Comparison between Dolmar PS-510 and PS-5105 includes video

[bikesandcars]

Long story short, I ended up with a new 2012 PS-510 and a new 2009 PS-5105 sitting on my workbench.

Because I've gotten a ton of info and value from this site, I decided to do a comparison before I sold the "loser"

Here is the youtube Video including a "baseline" Poulan for comparison :
Dolmar PS-510 vs PS-5105 - YouTube

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0KAqX4CbSfk?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Long story short, they are both great saws but the 5105 in the current pricing scheme is too good of a value to pass-up. For what I paid for both I would take the 5105 any day of the week. The 5105 is much more eager and it really wants to get into and get through the wood.

The 510 is a great quality saw, I've never owned a husky or stihl "homeowner" saw to compare it to. For what it's worth for 12" pine the 510 was about as quick as the 5105, so if you are cutting softer wood or not burying the bar (and keeping rpm up) either saw will likely work fine.


Some other notes not in the video and my review:
I bet both Dolmar's would respond well to a muffler mod and some tuning, but I didn't do that and ran them stock for the test.

The weight isn't as big a deal as I thought it would be, full of fuel and oil I couldn't tell much difference. I'm used to a lighter 40cc saw, so both of these saws felt heavy to me... the 5105 was slightly more nimble.. advantage 5105.

The quick acceleration of the 5105 was nice for limbing (not in the video), but both did great.

The "easy start" or whatever it's called doesn't matter. The 5105 starts easy anyway without it. I actually favored the 5105 because the spring in the newer 510 gives the starter a mushy feeling and it feels awkward to start while standing. The 5105 is tougher but more linear, so it's easier to pull while standing. The 510 is nicer to pull while on the ground.

Summary:

If you catch a great deal on a PS-510 (say 300 dollar range) it's a great bargain. The PS-5105 is a great barain anything south of $599... I got my 2009 for mid $400's. Can't wait until I get it broken in and opened up.

 

[FastGame]

Nice saw and you do a nice job making video....

 

[Dan_in_WI]

You can adjust or remove the limiters to tune the 5105 better. If you don't want to mess with this yourself take it to a dealer for tuning and have him adjust the limiters.

 

[tallguys]

Congrats on getting a great saw! In reality the 510 would've served you well as it's all the saw most firewood cutters need.

Then again what we need and what we want is a whole other matter.

 

[ancy]

It's easy to pull the limiters tune and replace them centered. Mine does good at 13,800rpm, little doggy at first till she is warmed up then stand back. Remember the biggest mod on a saw is the chain, keep it sharp!

 

[bikesandcars]

Based on above comments I'll elaborate a little more on tuning differences:

The ps-510 came with a set mixture out of the box, epoxied with no adjustment. It does however "four-stroke" better to my ears... not that there isn't room for improvement, I just don't know because I never took the final step of burning the epoxy out to play with the mixture. Plus with the stock muffler, I figured there isn't much to gain.... Negative to Dolmar for epoxied screws, Kudo's to Dolmar for getting the mixture right out of the box with my east coast ethanol fuel.

The PS-5105, since it is a 2009 model, has the mixture stops and doesn't appear to have a rev limiter. I richened H and L fully for break-in, then I hooked up my tach (with sucks by the way) and was reading 14,300 out of the box after a warmup. My tach sucked so bad I couldn't tell the difference in RPM by adjusting the mixture, I couldn't hear any difference full rich to full lean (within the H stops). I couldn't feel any substantial difference in acceleration from lean to rich adjusting either H or L. I decided to leave them full rich for a couple more tanks of fuel to be conservative (and until I get a better tach). Later in the day after a little more use the 5105 (when warmed up) seemed to be 4-stroking better...

Because it revs so much I really hated winding the new 5105 out to check the mixture.... i get that same feeling when I dyno a car I worked on... please baby hold together....

I tried tuning the 5105 in the wood but the adjustments did not improve the power... which makes me believe that either the 5105 at full H rich is perfect, or that there might be more to gain.... likely number 2. At full rich running through 2 tanks the exhaust was clean and the plug looked perfect.

My opinion is that the 2012 PS-510 with the epoxied settings is tuned slightly better than the PS-5105. The 510 with the epoxied settings 4-strokes well and is torquey in the wood... for the common guy that doesn't want a muffler mod it's a great setup.

air filter adder:
The air filter on the ps-510 (small opening nylon) is lower restriction than the felt (I blew threw them to see). The small opening filter left a very very small grainy residue in the filter itself. I think since a 2-stroke not only burns but also lubricates bearings with the 2-stroke fuel/air mixture that a better filter is worth small potential power loss for a woods saw.. with the stock muffler it probably makes no difference.

Regarding chains... totally agree... all chains used in the comparison were new.. the ps-510 came with what appeared to me to be a full chisel chain without what i call safety risers in the non-cutting links. The 5105 came with what appears to be a chisel chain with safety risers. I had a non-safety full chisel chain I mounted on the 5105 inbetween cutting and it didn't cut noticably faster.

