Thread: which 50-60cc Stihl chainsaw

depends
big bar big rings heavy lifting on to splitter
smaller bar smaller rings
I try doing the easier wood these days

Originally Posted by bigbear

depends
big bar big rings heavy lifting on to splitter
smaller bar smaller rings
I try doing the easier wood these days

Rip the rings into half or quarters, then lift

Farm trees don’t hold their breath so a small bar can make small rings, they grow, and grow

You walk over there n scratch yer head and go “ shit this was bigger than I thought !”

And often your required to “tidy up” the mess or broken/blown over tree, so you clean up the whole thing, trunk and all

Then leave some cut wood behind for the farmer

Because the farmer is always a bloody good fella

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Rip the rings into half or quarters, then lift

Farm trees don’t hold their breath so a small bar can make small rings, they grow, and grow

You walk over there n scratch yer head and go “ shit this was bigger than I thought !”

And often your required to “tidy up” the mess or broken/blown over tree, so you clean up the whole thing, trunk and all

Then leave some cut wood behind for the farmer

Because the farmer is always a bloody good fella

Farmers are all grumpy old pricks

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Originally Posted by Mackattack

loooking at a new saw as a general use farm/firewood saw.
was looking at a ms291 for 1375 although they currently have a special on the ms311 for an extra $3
so basically at the moment im considering the ms311 for 1378 or even going to the ms261 for 1585.
anyone have feedback on these 2 saws?
cheers

I have the 311 but it has a 20” on it, it is a great saw but I think especially after reading this, the smaller bar would be best, and I’ll head in and speak to them this week about that.
It’s a great saw and it comes out with me every weekend and eats the Douglas easily but, it’s no magnum saw.


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My dad and I assessing a Macro on our farm a few years ago

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

My dad and I assessing a Macro on our farm a few years ago

Attachment 226298

She’s pretty big job.


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Originally Posted by Danny

She’s pretty big job.


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That’s just how some trees roll

GB Titanium bar from a Waratah harvester

3% fuel oil mix for over 60cc saws to keep the clutch side crank bearing cool

2% for anything smaller


3% is 33 to 1 which you can actually use for everything


The critical load area of saws is not the piston, it’s the crank bearings

The highest thermal load is on the piston/barrel clearance

If you keep inside the cases of your saw exceptionally clean then thermal load concern of parts is all but eliminated

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

3% fuel oil mix for over 60cc saws to keep the clutch side crank bearing cool

2% for anything smaller


3% is 33 to 1 which you can actually use for everything


The critical load area of saws is not the piston, it’s the crank bearings

The highest thermal load is on the piston/barrel clearance

If you keep inside the cases of your saw exceptionally clean then thermal load concern of parts is all but eliminated

Yep, hottest part of the saw is the front right area of the cylinder - right next to the area where the oiler lives so if you have a thermal problem often one of the signs is poor bar oiling - thermal thinning of the bar oil due to crankcase heat. Had one 026 that was really bad for this, slight ding on the front half of the muffler was redirecting the exhaust gas over the front right of the crank case. Weld a little deflector plate on and hey presto no more issue...

As far as oil ratio in the fuel, I've gone to good synthetic or semi-synthetic oil (quality stuff not something from a bulk retailer) and 40:1 for everything. One of these oil brands guarantees their oil against all and any damage at 100:1 in modern small engines - bugger that but at 40:1 I know it's a good mix and if the saw is clean and the chain is sharp there won't be any issue with heat damage. It's one of the things I don't like about TC tipped chains, they cut slower and are draggier in the wood meaning more load and heat on the saw. They have their place, I was using one stumping out a conifer tree stump that just refused to die. See how it likes life in the fireplace... Very hard on gear, bars and clutches and rim sprockets but at least the chain doesn't go blunt in the first second hitting dirt. Saw runs noticeably hotter on the TC chain though, I just don't like them for normal work.

@No.3 what category would you put the stihl oils in?

Originally Posted by bigbear

@No.3 what category would you put the stihl oils in?

I use the stihl full synthetic at 40 to 1 as it's a small price to pay for geat protection.

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Originally Posted by bigbear

@No.3 what category would you put the stihl oils in?

Stihl oils I believe are supplied by Castrol, love them or hate them Castrol are one of the biggest suppliers of oil on the planet and all that means is that you are going to end up with more instances of failed equipment that have been run on Castrol supplied oils. No issue with Castrol myself - and one of the issues with two stroke gear like chainsaws is when it fails you are never quite sure whether the failure is related to the lubricant failing or it's a lean condition through a seal failing or other air leak, or a carb failure, or the operator clusterflucked it my not mixing the fuel right or some other issue. Regardless of what caused it, the operator always blames the oil and often the mechanic or retailer encourages this as it means they can sell something else when they sell the new tool to replace the buggered one.

I will make the comment that lubricant failure in properly mixed fresh two-stroke fuel with the correct ratio is such a rare event that I'd almost say that these days with modern reputable brand oils, it's not going to happen. Period. What is more likely in my belief, is that the operator gets their ratio amounts mixed up and think that they've mixed 50:1 or 40:1 or whatever the ratio is - but is actually hitting 60:1 or leaner and then either running the tool in overload conditions or loaded up at half throttle with poor cooling airflow and ending up with an overheat condition. Whatever oil you use, won't prevent that sort of failure (abuse)! What I saw once is someone mixing two-stroke fuel at a site by the 20L volume. What they did is a fairly easy maths mistake of using the oil amount for a 50:1 ratio of 20L total and adding 20L of fuel to that amount of oil. I think it ended up at about 58:1 which was just lean enough to cause bearing failures on a couple of 90+cc saws - as 7mmsaum suggests that's near on half the amount of oil that is safe for the bigger saws for bearing life. One very pissed off company owner, and a day of no work with a 100ton crane sitting idle! Another thing I try and avoid is running saws for long periods with the bar sunk at full depth and the powerhead hard up against a flattish surface. What can happen here is hot exhaust gas getting recirculated into the fan/pull start cover so you aren't getting the full cooling airflow of fresh cold air over the cylinder fins.

As far as oil I have used Mobil oil in marine applications, Stihl/Castrol oils extensively in fire fighting pumps, and have gotten a few other interesting brews when I've brought chainsaws as a fixer upper type thing. One of the most interesting ones I have is a Mobil two stroke brew coloured red, it smells strongly of strawberry lipgloss - talk about bringing back memories of dodgy days as a young fella chasing idealistic young ladies around attempting to get sticky fingers! I mix the hard way, 1L at a time with a little mixing bottle from Bunnings and into a larger 5L container and I use 40:1 ratio in everything. I do it this way, as if I fark up the ratios it's only 1L hopefully and and into the bigger container. It's a little slower but repairs are dearer haha. Touch wood, I have not had a problem since doing this.

bubkin billy ray has a good video on oils..... really good watch,and rather eye opening as to wherethey all come from.... for years I just used the she'll be right attitude and threw car engine oil in with petrol at a slosh per tank...I now know better..my saws run properly and idel properly too. slightly oilier than 50;1 the wee 261 doesnt like it much oilier,the old 025 and 026 would probably run on diesel... not fussy at all.

Yep, 40:1 fully synthetic Total 2T oil for my 2 big saws and the Enduro dirt bike. $22/L whereas the Motul product I was recommended was $48/L

and the 300cc enduro is now nudging 600 hours on one piston/rings change. Gotta be happy with that.

Here's one guys opinion. Uses Husky oil in his Stihl.
https://youtube.com/shorts/rT3UkhPu0o4?feature=share4

I watched a review recently of all brands of oil and Stihl didn't come out on top. Will try to locate that review.