Haironyourchest

I too have just bought a 201-C (the back handle model) with M-Tronic. I didn't realise it was m-tronic until three days later when I couldn't find the carb screws! Bit miffed actually, because I specifically didn't want the auto tune carb....but I'll have to put up with it. One immediate gripe is that the captive clutch cover nut vibrated loose on the first tank, threw the chain and the chain catcher mangled it. Yay for safety features, but too bad for the chain. Maybe a quarter of the chain drive links are trashed on the back curve, the part that makes contact with the sprocket, so, brand new chain = scrap. Caught it doing it again today, but got it in time. I realise that I have to tighten the nut more than usual on my other saws, then it seems to be ok. Flooded it this afternoon. Plug out, petrol out, pulled over till dry, and it was grand again. Other than these few gripes it has been a pure joy to use. Feather light, no smoke, no smell, no vibes, powerful, handy, ergonomic, in short - painless... Anyone know if the M-tronic can be replaced with a regular carb?

Jon, there's a pile of great torches out there these days, small and outputting thousands of lumens with lithium batteries. Just whatever you get be mindful about the batteries - the cheap rechargeable lithium 123C cells that are so popular for these kind of torches can thermally destabilise if one of the cells is a dud in a multi-cell series and cause major grief - its rare, but does occasionally happen. Google it for more expert views. Basically your aircraft grade aluminium tube with sealed ends can become a pipe bomb in your hand that not only explodes in flame and shrapnel, but also spews highly toxic smoke and stuff as well. I won't own a multi cell flashlight that runs on lithuims for this reason. Alkaline are ok, as are rechargeable NiMH as far as I know....

If you don't already have debts and obligations, don't for the gods sakes get into the position where you have to work like a slave. Its been said "Work To Live" and if you hate every minute you're there, then yeah, sure, but wouldn't it be better to enjoy your work so much that you Live To Work instead? And part of that is not working to mental and emotional exhaustion so that you end up hating what you started off loving. Take a care, young men and women!

bloody right!

The joys of being a heavy machinery owner..... My powder coated concrete mixer rusted badly, I painted the rust with boiled linseed oil. Looks horrible bunt hasn't rusted no more. Not gonna impress anyone with a mixer though, but a chipper needs to look good.... I feel your pain.

You'd better believe it. We have too many deer round here...and the forests are nothing to write home about even...problem is venison is worth less than mutton in Ireland. People just aren't interested. I know someone who farms deer as a hobby, but it pays very little. They're ornery and dangerous, need massively tall fences, and are really only for export, which again reduces your bottom line, and to top that theres only a few guys with the permits and so on to buy and sell game, and they have the market cornered. Wild deer would be too random. A lot of it's pretty tough.... But still forests would be better.......

Collect the excrement as you find it, consolidate in several layers of paper bag and save. After payment has been received, wait a few days then when the opportunity presents use your Big Shot to fire it back onto their property, at the house or car, if possible..... OR. Stipulate in the contract a surcharge of £20 for every turd trodden on or log-squashed in the course of the work.

Get a spray can of Lanotec. Its Lanolin based, sprayable, thicker than WD40, and non toxic. Brilliant stuff and non-toxic. So many people around the world pouring motor oil on everything, and by extension, the soil. it's just not necessary....also helps your hedge leaves to not get poisoned by petro-oil throough the cut......

Two Words: Rescue Remedy Everest climbers use it. Surgeons use it. Hippies use it. It works on animals and kids. It has saved lives... (Best used in conjunction with facing the fear and doing it anyway, biting the bullet, and generally taking your life back)

Question for Mr. Bullman: Do Arbtalk Forum Rules allow us to offer bounties on members of the public?? (slaps self several times) I jest -- I jest!!!!

Thanks Eddie, you say Husky originally used the carb separated system, - was that a single intake then or double? Im now looking to purchase a 365x-torq and do the mod. Looking at the parts drawing for that saw it looks like the current carb is singe venturi but with two butterflies. Would that be right? What do you think about the 365/372x-torq, is it good? As for the m-tronic and autortune I would rather avoid it. Im sure they are grand, but its just a thing y'know...

...ah-ha! They're in cahoots!!! If you were a badass, you could simply give £200 to a couple of itinerant types to go round and tell them to knock it off......but you are most probably a decent chap. Sucks to be a decent human being sometimes does it not?

Head down the army surplus (army and nave store) and pick up last decade's gore-tex gear. Cheaper and probably better than high street....

