Chainsaws?

[Boomyal]

I have an old McCulloch Timber Bear 20" chainsaw. I have had it for 20+ years. It is big and clumsy but has always starte even after long periods of inactivity. Today I got it out of the shed, choked it and it started right up. I went back after several hours and tried to start it again. It wouldn't I pulled and dried out the plug and still no fire. I changed the plug to no avail. I used ether, I got a jumper wire and watched the plug fire. Not even a hiccough. I ended up getting out my Sawzall and finishing the job. In the past, the saw would start up reasonably easy after long periods of inactivity. If I ran it out of gas, it would always be difficult to restart.

There has to be a better saw. Any experience for users that use them intermittantly?

 

[rbh]

Thing dry up over time in the carb, hoses crack so you get air leaks- on off switch wears out. If it ran good before you put it away, do some maintenance and it will be good to go

 

[oldjeep]

Cheap 20" Homelite or other home depot saw works fine for occasional use. My old Ryobi fires up after a few pulls even when it sits for a year, everything in it is ethanol safe and it doesn't weigh a freaking ton like some of those old saws.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I blew up my old Mac 10 last year. nothing sounds like the old Mac's running at full song. just dont run them lean.

for as little as I use them now, I have an electric with a pole saw adapter.

 

[Limited-Time]

Hey Boom, It's a crap shoot letting them sit either way. But if you wont be using it for extended periods, more than a year I had luck storing them dry. That way there's no gas to go bad, or dry out and gum up.

 

[82rude]

I use the ever maligned poulan pro .Its been used for everything from clearing a lot in the bush to logs for the woodstove .Always worked all the time !Now that I use it lightly I use that engineered gas/oil from truefuel and its never run better and that fuel will last for years .Its not cheap so I only use it in equipment that is lightly used or its not cost effective.

 

[MTboatguy]

I have a Troy Built and my wife has a Stihl that we have both had for over a decade now, let them sit, they fire right up, but I don't really use a chainsaw for anything these days!

 

[JASinIL2006]

I have a buddy who's a forester and swears by Stihl chainsaws. I have a couple of Poulans that have held up well. They get infrequent use, but nevertheless answer the call when needed.

 

[KD4UPL]

Back in the 60's and 70's a McCulloch was the best thing going. My dad had one and when he used to cut wood with his friends his saw was always the envy of the bunch.
Nowdays there's nothing better than a Stihl. Probably most occasional users don't need that great of a saw but Stihl can't be beat. I cut wood on 12 acres for my wood stove every year. My Stihl has never needed service in 9 years. Dad's Stihl is around 20 years old. I think he had it worked on once.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Stihl/Jonsered you can't go wrong with either one. I found that using fresh gas all the time makes a big difference......

 

[Boomyal]

Stihl/Jonsered you can't go wrong with either one. I found that using fresh gas all the time makes a big difference......

I use nothing but non-ethanol stabilized gasoline in all my 2 and 4 cycle implement engines.

 

[oldjeep]

Stihl/Jonsered you can't go wrong with either one. I found that using fresh gas all the time makes a big difference......

Husqvarna too - actually prefer them over Stihl since the Stihl suspension always feels so floppy

I use nothing but non-ethanol stabilized gasoline in all my 2 and 4 cycle implement engines.

I use nothing but E10 no snake oil added gasoline in all my engines

 

[WIMUSKY]

I use nothing but non-ethanol stabilized gasoline in all my 2 and 4 cycle implement engines.

Even still..... I use nothing but premium that's non ethanol and had saw running issues if the gas was a couple months old. Filled up with fresh and ran like a champ....

 

[Harritwo]

I have an Old McCullough 250 Chainsaw with the Post Hole Digger Attachment. This thing is at least 50 years old and it sits for years at a time. There are no carb rebuild kits available, however If i pull it out of storage, prime the carb with a squirt can, it starts and picks up the prime fairly quick, It will dig post holes all day long. I used it for the first time in over 6 years last week and my son is using it this week to build a fence. I have had to occasionally had to feed it off a squirt can for a few minutes before things get wet and it runs on its own, but that old McCullough is hard to beat.

 

[Boomyal]

I have an Old McCullough 250 Chainsaw with the Post Hole Digger Attachment. This thing is at least 50 years old and it sits for years at a time. There are no carb rebuild kits available, however If i pull it out of storage, prime the carb with a squirt can, it starts and picks up the prime fairly quick, It will dig post holes all day long. I used it for the first time in over 6 years last week and my son is using it this week to build a fence. I have had to occasionally had to feed it off a squirt can for a few minutes before things get wet and it runs on its own, but that old McCullough is hard to beat.

Well that is the way my Timber Bear has been for 20 odd years until last week. It started right up, after at least a years rest, ran for 45 minutes, then would not restart a couple of hours later. I did test for spark before I gave up but I have not had time to take another look at it.

 

[thumpar]

Mine is a Husqvarna. There was one time I used it and left it out in the backyard overnight. Just so happens it was sitting in front of one of the sprinklers. It hydrolocked. I pulled the plug and cranked on it to get the water out. When I put the plug back in it fired right up. I let it run for awhile to make sure it all dried out. That was around 8 years ago and it is still going strong. It is a 1996 model.

 

[four winns 214]

I've had a Stihl Farmboss 290 for eight years. It's used only occasionally, but hasn't let me down. I use only the Stihl HP Ultra oil with fuel stabilizer. I also have three other Stihl implements- string trimmer, backpack blower, and cultivator- that get regular use so it keeps fresh gas in my one gallon gas can dedicated to those implements. A side note: Satisfaction with chainsaw cutting performance is directly proportional to chain sharpness.

 

[Boomyal]

.... A side note: Satisfaction with chainsaw cutting performance is directly proportional to chain sharpness.,,,,,

Learned that lesson but you still have to be able to start it and run it.