1.5Month Inspection of an NWCS Modded saw.

[NWCS]

here is one of my woods ported saws back in for inspection after about a month and a half in the woods. the saw gets used fairly hard out in the woods of the pacific northwest.

here are some specs on the saw:
Stihl 044 Magnum
Hot Woods Port Big Bore Kit
Dual Port Muffler
Advanced Ignition Timing
Aftermarket Factory Style Wrap Handlebar
GB Pro-top 32" Bar

Fuel: strict diet of prem grade gasoline mixed with Maxima Castor 927

my findings:
after pulling the muffler cover i was amazed at how clean the piston and cylinder are! inside this sucker is pretty darn clean, and with the use of castor oil i did not expect that one. this saw run by its owner has been consistently beating walkers, madsens and woods saw shop modded saws regularly. those saws include both 044 and 046s. over all i am very impressed with the torque, speed and durability of this saw.

below is a picture of how the piston and runs look, no cleaning of any kind has been done to the piston, exhaust port or any of the saw.

the saw itself:

 

[buck futter]

Looks good ben,

What did you do for porting?

Buck

 

[NWCS]

i open the exhaust port up as you can tell and do alot of shaping and opening to the intake port, muffler gets dual ported, the transfer ports get a real good smoothing out, pistons are usually modified but this saw was done before i got that idea. and the cylinders get boost ports. in this saw the boost ports were done by Dean of Washington Hot Saws. if you want to know more or even get a saw done just drop me a line

 

[Diesel JD]

Looking good...but I have a question...when you say castor oil...do you mean castor oil as in castor bean oil or a specific petroleum product? At what ratio was it mixed with the gasoline? Looks good, it's great that so many folks here have good products, I'll keep you in mind if I ever wanta good saw modded beyond my capapbilites. Later,
J.D.

 

[TimberPig]

Looking good...but I have a question...when you say castor oil...do you mean castor oil as in castor bean oil or a specific petroleum product? At what ratio was it mixed with the gasoline? Looks good, it's great that so many folks here have good products, I'll keep you in mind if I ever wanta good saw modded beyond my capapbilites. Later,
J.D.

Yes it is castor bean oil. It is well known for providing excellent protection for hard running, but is also known for burning dirty. Motocross racers who work their bikes hard frequently use it, but they also tend to tear their bikes down frequently, so the dirty residues it leaves aren't a major problem for them.

For less aggressive riders, who don't tear their bikes down as frequently, synthetic mix oils tend to be preferred for their cleaner burning capabilities.


Just curious as to why he chose the castor oil for a work saw, instead of a high quality synthetic that is less likely to leave as many deposits behind? The protection is similar between the two types of oil from what I know. I am surprised as you are that it isn't much dirtier inside for having been running on castor oil.

 

[whatsnext]

Yes it is castor bean oil. It is well known for providing excellent protection for hard running, but is also known for burning dirty. Motocross racers who work their bikes hard frequently use it, but they also tend to tear their bikes down frequently, so the dirty residues it leaves aren't a major problem for them.

For less aggressive riders, who don't tear their bikes down as frequently, synthetic mix oils tend to be preferred for their cleaner burning capabilities.


Just curious as to why he chose the castor oil for a work saw, instead of a high quality synthetic that is less likely to leave as many deposits behind? The protection is similar between the two types of oil from what I know. I am surprised as you are that it isn't much dirtier inside for having been running on castor oil.

First, Maxima 927 is not just 'bean oil'. They claim it's a blend of synthetic castors. I ran gallons of it through my trials bikes over the years and never noticed any more build up in my bikes than in anyone elses and I ran it at 50-1 which is pretty thick in the trials world. Plus the smell is very pleasant which could be a good thing in a woods saw.
John...

 

[Diesel JD]

I was just thinking if you accumulated large amounts of castor bean oil the government might come knocking down your door becaus of "other" things that can be made out of it. Have a good one,
J.D.

 

[TimberPig]

First, Maxima 927 is not just 'bean oil'. They claim it's a blend of synthetic castors. I ran gallons of it through my trials bikes over the years and never noticed any more build up in my bikes than in anyone elses and I ran it at 50-1 which is pretty thick in the trials world. Plus the smell is very pleasant which could be a good thing in a woods saw.
John...

Funny thing there is anyone I know who has run it ran into problems with buildup. How do they make a synthetic castor that burns cleaner than the notoriously dirty castor oil? Heck how do they make a synthetic castor period?

 

[bwalker]

927 is a blend of castor oil and synthetic ester, not a synthetic castor oil. It is fairly dirty compared to modern oils.
In the pic the muffler looks pretty bad. The piston looks fairly clean, but I would be willing to bet its is being run on the rich side and what you are seing is fuel washing. I say this based on the condition of the muffler and the apperance of the exhaust port.
A muffler on a properly tuned saw using a modern oil and a good grade of premium gasoline should look like this.

 

[buck futter]

Mr. Walker,
it is good to see you active in here, some times you are a stickler but your knowledge is welcome and I find it very useful.

Buck

 

[Simonizer]

927 is a blend of castor oil and synthetic ester, not a synthetic castor oil. It is fairly dirty compared to modern oils.
In the pic the muffler looks pretty bad. The piston looks fairly clean, but I would be willing to bet its is being run on the rich side and what you are seing is fuel washing. I say this based on the condition of the muffler and the apperance of the exhaust port.
A muffler on a properly tuned saw using a modern oil and a good grade of premium gasoline should look like this.

Good observation Ben. If you advance the exhaust timing too far you will also get a semi-combusted charge that produces these signatures.

 

[NWCS]

i just got confirmation today that the owner has not even put more than 6 tanks of fuel through the saw.. i think he loves it too much to use it and risk hurting it!

 

[bwalker]

i just got confirmation today that the owner has not even put more than 6 tanks of fuel through the saw.. i think he loves it too much to use it and risk hurting it!

I suspected that based on the condition of the paint on that GB bar. I had a orange one I used daily for three days straight and 75+% of the paint was gone.