Can you take a minute to help out a novice chainsaw enthusiast?

[hjmunson]

Howdy,
Hope you can take a minute to help out a novice chainsaw enthusiast. After moving to a small country place a couple of years ago I've somehow managed to collect 5 chainsaws. Seems everyone I know who had a old/unused saw decided to give it to me. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth but some work, others only marginally. I'm wondering which ones I should mothball and which I should keep. Here's what I have and a little synopsis of condition.

Poulan Super 250A 16" bar: Free from dump. Didn't run but could see fuel line was cracked. Had small engine repair guy replace and tune. Ran fine on delivery. First hard day of work saw got hot, bogged down, stupidly re-stared, overheated and would never run properly again. Played around with mixture would run but I never got it to run well again. No idea what's wrong with it.

Husqvarna 51, 18" bar: Bought on ebay. On delivery from ebay, it started on first pull. Would never start again and started leaking fuel. Had small engine repair guy inspect and fix. Said diaphragm was busted. Ran fine on delivery from repair guy. First day of work, ran super nice with new chain and bar. Ran great for about 30 minutes, then started to get hot. Bogged down, I once again stupidly restarted and seemed to overheat and would never run again. Play around with mixture but Never got it to start again... this one really bummed me out - I never did a lot of troubleshooting on it because shortly after it failed my uncle retired from farming and gave me:

Jonsered 52e 18" bar (i think..., no model number but pictures I've found online look identical): This saw starts right up every time. In really nice shape. Was only used on the farm once in awhile so in fine shape. It's old - i'm pretty sure from the late 70's. No chain brake. It needs to be tuned up. It doesn't seem to reach a very high RPM and bogs down. Maybe I'm wrong - do these older saws just run at a lower RPM. Saw cuts fine just not as fast as the following:

Husqvarna 142e, 16" bar: Nice saw - didn't see much use. Runs great. Original muffler failed and just replaced with a non-cat muffler.

Then my other uncle upgraded to a Stihl and gave me his:
Poulan 3450, 18" bar: Hardly ever used but runs Only OK, sort of starts hard, likes to quit when you set it down on the ground. Chain seems to loosen up more often than on others. Doesn’t' seem like a very high quality saw.

Well if you have a minute - How do you think I ruined the Super 259A and Husky 51? Which saws are keepers and which should I mothball?
Thanks,
Muns

 

[cberry121]

first thing that comes to mind is improper fuel/oil mix. What are you mixing for a ratio?

 

[homelitejim]

you are running your saws too lean, I bet if you pulled your mufflers there would be scoring on the piston.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

Keep them all and fix them. It will be fun for you then you'll just need to get 5 MORE to fix...:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[shawn022]

You need a new small engine guy.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I never really thought about fixing a saw, I just went out and bought another (or several more, depending on the deal). I agree with the others, sounds like the saws are leaning out. The Super 250 is a good saw and the Husky would certainly warrant repair as well. As has been mentioned, pull your mufflers and look for scoring (vertical stripes) on the piston as you rotate the crankshaft over.

 

[hjmunson]

Ha! Good replies.
50:1 for the husky. The poulan was some odd ball mixture I don't recall (32:1?). Geez I hope the 50:1 mix is OK. I've been using this mix in the husky 142e, jonsered 52e, and the poulan 3450. They all are running fine with the same mixture I overheated the husky 51 on. I may have screwed up the mix on the poulan 250a tho.

 

[cberry121]

i think the poulan 250a is a 40:1 mix, not 100% sure though, but if you used a 50:1 in it i dont think it would have overheated that fast, if at all. my dad ran an old mcculloch on 50:1 for years when it called for 40:1

 

[FATGUY]

4 tips for whatever chainsaw you use or keep;
1. Make sure your carb is set properly. If you have not tuned a saw, find someone to show you. (Learn how to listen to the saw)
2. Use only fresh gas mixed with a quality synthetic oil.
3. Keep your chain sharp. Learn how to tell when it needs to be sharpened. Dull chains are the demise of a lot of saws, (fine dust can be ingested by the engine and the extra work it has to do to cut can over heat it)
4. Check and clean your air filter.

 

[Eccentric]

Two things.

First one is minor......That Poulan is a S25DA (as in Super 25 Deluxe Automatic). The script on the flywheel cover makes people mistakenly think it's "S250A" instead of "S 25 DA". Happens all the time on ebay and CL (and here on AS). Not a big deal, but having the right model # helps when looking for parts....


Second one is major. As others have stated, you're running your saws way too lean (and your 'small engine guy' probably set 'em way too lean). Not talking about your gas/oil mix. Talking about the carburetor adjustments. People incorrectly tune these two strokes for the 'cleanest', highest RPM's they can get when the saw's running wide open out of the cut (no load). This is WRONG and will cause the engine to lean out, bog down, and overheat in the cut. Doesn't take long at all to do damage.

What you should instead do is tune the engine so that it burbles (AKA 'four strokes') at WOT out of the cut. When tuned right, you'll hear it just 'clean up' when under load in the cut. Whenever the load lessens (as in when you lift cutting pressure on the saw), the saw will 'drop back' to 'four stroking'. Make sure the saw's well warmed up before tuning it.

 

[sawfun9]

That 52e Jonsereds should cut well with that small bar. I have a buddy with a 24" bar and full comp and it cuts extremely well. It is a bunch slower rpm wise than the newer saws, but it has way way more torque than my MM026 or NE346. In fact I should have fun it against the Poulan 3700 I had since I think it would have been close. That 62 will have torque more akin to a 60cc saw.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Nothing new to add really but that I was talking to my saw shop a few weeks ago and this was his opinion.
He told me that if 100 saws came in with engine failure 50 would have been caused by improper mix or (straight gassed) .And the other 50 were caused by running the saw dull. The advice these guys have given is right on the money. I tend to run my saws a little richer than called for instead of 2.5 gallons of gas I use 2 gallons.They may smoke slightly more and every so often I clean a plug.But I've been running the same Partner since 1984.
Find a saw shop that has been in buisness for 20 years or so and is reccomended by other farmers in your area, and ask them to teach you about tuning your saw.

