Proper Care and Feeding of a Chainsaw

[jdemaris]

For what it's worth, I just bought a new Sthil 261. Dealer told me that if I purchased a six pack of synthetic oil at the same time as the saw then Stihl would double the warranty from one year to two.

- Rich

That puts it up there with what Dolmar, Efco, and Echo gives everybody for private use -regardless if synthetic oil or not.

My Dolmars have 2 year warrantees for non-rental or pro-use as long as air-cooled rated oil of any type is used.

My Efcos have 2 year warrantees for non-rental or pro-use as long as air-cooled rated oil of any type is used.

My Echos have 5 year warrantees for non-rental or pro-use as long as air-cooled rated oil of any type is used, and 2 year for professional use.

 

[smokinj]

Jay how much do they charge you for the HP Ultra, I think that is the full synthetic and is what I use, I though they only charged me 3 dollars for a bottle to mix with 2.5 gallons of gas.

I cant rember when I go to the dealer its always for more than oil, but the last time I was there it was 36.00 for 14inch chain and a 6 pack of the one gallon shots.

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

A clean saw is a happy saw . . . and a saw that will typically last much longer.

I personally don't worry so much about the brand of oil . . . as much as I do in making sure I have the correct gas to oil mix. As Redd mentioned I'm pretty sure the saw companies don't own their own oil refineries . . . they may or may not put in some additives and then slap on a brand name sticker . . . but I've never had an issue using the cheaper mix oil.

Higher quality saw = more expense = typically means better quality parts which will translate into a longer life. There's a reason you never see the guys on American Logger or Ax Men using Craftsman chainsaws in the woods.

No offense to Sears or Craftsman -- personally I like a number of their products -- but I suspect the folks who typically go to Sears to buy a Craftsman chainsaw are generally not looking to cut many cords of wood . . . maybe the downed tree limb or some wood for their fireplace. I suspect these saws are not built for the person who expects to cut many cords of wood year in and year out. That said, 25 cords of wood isn't all that much.

Two stroke engines have a hard life . . . in chainsaws, snowmobiles and other equipment. In a sled it is expected that if you keep your sled for some time you will do a top end replacement at some point . . . sleds are like saws in that they work in tough environments (dealing with temps that can sometimes be quite cold or in the case of saws hot, dealing with snow/dust), the nature of the operation of the engine is often idle to squeezed to the bar/handle -- followed by a slow down to an idle which can be rough and of course these engines do not have the luxury of lubricating their parts with a nice oil bath. Getting 12 years on a saw that is not high end isn't bad . . .

Dealer price on oil . . . I actually find my dealer offers competitive prices on mix and bar oil . . . he says he has to in order to keep competitive with the local places selling cheaper oil . . . I suspect he finds that a lower profit margin on the oil is not a bad thing as it gets folks in to look at their other products for sale and making a little bit of profit on an item beats making no sale and no profit on an item.

Gas . . . I used to only use premium gas in all my small engines . . . but the price of the good stuff was just a little too much . . . haven't noticed much of a difference in using the cheaper stuff vs. the premium stuff to be quite honest. The issue of the ethanol level in the two grades . . . not sure I believe that . . . and still not sure the ethanol issue is really that much of an issue with the newer equipment . . . but I do know some folks have had concerns over the fuel in terms of water and stabliization which is why I do stabilize my stored gas in my equipment with StarTron (some folks also use marine grade Stabil.)