Echo CS-306 carb adjustment

[Sgt Wik]

I just bought a cs-306...30.1 cc engine. Now that I found this forum, I'm not confident that I chose a good saw. I need if for light cutting, limbs, branches, less than a cord of firewood per year...stuff like that..(don't realy make much firewood just trying to provide a measure). Anyways, I got the saw. The owners manual suggest that you run 2 tanks of gas through the saw then tune the carb. Instructions are turn the 'H' screw ccw untill the saw runs 12,000 rmp wide open then turn the 'L' screw ccw until you get good throttle response from idle. Instructions go on to set idle speed but I don't think that's my issue.

So I ran the saw on littl stuff for about a week and went to make the adjustments. I was not impressed by the way, with the saws perforance durnig the break-in but I was telling my self that it would run good once I turned it up. So I go to turn it up and find that both settings are already all the way ccw. WOT has studders with a slight miss and does not sound like 12,000 rpm. Backing off on the 'H' didn't seem to help. Saw tends to stall unless wide open on freshly cut Ash logs less than 10' diameter.

Any body have an experience tuning this saw? Is it worth the money to have a shop look at this carb or is this just a tiny saw that's going to run weak?

 

[computeruser]

Welcome to AS!

The little Echos are great saws, I absolutely love them. But they are what they are and 30cc isn't going to do much serious work in larger, hard wood.

I've put tons of time in on the top-handle version of your saw. With a sharp chain and some patience (i.e. don't force it, let it work), it will cut all sorts of stuff, but the chain has to be sharp and you cannot lean on the saw. But understand that it isn't going to be "fast" under any circumstance, it just isn't that big of a saw. If you want a bit more power, try removing the muffler screen and retuning the saw. You'll get a bit more power out of the saw that way, at the expense of a bit more noise and the absense of a spark arresting system.

My general rule has always been that the little Echos only see wood under 6" on the ground. If the wood is larger or if a lot of 6" stuff needs to be cut, that's the job of a 50cc saw.

If you're not happy with how the saw is running, then by all means take it in to the shop and have them make sure it is running as well as it can. That way you'll be able to know for sure that it is giving you as much as it can and if you're still dissatisfied, you can look into getting a larger saw.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Well, seeing as they are already CCW, try turning them CW.

Seems like the factory set them Rich for break in, now you just have to lean it out for power.

 

[Sgt Wik]

Thanks for the responses. I already tried to lean it out a little but it didn't seem to help...but I'll definalty try that again...after some more break-in.

 

[GitWood]

I would say that based on your usage, the cs-306 will be a pretty good saw. 346 would have had a little more power, but the 306 should do the job and last for a long time.

In order to get the carb adjusted properly, you will almost certainly need to remove/modify the limiter caps on the H and L adjustment screws. Do a search and you should be able to find various methods of doing this. I use a drywall screw with a little of the point ground off to shorten it a tad. It is tricky, because you need to turn the screw into the plastic limiter cap finger tight and then turn the screw CCW to the stop without the drywall screw coming out. Once you have the adjustment turned to the left (CCW) the cap will pull right out. Then grind off the little stop from the cap and put it back on. Again, if you search, you can find other methods of doing this. Once you've done this, you can adjust the carb. Be careful not to get it too lean (too far CW). This can easily ruin the saw from lack of lube and too much heat. When in doubt, you are better off a little too rich (too far CCW). There are also a lot of good threads here on carb adjustment that can help you. There are even links somewhere out here to a site that will let you hear what it should sound like.

If your muffler is like that on the 346, there is a gasket sandwiched with the spark arrestor screen. Remove the deflector and you can cut out a little of it to enlarge the exhaust outlet. Personally, I would leave the screen and just cut the gasket opening about 3/16" lower. If you want to go further, you will have to remove the muffler and remove the catalyst from the muffler inlet side.