Proper Maintenance Practices Thread

I'm a Noobie, and before I get slammed: Yes, I searched for "maintenance" before stating this thread. I didn't find what I was looking for; hence I started this...

I read the whole "Why I'll Never Buy Stihl Again" thread, and quite honestly it's given me a pretty good scare. Not from the perspective that Stihl products aren't quality, but from the numerous posts of the consequences of bad gasoline/oil mix and/or poor maintenance practices.

I think I'm like a number of forum members in that I like to do things myself and, especially at today's prices, I hate to take something to a dealer that I can easily do myself. Some dealers have guys in the back room that literally have decades of experience and are worth their weight in gold. Others border on clueless.

When new Stihl Pro model saws start at over $500.00 the cost of poor maintenance can be huge!

Having said all that I'm curious as to what the experts consider as to proper maintenance practices (air filter cleaning, etc) and how old is "too old" for gasoline/oil mix.

Thanks In Advance!

In terms of real maintenance intervals for serious items, your instruction manual is a really good place to go.

As far as gas goes (like the instruction manuals say), only mix what you can use in 30 days. Fresher is always better, and it's not like it goes from being fresh and new to being old and gunky right at day 30. You might be able to get away with longer, and you might not. Lots of other factors apply, like whether you have stabilizer in your mix, how much air/how tightly sealed the fuel is, how old it was when you bought it, how much ethanol is in it...

bottom line, use it in 30 days or trash it.

Air filters are way too specific to the filter type and the saw. Old school filters get tapped out daily, husky filters seem to hardly ever need cleaning

:agree2: on the manual lots of good info.
I personally clean up my saw after every outing,covers,filter off blow every thing out with air.Wipe down with rag,I think they run better clean,I have worked on other peoples saws that make me wonder how they even run.Just caked with crap almost like tar!Listen to the saw when running if something is wrong 99% of the time their will be clues! Also have fun cuttin
Welcome to the site btw

If you have compressed air handy, blow off the saw after EVERY time out with them. Clean the filter while you're at it. Do this and you'll never have a gunked up old saw. Makes all other maintenance that much better.

+1 on each of the above.

Some guys get all huffy about taking time to clean your saw. Having a clean saw is only part of the reason. When you take the time to remove the covers, bar, etc. and clean off the saw dust, you are also inspecting the saw for cracks, loose or missing parts, etc. You will quickly notice when things are not right (buildup of oil, charring, bluing, etc.,) which are early signs that attention is needed.

Philbert

Great thread, wasatch! Questions lots of noobs/intermediate sawyers want to know the answers to but were afraid to ask.

Tried to rep you, but apparently I've been ho-ing too much rep out the door in the last 24. Someone wanna rep this fella for asking one of the most important and longlasting of simple questions?

Also, I'm told be several 2-stroke mechanics that if you are mixing premium non-ethanol gas, it stays viable for up to 3 months, while regular unleaded will typically last a month before breaking down.

StihlyinEly said:

Great thread, wasatch! Questions lots of noobs/intermediate sawyers want to know the answers to but were afraid to ask.

Tried to rep you, but apparently I've been ho-ing too much rep out the door in the last 24. Someone wanna rep this fella for asking one of the most important and longlasting of simple questions?

Also, I'm told be several 2-stroke mechanics that if you are mixing premium non-ethanol gas, it stays viable for up to 3 months, while regular unleaded will typically last a month before breaking down.

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I got him for you. I think it was a good one too.

Don't forget the clutch. It's painless with an inboard clutch, but periodically remove the clutch drum and clean it out. I've had two saws this year that I thought had carb issues, but the problem turned out to be an accumulation of gunk inside the clutch drum that would drag on the clutch when hot and make the saw idle erratically.

While you're at it, stay on top of rim/chain condition. You don't want to run badly worn chains on a new sprocket or vice versa. For each saw I run two or three chains in rotation. By the time the chains are sharpened to nothing the rim is shot, too, and I start over.

Always clean out the bar groove and oiler holes after cutting.

