Newbie and looking to buy a 50-60cc saw (no brand loyalty, just looking for the best banger for the buck).

[sean donato]

I'm guilty. I bought my 68 Cuda Formula S in 1999. Drove it a couple years and took it apart. After about 5 years it looked like I had the money to get it restored, so I sent the engine out to be rebuilt. Life got in the way and the car still isn't done. I used to turn the engine over now and then, but I bet it's been ten years since I spun it over. Maybe I'll go out right now and see if it will still spin. I did shoot it with fogging oil last time.

I have a hard time keeping 5-6 of my saws running. Last year I got two new, old, saws. Both sat since the 70's. A Mac 1-40 and a Sachs KMS4. Put a shot of mix in the carb and they both fired up. Both tanks were spotless so I put half a tank of mix in them. Primed them a couple more times and they both started drawing from the tank and ran great. Funny how saws with leaded non ethanol fuel could set for almost 50 years, and not get all clogged up.

We used to see storage issues a lot at the machine shop, antique and classic cars that sat in storage for years. Rings rusted fast, pitted cams, cylinder walls, valves rusted open etc. Really some periodic running was all they needed to be maintained. Fogging is just another tool in your arsenal, and from a cost standpoint it's really a no brainer.

 

[Gratewhitehuntr]

Expansive rust is definitely a problem on machine tools and tooling in FL, and I've seen cams with spalling from sitting.
For machine stuff, lanolin and camphor do well if mixed in mineral spirits and sprayed, for larger areas I cut it back with the yellow/tan toilet bowl wax rings (beeswax?) or various other wax-ish compounds like paraffin to adjust hardness or temp preferences.
Many of the plant voc terpenes behave similarly by occupying reactive metal surface area, I use the ones that IMHO smell nice.
I think Ballistol uses Tea Tree oil but oof the smell.
When I have metal in the white, Camphor is the go-to. It's excellent in compartments as well, the tighter the better.
I use 1kg yearly camphor in ammo boxes, tool boxes, safes, anywhere metal is stored I put camphor to slow corrosion by contact with atmosphere. Five stars, if you remember to replenish it.

Fluidfilm is the best rattle can corrosion inhibitor I've found *when corrosion is provided by the base oils.
The other good ones contain calcium sulphonates, such as what's replaced lithium in light greases, and in Rem Oil.
I'll go back to look at the SDS for that CRC fogger. Some of their special purpose shmoo is excellent.

On the water, I disagree. Short trips and low operating temps are known to accumulate water in the crankcase/oil.
Because water in fuel exists, fire makes water, and certain engines can leak fire and water into each other without permission.
My air cooled 2 strokes run hotter than my water cooled. These are my observations.
YMMV such as the neighbor who idles his leaf blower and never gets up to temp. (if we demand an exception)

Does anyone prefer a certain base oil chemistry, or adpack to a certain base oil, as fogger?
Ex, non-castor. FluidFilm is definitely lanolin, suddenly I want to run some through an engine to see how it smells!
Is there an old-timey product or home brew, such as the "Ed's Red" of the gun community?

As a followup, what temp do people fog at? Good and hot? Or cold, so the shmoo coats real thicc?

 

[Gratewhitehuntr]

I'm guilty. I have a hard time keeping 5-6 of my saws running.

If we're being brutal here, I have trouble chasing 3 battery tenders around, let alone pulling ropes.
FL is a place where most people only need a saw for storm cleanup, and then it sits a loooooong time.
How long?

Funny how saws with leaded non ethanol fuel could set for almost 50 years, and not get all clogged up.

This week I've been re-habing some Hurricane Charley Poulan (uni-model) saws picked from the scrap or trash.
Cleaning the shop attic, I had 7 of them, all from 2004! Big year for the Wild Thang and Fam.

Treatment and storage varied from water-filled-wheelbarrow to still-in-the-case . The carbs were still clean, needing only basic kit, and all the crankcases were nice. The half-submerged one has surface rust on the rod and a spot on the ring. If the fuel lines were intact, I bet 4-7 would have run, probably finicky until diphragm replacement. Maybe a coil on the rust one. The case-kept one done been rawgassed, still looked nice corrosion-ways.

That's my old hoard. When the scrap man has new saws, they are slap-burnt-up. Ryobi 37cc Death by H-needle.

 

[sean donato]

Expansive rust is definitely a problem on machine tools and tooling in FL, and I've seen cams with spalling from sitting.
For machine stuff, lanolin and camphor do well if mixed in mineral spirits and sprayed, for larger areas I cut it back with the yellow/tan toilet bowl wax rings (beeswax?) or various other wax-ish compounds like paraffin to adjust hardness or temp preferences.
Many of the plant voc terpenes behave similarly by occupying reactive metal surface area, I use the ones that IMHO smell nice.
I think Ballistol uses Tea Tree oil but oof the smell.
When I have metal in the white, Camphor is the go-to. It's excellent in compartments as well, the tighter the better.
I use 1kg yearly camphor in ammo boxes, tool boxes, safes, anywhere metal is stored I put camphor to slow corrosion by contact with atmosphere. Five stars, if you remember to replenish it.

