Cherry red exhaust

Fordsoll · Apr 10, 2023

I was milling pine in darkish lighting and I noticed that the exhuast was a very faint red color. I am pretty sure that this muffler is aluminum or stainless steel I was wondering if this is normal for a chainsaw in the dark because on four strokes if the exhaust is glowing then it is running lean. the spark plug does look fine.

Mad Professor · Apr 10, 2023

Never seen that on any engine.

huskihl · Apr 10, 2023

That might be normal, but I would try and increase the size of the exhaust outlet a little bit to let some heat out. Maybe check the spark arrestor screen to see if it is partially clogged.

northmanlogging · Apr 10, 2023

Fordsoll said:
I was milling pine in darkish lighting and I noticed that the exhuast was a very faint red color. I am pretty sure that this muffler is aluminum or stainless steel I was wondering if this is normal for a chainsaw in the dark because on four strokes if the exhaust is glowing then it is running lean. the spark plug does look fine.

in dim lighting its fairly common, though it could also be a sign of running lean, pretty important to keep an eye on that sort of thing when milling with a saw.
good advice is to cut a little and let it idle for a few seconds, heat has a habbit of building up after awhile. the short stints of idling cool the saw off in a hurry though, and run yer saws a touch rich whenever milling.

northmanlogging · Apr 10, 2023

Mad Professor said:
Never seen that on any engine.

push any engine hard enough the exhaust will glow a little bit, though usually its cooled off by the time folks pop the hood and peak in.
engine exhaust temp gauges go up to 1400 deg, and its pretty easy to cruise a large diesel at just under 900, (over that is bad mm kay) Steel starts to glow at 800 F,

northmanlogging · Apr 11, 2023

This would be crazy extreme... especially for a briggs lol, but I'm guessing this one was caused by a blocked muffler, there are lots of examples on the you tubes though.

Fordsoll · Apr 11, 2023

Thanks guys, This morning I did check the spark plug again and it is a good colour and I did tune the saw a hair richer and I do put a little more oil than is needed. This morning I did not notice it at all, It isn't my chainsaw so I am not gonna gut the muffler. It seems to run perfect I just didn't want to accidentally blow this chainsaw engine.