You're gonna love this...

[Dale]

I went into my shed to retrieve my Stihl 015 to do some tree girdling on my place. Well, it's kept in it's Stihl case, but when I picked it up I thought "wow, this seems really heavy". Well I get it to my garage, open the case, and the top of the handle is sticking out of a frozen block of ice. Apparently the saw was directly under a leak in my roof, and managed to fill the case with water. I got it thawed out, and I'm in the process of dismantling it.

Now the the question, and your opinions. Do ya think it's salvagable ?

 

[Four Paws]

Yeah, it should be salvagable if the water did not enter the cylinder. If water got inside the cylinder and froze, lots of damage could have been done by the ice, not to mention water on your crank bearings for who knows how long. Is an 015 a top handle, horizontal cylinder saw, or is it a vertical cylinder saw? Seems that the saw would stand a better chance if it was a vertical cylinder saw.

 

[Dale]

My guess is that water entered every internal part of the saw. Could easily enter in through the exhaust port. I believe the cylinder is vertical like my 028.

 

[Timberhauler]

As long as you carefully make sure there is no internal damage from the ice,the saw will be OK...I dropped a saw into a pond a while back,it was still running when it hit the water.It was retrieved within seconds and it never cut off.

 

[Ianab]

It will probably survive.

Even if the cylinder filled up it would probably have an air space at the top of the cylinder that wouldn't have filled. Enough expansion gap to stop the ice busting things anyway.

Only one way to tell, thaw it, dry it out and see if it still turns over and has compression.

At least it was clean water

Let us know what happens opcorn:

Cheers

Ian

 

[Unclez]

Looking forward to the update to hear how it faired.

Goodluck. Hope everything is fine.

 

[RiverRat2]

not trying to rain on your parade but

As long as you carefully make sure there is no internal damage from the ice,the saw will be OK...I dropped a saw into a pond a while back,it was still running when it hit the water.It was retrieved within seconds and it never cut off.

Timber, the deal on yours is the internals of the crankcase never got water inside, and it kept running,,,,, if his got the water inside the crankcase and up to the mated/machined running surfaces,,, mmph it could be crappy,,,,,

The best thing to do is as soon as it is thawed, displace the moisture get it fueled and fired off run a few tanks of fuel mix through it seriously, We see it all the time with sunken outboards.,,, as soon as they are brought to the surface flushed, fueled and cranked.....run it for a couple of hours as that will re lube all theose critical running surfaces and the heat will drive out any other moisture,,, if you dont the crank/rod/bearings running surfaces may be trashed,,,
If it has set out with water on the crank in the air with out displacing the water for anytime even overnight,,,Hmmm I dont know you may be lucky,,

I hope so.......

 

[Bill G]

We had a Homelite 150 that sat submerged in water and ran fine afterwards. On the flip side I sent out a trimmer engine last week that myteriously locked up in transit. My guess on your saw is it will be just fine. If not it will make for a good excuse to buy a new saw.

On another note what trees are you girdling. The weather here has been screwing enough I thougt we might have blooming in December but now in Febuary it has been bleow 0 most days.

Bill

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Ive had everything from R/c Racing boats to dirt bikes with water in the engine, never had any problems.

 

[musch]

This is the true use for wd-40. I had a flood years ago, and cleaned up a number of tools and electronic devices with it, let them dry thoroughly, and everything worked, except one power amp that had some rust.
You'll probably be ok.

 

[stihltech]

Rust

Get the water out and fuel through it as soon as posible. The problem isn't the ice in it right now, it will be the rust developing if it thaws and sits. Best thing for a wet saw is to get it running again.

 

[ropensaddle]

hey

man get that hole in shed fixed

 

[Dale]

Guys, thanks for the replies. Yeah, I wouldn't be concerned about the water in a liquid state once it dried out. It's the fact that it was encased in ice for XX days, and I'm hoping nothing cracked.

Bill G.... I have to get rid of Alanthis (tree of heaven), under my Wildlife Management Plan. I'm trying to girdle as a first choice to eradicate them. If that proves to have little success, I'll have to go the chemical route (Glyphosate mixed 50/50 with Diesel).

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

man get that hole in shed fixed

LMFAO.

Over.




I'm not sure why, but this post took me completely by surprise and forkin' slays me....

 

[rb_in_va]

Saw is trashed. Chuck it back in the shed and go get a 361!

 

[Dale]

"Saw is trashed. Chuck it back in the shed and go get a 361!"

Rob I hope you're wrong. Do you have experience with ice encased saws ?...... Seriously. Something like this had to happen to somebody in the past, or am I the only A-Hole ?

Oh ya, the "fix the hole" comment was good.

 

[rb_in_va]

Rob I hope you're wrong. Do you have experience with ice encased saws ?...... Seriously. Something like this had to happen to somebody in the past, or am I the only A-Hole ?

Oh ya, the "fix the hole" comment was good.

Just giving you some ammo to justify a new saw. Work with me Dale!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[gunnarfan]

i got a super 2 homelite that was in a case and loaded with water.. our winter was funny here and i'm not sure to what extent it froze and thawed.. it runs fine.. i just had to fix the pull start cause it was a crappy rope to begin with and dump out the water and get some fuel in it.... didn't even bother with the carb...


can't kill those saws though... the older cast two trigger ones of course

 

[adkranger]

Never an "ice saw" but did rescue an outboard motor from ice. I think the others covered the resurection process well. The outboard did pop a softplug and ruined a gasket, but nothing cracked. I have had saws in the drink, not a big deal at all, but ice is different. Your biggest concern will be did the ice's expansion crack or distort anything, or did it have enough room to expand w/o damaging the case. Good luck.

Oh, hate cases for this very reason, nothing catches water better. Might as well just put your saw in an old clawfoot bathtub. Used to carry my saws to and from jobs in the truck, in cases because thought I was protecting them. Crazy me, I thought they'd be decent protection from rain, but you'd be better off leaving 'em out. The cases suck water in and hold it, giving your saw a bath.:bang: :bang:

 

[Dale]

Just giving you some ammo to justify a new saw. Work with me Dale!:hmm3grin2orange:

Ohh, got it Pal. But wait, then I would have to tell the old lady that her A-Hole husband turned his pruning saw into a block of ice. That would be bad. Maybe I can tell her a Bear ran off with it..... wait we don't have Bear in my county . I'm screwed.