the hex head screw with the washer in the center  that holds the starter assembly and spring inplace .now in the past ive found that 1/4 to 1/2 a turn tooo tight and it wont release the coil like you where decribing eirlyer you might find it was sett too tight at factory  some new saws/gear needs some tweeking occasonaly Esp the ones built on a monday or friday mate ;) :D :D :D  ;D

Now a pat on the back for Ya Mate  ;) ;D I like your style and from your posts you seem like a pretty switched on young Bloke  ;) who reminds me alot of myself  at your age  ;) :D ;D Which will see you copping Alot of crappola from some other blokes in the industry for the way you do things or just for being a Young smart butt or asking socalled stupid questions  these opinions never count as they gerally come from people never have or and never will have the b@lls to try some of the things that you have (eg Subcontracting and Leasing a skidder at 18 yo) or will  do in the future (probobly running your own logging outfit)  ;) ;D .I learnt eairly on that the only people to ask and get with reguards to strait answers to questions or buisness advice are people who have taken the plunge themselves and run there own show ive found that they are more than willing to share info and advice . ;) ;D ;D  i find some employes will have a more abrassive attitude towards a younger bloke having a crack and therefor treat you like an idiot  ;) That was before the FF all hard won knowallage for me ;) :D :D ;D 
remember The day you stop learning is the day your dead mate  ;) ;D

Good luck with the saw and i hope you didnt copp that 1ina1000 thats a dud Mate  ;) ;D ;D

With those Cable logging handbooks i loant them to a mate and  hes looking for them now  ;) :D :D :D ;D so sorry  it will be a little longer wait Maine and Timberfaller


Gday and welcome to the forum erroic  ;)  ;D ;D 8) how are things in ENSED  ;) :D ;D I see Carters are allready trimming the fat  ;) its not looking to good for the big mills  : :( but they cause there own probs  it makes you wonder how they make any money at all  ;)

Reguards Chris

[LeeB]

Heck Cris, it still takes me 30 minutes to put a recoil spring back in and I've done many it times. It don't help any that I can't see too good any more. Best bet is to never let it come out. :D.   

MK, I can't help you with the gas consumtion, but the advice about the spring cleaning so far is sound. Take the cover off and give it a blast from the air compressor and a shot of WD. If the saw has gotten wet might also be a little corrosion going on. Take it apart and learn how it works. Lord knows when I was your age, well mabe a little younger I had to learn te same way. (I bought my first lawn mower when I was 10.) Hang in there, keep asking questions and don't pay too much mind to some of us older guys that have forgotten we weren't born knowing all the answers.

[Maineloggerkid]

Thanks for tips and compliments, Meadows! They will be kept in mind.

[rickk]

The chain tensioner tensions the chain, but then the bar nuts hold the tension. Usually when I have a chain that keeps getting loose it is because I let it get too dull once and then overheated the chain, softening the metal. Once a chain gets overheated they seem to stretch very quickly. Because the metal is softer it will get dull faster as well. Since it will get duller more quickly, you are more likley to overheat it again, making it even more prone to stretching. I have also noticed that a really sharp chain seems to make the tank run forever, but once it starts makig sawdust instead of chips the fuel consumption goes way up. I bought myself an Oregon bench mounted chain grinder and found myself generally happier with cutting, fuel consumption, chain and bar life. It just seemed like way too much work to remove the amount of metal that really needed to be removed to properly clean up the cutting edge with just a file. Leaving a little bit of a rounded cutting edge just to save some tooth metal is false savings in the long run.

I could be all wet on this, but trying a brand new chain to see if it fixes some of the issues might be worth trying. Make sure you replace the drive sprocket at the same time, as a worn sproket will wear a new chain faster than a new sprocket. Sprockets are really cheap compaired to a chain.

Also, bigger saws DO use more gas. That is because they do more work in a given amount of time. I have a Husky 100cc that I rarely use. When I do use it, it is empty pretty quick, but I am pretty beat from the shorter but more intense cutting session. It will probably cut 50% faster than my 372's, so it is going to use more fuel.

[GASoline71]

I reeread this thread and nobody really gave any guff to the OP.  There were a few humorous comments made in the beginning that were taken out of context which always leads to a misunderstanding, and then sometimes a little temper flies...

Anyways... if you do take that recoil housing off... be careful when messing with that recoil spring.  It is a big coil, and when it is let loose it will straighten out and fly out of there in a hurry.  You shouldn't have to remove it to lubricate it.  Just a warning.

I had asked you early on if you lift up on the bar tip when you adjust your chain tension.  All you had said was that you do it the way you always have... does that include lifting up on the end of the bar, and keep lifting on it while you adjust tension and then tighten the bar nuts?

