# is it bad to run a 20 inch bar on a 33cc saw?



## voxac30dude (Oct 30, 2009)

i have a 33cc Homelite ranger with a 16 inch bar stock, but i wanna up grade it to a longer bar that can take bigger cutting teeth. to be honest i hate those new lo pro chains that are comming with those cheapo homeowner saws like mine. im saving for a husqvarna 357xp or a stihl ms460 for bigger stuff but right now all i have is my homelite. anyways is it safe to put a longer bar on my saw? will it bog out more?


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## miller1 (Oct 30, 2009)

I would say a 16 is about the biggest you are gonna want to run on a saw that small, maybe i am wrong but 20" seems awful big for it. You could also just buy a bar for 3/8 chisel tooth and that might help you out.


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## mtngun (Oct 30, 2009)

I've got a 14" 33cc Homelite and can't imagine it pulling a 20" bar. Yes, it would bog down. 

Best bang for the buck is to replace the "lawyer" chain that typically comes with the saw or that you buy at Home Depot/Lowes/Walmart with a "real" chain from Baileys. I tried a loop of Bailey's Woodsman Pro lo-pro chain and it made the Homelite act like a new saw.


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## BobL (Oct 30, 2009)

Yeah, you won't be doing it any favours, it's a light weight saw and it'll just die young and you'd just be wasting your money. I'd go with a new lo-pro chain like Mtngun suggests.


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## mikeb1079 (Oct 30, 2009)

> anyways is it safe to put a longer bar on my saw?


sure, as long as you match the bars sprocket and new chain with the drive sprocket on the homelite.


> will it bog out more?


absolutely. don't make the mistake (like i did) and think that a longer bar means better/faster. usually there's a certain length bar that an engine wants to see, and witha 33cc you're looking at most a 16, and it may even be happier with a 14. take mtn guns advice and stick with the 16, order some non safety chain, and save up for that better pro level saw.


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## Brmorgan (Oct 31, 2009)

There's nothing wrong with good lo-pro chain at all, but it sounds like you're confusing it with anti-kickback safety chain with the big rakers between the cutters. That stuff IS crap. But a good-quality 3/8" low-pro is pretty much the best you can do for a smaller saw that's designed for it. Here's a video I made a few days ago of my tiny 26cc muffler-modded Homelite XL-2 pulling a 16" semi-chisel lo-pro chain in 14" dry Douglas Fir:

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EDIT: Embedding doesn't seem to be working, at least on this computer right now, so in case it isn't here's the direct link.

No speed demon to be sure, but I think it cuts acceptably all things considered.

3/8" full-skip (and ONLY full-skip) chisel might _work_ for you on a 20" bar _if_ you can find a 6-pin sprocket to run it on, AND you muffler-mod and/or port the engine a little bit. 33cc stock just isn't going to be very usable pulling a 20" if it's totally buried, even in softwood. If you did put a 20" chisel chain on that little Homelite, you'd likely have to file the cutters back to 60-75% so the rakers were set at about .010" - .015" at most to keep it from being grabby and bogging down. And at that point, you'd be making sawdust instead of chips. Kep in mind that a full-chisel 3/8 chain will cut a kerf 1/5 to 1/4 wider than a low-pro chain, which may not _sound_ like a whole lot, but can make a world of difference with small saws.

If I were you, I'd stick with the 16" and buy a good non-safety chain for it. The saw would likely cut wood larger than 16" faster by making two passes from both sides of the log than it would with a 20" bar. Just my opinion, not based on any real on-hand data or anything. On the other hand, if you want the longer bar for easier limbing and less bending over, and not for cutting bigger wood, then it would be your call - just use caution since the 20" will leave a lot more exposed bar tip than you're used to with the 16.


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## voxac30dude (Oct 31, 2009)

i never mentioned im running a cheapo oregon chain/bar combo. it has a 91 VG chain. i want the most bang outta this saw. what can i do to make it cut faster and more efficient? anyone got ideas on how to soup up my saw? 

i was thinking maybe a new 16inch oregon pro bar with the pro 91vx chain.


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## BobL (Oct 31, 2009)

voxac30dude said:


> i never mentioned im running a cheapo oregon chain/bar combo. it has a 91 VG chain. i want the most bang outta this saw. what can i do to make it cut faster and more efficient? anyone got ideas on how to soup up my saw?
> 
> i was thinking maybe a new 16inch oregon pro bar with the pro 91vx chain.



There are not many people running 33c machines in this forum. You'd be better of asking a moderator to move this thread to the "Chainsaw" forum.


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