MCCULLOCH The official McCulloch thread

[PogoInTheWoods]

Thanks. Not a temperature issue. Didn't wanna hear ballasts on all ten fixtures goin bad at the same time, either. That's just plain spooky.
I'm thinking a connection issue somewhere like wire nuts crammed into a work box that aren't quite tight enough or something. Good news is, ballast covers are snap type that just slide under tabs for service/trouble shooting. Bad news is, the fixtures are all chain hung about 10ft. up with saws all over the floor underneath em! And aren't ballasts test-able with a multi-meter and the correct wires twisted together? Seem to recall reading that somewhere.

Anyway, I just finished up an SP81 rebuild with a rattle can paint job that turned out a little better than expected. Many thanks to Mark H. for hooking me up with a tank for an adjustable carb since I swapped out a fixed jet SDC for an adjustable one and didn't want to risk ruining my tank trying to drill it out. Just needs a fuel filter now and a decal from Sugar Creek to get it out into some wood and all banged up again!

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[e.fisher26]

So I WANTED to put led shop lights in the shed, I tried buying the cheap 4ft fluorescent fixture and get the replacement led bulbs, didn't work as advertised. Walmart has new led 4 fixtures for $35. I went with 100w led screw-in bulbs. Instant on in the cold and much cheaper. (Shed, not large area room)


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[T.Roller]

Thanks. Not a temperature issue. Didn't wanna hear ballasts on all ten fixtures goin bad at the same time, either. That's just plain spooky.
I'm thinking a connection issue somewhere like wire nuts crammed into a work box that aren't quite tight enough or something. Good news is, ballast covers are snap type that just slide under tabs for service/trouble shooting. Bad news is, the fixtures are all chain hung about 10ft. up with saws all over the floor underneath em! And aren't ballasts test-able with a multi-meter and the correct wires twisted together? Seem to recall reading that somewhere.

Anyway, I just finished up an SP81 rebuild with a rattle can paint job that turned out a little better than expected. Many thanks to Mark H. for hooking me up with a tank for an adjustable carb since I swapped out a fixed jet SDC for an adjustable one and didn't want to risk ruining my tank trying to drill it out. Just needs a fuel filter now and a decal from Sugar Creek to get it out into some wood and all banged up again!

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I'd check your neutral in the panel and on each circuit.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Will do. I can actually get to the panel. Hahaha.

Back to saws...

Decided to tear down my PM8200 to see just how bad the piston and cylinder really were. (You may recall me scrounging for a PM8200 piston recently?) This is what I could see through the exhaust port. Not burnt scored. Just weird.
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So I pulled it down and popped open the short block. Have seen much better sealing jobs on plastic Poulans and was surprised to find such a sloppy seal. Note sealant in the case area below the cylinder..., a lot of it. Looks like some was even splotched on the crank.

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Here are some better piston shots for analysis and discussion. (Please discuss.)

Exhaust side:




Intake side:


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[PogoInTheWoods]

Hit attachment limit with previous post so here's some more pics...,

Another intake side shot:

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Best I could do for cylinder shots. Sorry.

A barely detectable area of aluminum xfer at the​

top of the cylinder on the exhaust side and some very light scratching just above the intake port..., everything else is just streaking and wear mark transfer from whatever got after that piston. To me? It looks like foreign material was ingested and/or a chunk (or chunks) of sealant got loose and had their way with the poor piston. Except for the gouge at the top of the intake side, all the rest of the damage just looks like extreme wear down of the aluminum with some unusual pitting also present just below the ring lands on the exhaust side. Weird.

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I may try to gently work that piston with some super fine emery cloth and see where that may take me since it's the ONLY PM8200 piston I even know of at the moment. And fwiw, the rings were still free and not baked into the lands as is typical with a top end meltdown. The saw may have even run. Never tried to start it due to the recoil coming along with it in a bag. Fixed that after I had most everything else torn down. Wish I would have done a vac/pressure test before tearing it all the way down, too. I hate when I do (don't do) that.

It's pretty clear by the combustion chamber that this saw was a low hour saw. Everything else about it says the same thing. Only thing real weird (besides the top end) was the problem with the starter assembly. Somehow the brass bushing in the housing for the pulley post was burred inside to the extent that the post couldn't even get through it, let alone spin freely. Otherwise an exceptionally extra clean specimen of a PM8200.
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[fossil]

Other than bugging you, a piston with good ring lands and minimal damage can run fine for a long time. Heck, a friend from my youth who was a masterful small block Chevy builder used to knurl pistons in a lathe and run them at close to 10,000 rpm with no issues.
I have an XL-76 with a scored piston with 185 psi comp. It does kind of bother me though.

