Cutting brush with a 500i?

[Woodwackr]

I also don't have a ton of faith in these guys ability to mix fuel correctly..... I got a 461 in today that was smoking bad, Like smoke screen bad. I asked about their fuel and they swore they mixed a good batch of 50:1 just this morning! I emptied the fuel and put some of my mix in and what do you know after about 30 seconds of running it quite smoking! If I had to guess I'd say it was running at least 25:1 probably worse.

This!
Tree service I do maintenance for had a newb who “topped off” the 5gal job cans that morning with straight gas. Filled saws on site…climber started with his 200t and a few min later, done. He figured it out fast and haunted all saw work, called the other crew to do the same. He basically saved all but his personal saw that day.
I rebuilt it with just a new oe piston. Newb was fired.

 

[sawmikaze]

This!
Tree service I do maintenance for had a newb who “topped off” the 5gal job cans that morning with straight gas. Filled saws on site…climber started with his 200t and a few min later, done. He figured it out fast and haunted all saw work, called the other crew to do the same. He basically saved all but his personal saw that day.
I rebuilt it with just a new oe piston. Newb was fired.

He isn't too bright of a guy to let a new guy handle the fuel, that can obviously end up being an expensive mistake.

 

[sawmikaze]

It's the injection on the 500i!
Gotta be.

I agree.

 

[sawmikaze]

Interesting. The 346 of his that I have…04, I think…is on 32:1 at his suggestion.
I have run it at 40 when that was the can I had with me

85% of this forum won't wear out a rim sprocket let alone a piston and cylinder.

I'd wager with a sharp chain and a good maintenance routine and the boutique oils these guys run 50:1 would see them out for a VERY long time.

 

[Woodwackr]

He isn't too bright of a guy to let a new guy handle the fuel, that can obviously end up being an expensive mistake.

Yea, lesson learned.

 

[Hoser]

I’d agree with 50:1 being a-ok. Before I knew it was “bad” that’s all I ran with Castrol-stihl oil. My 271 has cut hundreds of cords, it was all I had as I worked for free and it still runs good today.
There was a group of Mennonite loggers who seemed to be really good at killing 500i’s but yet they get good life out of 661’s? They run only .404

 

[Wilhelm]

Brush clearing, s#!tty jobs & lend out chainsaw.

 

[farminkarman]

85% of this forum won't wear out a rim sprocket let alone a piston and cylinder.

I'd wager with a sharp chain and a good maintenance routine and the boutique oils these guys run 50:1 would see them out for a VERY long time.

You ain’t wrong

 

[sawmikaze]

Yea, lesson learned.

I screwed up one morning we were at the gas station..we had the whole rodeo there filling the machine, chipper, trucks, gas and diesel cans....I was walking from pump to pump doing 10 things at one time...I thought I put 2 of the 2.5 mix bottles in the 5 gallon can but I only put one in..thank god I caught it when I noticed that red armor didn't look too red..more pink..

That would have been a really expensive day...

 

[Dustin4185]

Which is bs since the tax payers bought them in the first place

They should at least sell them on GovDeals. We have to do that with our old equipment.

 

[sawmikaze]

I’d agree with 50:1 being a-ok. Before I knew it was “bad” that’s all I ran with Castrol-stihl oil. My 271 has cut hundreds of cords, it was all I had as I worked for free and it still runs good today.
There was a group of Mennonite loggers who seemed to be really good at killing 500i’s but yet they get good life out of 661’s? They run only .404

The smart guys on here say that these new strato saws need more oil not for the top but for the bottom..I guess that makes sense to me..

 

[Dustin4185]

@nate, where are these crews located? I work with some USFS crews in East TN from time to time. I also handle a lot of saw stuff for the agency I work for. This info is great to have. I have a couple 500i’s in our fleet and I am always worried about what to watch for with newer saws. We are in hardwoods so we are t cutting line with saws like they do out west. When I went through S212, the videos and demonstrations on clearing brush was exactly what you were describing, WOT blips with little to no letting the saw cool down before shutting off. Their mentality is a running saw is a dangerous saw so they get killed ASAP when you’re not using it. I got docked points on my fallers certification for that. I don’t work for USFS, so I can’t speak to whether or not they can mix whatever ratio they want, but our agency can. I’ve pushed 40:1 for a while now. I know some USFS groups run “canned” fuel only unless on big jobs out here. If they are buying pump gas, it’s whatever is available at the local stop n’ rob. They also use silver bottle Stihl out here. I’m thinking they told me they buy everything directly through Stihl in bulk and it gets divided out to each crew as needed. Parts and repair is done local. The guys I’ve dealt with are great sawyers and are petty knowledgeable about maintenance and such.

 

[Nate.]

Most of them are Nor Cal or So Cal crews, pretty frequently I see Washington and Oregon crews out here as well. Most of the hot shot's and FS crews at least know a little about their saws even though they thrash them! Its the Cal fire guys that usually scare me! I had a Cal fire guy in yesterday with a 261 that had laminated Stihl bar with the paint wore off from heat. Well said guy points to the spot welds that hold the bar together and asks me how long before these rivets are worn out.....

 

[sawmikaze]

I’d agree with 50:1 being a-ok. Before I knew it was “bad” that’s all I ran with Castrol-stihl oil. My 271 has cut hundreds of cords, it was all I had as I worked for free and it still runs good today.
There was a group of Mennonite loggers who seemed to be really good at killing 500i’s but yet they get good life out of 661’s? They run only .404

.404 is too much for that baby clutch a 500 has if it actually gets used in my opinion.

 

[Ezarb]

I also don't have a ton of faith in these guys ability to mix fuel correctly..... I got a 461 in today that was smoking bad, Like smoke screen bad. I asked about their fuel and they swore they mixed a good batch of 50:1 just this morning! I emptied the fuel and put some of my mix in and what do you know after about 30 seconds of running it quite smoking! If I had to guess I'd say it was running at least 25:1 probably worse.

Despite how basic it is, I never have faith in anyone but myself to create mix accurately.
Another thing I see a lot of with random employees is, they neglect to thoroughly shake the can after it's been sitting for a bit.

Growing up I never noticed myself until years ago when a Motocross friend of mine showed me how the fuel & oil would separate after sitting for a bit & just how much agitation it needed to truly mix. I don't know if oils have changed since then & addressed this aspect, but ever since then I've made it a habit to shake thoroughly even if it "looks" good & mixed already.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Despite how basic it is, I never have faith in anyone but myself to create mix accurately.
Another thing I see a lot of with random employees is, they neglect to thoroughly shake the can after it's been sitting for a bit.

Growing up I never noticed myself until years ago when a Motocross friend of mine showed me how the fuel & oil would separate after sitting for a bit & just how much agitation it needed to truly mix. I don't know if oils have changed since then & addressed this aspect, but ever since then I've made it a habit to shake thoroughly even if it "looks" good & mixed already.

The new oils aren’t supposed to separate out anymore but shaking a can hurts nothing either.