 

[ancy]

The plastic limiters will pop right off the screws and you can richen the H a little more, then pop them back on centered. I would tune the saw right at 13,800rpm, at least that's my saws sweet spot, I have a 5100.

 

[bikesandcars]

The plastic limiters will pop right off the screws and you can richen the H a little more, then pop them back on centered. I would tune the saw right at 13,800rpm, at least that's my saws sweet spot, I have a 5100.

Thanks! I'll try that out when I get my updated tach.

I think I have some sort of addiction going

 

[Termite]

The plastic limiters will pop right off the screws and you can richen the H a little more, then pop them back on centered. I would tune the saw right at 13,800rpm, at least that's my saws sweet spot, I have a 5100.

I agree 13,800 is about wright. Does either have a cat in the muffler if so that is a big limiter of power.

Nice demonstration, Bike

 

[ancy]

Here's my carb and they just pop off. Pull the black rubber boot out, pop the white retaining clips to the front and back, and then the red and white limiter caps should pop off and out. Key is to center them when you put them back on as you will need to adjust some after and during break in.

If you think you have it bad with just the 5105 wait till you run a 6400/7900

View attachment 263035View attachment 263036View attachment 263038

 

[Termite]

Here's my carb and they just pop off. Pull the black rubber boot out, pop the white retaining clips to the front and back, and then the red and white limiter caps should pop off and out. Key is to center them when you put them back on as you will need to adjust some after and during break in.

If you think you have it bad with just the 5105 wait till you run a 6400/7900

View attachment 263031
View attachment 263029View attachment 263030

That green and black has grown on me.

 

[bikesandcars]

I agree 13,800 is about wright. Does either have a cat in the muffler if so that is a big limiter of power.

Nice demonstration, Bike

Yes they still have the CAT. I will probably eventually do a muffler mod and then tune. I'm going to try tuning with the stock muffler first to see how that works.

The pictures for the mixture adjust didn't come through, I can't view them.

 

[ancy]

Yes they still have the CAT. I will probably eventually do a muffler mod and then tune. I'm going to try tuning with the stock muffler first to see how that works.

The pictures for the mixture adjust didn't come through, I can't view them.

Now??

 

[tallguys]

Now??

Worse. Still cannot see the carb photos and now that sweet 6401 photo doesn't work.

 

[ancy]

Last time!

Funny thing is they all come up for me!

View attachment 263040View attachment 263041View attachment 263042

 

[tallguys]

Funny thing is they all come up for me!

Now you've got it! :msp_smile:

 

[Tree Feller]

I'm not sure what Dolmar did to the new 510's but mind runs alot better than the one you have shown. It's a 2009 w/out a cat muff and i can adjust the carb. I would say mine 510 runns a lot closer to the 5105 than the new ones. makes me glad I got it when i did!!! Good work putting this togeather. Both great saws but it's clear by your vid the 5105 has the upper hand.

 

[bikesandcars]

I'm not sure what Dolmar did to the new 510's but mind runs alot better than the one you have shown. It's a 2009 w/out a cat muff and i can adjust the carb. I would say mine 510 runns a lot closer to the 5105 than the new ones. makes me glad I got it when i did!!! Good work putting this togeather. Both great saws but it's clear by your vid the 5105 has the upper hand.

I think they both run great, I wasn't trying to give the impression that the 510 was weak.. just that it isn't as racy as the 5105 out of the box, all other things equal. I trust your model does run better, but to do a comparison we'd need an equally broken in 5105 without a cat... unfortunately I ran out of Dolmars

I'm sure both will get stronger, and both would respond well to a less restrictive muffler mod and tuning. If I had a landscape business or it was my buddy's saw I"d mod both and see what happens, but since I want to sell the 510 and not lose my shirt I need to keep it as it came.

what I found the strangest was the Poulan comparison, I wasn't going to include it but I wanted everyone to see how much a little tuning can wake up a less powerful but broken in saw....

It's not a big leap of faith to imagine that if a modded Poulan 2600 can tie a new 5105 through a piece of wood, a broken in and modded ps-510 with 10 more cc and better construction could out-do a stock 5105.

 

[7sleeper]

Nice comparison! But as you said a lot of uncertainties here. Both saws not broken in, not correct carb settings, not same bar&chain, etc. but still very nice! As a few have mentioned here see to it to get the most out of your investment.

7

 

[bikesandcars]

Nice comparison! But as you said a lot of uncertainties here. Both saws not broken in, not correct carb settings, not same bar&chain, etc. but still very nice! As a few have mentioned here see to it to get the most out of your investment.

7

I think the comparison I did took as many uncertainties as possible out of the equation. There are certainly variables but as it stands that's how they stack up out of the box, which is how 90% of folks probably run them. I switched chains from the stock dolmar 5105 to a oregon full chisel and didn't see a noticable difference in cutting speed, so I don't think that impacted the test, all chains used were new and sharp.