spudulike

Good little saws, no power house but competant and ideal for the homeowner cutting small logs. Just make sure it gets fresh mix on each use and don't leave fuel in it from one year to the next as the fuel attacks the oil and will cause seizure - same for all saws! They come with widdley 1.1mm drive thickness chain and bar but do work and the narrow kerf cut makes the saws power work a bit better. Spud

To be brutal - it is an £80 saw, you may get £100 but at a real push. No chainbrake means that you cant ask any employee to use it and you have to treat it with care and decent PPE. Your mate is now £475 in, if I had that money and needed to cut wood, a decent 346xp silverside secondhand is £300 - £350 and I would still have at least £125 and own one of the best saws on the market. Sorry but he was done big style - he doesn't want and old JOBU L65 does he - £400 should do it:thumbup: Spud

Some of the guys in the US on arboristsite have tried them and the general consensus is they are poo, in life you get what you pay for, Huskys and Stihl will last for years, last Chinese saw I owned was a year old and it had to have a new chainbrake cover, the starter rope had broken twice, the top cover had melted around the plug and the recoil starter pulley had started to crack! Not quite so good value now - a professional would not put up with it on a bread winning saw. Spud

Without de-valuing the tests going on as they will prove valuable to many members, my basic test is to put the saw on a concrete floor and start it, if it moves all over the place its AV is not the best and if it stays put, all is good - I have no figures but the Husqvarna 345, 346, 350, 357 series of saws have some of the best AV and don't walk once started! I personally use a muffler modded 345 for my logs - wearing ear defenders:thumbup: - the AV is excellent. Spud

Pressure check - block the exhaust port, the inlet port and impulse line and then use a specialised plug with a suitable valve and gauge and pump up the crankcase to 7-9psi to ensure it holds pressure, you can also plug the plug hole and pressurise through the impulse line. It should hold pressure for 10 minutes. I have never used non OEM cylinders but they are probably worth a go if the saw is worth between £100 and £300, on a pro saw that will see lots of use worth £500 + then OEM may be best. Spud

Great saws, a real classic, it is almost definitely 3/8, I would look at the Oregon configurator - you should have no problem getting something suitable - OREGON®: Selector Guide good luck - these saws are worth a bit - £250+ for a good one - see my avatar Spud

This came up in another post, I think a blind man could tell this didn't hail from Herr Andreas Stihl:laugh1: Spud

2 week old fuel is fine, 4 weeks is ok, 6 weeks a bit risky and 8 weeks suspect. The petrol breaks the oil down over a period of time, hearing the fuel is two weeks old worries me and unless the mix was messed up would check the boot - a visual should do it and the crank seals. If either of these are bad, your idle speed will increase and be variable plus the saw will seize again. Do the full job........ most saws seize through straight mix, old mix, poor carb adjustment and air leaks. Spud

Unless that is a collectors item, an I don't beilive it is, £400 sounds steep, I have seen Stihl Contras go for less! It looks in reasonable knick though. The problem you have sounds like a classic sign of it running weak on the L adjustment, find the L adjustment screw on the carb and try turning it counter clockwise 1/4 turn and then adjust the idle up a little. See if this improves it and if it is a little better, try another 1/4 turn but would avoid any more. Good luck spud

That is FUBARed, I would strongly recommend pressure checking the engine when puting the new parts on as you may have an air leak that caused this damage. It is more likely that it was run with old fuel or very old mix but the carb boot can crack and cause this sort of issue. It is a shame you are not more local as I may be able to salvage the cylinder. Spud

Stovax Riva - a contemporary stove but very efficient and looks and works fab. Spud

This will show you if the breather is blocked but won't help a blocked fuel filter, the filter is easy to hook out and give a clean or just replace but personally like to get to the route cause than start changing parts in the vain hope it may work. Spud

A two stroke will fire on every revolution of the crank. If the carb is tuned too lean, it will fire on every revolution until 14-18k is reached and the engine goes BANG - it will heat seize due to the high level of revs, lack of fuel/oil mix being present between the piston and cylinder and the adverse heat being generated by exhaust and friction. To stop this happening, the carb is tuned to run rich at around the 12k - 14k rpm level. This has the effect of leaving unburnt fuel in the engine on each stroke that means it stops the engine producing clean combustion on each stroke having the effect of only every other stroke producing normal combustion - something like a "fourstroke", this is the Blubbering sound you should hear on your saw at full revs. Because the saw is underload when cutting, the saw is using the extra fuel at WOT to cut so the saw sounds fine in the cut! Look at it as a rev limiter and oil feed all controlled by the carb:thumbup: You did ask and that is why I said Stuart knows a bit more than most, not being rude or wanting to cause offence. Cheers Spud

If you get stuck, PM me - just fixed up a stihl 028 for another member, now runs like a train - sheared flywheel key! Spud

If you can, check for air leaks in the crankcase (crank seals), inlet boot etc, this can cause a high idle speed - bit like when you run out of fuel, same effect. Well done for knowing about fourstroking at WOT - those guys taking the mick - he knows more than you do:thumbup: Spud

Thanks about the block paving - if anyone wants the details of the guy that did it........ Re-dealer support - I do all my own repairs from total strip downs upwards, this one came in with a leaking crank seal and cost me £27:thumbup: One mans junk.............. Spud

This is my 630 special II, one of their best and every bit as good as a Husky, solid bullet proof construction, big fat crank bearings and will last for years. Sometimes viewed as a poorer cousin to Huskys but don't put them down. Spud