Jack

Philbert said:

When you take the time to remove the covers, bar, etc. and clean off the saw dust, you are also inspecting the saw for cracks, loose or missing parts, etc. You will quickly notice when things are not right (buildup of oil, charring, bluing, etc.,) which are early signs that attention is needed.

Click to expand...

This is the most important thing to do, I believe. Maintenance prevents repairs. Repairs are expensive.

Modern day saws are pretty forgiving and anyone who knows how to use one need not bother or ask their dealer alot of questions they can't answer.
Saws are meant to be used WOT and sharp. That's it, that's all. Everything else is just whiny crybaby stuff that dealers just hate.
Gypo

I got these from an old user manual.

A picture says more than words................

Daily / Weekly / Monthly

Modern saws need very little maintenance - you buy the saw properly set up, you go and cut wood. No need to "tune it" or fiddle with it, you're more likely to cause damage by fiddling.

They do need:

1) A sharp chain. This is the number one rule. A big saw with a dull chain will be outcut by a small saw with a sharp chain. If your chain is sharp, you have less load on the motor and the chips will be, er, chips rather than dust, so there will be less on the filter. If you hit a nail or dirt, stop cutting and sharpen the chain - you will struggle to fix a badly damaged chain with a file, best to have several chains, and when you really whack one, swap it out, then take the lot to the dealer to get sharpened (assuming you don't have a grinder). If you have to lean on the saw to make it cut, the chain is blunt.

2) Proper fuel. Decent two stroke oil (not unbranded), mixed at 50:1 or a bit lower for safety. Don't go mixing at 25:1 - it will just smoke a lot and with modern oils don't need it. I do 40:1. If you are in the US with alcohol in the fuel then don't use fuel that has been sitting. In the UK it is better (no alcohol), so it is pretty safe to use mix that has been sitting for a few months.

3) Basic checking. Once in a while, clean out the airfilter. Wipe the saw down and check that everything is tight. Make sure your chain is not slack. Adjust the chain cold - if you adjust hot, it will shrink as it cools and can snap the crank off.

4) Common sense. If the saw is acting weird, smoking or smelling bad/hot, find out why. Don't keep cutting hoping that it will fix itself.

That's about it.

I second all the above.

Chainsaw maintenance starts with a good operation and after every use a good cleaning. I will be repeating many of the suggestions above but I hope I can make my small contribution. Start operating the saw with a sharp chain, clean air filter and clean saw. When using the saw let it eat through the wood. Learn how to "dance" with the saw, not to fight with it against the wood or yourself fighting against the saw and against the wood! A saw is a piece of precision machinery and should be used as such. When cutting wood, do not force the saw to cut faster or do not operate it full throttle for long periods of time. Learn how to listen and speak to the saw according to levels of difficulty while cutting wood. Engine speeds and saw angle is a must to learn if you do not want destroy your saw fast or tired your self to death! If you feel the saw is heating up switch it of, let it cool down and continue your work later. If the chain starts to dull, replace it immediately.
Every time you refuel mix and bar oil, clean debris around the caps' area with a brush or a cloth.

After use, open the clutch cover and with compressed air or a brush clean all the debris that accumulates there. Clean the air filter. after you close the air filter, blow some compressed air around the saw to avoid gunk build up. Don't forget, sharpen the chain if needed.

Happy cutting

Nice thread i'm kinda noob to this to.

I have a question about cleaning the carb on my MS290, i got the saw about a week now, its new.
So according to the picture NEP posted i should clean the carb monthly?
I just would like to know, once i'm that far, how to start cleaning the carb? Do i have to take the carb apart? And how do i use carb cleaner?
Now i barely even dare to touch the carb lol.
Any good advise will be appreciated.

And after working with it i always clean off the sawdust everywhere (at the clutch cover, the bar, etc ...) and also the airfilter with compressed air.
And i use stihls pre-mixed "Motomix" fuel as recommended by the manual, and always clean the caps before refilling them.

Greetings,

Parotech said:

Nice thread i'm kinda noob to this to.