 

[redunshee]

Two things.

First one is minor......That Poulan is a S25DA (as in Super 25 Deluxe Automatic). The script on the flywheel cover makes people mistakenly think it's "S250A" instead of "S 25 DA". Happens all the time on ebay and CL (and here on AS). Not a big deal, but having the right model # helps when looking for parts....


Second one is major. As others have stated, you're running your saws way too lean (and your 'small engine guy' probably set 'em way too lean). Not talking about your gas/oil mix. Talking about the carburetor adjustments. People incorrectly tune these two strokes for the 'cleanest', highest RPM's they can get when the saw's running wide open out of the cut (no load). This is WRONG and will cause the engine to lean out, bog down, and overheat in the cut. Doesn't take long at all to do damage.

What you should instead do is tune the engine so that it burbles (AKA 'four strokes') at WOT out of the cut. When tuned right, you'll hear it just 'clean up' when under load in the cut. Whenever the load lessens (as in when you lift cutting pressure on the saw), the saw will 'drop back' to 'four stroking'. Make sure the saw's well warmed up before tuning it.

Couldn't have said it better myself, so I didn't. Right on!
Bob

 

[nmurph]

...I tend to run my saws a little richer than called for instead of 2.5 gallons of gas I use 2 gallons...

Jeff, I agree with the idea of your repair shop and I would add cracked lines in the mix.

You are mixing terminology when you say you are running your saws richer bc you are running more oil. You are actually leaning the saw out when you do this. It is not necessarily a bad thing (though not needed assuming you are running synthetic oil), but it needs to be accounted for in tuning your saws. Running richer would be increasing the amount of gasoline in the air/fuel ratio.

 

[hjmunson]

Thanks a lot for all the help. Great advice. I'll pull the mufflers on the S 25 DA and Husky 51 and see how bad I scored the pistons. I'd like to get the 51 working again since I bought a new bar and chain for it before I burned it up. I'm already upside down on that deal so I should probably just park it tho...
I'll also do a lot more reading on tuning the saw and get the proper tools for carb adjustments.
Much appreciated,
H. Muns

 

[Gologit]

Two things.

First one is minor......That Poulan is a S25DA (as in Super 25 Deluxe Automatic). The script on the flywheel cover makes people mistakenly think it's "S250A" instead of "S 25 DA". Happens all the time on ebay and CL (and here on AS). Not a big deal, but having the right model # helps when looking for parts....


Second one is major. As others have stated, you're running your saws way too lean (and your 'small engine guy' probably set 'em way too lean). Not talking about your gas/oil mix. Talking about the carburetor adjustments. People incorrectly tune these two strokes for the 'cleanest', highest RPM's they can get when the saw's running wide open out of the cut (no load). This is WRONG and will cause the engine to lean out, bog down, and overheat in the cut. Doesn't take long at all to do damage.

What you should instead do is tune the engine so that it burbles (AKA 'four strokes') at WOT out of the cut. When tuned right, you'll hear it just 'clean up' when under load in the cut. Whenever the load lessens (as in when you lift cutting pressure on the saw), the saw will 'drop back' to 'four stroking'. Make sure the saw's well warmed up before tuning it.

Well said.

 

[Eccentric]

Jeff, I agree with the idea of your repair shop and I would add cracked lines in the mix.

You are mixing terminology when you say you are running your saws richer bc you are running more oil. You are actually leaning the saw out when you do this. It is not necessarily a bad thing (though not needed assuming you are running synthetic oil), but it needs to be accounted for in tuning your saws. Running richer would be increasing the amount of gasoline in the air/fuel ratio.

Yep. Rich/lean ONLY refers to the GASOLINE/AIR ratio. More oil in the gasoline/oil mix (FUEL) means less GASOLINE for a given volume of FUEL. If your carburetor mixes the FUEL with AIR at the same ratio as before, you'll effectively have a leaner GASOLINE/AIR ratio. Sound confusing? This is why I refuse to use "rich" and "lean" (or "richer" and "leaner") in reference to the gasoline/oil mix. I instead use "thicker" and "thinner" (when referencing the gasoline/oil mix ratio) just to keep things straight.

Another factor is that a thicker gas/oil mix is more viscus and flows slower through jets and passages. That means less fuel (gas/oil) will be metered in the carb and mixed with the air than before (at the same carb settings). This will make the engine run leaner still. Switching from 50/1 to 40/1 may not be enough to notice. I have noticed the difference (and the need to retune) when switching an engine from 50/1 to 32/1 (and going the other way) however (especially with motorcycles)...

 

[clayman]

I don't know much about chain saws as for as repair work, but I know that NO saw is worth a crap without a sharp chain. I also know that the Poulan S25 DA is one tough little saw. I have one I bought new more years ago than I care to count. I confess I did not take the best care of it, but it never had a starting problem that a new plug didn't cure - up until the fuel line rotted off. Thanks to this forum I did fix that. I still use it, and with a sharp chain it will keep up with my 346XP NE. I hope you did not ruin it.

 

[hjmunson]

Yeah - me too...
After I probably ruined it and then started to do some research, I read that that saw is highly regarded... I got it free at the dump with a rotten fuel line. Came with 3 decent extra chains too.
After I overheated it I could get it to run and idle but under a load it wanted to quit... little I know this would indicate I must have scored the piston and it has no compression now - right? Dang.

 

[Eccentric]

Probably. DON'T throw it away however.