Where can I get an adapter to use on the newer saws with the smaller plug hole?
I've got a 550xp and an ms211 that I would like to check for various reasons.
Also how much margin of error does an adapter add?
Thanks all.
Back in December, I had an online discussion with Brad Snelling about this same issue. I have a compression gauge I bought from Bailey's. That gauge doesn't come with a 10mm adapter for testing saws with the dinky little spark plugs, so I bought a 14mm-->10mm adapter (a threaded cylinder of steel with gaskets to seal either end). It has a ~1/8" diameter hole running through it.
When testing my 2014 vintage 562XP when it's cold, I got a massive (!!) 118 PSI after about 5-6 pulls. This sucks, so I pulled the muffler & checked the piston, which looks just fine.
It seems that you need a Schrader valve at the end of the 10mm threaded adapter or hose or whatever you use. My adapter has no such valve. Brad explained that by doing so, you basically add the volume of the adapter to the volume of the combustion chamber (when the piston is at TDC).
So I pulled out my JB Weld, and filled the 1/8" hole as best I could, carefully packing it into the adapter with a toothpick, cured the epoxy with a hot air gun, then drilled a wee little hole through the adapter. I'm sure it's not perfect, but I ended up filling 1.6cc of dead air space (as measured by water displacement & my reloading scale). Compression testing with the epoxy filled adapter gave me a pressure of 142 PSI.
So I'm not sure how accurate my 142 PSI reading really is. I'd read over on AS about somebody else testing their 562XP with a 10mm adapter vs the "real" gauge, and they saw 130 PSI vs ~160 PSI with the real gauge.