Tachometer Recommendation

[John Rainford]

I would like to get a tachometer for my Stihl MS 211 which I use for cutting logs for my wood stove. I have just had the carb in bits to fix an issue which is now sorted with a carb kit and a thorough clean. I would like to set the H, L and idle screws accurately in the hope of prolonging the life of the saw. It's 15 years old now and has developed sentimental value. My research so far suggests cheap is nasty, but it would be just for use with my saw and my brothers MS 211 so I don't want to spend to much. Anyone have any suggestions ?

[kram]

I use one of these, it is cheap and nasty but seems to work ok for settingnup my G372XP

 

Yooreal Digital Tachometer Hour Meter,SVC Timer,Resettable Hours,Replaceable Battery for Lawn Mower Generator Chainsaw Outboard Motor Snowblower Jet Ski Dirt Bike : Amazon.co.uk: Garden

WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK

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Yooreal Digital Tachometer Hour Meter,SVC Timer,Resettable Hours,Replaceable Battery for Lawn Mower Generator Chainsaw Outboard...

 

[Dan Maynard]

If you read the specs on the very cheap ones the update rate can be 1s, spend a little bit more and get one with 0.5s update rate.

[John Rainford]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a look at the suggested one and check the update rate specs.

[spudulike]

This is the one I have used for the last 15 years...the TT 20K Workshop model, not the cheapest but does the job well: -

Handheld Tachometers | Design Technology, Inc., Home of Tiny-Tach

TINYTACH.COM

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Handheld tachometers for gas and diesel engines.

 

[Muddy42]

On 09/11/2024 at 15:39, Dan Maynard said:

If you read the specs on the very cheap ones the update rate can be 1s, spend a little bit more and get one with 0.5s update rate.

 

Yes the thinking being that you can still damage a saw in the time it takes the tachometer to refresh for the H jet.

 

However I am a cheapskate and very rarely use a tachometer.  I also do not push saws anywhere near the max (at least 1000 rpms lower than max) and the default carb settings generally get pretty close.  Personally for this type of use (as a check) I think a 1 sec refresh one is fine. L jet and idle doesn't require a tach, but even if you use one here, 1 sec refresh is fine.