MS 260 air filter problems.

[rustyb]

My air filter is letting fine crud in so I took it to the dealer that I purchased the saw from and he said my chain was too dull creating fine dust to enter. Mmmmkay,.....I'm no rocket scientist but I would think the filter would, or should, work regardless of chain sharpness. Besides, I have been very careful with my chains and sharpen them often, though I must admit, I'm no chain sharpening pro. Still though, my chains are not dull by any means. Anyhow, I pointed out that the filter material looked to me as though it had spread which garnered me no response. So, in the end, I was told to go home, sharpen my chain and check the filter again. Ooookay..........

What do ya all make of this? I have run less than 1.5 gallons of gas through this saw and washed the filter 8 or so times now (brushed it off gently several other times). Below is how I have been washing it:

I take it apart, place it in a lidded container with a diluted solution of Simple Green (non-toxic household type cleaner), gently shake, let sit for 15 minutes, shake some more, rinse with warm water and let it sit to dry. On occasion, when I'm rushed, I use compressed air (not high presure cause my compressor is screwed up) blowing from the inside out.

If these things weren't $21, I'd just buy a pile of them and chuck the used ones when they got like this. That's some pretty expensive maintainence though if that's all the life they'll muster.

Any ideas?

 

[rustyb]

Rocky,

How did you arrive at your calculations of me cleaning my "filter for every 10 minutes of run time"? If your calcs are correct, then my estimate of 8 cleanings & 1.5 gallons of gas are wrong as I'm 99.999% sure I did not clean it every 10 minutes. In fact, I'm quite sure 10 minutes isn't any where near being close. I'm thinking 1.5 gallons of gas is fairly accurate but I may have washed the filter several times less (I was more or less guessing on that part). At any rate, I told the dealer I had washed the filter about 8 times and explained the methods I used. He looked at it for some time and his only conclusion was the dull chain.

Anyhow, I understand what you're saying about the "obsessive-compulsive" filter cleaning (got that from my moto-x days) but it seems to me as gently as my washing methods are, a filter should last more than this one has. I guess I'm wrong or by some slim chance, my saw came with a defective filter.

Thanks for the post.

r

 

[Crofter]

Rustyb;

I noticed fine dirt in the carb throat on my 260 and found that there was a molding flash on the mating surface that was holding the filter slightly off the carb. I sanded it flat on a hard surface and problem over. I think there should be a softer material on the mating surface.

Frank

 

[Newfie]

OK, let's allow Brian his flair for the dramatic!

So you have run about 12 tanks through the saw and have washed the filter 8 times and brushed it out several more times? That's cleaning almost everytime that you have run a tank of fuel through. That's overkill to be sure. Now if the filter really is getting filled up with dust and crud that fast I would take a good long look at the sharpening, because all that fine dust comes from somewhere. Good Luck.

 

[rustyb]

Frank,

I'll take a look at all the conections. I agree with you that a softer mating surface would make sense. Thanks.

Newfie,

As I stated in my second post, I was probably off on my estimations of times washing the filter. Perhaps it was more like 4 times.......I really can't remember (too many exhasut emissions I guess). Anyhow, I'm not sure that it would make a difference but the bulk of the wood I have cut to date has been old and very dry. The green stuff that I did cut was earlier on. Does older & dryer wood equal more fine dust? Thanks.

 

[SilverBlue]

Rusty how was it determined that dust had interred the saw? Looking in the venturi? Or are there other problems. I would check to see if the filter backing in mounting flush to the carb and the two filter parts are sealing well.Otherwise if there are no holes in the filter media I would say that your dealer has a slight vacuum leak.

 

[Newfie]

"Does older & dryer wood equal more fine dust?"


Most likely, if not just from the fact that more dust and dirt has had a chance to accumulate on the logs themselves. Old wood is almost always dirtier wood and that can make a big difference in the chain sharpness department.

As for the cleaning frequency, that's still a lot more than I clean mine. I probably clean mine once (shake out the big chips in between) for the time you have done all of your cleanings. But, that doesn't make my way right either.

Is it possible that some of the dust is getting into the carb during the act of removing the filter?

 

[TonyM]

All filters increase in filtering efficiency as the pores in the media fill up with particles. Cleaning too often could have an adverse effect on filtering efficiency. Maybe as suggested previously, a longer maintenance interval is in order. I usually just tap the the filter (not on the media) with the saw wrench every few tanks to knock off the loose stuff, and only wash the filter after 25-30 hours of run time (or a little more on Husqvarnas). Also, I the O26 I owned had the choke butterfly mounted in the filter, and I saw some evidence of leakage around the actuator for the choke. A little grease on the seal between the carb and filter may help to seal that junction.

 

[rustyb]

Newfie and Silverblue,

Sorry, I should have clarified that I haven't actually seen dust inside the saw but rather on the inside of the filter....and a fair amount of really fine stuff (dealer thought so too). I can only assume that dust has or will reach the carb and even further sooner or later,.... if it hasn't already. The saw is still running great though. As for the filter not sealing properly, that could be but in looking at the actual filter material, I'm still thinking the dust is entering there as the material doesn't look consistant. I will have to take a closer look at the seal though. And, I am going to focus a little more on my sharpening skills as I know they could be better. I appreciate the post guys.

TonyM,

The general concensus seems to be that I'm washing too often. I'll back off and also check my choke actuator as the butterfly is mounted in the filter as yours was. Thanks for the info.

rusty