Snojetter
ArboristSite Member
I bought a new in the box Redmax GZ5000. It's build date is 2018, so it sat dry for some time. I put an 18" VersaCut on it and have run about 3 tanks through it so far…and my gut is telling me I have an oiling problem. The type of cutting has been small trees, 8 to 10 inches so a combination of bucking smaller wood and limbing. For this type of operation, I'm accustomed to seeing 1/2 to 3/4 tank of oil used per tank of fuel. During the first tank, I was cutting up a small 40-ft tall X 8 inch or so hornbeam: dense wood, but not massive. While bucking and limbing it, I noticed my chain was not spinning as freely after a cut. I shut her down and sure enough the bar was hot and the chain was quite tight. I attributed this to having just over tensioned the chain, which is uncharacteristic of me…but OK, I’m not perfect. I loosened the chain and went back to work. It wasn’t long and suddenly my chain was too loose. Hmmm…weird, but I re-tensioned the chain and again found it seemed excessively hot. I took a look at the drive teeth of the chain and it definitely seemed dry. After some more cutting, I monitored the chain and it just seemed hot and dry. So I pulled the side cover, checked the bar’s oiler hole, ran the saw without B&C installed and it indeed is spitting out oil. I decided to swap bars just for kicks with what I had on a 2152 I’d brought along. This seemed to work great! The chain looked oiled and didn’t get too hot. I then put the new VersaCut from the Redmax on my 2152 and it too looked oiled and ran as it should.
What was weird to me was when I went to refill, the fuel tank was nearly empty but the oil tank was practically full! I can’t really estimate volume, but I’d say 2 oz is all it took to refill (the oil level was maybe an inch below the neck). That can’t be right. Every other saw I have in this type of cutting (Stihl 026, Johnny 2150, 2152, 455, 535) will go through at least 1/2 tank of oil. That's why I say my “gut” says this isn’t normal.
Just yesterday, I ran another tank through the Redmax while cutting the top of a large ash that went down. This involved lots of limbing and also quite a number of bucking cuts in 10” and smaller wood. I understand limbing means lots more idling and less oil usage than just buying the bar in wood for an entire tank. When I finished this job, the bar was not excessively hot BUT this time it looked quite dry (minimal oil on the chain). There was oil present, but it wasn’t as “wet” looking as I’m used to seeing (I do understand the chain doesn't need to be wet to be properly oiled; I'm just saying visually it doesn't look like what I'm used to seeing). Opening the oil reservoir I found once again that the level was just an inch or so low so very minimal oil needed to replenish the tank to a nearly full tank of fuel.
For anybody with experience with this family of saw, what are you seeing for oil consumption per tank of fuel? I haven’t put the VersaCut back on yet but that first experience with it running hot had me concerned. Oh, I have the oiler cranked up to the highest setting…and yes, I did double check that it was turned “up” not accidently turned “down.” Is there a way to gauge oiler output other than looking at the B&C? Can an oiler just be “weak” even though the saw is brand new (though 4 years old by the build date)? This doesn’t seem normal to me, so could use some help in figuring out what’s going on if I have a problem.
What was weird to me was when I went to refill, the fuel tank was nearly empty but the oil tank was practically full! I can’t really estimate volume, but I’d say 2 oz is all it took to refill (the oil level was maybe an inch below the neck). That can’t be right. Every other saw I have in this type of cutting (Stihl 026, Johnny 2150, 2152, 455, 535) will go through at least 1/2 tank of oil. That's why I say my “gut” says this isn’t normal.
Just yesterday, I ran another tank through the Redmax while cutting the top of a large ash that went down. This involved lots of limbing and also quite a number of bucking cuts in 10” and smaller wood. I understand limbing means lots more idling and less oil usage than just buying the bar in wood for an entire tank. When I finished this job, the bar was not excessively hot BUT this time it looked quite dry (minimal oil on the chain). There was oil present, but it wasn’t as “wet” looking as I’m used to seeing (I do understand the chain doesn't need to be wet to be properly oiled; I'm just saying visually it doesn't look like what I'm used to seeing). Opening the oil reservoir I found once again that the level was just an inch or so low so very minimal oil needed to replenish the tank to a nearly full tank of fuel.
For anybody with experience with this family of saw, what are you seeing for oil consumption per tank of fuel? I haven’t put the VersaCut back on yet but that first experience with it running hot had me concerned. Oh, I have the oiler cranked up to the highest setting…and yes, I did double check that it was turned “up” not accidently turned “down.” Is there a way to gauge oiler output other than looking at the B&C? Can an oiler just be “weak” even though the saw is brand new (though 4 years old by the build date)? This doesn’t seem normal to me, so could use some help in figuring out what’s going on if I have a problem.