I have a question about cleaning the carb on my MS290, i got the saw about a week now, its new.
So according to the picture NEP posted i should clean the carb monthly?
I just would like to know, once i'm that far, how to start cleaning the carb? Do i have to take the carb apart? And how do i use carb cleaner?
Now i barely even dare to touch the carb lol.
Any good advise will be appreciated.

Greetings,

Click to expand...

If you have compressed air - use that for cleaning, not just the carb but all the saw. Air filter, Clutch, Clutch cover, Cooling ribs on the jug etc. If you don't have compressed air use a brush like in the picture.

And - No don't take apart the carb for cleaning unless you are repairing some thing.

I have a question about cleaning the carb on my MS290, i got the saw about a week now, its new.
So according to the picture NEP posted i should clean the carb monthly?
I just would like to know, once i'm that far, how to start cleaning the carb? Do i have to take the carb apart? And how do i use carb cleaner?
Now i barely even dare to touch the carb lol.
Any good advise will be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Don't do anything to the carb! Just make sure that you occasionally brush the dust off the outside of the air filter. Compressed air is good, but don't take the filter off then hit the saw with compressed air - that just sends the junk into the engine. IMO that monthly column may be true for a saw used hard every day, but for a typical user would be yearly at most.

rxe said:

Don't do anything to the carb! Just make sure that you occasionally brush the dust off the outside of the air filter. Compressed air is good, but don't take the filter off then hit the saw with compressed air - that just sends the junk into the engine. IMO that monthly column may be true for a saw used hard every day, but for a typical user would be yearly at most.

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Thanks,
we only have compressed air at our workplace, that's where i always clean the clutch area and airfilter. Offcourse i'm very carefull with the compressed air.
At home i just shine up the housing.
And i don't use my saw every day, but did use it a lot last week, even when in to the forest this week in France to cut up some felled trees to load on our big truck, and mostly cut firewood with it

If you have compressed air - use that for cleaning, not just the carb but all the saw. Air filter, Clutch, Clutch cover, Cooling ribs on the jug etc. If you don't have compressed air use a brush like in the picture.

And - No don't take apart the carb for cleaning unless you are repairing some thing.

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the advice

Good thread here. My cronies and I usually have a pre-wood cutting tailgate ritual where we: Drink coffee, discuss our saws, sharpen up, cleanout around the filter and clean the bar, oil holes and bar plates. Check things over generally. When in your shop using compressed air if you take the air filter off....close the choke before hitting the carb with air. Go lightly on the air filter. High pressure air can screw up some filters. Also the bar groove, oil holes and bar plates should be cleaned often especially if you are in dirty wood or wood that produces finer sawdust. I have a habit of cleaning the fuel filter pretty often too......Bob

NEP said:

If you have compressed air - use that for cleaning, not just the carb but all the saw. Air filter, Clutch, Clutch cover, Cooling ribs on the jug etc. If you don't have compressed air use a brush like in the picture.

And - No don't take apart the carb for cleaning unless you are repairing some thing.

Click to expand...

Andy (Lakeside53) used to caution to NOT use compressed air to clean the air filter, as it does damage the fibers and make the filter not funciton properly, even though it looks clean. Tapping it on its side will knock dust off in the field, but it is recommended to use soapy water soak and swish, rinse, and let dry completely (fiber or fleece, not paper element). Paper filters are discarded once tapping doesn't do it any more. Paper is not common, but some aftermarket filters look like car filters and may be paper? Not sure.

But air is not the recommended procedure. That said, I have been known to use 20 psi from the side to peel away an oily dust buildup, but only VERY low pressure. Sorry for the wordy post.

Not to challenge Andy on his home turf, but I have had good luck using air with HD filters, both Stihl and Dolmar. I first take off the felt pre-filter, and blow it out thoroughly from the inside out, then give the main filter a short blast from the inside out, then blow across the outside parallel to the filter surface. I haven't seen evidence yet that this hurts anything, and it does seem to keep things breathing properly.

I would NOT, however, recommend this method for use on flocked filters. They are more fragile and I can definitely see blasting a hole in one with the slightest mishap.