Flood at startup on oN older (stihl) saw?

[Jags]

As a starting point:
Cold saw - full choke, throttle lock on - pull 3 times (or hear the blurp/blip) - choke off, still on high throttle, pull till running.

Warm saw - move switch to normal run - pull till running. Depending on sit time, it is possible that it might need a single choke pull, then move to high throttle and pull to run. Absolutely no more than one choke pull if the machine has been running in the last 15-20 minutes and ONLY if several unchoked pulls does not start the saw.

There will be mild changes and variations on the above based off of several thing (such as altitude, carb tuning, fuel, etc).
Stihl saws are very easy to flood if you aren't on top of the start sequence.

 

[ADK_XJ]

As a starting point:
Cold saw - full choke, throttle lock on - pull 3 times (or hear the blurp/blip) - choke off, still on high throttle, pull till running.

Warm saw - move switch to normal run - pull till running. Depending on sit time, it is possible that it might need a single choke pull, then move to high throttle and pull to run. Absolutely no more than one choke pull if the machine has been running in the last 15-20 minutes and ONLY if several unchoked pulls does not start the saw.

There will be mild changes and variations on the above based off of several thing (such as altitude, carb tuning, fuel, etc).
Stihl saws are very easy to flood if you aren't on top of the start sequence.

Okay, so I have been doing it pretty much in line with that but your point about being easy to flood is pretty much the universal thing I read about Stihl's. As I posted earlier from the forum's "Chainsaw Wisdom" guide, it sounds like the thing to do is pull the plug, pull the starter to clear the excess gas and then try to start again un-choked.

 

[Jags]

Yes - if flooded, that is the quickest way to clear it out. Never choke a flooded saw. Ever.

 

[ADK_XJ]

Yes - if flooded, that is the quickest way to clear it out. Never choke a flooded saw. Ever.

And as obvious as that is, I'm pretty sure that's what I'd been doing — managing to flood it, then naively starting over with the choke on. It's dangerous when you operate like a monkey, just pushing the red button for your bananas instead of thinking your way through the process! That's why I love this forum...so much experiential knowledge.

Thanks, Jags and all who've responded. I'll send an update once I've done some clean-out of the saw and/or moved through a replacement of parts/carb.

 

[DougA]

Yes, it has a throttle lock but I think of it as the full choke position since that's what it's doing also.

 

[Jags]

Bottom position is throttle lock w/choke. One position up is throttle lock only.

 

[ADK_XJ]

So, I bought some "Blaster" brand Lawn Mower Tuneup compressed cleaner (dude at Tractor Supply said it was like carb cleaner specifically for small engines) and ran that through the saw when I got home tonight. Blew out a ton of smoke and then ran it for 10-15 cuts on some giant chunks of pine - it did OK but still seemed to bottom out a bit at the top end deep into the cut.

I've also noticed it's not staying on at idle.

I took the bar and top cover off. Scraped a bunch of sawdust off the inside and around the rotor. I pulled the filter and cleaned a lot of gunk off the top plate over the choke hole. I'd been thinking my air filter was clean but under an indoor light I realized it was actually way off color. Anyone want to tell me this thing is horrendous and could be part of my problem? Before and after photos below.

Then I reset my idle, high and low screws to factory setting. I don't think the H was far off but the low and idle seemed kinda wonky for how far I had to turn them to go back to zero.

Finally, I noticed that as I pull the starter without starting I hear air escaping out of the top of the fuel cap on the tank. Is this normal? I've attached another picture showing where that air is coming out.

 

[DougA]

I prefer the felt air filter but it looks OK to me. Mine is coated in sawdust when the engine starts getting wonky and I take it apart then put the filter in a can with 4 oz of gas and swish it around. Clean as can be after that. Sorry, no idea on the gas cap, not anything like mine but I do have a pressure release tube on my gas tank which would do the same thing.

I find sometimes the idle will stay perfect for many tankfuls, then the next time out, I have to adjust idle quite a bit. I sorta get lazy and allow the idle to get higher than it's supposed to be - to a degree. If the chain is spinning a bit - a BIT -, I'm OK with that and I use the chain brake when I pause. Not saying that you should allow the chain to run on idle but I get sick of adjusting it all the time when it wants to idle faster. Most of us have the throttle on full and only pause to get the saw lined up for the next cut.