Remember you are on the internet asking a question... nobody knows your cuttin' style, how well you sharpen chains, or how well you maintain your equipment.  So the more info you can give makes it a lot easier to answer...

Gary

[Maineloggerkid]

I don't fell as I was given to hard of a time either, just to let it be known.

Yes, I do hold up on the tip when I tighten the chain, and earlier I mentioned that I keep my chain very sharp. I hate a dull saw. I know it  is hard to know how sharp over the computer, so you will just have to take my word for it. I think I know everyhting I need to answer my earlier questions, thanks.

[Meadows Miller]

Heck Cris, it still takes me 30 minutes to put a recoil spring back in and I've done many it times. It don't help any that I can't see too good any more. Best bet is to never let it come out. :D.  

Lee The main time ive had to take them off is ive had the end snap off the coil a few times out the bush  :( >:( ??? ;) ;D  and had to bend a new end stop onto it to get cutting again and when ive put new ones in  ;) ;D

I reeread this thread and nobody really gave any guff to the OP.  There were a few humorous comments made in the beginning that were taken out of context which always leads to a misunderstanding, and then sometimes a little temper flies..

I don't fell as I was given to hard of a time either, just to let it be known.

Dont worry it was'nt realy aimed at anytyhing said in the post  ;) just alittle frendly advice when dealing with people face to face  ;) ;D and its good to see You got a bit thicker skin than some ppl Maine  ;) :D ;D

Reguards Chris
Btw have a great New Year everybody

[GASoline71]

I don't fell as I was given to hard of a time either, just to let it be known.

Yes, I do hold up on the tip when I tighten the chain, and earlier I mentioned that I keep my chain very sharp. I hate a dull saw. I know it  is hard to know how sharp over the computer, so you will just have to take my word for it. I think I know everyhting I need to answer my earlier questions, thanks.

Sounds like there is an adjuster problem... if the saw is still under warranty, I would take it back to where you got it and have the warranty work done.

Good luck with the saw mang... and have a good new year!

Gary

[Maineloggerkid]

you too!

[John Mc]

I could be all wet on this, but trying a brand new chain to see if it fixes some of the issues might be worth trying.

Chains new out of the box aren't always what they should be. I've noticed a couple of the new Oregon chains had the depth gauges up too high. I was pretty disappointed with the used saw I had just purchased until I figured out what was going on. It was actually someone here on the FF that tipped me off to check it. Put the depth gauge checker on, filed them down and it cut fine. Not sure if other brands run into this as well, but something to keep in mind if you are trying to diagnose a problem

[beenthere]

John Mc
I found that same thing out with a new Stihl chain...and it was caught by the Game of Logging (GOL) instructor when he checked out my MS361 saw (nearly new but with new chain).  Surprised to find the depth gauges out of spec, and uneven tooth to tooth. I've also found the new chains to be machine ground, and not all that 'sharp', and a hand filing giving a better cutting edge.

He also dinged me for having the spark arrestor removed. I'd forgotten I had removed it thinking it was the reason the saw didn't seem to run well when brand new. After a couple tankfuls of fuel, it ran good. 

[SwampDonkey]

On our brush saws, it will run good with the spark arrestor, but you have to clean it daily. You try to run it the second day, by the second tank it will have no power. Most guys just take them off. Everyone carries fire retardant on them and on the gas jug. I've never heard of a thinning saw causing a forest fire yet, but it could have happened I suppose. I've never removed mine off my chainsaw and it runs fine, it's a husky 55. I believe with a chainsaw there is a higher risk of fire since your down in the sawdust. With a brush saw there is 6 or 7 feet between the sawdust and the power unit. It's still surprises me though, that there is some fine saw dust in the air intake and filter and being somewhat shielded by your body. I know sawdust is green , generally compared to the leaves and fine sticks on the ground. Not really a strong argument there maybe. But still, the chain saw is closer to them dry sticks and leaves at times... :/

[GASoline71]

On our brush saws, it will run good with the spark arrestor, but you have to clean it daily. You try to run it the second day, by the second tank it will have no power. Most guys just take them off.

If you have to clean the screens on your saws everyday... then you have got some kind of issues with the saws... prolly runnin' 32:1 or more oil, and having the carb not tuned properly.  I have gone for years and not had to clean a spark screen...

And yes... a saw can spark a fire.  That is why the screens are required out here to cut in the bush.  Especially during the hot dry summers.  Don't matter how much fire retardant stuff you got with you... a fire in the brush can get away from you very quick.

Gary