Chainsaw life expectancy?

[peter92]

Heard good things about this oil.View attachment 55895

no

 

[mdavlee]

1k hours is what I've read for stihl pistons. That's a lot of fuel through one.

 

[KenJax Tree]

I have to ask. Should we start a oil thread?

NO!

 

[cus_deluxe]

So in partial answer to the original question, pretty sure all ope sold in the u.s. Is given an epa "compliance period". While obviously not exact, it gives an idea of life expectancy under "normal use"

 

[Whiskers]

Do the new mtronic saws keep track of hours ran? Somewhat like an odometer? If so I wonder if any of the manufacturers will take advantage of the data as time goes on and use their longevity as a marketing tool.

 

[Dirtmagnet]

1k hours is what I've read for stihl pistons. That's a lot of fuel through one.

I have always wondered about the life cycle of a saw in "Pro" hands. I understand that normally they are run over, crushed by a tree or flung off into the wilderness before the mechanicals actually fail, but assuming continued use with "normal" maintenance, can a "pro" get 1 calendar year of production cutting use on the same saw? 2 years? More? Obviously hours on the saw or "xx "board feet are the true measure.

Based the post above by @mdavlee, let's try something..

Assuming 6 hours of REAL saw run time per day and 1000 hour rating on the Stihl piston (we need to assume this 1000 hrs rating = optimal performance and not completely worn beyond use). We get 1000 hrs for piston /6 hours per day of use = 166.67 days of "optimal lifetime" from a Stihl piston. This is less than 1/2 calendar year.. does this make sense?

 

[DND 9000]

Do the new mtronic saws keep track of hours ran?

Yes they do count operating hours and succsessful starts.

 

[Derf]

I have always wondered about the life cycle of a saw in "Pro" hands. I understand that normally they are run over, crushed by a tree or flung off into the wilderness before the mechanicals actually fail, but assuming continued use with "normal" maintenance, can a "pro" get 1 calendar year of production cutting use on the same saw? 2 years? More? Obviously hours on the saw or "xx "board feet are the true measure.

Based the post above by @mdavlee, let's try something..

Assuming 6 hours of REAL saw run time per day and 1000 hour rating on the Stihl piston (we need to assume this 1000 hrs rating = optimal performance and not completely worn beyond use). We get 1000 hrs for piston /6 hours per day of use = 166.67 days of "optimal lifetime" from a Stihl piston. This is less than 1/2 calendar year.. does this make sense?

It does make sense, but I would question the 6 hours of run time a day. There's a good amount of time riding from camp out to the cutting site, walking around, evaluating a tree, planning a fall, etc.

Even so, if you're using a saw every day to earn bread, a piston every 6-12 months isn't too bad.

 

[jacob j.]

It does make sense, but I would question the 6 hours of run time a day. There's a good amount of time riding from camp out to the cutting site, walking around, evaluating a tree, planning a fall, etc.

Even so, if you're using a saw every day to earn bread, a piston every 6-12 months isn't too bad.

Even on a hard day a guy probably only gets 4.5 hours of actual run time. "Straight Falling" jobs is where a guy gets continual trigger time during the day- that's where you're just sending trees straight down the hill to be yarded out tree length. I had a partner once who could consistently send 450-500 trees down the hill most days (I was doing a little over half that). If you're jacking timber, then it's even less because there's a lot of time spent setting up Rams, lining up cuts and lays, and wedging to help your jacks out.

The guys that really get trigger time are the thinning crews. I've seen Mexican thinning crews get eight hours on a saw in a day. They typically run smaller saws though (360/361s, 562s, and 357/359s).

 

[Derf]

I had a partner once who could consistently send 450-500 trees down the hill most days (I was doing a little over half that).

My eyes are boggling at that. That man was earning well!

 

[jacob j.]

My eyes are boggling at that. That man was earning well!

He was a beast of a man- 6'3", about 265 pounds and strong as an ox. He ran 372s and 385s mostly with 32" bars. It was a bushel job, meaning we were paid for how much wood we could cut in a day. He consistently earned almost twice as much as I did.

That was years ago. He drives log truck now as a single owner/operator, and I work in an office.

 

[Derf]

He was a beast of a man- 6'3", about 265 pounds and strong as an ox. He ran 372s and 385s mostly with 32" bars. It was a bushel job, meaning we were paid for how much wood we could cut in a day. He consistently earned almost twice as much as I did.

That was years ago. He drives log truck now as a single owner/operator, and I work in an office.

Was his name Paul, by any chance?

 

[Dirtmagnet]

Thanks for the information everyone! I had originally planned 4 hours of run time in my calculation but it seemed a bit low.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Assuming 6 hours of REAL saw run time per day and 1000 hour rating on the Stihl piston (we need to assume this 1000 hrs rating = optimal performance and not completely worn beyond use). We get 1000 hrs for piston /6 hours per day of use = 166.67 days of "optimal lifetime" from a Stihl piston. This is less than 1/2 calendar year.. does this make sense?

That is true, but I also doubt that that the operator is working 7 days a week. Using the 6 hour figure per day and 5 days a week, it would take 33.3 weeks (almost 8 months) to reach 1000 hours.

 

[jmssaws]

4 hours of running a saw a day here would be a brutal day,the very best fallers here on a good day in good timber might cut and top 70+ trees but on average more like 30 to 50 trees.

Select cutting you do a lot more walking than you do cutting.

There's 660's running here that are many many years old and have millions of feet on them,there's a unlimited amount of variables for how long one will last.

My dad bought a 034 new in the 80's and it still runs great,it's also never had a fuel line or the carb rebuilt.

The 5200 poulan he bought new has never had a single thing done to it either

 

[Cigmaker]

I bought a ms360 pro from my brother in law a few years ago. It did have a broke clutch spring but other than that and a trip to Tennessee it's stock.

 

[CR888]

So in partial answer to the original question, pretty sure all ope sold in the u.s. Is given an epa "compliance period". While obviously not exact, it gives an idea of life expectancy under "normal use"

I am pretty sure the epa hour rating ie 50hrs or 300hrs is a period of time OEM's are contractially obliged for the product to produce up to X amount of exhaust emmisions for the period stated on compliance plate. While it can be an indicator of engine build quality, it has not much to do with 'life expectancy' of engine, rather a period it will fit the regs at minimum.

 

[jb-chainsaws]

I've always figured with the new saws that are computer controlled, they'll never last as long as the old saws for the simple reason that once the manufacturer stops offering tech support for that model after say 20/30 years they'll become nothing but boat anchors

 

[cus_deluxe]

@CR888 , yeah i know thats what its for. Just saying thats the closest thing you can get to an objective life span.

 

[Simondo]

I would say that a guide could come from the manufacturers Warrantee period .
No manufacturer is going to on "purpose" that is..... design there saw to flake out in that time . The pro saws will have a warrantee offered to reflect its "Theoretical " use in the given time. One maker offers 5 yr ...non pro... and 2 yr for.... pro...that is the exception i believe.