 

[Al Smith]

Somebody stuck that thing together with black RTV .Probably not the best choice .

Now I wonder if it was a tear down at one time because I've never seen black used on a McCulloch .The older 10 series they used gasket shellac like "Indian Head " on the later I've seen blue RTV .

As far as RTV .it's okay if it's the right stuff .Loctite 5900 would have worked .That stuff might have been bath tub caulk or something which is not fuel resistant.

If you can find some lapping paper like used to micro finish crankshaft journals and sand out the high spots on that piston it might work .Start out with 40 micron paper using kerosene then 20 micron to finish it .Run it with a richer oil ratio and don't lean out the high speed jet too much it might run forever .

 

[Al Smith]

By now it's been about ten years that I saved a PM 610 for my wifes nephew the piston might have been a tad worse than that one .

Dang thing had a leaky oil pump that carboned up the exhaust port so badly it chewed away at the exhaust side of the piston .I sanded it out,new rings,new oil pump of course and off it went .

Funny thing was his buddies in Flat Rock Mich. could not believe a heavy old 30 plus year old $75 McCulloch could out run their 029 Stihls .I smiled .

 

[plcnut]

With the florescent light issue:
The grounding of the fixture is very important. Make sure that the fixtures are properly grounded, it can effect the lamp starting circuit. Many people (including many electricians I have met) think that the ground wire is basically the same as a neutral wire, and so they get sloppy with proper grounding.

 

[Al Smith]

While a properly grounded fixture is important ,you're going to have to explain what that has to do with a fixture firing .I hold two journeyman cards. IBEW and UAW and if you count my navy time have been doing this stuff since 1967 and never heard that before .

 

[plcnut]

While a properly grounded fixture is important ,you're going to have to explain what that has to do with a fixture firing .I hold two journeyman cards. IBEW and UAW and if you count my navy time have been doing this stuff since 1967 and never heard that before .

I do not know what it is in the ballast that is affected by the ground. I have been told that the grounding is important for the electronic ballasts, and I have seen multiple installations with near-new fixtures that will not start, that had poor or no grounding. I have never had an issue with any of my fixtures though, but I am very picky about grounding, and making sure my neutral is only bonded at the first point of disconnect. I have no proof or reasoning beyond what I have stated here, and hope I did not come across as argumenative. You have way more experience than I do.

 

[Al Smith]

Electronic ballasts ,some which can be dimmed are the worst excuse for lighting ever invented IMO .The only thing they are is cheap .

The work I do is industrial automation and robots and very little lighting etc .However from what little over the years on industrial office lighting etc electronic ballasts are not the answer .Residential stuff it might work better .I've got a couple of under counter 3 footers that I've never had a problem with other than changing the tubes every 5-6 years .they never shut off .

FWIW it might sound odd but tubes will last longer if they never get shut off rather than constantly being on and off. That being said you could get into a long winded conversation concerning gas discharge lighting types and theory that would over load the server on this forum . I find it rather boring myself.It's all on Google if you want to look it up .

 

[plcnut]

Electronic ballasts ,some which can be dimmed are the worst excuse for lighting ever invented IMO .The only thing they are is cheap .

I won't argue with you on that!

The work I do is industrial automation and robots

Cool. I have never got into robotics, but I make my living with PLC's, PC control/software, and machine/control system design and building.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

"Preciate all the fluorescent banter and sorry for derailing the thread. I certainly have a few things to check over once the weather warms up a little and I can find time to move some saws around to access fixtures. Will definitely start at the panel and go from there. Pretty convinced it's a connection integrity issue somewhere and the only thing the two circuits have in common is the panel and their respective breakers.

 

[Al Smith]

It'a all PLC's of some kind .Drives me nuts the different operating systems and nearly impossible to remember them all .

 

[exSW]

I'd check that piston's diameter with the bore. May be undersized.

 

[Darin]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/272531761966

Not sure if this will fit a 797. From the pics and numbers on the bar, anybody got any insight to whether this will fit a 797 without having to do modifications?

 

[Al Smith]

It might but keep in mind the nose is not riveted and he wants 75 bucks for it with shipping, your call .

 

[Darin]

If I was to pick it up I'd throw a 3/8 tip on it. It's a little too short a bar than what I need. I would prefer a 32"-36" bar, sprocket tip, but those are damn hard to find for the 797s and 125s.

 

[fossil]

Not to mention that it may be .058 ga. I'd be suspicious of that.