Hot Weather Cutting

[My2cents]

Soon enough will be the days when the thermometer reaches 90 degrees. I have always been concerned for my saws while cuting under "hot" conditions. Are there any tricks or tips to keeping a saw running cool in the summer?

 

[Tony Snyder]

I don't have any tips other than the obvious ones about keeping things clean. Buttt when it comes to pro models vs plastic chassis saws; hot weather is where the engineering in a pro model will pay off.

We had a lot more trouble back in the 70s and 80s with saws overheating than we do now. Those with the all metal designs where the heat could soak to the fuel tank and boil fuel; the separate plastic tanks where air can move around them are a big improvement.

If you keep the amature saws out of the heat above about 85 degrees you are better off. I someone is going to come back and say, I do it all the time. I'm not talking about all models, just some of them.

 

[Rotax Robert]

Tony is correct in his statement but I might add that Proper cleaning of the say ie: cooling finns etc of sawdust and oil will help. Also your saw will probably need a slight adjustment on the high jet to get the best performance. other than air your fuel mix is the saws only other cooling mechanism.

And just to stir the pot a little use a summer grade bar oil.

 

[Weatherby]

Well modifying the muffler, opening it up if you havent already will make it run much cooler. I think the rest has been covered. I have done a moderate amount of cutting at around 95* with about 100% humidity and havent experienced any problems with the saws. I was using an 064 and a 257 in those days, with no modification.

 

[oakman]

the above is very good advice indeed. i have alot of used/vintage saws. you can't believe how grungy these things get inside. i have not seen one yet that doesn't have a 1/2 inch of oily sawdust packed in around the flywheel/shroud/fins. i guess its just too much work to pull out a few screws and remove the fan shroud. this should be a part of regular maintenence. the problems start when the oily crud gets baked onto the fins. then it is near impossible to remove. i believe this affects the aluminums ability to dissipate heat. i have even got a few saws from members on this forum, experienced saw guys, with the aforementioned conditions. if you run your saws everyday, you need to take that housing off at the very least once a week and blow all that crap outta there. i use liberal amounts of wd40 to break the crud loose before i blow 'em out. also remove any other shrouds/ housings that will block the crud from being blown out. also make sure the carb is set rich enough. when properly set, it will be burbling, or 4-cycling slightly at full throttle-no load, but will break into 2-cycle when in the cut. the fuel-air mix is the primary cooling on a 2 stroke, air flow over the head/cylinder is secondary. i fly rc aircraft as another hobby and these engines are out in the prop blast, plus some travel through the air at 150 mph, but if they are allowed to get that baked on crud, they begin to run hot, and the associated problems with heat begin to occur. the fuel air mix is critical on these rc engines. one run too lean, to make it go faster, which a lot of new guys do, and bye bye. some use a ring on the piston, just like a saw, but the really high performance engines use whats called ABC design. this refers to a=aluminum piston, with a high silicon content, b=brass cylinder sleeve, c=chrome plated cylinder, although they also use nickel. these engines are designed with a very slight taper towards the top of the cylinder, so as the piston comes up, it gets tighter. some of the racing engines are so tight when new, the piston will actually squeak at the top, and they are very hard to turn over till they get broke in. i still don't know how they can survive at 20,000 plus rpm's like this, but if properly broken in and maintained, they can have a very long life. ok, i've rambled on enough. moral- keep it clean, tuned, learn to recognize lean/rich running conditions, if it don't sound right stop, use fresh, quality fuel mix, razor sharp chain, and your saw will be there for the long haul.

 

[mikey]

All the above is very good.The one thing that I benefit from when the summer heat is on,is start work as early as possible, try to finnish before say,2pm.I had more trouble with my body running hot than my saws.

 

[treeclimber165]

One other thing to do that I haven't seen mentioned. Perhaps it is common sense and everyone already knows (except most of the groundmen I work with): When you have several saws on a job, keep the ones you are not using in the shade. Down here in FL a saw can cook sitting in the full sun and the fuel will vapor lock without even running the saw. Then when you go to start it you can't without going through lots of playing with the choke. The saw (and fuel) will be 30*-40* cooler if kept in the shade.

 

[Weatherby]

165 makes a good point about keeping your saws in the shade, not only is the gas cooler but so is the bar and chain. While not that big of a deal, the cooler we can keep the chain the better. One more thing is the color in the plastic wont fade as fast when saws are kept in the shade.

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

Brian that is a very good tip I never really gave too much thought about it but I will definetly keep 'em in the shade when summer decides to come back around.Thanks


Later Rob.

 

[bwalker]

Oakman,Oven cleaner will remove even the most baked on grease and grime. Be carful about rinsing it right away and keeping it away from other surfaces.

