underpowered 290?

[steeltowninwv]

my 290 runs pretty well...its 325 pitch 18 inch bar...and i run stihl yellow chain...i cant really complain about it...but sometimes i wonder of its underpowered?...if i stick it in big wood...sometimes it will bog down..and i have to back out and get at it again...is this normal for a 290?....

 

[MasterMech]

my 290 runs pretty well...its 325 pitch 18 inch bar...and i run stihl yellow chain...i cant really complain about it...but sometimes i wonder of its underpowered?...if i stick it in big wood...sometimes it will bog down..and i have to back out and get at it again...is this normal for a 290?....

Common complaint for the 290.

Look into opening her up a little. The 290/310/390 series responds quite nicely to simple muffler mods and a re-tune.

 

[steeltowninwv]

i know i could handle opening the muffler....but im not comfortable with the carb retune

 

[Murph015]

I just did a muffler mod on a ms390 I picked for for a steal. I didn't have much into the saw so I wasn't worried about hurting anything. It went pretty smoothly but I did have to remove the red limiter caps on the carb and trim the tabs to get the H adjustment to where it needed to be. It was my first time getting into something like that and wasn't very difficult, just need a little patience. I drilled 3 new holes in the muffler and then opened up the deflector to accomodate the new exhaust. The saw seems more responsive and seems to be running faster. This saw was my trial and I am probably going to open up my dads 026 next week.

 

[shmodaddy]

I modded the muffler on my 290 and could tell a difference right away. I am currently running the same setup as you and it still " bogs "down when in good hard wood but seemingly not as much. I followed directions on muffler modding found in this site. I was a little nervous at first but had no major problems. The little red adjustment caps didn't want to cooperate but after a little talkin to they seen it my way.

 

[herdbull]

I too am in the same boat. I have about a 2-3 year old 290 and the more I cut, the more I want MORE SAW. I will search for this muffler mod. It might hold me over for awhile.

I have come across this saw:

http://greenbay.craigslist.org/grd/2784934302.html

and it's not too far from my home. I'm guessing this would be enough saw for a very long time.

 

[nate379]

I haven't mess with mine because it's on warranty still and also it's way loud already, so I don't want it to be any louder.

 

[shmodaddy]

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/69082/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/50931/

Here are links to muffler mods I referenced doing mine. I hope it helps. As for volume yes the saw is louder but I use ear muffs or ear plugs. I strongly recommend proper PPE while operating any equipment. At 33 years old and been a heavy equipment operator since 18 I have lost tons of hearing and regret my more youthful days of cowboying equipment and insanely loud car audio systems. I know 33 isn't old and still quite young but I'm constantly apologizing to people and asking them to repeat. Sorry to preach.

 

[wishlist]

Steel, you can certainly do a muffler mod on your 290. Not hard at all. With that said, I never use my 029 anymore. It has been a great saw, no issues whatsoever and its 17 years old. Best thing I ever did tho was to buy a 460. So much more power, its the difference between night and day. Recently I buried a 25" bar in some huge bur oak and it won't bog down. I guess the bottom line is you can do just fine with a 290 but a 460 is so much more fun!

 

[MasterMech]

Steel, you can certainly do a muffler mod on your 290. Not hard at all. With that said, I never use my 029 anymore. It has been a great saw, no issues whatsoever and its 17 years old. Best thing I ever did tho was to buy a 460. So much more power, its the difference between night and day. Recently I buried a 25" bar in some huge bur oak and it won't bog down. I guess the bottom line is you can do just fine with a 290 but a 460 is so much more fun!

Well yeah, I'd hope 20+ cc's would make a difference! :lol:

 

[steeltowninwv]

man i just wished someone on here was close to me..that knew what they were doing...i always seem to take on one of these simple projects..then im without a saw for a few weeks cause i mess junk up

 

[shmodaddy]

For me it was nothing. BUT I have a friend that is a phone whiz and hacked my phone to get around some usage issues, that was nothing to him but total Russian to me. Do what your comfortable with but the pics in the links are pretty helpful. The muffler mod helped the saw but there is no replacement for displacement. A muffler mod won't make a 290 run like a 460. Your looking at a 10% gain or so.

 

[steeltowninwv]

its not the actually muffler doing that scares me..its the adjusting the carb that does

 

[shmodaddy]

I understand that. One of the links has a link in it for a sound bite. Listen to it till you hear hear it in your dreams.

 

[amateur cutter]

its not the actually muffler doing that scares me..its the adjusting the carb that
does

Carb adjustment is really easy to do. I can talk you thru it real easily if you wanna go for it. 10-15 min to mod the muffler 5 to remove the limit caps & about 2 to retune. You'll like that saw better with the mod.

Also to whomever posted about the 026 muffler mod, ( yes I really am too lazy to go back & look ) that saw has a pretty non restricted muffler as it is & you may not gain much other than noise. The 0 series saws are old enough the they didn't have to comply to the same noise & pollution restrictions as the newer models. I E they don't have the cork in the A$$ issues. Just a thought. A C

 

[shmodaddy]

If you wanna get serious you could use the job as an excuse to purchase a new tool. Purchase a tachometer and use that to help tune. I don't know the exact proper procedure using a tach but basically the same as by ear taking the engine to.its highest revs by leaning Carb out then richening it up just till you hear the motor begining to 4 stroke. A tachometer would give you a numerical reference of top revs then you would richen the.mixture up until it drops by several hundred rpms. But you should still learn the sound of your saw 4 stroking then you'll know your not too lean

 

[steeltowninwv]

lol..im green on this stuff guys...what does a saw 4 stroking sound like?

 

[shmodaddy]

Try this link http://web.archive.org/web/20051018212959/www.madsens1.com/sawtune.htm

 

[shmodaddy]

You'll hear the saw kind of "blubber" when u hear it you'll know it.

 

[HittinSteel]

its not the actually muffler doing that scares me..its the adjusting the carb that
does

Carb adjustment is really easy to do. I can talk you thru it real easily if you wanna go for it. 10-15 min to mod the muffler 5 to remove the limit caps & about 2 to retune. You'll like that saw better with the mod.

Also to whomever posted about the 026 muffler mod, ( yes I really am too lazy to go back & look ) that saw has a pretty non restricted muffler as it is & you may not gain much other than noise. The 0 series saws are old enough the they didn't have to comply to the same noise & pollution restrictions as the newer models. I E they don't have the cork in the A$$ issues. Just a thought. A C

Right on AC!

The 026 is fine, but the 260 must be modded.... the exhaust hole on the 260 is about a 1/3 of the size of the 026. Likely the reason the 026 was rated for .3 more horsepower than the 260.

 

[HittinSteel]

Try this link http://web.archive.org/web/20051018212959/www.madsens1.com/sawtune.htm

there you go steeltown.....listen to that link over and over and then go try an hear it on your saw. A tach is also a very good investment for tuning saws.