Thanks for your thoughts Spud, Re. the duel intake vs single intake I had the same feeling, even not being a mechanical guy, as such. I have watched the vid before, and just watched it again now. That x-torq appears to have duel intakes, it looks like a robust and proper design. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling etc...Is that the same set up that is used in all Husq gear then? I will try to find out and report back, hopefully someone will beat me to it. If Sthil has the rights to the patent then why do they put a single intake in their flagship saw and not just a regular x-torq? Just doesn't make sense to me.... Thanks again for your time and knowledge, wishing you a great Sunday afternoon Spud.

Spud, I have been following a s**t slinging fight on Arboristsite over the strato oiling issue this afternoon. There seems to be no definitive answer, but I would be using 40:1 HP Ultra as a matter of course. What bothers me is that there seems to be different designs of strato depending on the brand and also between saws of the same brand. The 461 appears to have a single intake carb and then splits the air from there? And then theres this "ramp" that targets the mix to the crank bearings. Then others seem to have duel carbs. Some appear to use clean air as a gaffer and others recirculate the exhaust?? Its all very vague. My fear is that I'll buy the saw and two years time there'll be a general consensus that the particular strato variant in my saw is the 'wrong' one....grrrrr Why oh why is there no info anywhere, like a cutaway of each of these motors and a simple comparison of them? There must be tons of knackerd motors laying around in buckets in sheds around the world. If anyone has one please cut it in half with a grinder and post to youtube. I will do the same should any come my way, If we all do it maybe we can all make more info red decisions....

See? Another vote for madness as the cause behind this behaviour.... I would not approach Gary under any circumstances, for fear of a violent reaction. Talk with Sue about it and gather information. Do you and Gary share any mutual friends whom you trust? Maybe see if they have heard anything from Gary that may shed light....I had this experience with a pal once, who literally went delusional on me, and accused me of a theft seven years back...it was totally out of the blue and illogical....he had done some speed a few nights previously and the drug seemed to have triggered some smouldering psychosis...three weeks later he apologised in tears....

Thanks Eddie I'll look into it

I would add a fifth scenario: Consider the possibility that either Gary or Sue may be suffering from a serious psychiatric condition. I'm serious. If Sue is being straight, then Gary honestly comes across as someone who is delusional/split personality/clinically depressive/etc. Is he a drug user? Is he on/off meds? Has he cracked from stress in his personal life? Or maybe Sue is delusional. There are crazies out there, and they can seem very normal until something sets them off..... (no offence intended to anyone reading who suffers from mental health issues)

Hi Stubby, the saws Im looking at are not Autotune or M-tronic. Im sure the intillicarbs are brill and all, but the idea just doesn't sit right with me. Im fascinated by the mechanical strato principle though, and would like to take advantage of it. I have formed the opinion after researching around this topic for several months, that the "World Chainsaw Community" just might be the most superstitious group of manly men on the planet, after sailors.... And I mean that in a kindly way - and readily admit my own tendency to prejudice...If I dont shake and roll the mix can just so, each and every time I fill the saw, well...something terrible...will happen...

He Joe, yes that's the plan. I already have an ex-hire 543 x-torq strimmer since feb, which has been fine so far, and a 131 4-mix pole saw which is also fine. The aspen is great, and I realise its deductable etc, but with the kind of quantities a large cc saw would get though; I don't know...Again, strimming all day, guzzles fuel, and can't charge much for strimming compared to tree work. I currently have a 254xp and a ms250, which are too close in power and weight to be worth having two saws (not counting the rescue and backup factor). Id be looking at a 75cc and a small and light pro saw for lighter work. Of course I'm penny wise and pound foolish like everyone else. Dropping a grand and a half on saws but too tight to use aspen...yes i know...But my reasoning is that If I used aspen in my current line up for the next five years, Id probably be half way to spending the cost of a new strato saw...and still be wielding last century's model, that would by that time be even more dated. Ive sunk €500+ in my 254xp in parts and labour these last few years. If the 250 starts playing up I will not bother paying for or trying to fix.

Hi TORNADOS7 thanks for your input. As far as I know the catalytic converter thing is not found on saws in the EU (open to correction), its not available here in Ire on Sthils and Husqs anyway, and I wouldn't want it if it were. Some of the Dolmars seem to have it though. I hear what you're saying about checking the plug - good idea. But don't they say you shouldn't run WOT no-load for more than 3 seconds at a time? I don't think I would feel comfortable flogging my brand new saw like that! Obviously I will remove any limiters if possible, and replace after tuning. I'd like to see a Parts Diagram for the 461 but can't find one - there is a french language site with a slew of Stihl parts diagrams but it doesn't include the 461!. -- Eddie_T - thanks for reply. I think I stumbled upon those patents but I think they were beyond me. I'm going to have another look... So If Red Max invented the x-torque design, and sold to Husq who sold to Sthil...is there any difference at all in the way they things are built? Have still refined and improved on the Red Max design? If Husqu chooses who makes the cylinders, are the Stihl and Husq cylinders from the same maker then??