Fluidfilm is the best rattle can corrosion inhibitor I've found *when corrosion is provided by the base oils.
The other good ones contain calcium sulphonates, such as what's replaced lithium in light greases, and in Rem Oil.
I'll go back to look at the SDS for that CRC fogger. Some of their special purpose shmoo is excellent.

On the water, I disagree. Short trips and low operating temps are known to accumulate water in the crankcase/oil.
Because water in fuel exists, fire makes water, and certain engines can leak fire and water into each other without permission.
My air cooled 2 strokes run hotter than my water cooled. These are my observations.
YMMV such as the neighbor who idles his leaf blower and never gets up to temp. (if we demand an exception)

Does anyone prefer a certain base oil chemistry, or adpack to a certain base oil, as fogger?
Ex, non-castor. FluidFilm is definitely lanolin, suddenly I want to run some through an engine to see how it smells!
Is there an old-timey product or home brew, such as the "Ed's Red" of the gun community?

As a followup, what temp do people fog at? Good and hot? Or cold, so the shmoo coats real thicc?

Nothing castor based, it attracts moisture. Wouldn't run fluid flim or pfc through an engine. Usually fogging is done hot. Don't quite know how you would get the engine properly loaded up without running it. You literally choke the engine out with the fogging oil.

 

[Gratewhitehuntr]

You literally choke the engine out with the fogging oil.

I do, yes. Things I do, are usually because they make sense.
Age has shown me that the rest of the human race does things... however their cousin Leroy told them to.
Then there are the label readers, entirely dependent on the saw-fogging-prowess of the label writer.
YMMV but, I don't trust that guy.

Thank you for confirming my suspicions on castor oil.
Now I MUST hose some lanolin through an engine. Maybe I'll add a hint of mint?

 

[johnny first]

A saw from a dealer that parts an service is the whole bang up an keep it running or use till brake’s

 

[rarefish383]

If we're being brutal here, I have trouble chasing 3 battery tenders around, let alone pulling ropes.
FL is a place where most people only need a saw for storm cleanup, and then it sits a loooooong time.
How long?


This week I've been re-habing some Hurricane Charley Poulan (uni-model) saws picked from the scrap or trash.
Cleaning the shop attic, I had 7 of them, all from 2004! Big year for the Wild Thang and Fam.

Treatment and storage varied from water-filled-wheelbarrow to still-in-the-case . The carbs were still clean, needing only basic kit, and all the crankcases were nice. The half-submerged one has surface rust on the rod and a spot on the ring. If the fuel lines were intact, I bet 4-7 would have run, probably finicky until diphragm replacement. Maybe a coil on the rust one. The case-kept one done been rawgassed, still looked nice corrosion-ways.

That's my old hoard. When the scrap man has new saws, they are slap-burnt-up. Ryobi 37cc Death by H-needle.

I've got about 70 saws, most over 70 CC's, and a good dozen over 100 CC's. My Homelite Super 1050 ran the last time I took it down. I'd really like to fire it up, but, it's on the top shelf with a 45" bar, and since Covid, My MS 290 firewood saw feels heavy. This crud just seems to hang on. I'm about ready to go back to the doctors and see what she says?

 

[OM617YOTA]

Covid was responsible for me paying someone else to change the oil in my car for the first time, ever. Take the time you need.

 

[Hickahollar]

I'm a little late on this, but congrats on your saw. I have the ms362 it's a wonderful firewood saw. When i first got it, I thought it was kind of heavy. I was used to a 10 pound saw, but after using it for a month or so, I found that it wasn't heavy at all. When cutting firewood and felling it is my goto saw. I still use my ms250 and my poulan pl3314 and my echo 3510 but they are just for limbing. Now that being said after 10 plus years my pl3314 is the first to have issues and I need to fix it. It needs a carb or at least a new diaphragm. The 250 is a couple years older and no problems. The echo is only 2 or 3 years old the 362 is 4 or 5 years old probably can find my post on here when I bought the echo and figure out exactly when I bought it. My ms250 is my back up felling saw for when I have all 4 saws and the 362 is out of gas. If the tree is under 45 inches diameter ms 362 is my felling saw now I have had a 52 inch tree and I used the ms880 and that sucked the 880 is too heavy for me to use properly but I got the job done. I probably should have used my ms362 (25 inch bar) for it but I thought the 880 would have been better. Maybe it was poor effort of using a Humboldt cut to fell with that huge saw should have come straight in that way the weight of the saw wouldn't have worn me down so much then come from the top diagonally probably was more my poor technique that wore me out felling that tree.