adjusting oil delivery

[che]

The saws I've used in the past would run out of gas before they'd run out of bar oil. Just. I would always top up with oil every time I fueled up. Made it pretty easy.

BUT....this new Shindaiwa's oil is being used at a different rate. There is fuel left when it's time to add oil. I KNOW this is not a good situation for the saw....I would hate to run it dry.

The last time I took it out, I held it up to the butt of a fallen tree and ran it. It didn't seem to be as much as my little Jonsered did...but it did leave a pattern of oil....but it's a different saw, different bar, different type/gauge chain etc.

My question: The manual tells me how to adjust the oil delivery, easy enough. But, how to you gauge how much is enough?? Any 'rules of thumb'?

Thanks!

Che

 

[treeclimber165]

I like lots of oil on the chain, but I also don't want to run out of oil while the saw still has fuel. Since I cut a lot of hardwoods, I keep mine turned just about all the way up. I can still get the chain hot and dry on lots of big cuts, especially on dead wood.

Most oil adjustment screws have about a quarter turn of adjustment, but they can be very sensitive. My experience has been that there is usually about 1/8 turn or less between 'full splatter' and 'dry as a bone'. If I can get mine set to where the chain stays 'wet' and I don't run out of oil before I run out of fuel, then I leave it there. My lil Echo 3400 blows oil all over the place, but if I try to turn it down a tad it hardly oils at all. So my climbing saw stays oily.

 

[ricksvar]

Trial and error,slight adjustment in the appropriate direction,use a tank of fuel cutting(occasionally checking bar oil level to make sure you don't run dry).If necessary make another slight adjustment,run another tank of fuel etc.

 

[bwalker]

ON my Stisl I have always just maxed the adjuster out and I have never ran dry before a tank.

 

[treeclimber165]

Not the problem in THIS case, but I've seen many saws with insufficient oil flow. 90% of the time it is caused by sawdust/chips in the tank that have clogged the pickup screen. On any saw with low oil flow, the first thing to do is to trace the path of oil flow and find any obstructions. I have an old 025 that has a plastic elbow inline between the tank and bar, it was packed solid with sawdust. Oil flow was great after I cleaned it out.

On Stihls, I agree with Ben. Max them out.

 

[JimL]

I got all 7 of my 066's cranked to the hilt.

My 038 is too but it doesn't get enough i feel.

Need to go through the pump, rest is new on it.,

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Hey Che !!!

I assume this oil flow problem is on your recently purchased 488. Not to worry. I have the same problem on both of my 488's. Oil runs out before fuel runs out. On mine this occurs when the adjustment is on the max setting. I called Shindaiwa on this one. It was explained to me that the oil pump on the 488 is off of a bigger saw that Shindaiwa makes. This oil pump moves more oil. Unfortunately, the oil tank wasn't made larger to accommodate the larger pump. I run mine on the #2 setting. This gives me oil slinging off of the tip of the bar and both tanks run out about the same time. Hope this helps.

 

[Sethro]

Send your oil pump to Ken Dun,it will piss oil like myself after 2 bottles of Paul Masson's(Rhine Wine),off the deck at 3:00 Seth
Don't eat yellow snow

 

[geofore]

oil delivery

To conserve water people were told to put a brick in the water tank of their toilet. Taking this idea and converting it to your Shindaiwa, drop a large ball bearing into the gas tank to displace the gas you don't need and your gas and oil should run out at the same time. The float out of an old lawnmower would work as well but it might not fit in the opening of the gas tank. I don't think a brick would fit either, come to think of it.

 

[tony marks]

i like the ballbearing idea. thatll make anybody wonder, that handles u saw an hears that thing rattling around.
i can see it now. she must have this thang souped up er somethin .
by the way for u younguns . souped up was the term used in the 50s when they were power tuning their 56 fords an 57 chevys . i was just a small kid but that itercepter motor in the 56 ford had some good top end. ps i wasnt driving.

 

[dozerdan]

Che
You should be able to adjust the oiler until you some oil is left in the tank,when you run out of fuel.
Interesting alternative with the ball bearing,marbles might work and would be a little cheaper and probably easier to locate.
I can help you out with some large ball bearing but not any marbles,I lost mine a long time ago.LOL
Later
Dan

 

[che]

Chainsaws 101, part two.

You all are such wonderful teachers. Thank-you!!!!

I've got to supervise my daughter in the kitchen in a few minutes....I'm passing the torch onto her in the annual pumpkin pie bake....need to make sure she upholds my good reputation so I have to make this short:

I will take it out...adjust very slowly, just a nudge at a time....and keep on eye on the oil and gas levels. I'm really, REALLY hoping that I can get them to end at the same time and still have enough oil on the bar/chain....if not...rather than considering the marble thing (although unless I'm missing something and you all are pulling my leg...I can't see why it wouldn't work! I have some great 1" marbles around here...they're my kids'....like Tony, I lost mine long ago)...I will possibly simply make it a habit to run only a partial tank of gas at a time. I would not want to rely on my discipline to 'stop and check' when I'm cutting....I have too much fun and probably wouldn't remember. Big oops.

I'll get out there when all this 'turkey-ing' is done and try it out. I'll also put this new air filter on. (VERY depressing, the new casing is HUGE...I don't even want to think about it.) Rich, are there more 488 eccentricities I need to know about? Seems like you've encountered them all.

Thanks again and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Che

 

[jsikkema1]

What oil are you using ??
That can have a big impact on the pumpability (I know thats not a word- lol)
But if you are using anything less viscous then you will pump it out faster...

 

[don]

I got some loose marbles

I got a bag of them from Kmart for about a buck.

 

[treeclimber165]

All you guys with (and without) marbles-

Don't you think it might be easier to simply adjust the oiler pump adjustment screw??

 

[geofore]

marbles

The marble's for those in a hurry to get cutting, an easy fix if you don't have the time for the adjustment screw or the screw just does not work.

 

[che]

I'm pretty sure that's all I'll have to do. I went out today, adjusted it slightly and could tell a difference. It'll take me a bit to get it exact, but by the looks of it....it should only take a couple more adjustments.

Back to my original question though....how do I tell how much is enough?

I'm assuming that as long as it sprays a bit of oil if I run it near a vertical piece of wood ~and~ I can see a bit of oil on the chain if I pull it out from the bar then everything is as it should be. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I do have a problem with this new saw though...it went through the bigger wood (hedge, of course) so easy that I found myself cutting the biggest I could find. That would be ok except for the fact that I had to leave half of it in the woods cuz it was killing my back carrying it to the trailer!

I think this new saw and I are going to get along JUST FINE!

Thanks again,
Che

PS the pies turned out great!!

 

[treeclimber165]

How to tell if you have enough oil

If the chain gets dry really easy in medium size cuts, time to bump it up. Most saws seem to have the tank size calibrated so that 3/4 tank of oil to 1 tank of gas is about right for most cutting situations. As dry and hard as Hedge is, I'd keep the oil turned up fairly high, just so long as you don't run out before you run out of fuel.
Once you get it set, forget it.

 

[don]

oil hole on the bar

Does the oil hole on the bar act as an orifice?

If the oil hole on the bar act as an orifice will drilling it larger cause more oil flow to the chain?

A previous frum user says it does on a Stihl saw.

 

[geofore]

Marbles again

Geez, will not find out how many marbles it takes to fix if you use the adjusment screw. I'll have to give the ballaearings back to the guy working on the dozer.