Is there an idiots guide to servicing a chainsaw?

[combined tree services]

I think te guide is known as NPTC CS30 .

[spudulike]

I'm such a nice guy, I assumed you'd service my kit for free!

 

I'm the same - free firewood is also welcome:thumbup:

[IRONJACK]

Well, you know what I mean Steve. Hardtop has already found the joy of a better running saw after a little bit of maintenance. That gives the desire to learn & practise a bit more.

I always thought I was 'no good with machines' (long white shirted career in an office) but now, as a landscaper & logger, I'm a bit chuffed with myself for doing all the maintenance & many repairs on my kit, thanks to help from the likes of you & other sources.

I think it was Aristotle who said...."what we learn to do we learn by doing".

Anyway, I anticipate that lady luck will determine that fairly soon I shall have to run one of my saws down to you; I must be due a breakdown soon!

 

I couldn't agree more, and having recently done CS30/31 can also agree CS30 was very useful.

[spudulike]

I think we learn circa 75% doing and 25% being told or reading what to do, I have tended to learn from doing but also seeking info if I don't know.

 

Start with the basics of cleaning and lubing the moving parts, bar and chain maintenance and then start looking at the engine and carb parts.

 

Personally I look at what the machine needs, whatever it is - and then ensure it gets it. In non tech terms, an engine needs fuel, compression and spark - just need to understand how the parts provide this:001_smile:

 

Each saw has something new to throw at you but after a while it all becomes very much an instinctive thing to get them going again.

 

Think this sort of maintenance is becoming a lost art in todays world:thumbdown:

[rxe]

Saws require very little routine servicing. Bars and chains need a lot of sharpening and a bit of servicing, but the motor bit is pretty much maintenance free. My list, assuming the saw is working fine:

 

- Air filter, check it is clear, blow off as required.

- Blow all the crud out of the little spaces where it can block things up

- Make sure the mix is fresh, and properly mixed, make sure it has chain lube and pumps it.

- Check the sprocket for wear, occasionally take the sprocket off and put a bit of high temp grease on the bearing.

 

That's about it. Never changed a plug on a saw (apart from wreckers I buy from ebay). I'd second the advice on getting a wrecker. The real skill with maintenance is to realise when something is going wrong. I've had several saws dumped on the bench with the explanation "it kept idling really fast, I turned down the idle speed all the time, but it never cured it...then it was running really well and suddenly stopped". Hmmmm, air leak, the £200+ piston and jug job was really not necessary.

[spudulike]

fuel, air and ignition - one adjustment for the idle is not enough, take the spark plug out and check the colour, then adjust all settings.

 

Spark Plug Diagnosis

 

The original comment by RXE was fine - he is saying if the idle becomes unstable then don't just retune the carb, recognise something has changed and a pressure check may save your saw an expensive repair bill. Got one just like that at the moment and can't fault the advice.

 

You can tune carbs by ear, the idle "L" mix is fairly intuitive but the "H" speed is critical and not something the uninitiated should take on with an expensive saw - I do this with a tach as customers expect this and I am usually 1,000 down when tuned by ear.

 

The plug colour is a useful guide, the MS880 I have in bits with a seized piston had a plug that was too clean with white deposits so being able to read a plug is useful but is a check to be done once you have set the carb up by ear or tach and done a few cuts and as a back up check to correct running.

 

Thats my opinion:thumbup1:

[rxe]

recognise something has changed

 

Yup, that is exactly it. If a saw was running fine and suddenly it idles fast or slow, work out why. If it has "no power", check the chain first, then worry about the engine. There is so little to go wrong on a 2 stroke that if performance changes in any way, something bad is happening.

 

A plug will read a valid colour if you load the saw up, then kill it in the cut. If you cut, return the saw to idle, then kill it, the plug will read the idle mixture.

 

I would never set H speed without a tach - well I would, but it would be way off full power (probably several k below full speed). Even when I do set up properly, I'm 1000 rpm below the limit. Better to have some slack to compensate for a really cold day, bad fuel, the user revving the knackers off it while not in wood etc....