wood dust in the carb hard on the saw?

[echomeister]

It seems a lot of saws come prepped from the factory with a certain amount of air filter leakage.

Could it be that the saw just burns up the dust if it's fine enough and no harm done?

Or is the byproduct left to accumulate in the cylinder and bring forth an early death?

 

[Mad Professor]

IMHO not a good thing.

 

[LuDookie]

Best to try and keep it to as close to zero as possible. I’ve had a hard time keeping fines out of the intake of my Husqys but over the years I’ve noticed my 395 has one of the best looking pistons(exhaust side). Seems like it would be a perfect design but the pleats are letting fine stuff through. My Echos filter the best. Haven’t run a Stihl in a couple of years but they always ate sawdust and seemed to do ok.

 

[Mad Professor]

People say the Stihls have crappy filters. I've got all the older 0XX ones but if the filters are in good shape I don't get any fines through. I just have to keep on cleaning outside of the the filters and the insides of the the airbox.

It's one of the reasons I won't run the wire mesh filters.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

The title is wood dust in the carb- post is poor filtration allowing stuff into the cylinder- which are we aiming for?

Way I see it, most are confusing air filtration and fines entering THROUGH the carb venturi and on into the cylinder- with fines entering the fuel tank, bypassing the filter and entering the carb itself.
Neither is ideal- although through the air intake is perhaps the lesser of the two when it comes to frustration.
Ideally you have a tank filter on the end of the fuel line that dissects all the crap from the fuel and only allows mixed fuel to enter the system- but if it is not up to the 100% job, crud can partially or fully block the fine mesh filter that sits under the metering valve.
The other entry points for fines into the carb is the holes to atmosphere in the covers- this means fines are entering the airbox and being air washed all over the place. It happens eventually to all saws that never see the light of day in there or get blown out with compressed air now and then, but can be accelerated by the use of dull chains, punky wood, thick bark evergreen cutting and post forest fire cutting. Fines entering through or blocking atmosphere holes can be issue causing and certainly not ideal for ideal running.
Some saws pre filter better than others- keep the air boxes cleaner and therefore the carbs cleaner. Some saw operators are better than others and popping covers and blowing out crud. Some filters work better than others in certain conditions.

 

[LuDookie]

I use compressed air to clean my filters, air boxes, flywheel cover and pretty much the entire saw, often. Like you said, some saws are great at pre-filtration, and the 395xp in my experience, is the best saw on the planet for that. It keeps the cleanest air box after a lot of cutting, I’ve ever seen. The 372 is no slouch but it’s a tad less effective than the 395. While my Echo saws seem to have the best filters, their air boxes get full of “dust”. And yes, I keep my chains very sharp.

 

[sean donato]

Just think, old saws barley had an actual fikter and lasted just fine and were worried about what amounts to a trivial amount of saw dust. Seen guys running winter mesh filters year round and saws still make it 2 years in production settings. There are other things to worry about in life these days, especially for the average user.

 

[Tobystihl]

Due to a crappy air filter design, my Stihl ms341 has been eating dust for years, seems to enjoy it!

 

[Mad Professor]

I use compressed air to clean my filters, air boxes, flywheel cover and pretty much the entire saw, often. Like you said, some saws are great at pre-filtration, and the 395xp in my experience, is the best saw on the planet for that. It keeps the cleanest air box after a lot of cutting, I’ve ever seen. The 372 is no slouch but it’s a tad less effective than the 395. While my Echo saws seem to have the best filters, their air boxes get full of “dust”. And yes, I keep my chains very sharp.

I'm still running a lot of Stihl saws with the flocked filters which keep the fines out if in good condition. Can't use air on those, detergent and a finger wash.

I try to have two good ones for each saw. Change them out, and clean the dirty one then let it dry so it's ready to go. That is more work but solves the problem of sawdust getting in the airbox of Stihls.

Concerning the wire mesh filters, my 066 I bought new, came with one of those. It had fines in the carb throat after the 1st tank full of mix. I switched to the HD II filter and no more.

You might get a bit more flow/power with the mesh filters, but I can't see an engine lasting as long eating fines. Remember, not all of those fines are wood.

 

[rogue60]

I found a sawdust fine (maybe two) on the inside of my air filter should I take the saw back to the dealer and get it replaced under warranty? this is unexceptionable...

 

[Mad Professor]

I found a sawdust fine (maybe two) on the inside of my air filter should I take the saw back to the dealer and get it replaced under warranty? this is unexceptionable...

View attachment 1198422

Me thinks the filter was not seated properly.

 

[Gord404]

ya any fireline saws i get in to go over are comletely black inside- dont think any filter would keep that out

 

[LuDookie]

Air filtration is important. To what degree, and when we worry about it… I dunno, but I’d rather see a clean intake below the filter than one with fines. That’s not always my case, but I do what I can, and keep cutting.

 

[lone wolf]

I found a sawdust fine (maybe two) on the inside of my air filter should I take the saw back to the dealer and get it replaced under warranty? this is unexceptionable...

View attachment 1198422

What type of tree dust is that?

 

[LuDookie]

I found a sawdust fine (maybe two) on the inside of my air filter should I take the saw back to the dealer and get it replaced under warranty? this is unexceptionable...

View attachment 1198422

Nah, that’s just a Stihl. On those old ones you have to tune for a fuel:dust ratio on the high side. Now Mtronic 3.whatever adjusts for it.

 

[sean donato]

I found a sawdust fine (maybe two) on the inside of my air filter should I take the saw back to the dealer and get it replaced under warranty? this is unexceptionable...

View attachment 1198422

can't believe it still runs.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

can't believe it still runs.

Aussie saws are well used to it- the whole big chunk of land mass is just one big red dusty Island- from the roads, the fields and the trees........

 

[rogue60]

can't believe it still runs.

Yeah internals look fine no worn through plating or thin piston skirts not bad for very high hr saws.
Sawdust fines are blamed for everything IMHO its lack of oil or the quality of oil isn't as good as one thinks that's what does the damage not Sawdust fines.

 

[rogue60]

What type of tree dust is that?

Aussie hardwoods dry Red Ironbark and Box.

 

[Mad Professor]

ya any fireline saws i get in to go over are comletely black inside- dont think any filter would keep that out

Smoke particulates are finer than the filter pores. Those saws must take some work to get cleaned up.

Think about what your lungs go through doing that work