As Oscar Wilde would have said (if he was alive today, and a member on Arbtalk) "I wish I'd posted that....."

Who makes the best stratified two stroke system? Decision to buy will be decided by whichever crowd makes the most reliable and efficient motor. I've searched high and low of info and found nothing this layman can comprehend. There are some unsupported statements around that Sthil's 2-Mix is really the X-Torq under licence, but I can'f find any proof of this. If it is so, would it matter? Scrutinizing the youtube vids of the various systems it looks like they are different, but I could be mistaken. I have been agonising over this for months, and will most probably agonise for some time more....I want to run all low-emissions gear, purely for my health and comfort, and can't afford to use aspen on a daily basis. Just flummoxed that there is so little info out there. In Ireland there is really only the Big Two available, with a smattering of the smaller Makitas. Also an add-on question: I gather that all these strato saws are set borderline lean form the factory. Is this true?? If so, will richening the carb for "longevity" defeat the effectiveness of the strato system? Yes I realise these questions are a tall order for folks like us, who don't have fully equipped laboratories and million dollar emissions testing machines in our sheds.......but maybe someone has a link to some independent hard facts? To those who suffered my "Black Hole" rant - please forgive me. It was a self indulgent, emotion-saturated version of the questions posted here. Thanks a mill for any feedback.

Aspen is about £18.00 a gallon no? = £3.60 per litre Super Unleaded British Average = £1.25 per litre Stihl HP Ultra £17 per litre (0.34 pence for each litre of petrol at 50:1) So mix aspen and petrol 50/50 and add the oil and you get a cocktail that costs £2.60 with half of the harmful emissions of straight petrol. Use that in a strato saw and you wipe out half the emissions again (they say up to 70% but lets be conservative) so you end up with a quarter of the emissions that you started out with running normal petrol in a last-generation saw. A lot of guys are saying they would move to aspen if only it were a bit cheaper. Well, this option is "affordable" and would bring the emissions way down. Is it a good compromise? I haven't tried it yet, will when/if I get my new saw. Maybe on the days I have to do a lot of bucking or cutting through stacks in close weather or heavy cover I'll use straight aspen, and maybe when the wind is up and I can position upwind or crosswind I'll go straight petrol. Another benefit of the cocktail is it reduces the ethanol levels by half, if you are worried about that kind of thing. Seems that saws can cope with a bit of ethanol, but not too much...?? I reckon aspen dealers would sell more product if guys were mixing it with their petrol. Virtual Prize for whoever comes up with the best name for the cocktail..........

...I don't wanna to get cancer from breathing benzene fumes...too young to die...benzene, toluene, monoxide...my saws are too old...outmoded technology...dirty...spewing out poison in the still air...gotta position upwind from now on...what if there's no wind?...can't just not show up on calm days can I?...no...need new saws...strato saws...go all Stihl this time so I can have the good bars and chains...one stop shop...no more Husq...no more oregon...twelve hours online researching...dream about saws...more research on phone in the early dawn...on the toilet...researching...so many saws...so many saws...price point...cry once...cry once...ah! the 661! perfect....youtube....the perfect saw...wait...no it's M-tronic, don't want that...more to go wrong...damn....ok then the 461...but it's not 90cc...hmmmm...still, how much power do you really need?...that kilo adds up over a day....heavy....be glad at the end of the day...good reviews...cry once...wrap handle?...hen's teeth...must have a wrap handle...do without for now...maybe next year....ok but what about a limbing saw...need one...old 250 and 254xp are ruining my health...could sell them and buy a nice little light little pro saw....mmmm...yes...but hard to sell...put them online...no...attract thieves to my home...probably...sell to a friend?...what if they hurt themselves?...oh bugger...not worth much anyway...could use aspen...yes of course, aspen...God, the price!!!!....but what price heath?...maybe mix it 50/50 with petrol...stand upwind...don't be silly...need a strato saw...the little one's nearly the same price as the big ones...how can it be?...are the small Makitas strato?...site doesn't say...catalytic converters...no thanks...small Husqs are strato...cheap too...plastic crap...seen em break...so many conflicting opinions, reports....Arbtalk...Arboristsite..Forestryforum..Treebuzz...it's night again...eyes red...hands shaking...all the flashy websites...so many numbers...what was that model?...why do the yanks pay less?...maybe fly to the states...duffle bag...dont be silly...benzene...benzene...the right saw must exist...it must...it just....has to.......