 

[Crofter]

BW; I think the oven cleaner might be a problem around aluminum castings. Some of it is not much more than common lye. Bubble bubble, fizz fizz, where the heck my saw is!

Frank

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

I have found "Brakekleen" or Carburetor clener works the best for me..

Later Rob.

 

[oakman]

bwalker, yes i know about oven cleaner. been using it for years. it will discolor aluminum, and you must neutralize it after using it. however i have had numerous saws where the crud was so baked on, even that won't take it off without alot of hard scrubbing with a wire brush/ scotch brite, or what have you. when it is down in deep in the fins, it is very difficult to get off. in these cases, i will completely disassemble the saw down to the bare block, and blast it off with some type of blasting media, but not sand. i've had good luck with plastic granules, and ground walnut shells, although these medias are kinda pricey. have had some success with particle board sawdust off my table saw, made with a coarse ripping blade, but it takes awhile to make enough to do alot of blasting. i absolutely hate particle board anyway. much easier to not let it get baked on in the first place. i've never seen it(oven cleaner) really do any damage to aluminum, however if left on long enough i believe it would begin to etch it. another product that works very well is aircraft paint stripper. this stuff will usually remove crud better than oven cleaner, but it is expensive, and if it gets on you, you will run like hello to the nearest source of cold water. it is wicked stuff. in fact there are several companies selling this stuff in little 2oz. cans as engine cleaner for rc aircraft engines, at a greatly inflated price. for you milling guys, oven cleaner is fantastic for cleaning pitch off of bars and chain. i take the chain off, blast it down with the cleaner, and wrap it in a garbage sack overnite. in the morning hose it off with water, and that chain will be as clean as new, then i dip the chain in motor oil, or if i'm in a hurry soak it with wd40. brake or carb cleaner is fine if the crud hasn't been baked on for a period of time, but it won't touch it if the saw has never had the block cleaned. as i said before, when you pull the fan shroud off, soak everything with wd40, let sit a few, then blast it off with air. doing this on a regular basis will prevent the stuff from baking on, and you saw will love you for it. heck, you don't wanna sleep with a dirty old saw, do ya?

 

[Grateful11]

There's some other cleaners out there like Purple Power and others that are similarly named used to say "Not to be used on Aluminum". Not sure if they're saying painted or bare. It's the only thing I've found that does a good job of cleaning the black and green grime off of white aluminum guttering.
Grateful

 

[bwalker]

i've never seen it(oven cleaner) really do any damage to aluminum, however if left on long enough i believe it would begin to etch it.

I have had the same expiereance.

 

[My2cents]

I am always tinkering with cleaners, I found a good one targeted for table saw blades, It is called "pitch away" I works great even on burnt on pitch/wood. I found it at woodworkers. The most valuable tool in my shop still is the air compressor. I blew all the dust and $hit out of my computer last night.What a cloud! It looked like something was on fire!

 

[dozerdan]

Large Cloud

I blew out the coils in my refrigerator one time,I also had that large cloud.The only problem was that I still had the unit in the kitchen,what a mess,I was in the dog house for that one.
Here is a link so some people cant say that we are not talking about saws.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20538&item=2309733288

Later
Dan

 

[oakman]

lmao, you guys are great. i too blow out my cpu every so often. just don't use too much pressure. i also pulled the refrigerator trick. my big black lab got a nose full of the stuff, and almost sneezed herself to death. course i had to have my computer running, so it all went over there and got sucked in. i got a young neighbor guy who thinks he is or wants to be a mechanic. he says he don't need an air compressor. i tell him he's outta his mind. i got a 80 gallon CH with a v4 pump on it, and every air tool known to man, including an air hoist and 2 air floor jacks for truck work. if i didn't, i wouldn't do any mechanic work. this guy even went to the local ace where they rent tools, and told the manager(who happens to be a friend of mine), that he was a small engine mech. and conned them into letting him take a couple of their husky saws home for maintainence. the first day he comes down with a little list of what he's done, and asks me how much to charge 'em. here basically is what it said:
1- cleaned saw
2-tuned saw
3-adjusted chain
4-repaired fan housing
5-checked gas and oil

now here it is translated, according to the answers he gave me:
1-wiped it off with a rag
2-looked at spark plug
3-did nothing, just wanted a longer list
4-replaced a screw which he got from me
5-filled fuel tank with last years gas he got from his lawn tractor, and bar oil tank with gear oil, which he got from me again.

dumbfounded, i told him a hundred bucks was fair!(hoping the manager would see the scam). the saw seized up the first time they rented it out, a husky 51. so guess what? they gave it back to him again. now it is sitting on his bench, amongst a mountain of junk, all tore down. man, i should go down and have the manager swing by and peek into his "shop".