Nik's Poulan Thread

[Acornhill]

Old oil was not as good as today's oil

 

[Ambull01]

Joe, I think the 361 I bought in 1979 calls for 16:1.

Must suck having to keep track of the oil mix ratios for your 400+ saws.

 

[OhioGregg]

Yep, Gary is right. Years ago they called for a 16:1 ratio. Then over time 32:1 was common. Thats what my 3400 called for when it was new. I don't think they even had synthetic oil back then. I could be wrong. But it wasn't used in chainsaws as a rule then. Oils are much better these days...wish I could say the same for the gasoline.

"Most" folks today run synthetic oils at 40:1 or 50:1. Some will still stay at 32:1 but use syn. oil. Some will use a slightly high oil ratio when running in a extreme heat or work load condition, like using a chainsaw for milling lumber, where you have a long steady load on the saw. You are not running in short bursts like when felling or bucking firewood.

Some just feel "safer" or more confident with slightly more oil, but the newer oils protect much better than they use to. I think the earlier saws, even stated to use 30wt. oil as the mix, I'm assuming regular 30wt. non-detergent motor oil. I never did, so don't know. But they must have smoked a heck of a lot..LOL

Gregg,

 

[s sidewall]

We ran 30wt in our old Homie xl12 super way back, she did smoke some but wasn't that bad. All my 2 strokes see 50:1.

Sent from my Prism II from T-Mobile's slow edge network :-(

 

[Ambull01]

We ran 30wt in our old Homie xl12 super way back, she did smoke some but wasn't that bad. All my 2 strokes see 50:1.

Sent from my Prism II from T-Mobile's slow edge network :-(

Nice, I like this. Makes it much easier to mix oil and fuel since the Stihl Ultra HP comes in 2.6 0z containers. I was going to run 40:1 mix in my Makita but forgot to fill up the container (supposed to be 3 oz filled to brim, would have been a 42.67:1 mix with 1 gal) yesterday lol. I was too excited about getting more trigger time with it. Cut up some oak and maple from my scrounge site. Can't wait to test a Poulan back to back against the Makita.

Anyway, if 50:1 works for all your saws it should be good for mine as well.

 

[s sidewall]

For regular cutting it works fine, even my Stihl bp blower runs it and its ran hard around the house, just like all my trimmers and brush cutters. Of course those are stated 50:1, so why have different mix for different equipment, runnum all the same.

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[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Yep, He got it opening day about 12:00 noon, Back by the woods where we hold the Poulan GTG at. LOL
He hunts from a pop-up ground blind. After we gutted it, took pics, loaded on the trailer, he checked the yardage with a range finder from where he shot it to the blind. 117 yards. 20 gauge with sabot. and scope. LOL My shots are usually in the 30-40 yard range and open sights. I will probably go out in the muzzle loader season, if it ain't to darn cold. LOL I can only take about 3 hours of sittin there freezin my you know what off and not seeing any..

Gregg,

Freaking sweet.

Going to share info with my dad and bro. Biggest we seen on our trail cams is 15pt this year.

 

[Ambull01]

I think my newer Poulans call for 40:1. I have never seen an engine hurt from two much oil.

Great, thanks a lot lol. Now I need to add .6 oz of oil to my can for 40:1. Actually, I have to figure out the size of my tank then subtract that from the ounces in a gallon to come up with the correct amount of oil to add.

 

[s sidewall]

What's an exhaust screen, oh that restrictor we always take out, my bad.

Sent from my Prism II from T-Mobile's slow edge network :-(

 

[Ambull01]

many people run 50:1.....with good results. Just not me. Several studies have shown that 2 strokes can make more power with more oil when properly tuned. Oil is cheap. The saw I ran for 28 years had 16:1 most of the time. Exhaust screen plugs faster with that mix.

More power with more oil? Sounds backwards. I'm kind of interested now, going to look it up. I keep contemplating removing the muffler screen but don't have the guts to do it. Just feel like something will get in and somehow find its way into the cylinder.

 

[s sidewall]

Na, just let's more out

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[Acornhill]

Excellent info

 

[Acornhill]

Can someone tell me where this actually goes On the 3400 series? U clip

 

[s sidewall]

Just imagine a rotory 2 Stoke for a chainsaw

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[Ambull01]

I don't know everything but I know a little. I bought and maintained my first 2 stroke motorcycle in 1967 Suzuki X6 250cc. Been riding maintaining and rebuilding small engines ever since. Rebuilt my first auto engine in 1966. I am just a hobbyist in mechanics. I earned my living as a mechanical designer for 46 years. I kind of have a grip on how things work.

It is very simple, more oil equals less friction and better ring sealing and better heat transmission from the piston skirt to the cylinder. The decrease in friction allows the energy from the combustion process to do more actual work. Increased heat transfer allows the engine to maintain tolerances and run cooler, permitting more work. A hot engine looses power and has less volumetric efficiency. 40:1 and 50:1 were invented to reduce unburned hydrocarbons and the engine manufactures scrambled to upgrade the materials of construction to survive for an acceptable amount of time. If you feed these engines made of superior materials a little more oil they will last forever. Main bearings turning 13,000 RPM cannot be over oiled......but some of the saw builders on this site believe they can be under lubricated. I agree with the professionals here who make a living extracting a maximum power from small engines. I have never suffered a lubrication caused failure in a small engine. I have never run anything thinner than 40:1. I am not to fussy but 32-40:1 works for me. Cold air is more dense so 40:1 in cold weather allows a little more fuel and 32:1 in the summer seems to compensate for the thin air without messing with the carb much. You just need to tune it for the ambient conditions once and adjust the mix as the temperature changes. Not very scientific but it has worked well for me.

Most importantly. Don't use fuel with ethanol in it. Oil and water don't mix. Ethanol sucks water out of the air. Its lubrication properties are not suitable for mix lubricated engines. The longer it sits the more water you get. If you must use it, keep it very very fresh.

Great info! I appreciate you taking the time to write all that. Hope you didn't think I was doubting you, just get really interested and curious when something goes against what I think to be true.

Found some ethanol free fuel about 30 minutes from me but I've been using 93 octane fuel (I think, whatever the high grade fuel is). I use the whole gallon within a month.

 

[s sidewall]

My bad, they are, just don't have to mix oil and gas.

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[fossil]

Can someone tell me where this actually goes On the 3400 series? U clip

I think on the chain tension adjust on the saws with a plastic clutch covet

 

[OhioGregg]

I think on the chain tension adjust on the saws with a plastic clutch covet

I second that opinion! Except down here in the states...we call them a cover..LOL

 

[Acornhill]

Thank you, I am going to investigate one of mine

 

[Acornhill]

I am going through my Poulan parts, it takes me hours just to go through one box, I have 40 or so to go through. Here is another I have not identified yet