Chain Life and Ported Saws

[IffykidMn]

Good catch Jim! Last couple of days I’ve been waiting for the landowner to move/remove fencing around the pasture I’m logging. So I had a couple late starts, and I’m OK with that

Lack of snow means no plowing and a lot of downtime which has me trolling the forums more than usual which is probably not a good thing, I need to find something more productive to occupy my time. Next GTG is along ways off still.

 

[HumBurner]

focus on 70cc’s and above.

Ain't cuttin no sprouts/resprouts/brush with a 70cc, at least not when that's the job at hand. 70cc is for cutting trees and making logs/rounds.

.404 would be awesome when you're in dirt all day or cutting in areas of more rock than soil.

I made a thread on the other site a year or more ago, and was told the old Stihls could be setup with .404 and small bars. Brusher's delight!

 

[redneckhillbilly]

this reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend of mine about his boat.

LS powered river fishin jet boat, ran great before the whipple supercharger, now altenators puke bearings every 6 months, is it the aditional torque going through the drive belt causing the strain on the bearings? faulty replacement parts? or something else?

I can see additional power being a factor in chain cutter performance, alot like Mercruiser altenators 3/8 chain is used on a vast spread of saws making different amounts of torque, maybe ported 70cc saws are pushing the boundaries for what the steel in the cutters can withstand.

 

[SCHallenger]

Probably, maybe....?

But in theory, the same thing would apply to running a 16" bar on a 40cc compared to a 70cc, or a 20" on a 60cc compared to a 90cc.

So how much more quickly would they wear out is the question. That answer, and which parts of the chain wear out first will depend on cutting-style/handling, wood being cut and under what conditions, sharpness/depths, bar maintenance, etc....

And, matbe, the lubricating qualities of the bar oil?

 

[EFSM]

Run sharp chains.

This can never be overstated.
Also running a chain faster using a larger sprocket while counteracting that by less chip depth from higher rakers should spread the stress out over the teeth better.

 

[Hoser]

In my experience with my ported saws I haven’t noticed enough of a difference for it be noticeable.
I could see it happening in some circumstances but probably more from putting on an 8 pin to load the saw up more.

I can 100% say ported saws have been hardest on my wallet more than anything else.

 

[Stump Shot]

How many licks to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
Much the same results with these types of questions, depends on who you ask.
For my two cents it can be beneficial at times, like for slinging dirt off the chain instead of it going round and round. Cutting through a nail vs breaking a tooth etc.
Then there's oil sling off, if it doesn't make it around the sprocket, it doesn't do much good.
Is time a parameter or just the amount of work completed? Or is it a time/work equation?
I believe at the end of the day it's up to each individual operator to be either happy or sad with their current situation they happen to have on hand, stock or ported.
In reality, the correct answer is three...

 

[Cat 525]

Ported saws should be cutting faster and more wood in same amount of time. With more rpm the teeth are seeing more wood. So it's easy to assume it's dulling quicker and wearing out faster. Same as sprockets. Everything has so many revolutions in its life and then needs repaired. Keep em ported and sharp and don't fret the small stuff!

 

[Lurch]

Saw chain is a wear item. Use it up, throw it away, move on.

 

[dangerousatom]

I think the simple answer is YES but, this is one of those questions that never gets answered, even though many of the stated reasons are correct and intelligently stated.

There are far too many factors and situations to get a good handle on exact reasons for ware on a chain. Like many have said ^above every time you use a saw there’s “5 or more reasons” why it’s not the same as last time and why it’s waring more or less.
- IMO more power will always = more ware
More power creates more of all things good and bad, but the compromise of more ware under higher power/rpm is less physical work and the time doing it. If that was not the cast we would still be using hand saws and axes to cut trees down. It’s all about getting the job done faster without spending a lot of time and money along with how much your physically impacted to do so. A chain is in the end a consumable item like brake pads, it can be babied to last longer but is it worth it in the end.

I do things to help prevent chain ware
-add a spoon full of Liquid Moly anti friction to my tank of bar oil
-have a 60cc syringe of red grease in my saw stuff to grease up the bar a lil before i start cutting
-I’m conscious of wether there’s oil slinging off the bar end every 5-6 big logs and if the bar paint is going brown/burnt
-touching up the saw teeth when I can tell they are starting to dull but not giving the chain a major sharpening
-taking into account that the cut I just did on a log is curving when it should be straight

 

[Motorka]

I was thinking how nice .404 would be on this nifty little ported 550.....

550 xp uses 325 so upgrade would be 3/8 ...

 

[redline4]

this reminds me of a discussion I had with a friend of mine about his boat.

LS powered river fishin jet boat, ran great before the whipple supercharger, now altenators puke bearings every 6 months, is it the aditional torque going through the drive belt causing the strain on the bearings? faulty replacement parts? or something else?

I can see additional power being a factor in chain cutter performance, alot like Mercruiser altenators 3/8 chain is used on a vast spread of saws making different amounts of torque, maybe ported 70cc saws are pushing the boundaries for what the steel in the cutters can withstand.

Is it all driven by a single belt? If so, I'd have to surmise that the supercharger came with a belt tensioner with more tension that's possibly creating an issue.
Any pics of that?

 

[redline4]

I have noticed zero difference between a stock saw and a ported saw in regards to chain damage when hitting frozen ground...

 

[Squareground3691]

Ported saws rule, dull chains suck , Lol

 

[Woodwater]

This doesn't matter.

 

[dangerousatom]

This doesn't matter.

LoL of course it doesnt matter in the grand scheme of wood cutting, thats why its already got a ravenous discussion going about it. If it did the government would have spent millions on determining it and gotten the same results we are.
.
.

 

[IffykidMn]

I have noticed zero difference between a stock saw and a ported saw in regards to chain damage when hitting frozen ground...

My vote is that you do further frozen ground experimentation for the betterment of the chainsaw community and the rest of us do not have to do so.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

Is it all driven by a single belt? If so, I'd have to surmise that the supercharger came with a belt tensioner with more tension that's possibly creating an issue.
Any pics of that?

that was my first thought, but the blower has its own belt and tensioner, the crank pulley was changed as well to have the blower belt outside of the original drive belt.

next time hes in town I will snap a few pics

 

[Loony661]

I realize that there’s no right answer to my question. It’s fun to read everyone’s theories on the how’s and why’s however.

I certainly think it’s possible that more powerful, faster saws can create a higher-wear environment, but there is absolutely no way to actually test that and eliminate all the variables.