I'm far from a genius when it comes to chainsaws, but I though I'd share what happened at my Husky dealer today.
Last time I was out with my Husky 365 it stopped running properly and lost all power. It wouldn't even rev up out of wood anymore. I cussed a little bit, put more gas in it and tapped the air filter clean but it didn't help. Then today I went to cut some tree branches that have been annoying me for months. The starter cord would go out but not back in! So after uttering a few more choice words I threw the saw in the truck and went to the dealer since the saw was still under warranty.
When I got there I told the service tech that it's either broken or I'm an idiot. He just smiled as he tugged on the starter and told me the recoil was dirty. I have him one of those eyes glazed over "I'm an idiot" stares so he quietly explained to me how dirt can get in the recoil can cause it to bind. He then took it apart and cleaned it with compressed air, put it back together and the recoil worked great. He also gave me some pointers on how to do it myself.
Then I mentioned what happened last time I was out cutting firewood. He just smiled again and took of the air filter and showed me how tapping it clean doesn't completely clean the filter and how much crud had got past the filter. At this point he said "Dust from dead fir trees is murder on saws and you need to keep the filter clean because your warranty won't cover the damage that could happen from all this dust". I was using the yellow mesh filter which it told me was incorrect and that I should be using the flock filter. I said that I had tried the flock before but that I couldn't clean it very well, so he proceeded to tell me how to clean it properly and he sold me an extra flock filter in case I plug one up again while out cutting. He said that lots of full time cutters can change their filters up to 4 times a day when they're cutting that stuff.
By this point he figured out that I needed an education and went over general saw maintenance including how to clean the bar. I ashamed to admit that I didn't even know where the bar oil hole was! I thanked him for his time and left with a lot of good practical knowledge and he didn't even charge me a "you're an idiot" labour charge.
Now if I would've walked into my local Stihl dealer, they would've asked "What's a chainsaw?". They just sell the small consumer stuff whereas the Husky pretty much only stocks from the 365 and up. I'm not loyal to any particular brand, but you can bet I'll be going back to my Husky dealer next time I need outdoor power equipment!
Last time I was out with my Husky 365 it stopped running properly and lost all power. It wouldn't even rev up out of wood anymore. I cussed a little bit, put more gas in it and tapped the air filter clean but it didn't help. Then today I went to cut some tree branches that have been annoying me for months. The starter cord would go out but not back in! So after uttering a few more choice words I threw the saw in the truck and went to the dealer since the saw was still under warranty.
When I got there I told the service tech that it's either broken or I'm an idiot. He just smiled as he tugged on the starter and told me the recoil was dirty. I have him one of those eyes glazed over "I'm an idiot" stares so he quietly explained to me how dirt can get in the recoil can cause it to bind. He then took it apart and cleaned it with compressed air, put it back together and the recoil worked great. He also gave me some pointers on how to do it myself.
Then I mentioned what happened last time I was out cutting firewood. He just smiled again and took of the air filter and showed me how tapping it clean doesn't completely clean the filter and how much crud had got past the filter. At this point he said "Dust from dead fir trees is murder on saws and you need to keep the filter clean because your warranty won't cover the damage that could happen from all this dust". I was using the yellow mesh filter which it told me was incorrect and that I should be using the flock filter. I said that I had tried the flock before but that I couldn't clean it very well, so he proceeded to tell me how to clean it properly and he sold me an extra flock filter in case I plug one up again while out cutting. He said that lots of full time cutters can change their filters up to 4 times a day when they're cutting that stuff.
By this point he figured out that I needed an education and went over general saw maintenance including how to clean the bar. I ashamed to admit that I didn't even know where the bar oil hole was! I thanked him for his time and left with a lot of good practical knowledge and he didn't even charge me a "you're an idiot" labour charge.
Now if I would've walked into my local Stihl dealer, they would've asked "What's a chainsaw?". They just sell the small consumer stuff whereas the Husky pretty much only stocks from the 365 and up. I'm not loyal to any particular brand, but you can bet I'll be going back to my Husky dealer next time I need outdoor power equipment!
