Cutting brush with a 500i?

[Nate.]

Anyone had issues with the 500i's when being used in a setting where they are run at high RPM with minimal load? over the last 8 days I've had guys bring me 6 scored 500i's, the common denominator on all of them seems to be that they had been cutting small brushy material all day. The saws all scored on the exhaust side, some had light scoring on intake due to the 500i's filter system but most of the damage shows on exhaust side. These saws are abused in almost every way imaginable so assume dirty filters, dull chains and inexperienced operators. the kicker for me is that the same crews run a variety of saws including husky 372xtorq's, 462's, 461's and some 362's. Out of all those saws the 500i's are the only ones that keeping coming in dead. Anyone got any thoughts on what might be causing it? is it just a coincidence?

P.S 3 of 6 saws had max flows since new and didn't show intake scoring.

 

[Woodwackr]

Sounds like the chip leaned the saw out too much. I had a thread on AS about this way back. Stihl says no but some techs came up with the theory. I wound up replacing the piston and rings…cyl cleaned up fine. I had the tree service I do maintenance for try a richer mix from the 50:1 they had been using. No issues a year later. Same suggestion went to a local spook house owner who has a chainsaw massacre skit in his show…kept burning up his 170s. No chain and WOT is not a good combination . 40:1 or 32 now. We’ll see after this season if he kills fewer saws. 40:1 is my main ratio and some ported saws get 32.
IMO the 50:1 thing was/is an EPA *B-S.... campaign.

 

[dall]

since i bought mine in may of 2019 ive said these saws need loaded down
mine still has a 28 inch 404 bar and 8 pin sprocket on it from last time i cut firewood with it
im no logger so mine doesnt have the hours on it

 

[Nate.]

I personally run 40:1 in all my saws. These guys are firefighters and hot shot crews so they only run 50:1. I could defiantly go with the chip leaning out the saw because these saws have all gotten too hot and scored for seemingly no reason.

 

[Woodwackr]

I personally run 40:1 in all my saws. These guys are firefighters and hot shot crews so they only run 50:1. I could defiantly go with the chip leaning out the saw because these saws have all gotten too hot and scored for seemingly no reason.

a simple muffler mod/dual port really helps cool them down.

 

[Nate.]

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that but the crews are generally willing to modify their saws. They'd have to retain the spark arrester but otherwise I don't see any reason they couldn't open up the mufflers.

 

[Wilhelm]

80cc PH for brush clearing?
That's just stoopid!

But hey, WTF do I know.
Tell them they need to up their anthe to MS881's.

For chitt like that, 90€ supermarket chainsaw with 3-5 year warranty and just keep swapping them out as/if they fry.

 

[Nate.]

The issue behind that is it’s all government funded crews. Meaning they all want the latest greatest saw (500i). The crews are trading up their old 461’s for the 500i’s and well you can see the result. But at the end of the day it definitely doesn’t make sense to use a saw like that for brushing . That said I would still expect the 500i to be able to take brushing and not burn up pistons.

 

[Stihlalltheway]

80cc PH for brush clearing?
That's just stoopid!

But hey, WTF do I know.
Tell them they need to up their anthe to MS881's.

For chitt like that, 90€ supermarket chainsaw with 3-5 year warranty and just keep swapping them out as/if they fry.

It’s not that you need an 80cc saw to cut brush, it’s that you need 1 saw to do everything from cut light brush to dropping snags with a 32” bar buried

 

[Nate.]

This is true, However most of these saws come from hand crews which mostly cut small stuff. The fires have designated fallers for bigger stuff but those guys usually take decent care of their saws.

It’s not that you need an 80cc saw to cut brush, it’s that you need 1 saw to do everything from cut light brush to dropping snags with a 32” bar buried

 

[Stihlalltheway]

This is true, However most of these saws come from hand crews which mostly cut small stuff. The fires have designated fallers for bigger stuff but those guys usually take decent care of their saws.

Sometimes true, happens most often in north Cali. If the saws are from a type 2 crew that makes sense, but hotshot and type 2ia crews drop a lot of trees

 

[Nate.]

To be honest I’m not sure what type the crew is. I was talking with the crew lead about the blown saws and he was saying he is the one that does all the falling and has a 661c that’s his designated falling saw.

 

[Woodwackr]

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that but the crews are generally willing to modify their saws. They'd have to retain the spark arrester but otherwise I don't see any reason they couldn't open up the mufflers.

Just opening the stock hole, under the screen, makes a big difference.
I added a 2nd screened port to the front cover on mine.

 

[Woodwackr]

The issue behind that is it’s all government funded crews. Meaning they all want the latest greatest saw (500i). The crews are trading up their old 461’s for the 500i’s and well you can see the result. But at the end of the day it definitely doesn’t make sense to use a saw like that for brushing . That said I would still expect the 500i to be able to take brushing and not burn up pistons.

Our tax$ at work. No wonder we’re $35 T in debt.

 

[Woodwackr]

The issue behind that is it’s all government funded crews. Meaning they all want the latest greatest saw (500i). The crews are trading up their old 461’s for the 500i’s and well you can see the result. But at the end of the day it definitely doesn’t make sense to use a saw like that for brushing . That said I would still expect the 500i to be able to take brushing and not burn up pistons.

Why? It was never designed for that. Buy these pussies brush cutters.

 

[Woodwackr]

It’s not that you need an 80cc saw to cut brush, it’s that you need 1 saw to do everything from cut light brush to dropping snags with a 32” bar buried

The 500i ain’t that saw, period.

 

[Nate.]

But that would be the logical thing to do..... The government doesn't go with the smart option! The number of perfectly useable chainsaw parts i've been throwing in a dumpster lately because the government requires it makes me hurt inside, (ES light bars are especially painful).

 

[Woodwackr]

But that would be the logical thing to do..... The government doesn't go with the smart option! The number of perfectly useable chainsaw parts i've been throwing in a dumpster lately because the government requires it makes me hurt inside, (ES light bars are especially painful).

raid said dumpster at night?

 

[hacskaroly]

Same here, if the repair to damage on the saw is more than half the cost of a new saw of same, it goes on the burn pile. I have been able to salvage two 372s from the burn pile with other parts I have found there before they got torched and got them running. Most crew don’t know how to do maintenance beyond filter and plug replacement and sharpening chains.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Lots of this comes down to how it’s treated I believe, local tree guys aren’t super nice to their 500’s but they keep them sharp and don’t hold them pinned when cleaning up brush around trees to cut ect. Loggers need to brush around trees and stuff too and don’t seem to blow them up all the time.