Chainsaw chain stopping mid-cut?

[Jotel me this]

Echo 490. Brand new. Everything adjusted properly.
Ive used chainsaws in the past but not for a while so i dont remember if this is normal or not.

Im not pressing down too hard, just letting the chain do the work. Initially touching the chain (while running) to the log, the chain spins fine and cuts well.

Then randomly (a inch down or so) the chain will just stop. ill have to lift the saw up slightly and then it will start again.

again, havent used one in a while. i thought the engine is strong enough to simply blast through anything. is this a safety feature on chainsaws?

Thoughts and thanks.. ( i love this forum)

 

[TJ1]

Sounds like you dont have the throttle trigger pinned wide open

 

[greg13]

It could be the wood, some types are stringy and will grab the chain.

 

[DodgyNomad]

Wood is overloading the chain from the sounds of it. Saw being new, may need to have rings fully seated/broke in to make full power. Could also need a touch of adjustment on the H/L carb settings. Not much else to do on the saw other than go lighter on the pressure, sharpen the chain, or get a shorter bar/chain combo that the motor can pull.

 

[Tar12]

I have ran my friends 490 it doesnt stop the chain...check your bar tip to make sure it is moving smoothly..while you have the chain off saturate that bar tip with oil to make sure its being lubricated..brand new chain? If not has the rakers been taken down to far? This will cause it to be overly aggressive and "lock down" and a new full chisel chain can have the same effect...is the chain to tight?

 

[Jotel me this]

It could be the wood, some types are stringy and will grab the chain.

interesting you said this. i dont know the type of wood i was cutting but splitting it.. oh wow.. it is STRINGY! i could barely pull the wood apart even after it went through the hydraulic splitter.

maybe its a mix of things that other people said as well? maybe just needs to be broken in.. less pressure when cutting.

 

[Tar12]

interesting you said this. i dont know the type of wood i was cutting but splitting it.. oh wow.. it is STRINGY! i could barely pull the wood apart even after it went through the hydraulic splitter.

maybe its a mix of things that other people said as well? maybe just needs to be broken in.. less pressure when cutting.

Stringy wood will not stop your chain and your saw doesnt need broken in something else is amiss here..I have ran quite a few new out of the box saws so to speak and none have ever needed broken in to cut! Have your clutch and sprocket checked out while your at it...you get it from a dealer? If not take it to someone if you cant figure it out..

 

[woodhog73]

Agree with what has already been said. Stringy wood can do this. Too low of rakers will allow the cutters to take too big a bite and it can stop the chain or cause it to chatter in the cut.

Seeing it’s a new saw with a new chain I doubt it’s your rakers. Probably a combination of stringy wood and a saw that’s still getting broken in.

If the saw has an adjustable Oiler make sure it’s turnrd up to high.

Also is that a 50cc saw ? If so it’s probably fitted with low kick back safety chain in .325. Best $20 upgrade would be to get a loop of full chisel stihl RS chain or Oregon LPX chain

 

[woodhog73]

Stringy wood will not stop your chain

Actually it does on a small saw with safety chain on it. Fairly common in some cases. Have had it happen to me. Just have to use less pressure let the chain pull through. But agree it should cut and probably does but OP is not used to the chain grabbing and might be pushing harder in the cut that he thinks he is

 

[Tar12]

Actually it does on a small saw with safety chain on it. Fairly common

I have not had it happen to me running .325 chain on Stihl 250s cutting elm? What is the stock set up for a 490 now days? I remember the smaller Stihls running the narrow kerf chain would stop just looking at it! But thought the Echo ran bigger chain?

 

[Jotel me this]

Agree with what has already been said. Stringy wood can do this. Too low of rakers will allow the cutters to take too big a bite and it can stop the chain or cause it to chatter in the cut.

Seeing it’s a new saw with a new chain I doubt it’s your rakers. Probably a combination of stringy wood and a saw that’s still getting broken in.

If the saw has an adjustable Oiler make sure it’s turnrd up to high.

Also is that a 50cc saw ? If so it’s probably fitted with low kick back safety chain in .325. Best $20 upgrade would be to get a loop of full chisel stihl RS chain or Oregon LPX chain

Actually it does on a small saw with safety chain on it. Fairly common in some cases. Have had it happen to me. Just have to use less pressure let the chain pull through. But agree it should cut and probably does but OP is not used to the chain grabbing and might be pushing harder in the cut that he thinks he is

Ok, i think im seeing the picture come together now. ...

it does have the safety chain on it, the wood is incredibly stringy, and it is a 50cc. ill try to turn up the oiler to see if that helps as well.

gosh, this website is amazing. you people are so knowledgeable!

 

[Tar12]

If offered as a option upgrade to a 3/8ths set up and you can really cut then! That would require a sprocket and bar and chain change but worth every penny IMO.

 

[Jotel me this]

But thought the Echo ran bigger chain?

The chainsaw comes with a stock .325 safety anti-kickback chain

 

[woodhog73]

Can’t say what’s on that 490 I’m not familiar with it. But probably a few things combined. Elm is very stringy I’ve had it clog up an Oiler on an old 250 and the chain would dry up. I’m just guessing combination of small saw, safety chain, pushing too hard in the cut, etc.

Run 5 tanks of gas through the 490 let it come alive and put a non safety chain on it , make sure Oiler is set to max, and see if the wood still stops the chain.

 

[Jotel me this]

in case people are interested, this is the tree i was cutting. im horrible at identifying.. so i have no clue what it is..

 

[Tar12]

What size of bar are you running on it?

 

[Jotel me this]

What size of bar are you running on it?

stock 20". ive read in several places a 20" is too much for a 50cc. not sure either way if thats correct. there are no mods on the saw. its straight of the box.

 

[Tar12]

stock 20". ive read in several places a 20" is too much for a 50cc. not sure either way if thats correct. there are no mods on the saw. its straight of the box.

A 20 is to much and always will be for 50cc class saws...just because they say they can run a bigger bar that doesnt mean it is optimal...My 260 Pros(50.2 cc) came with 18 in bars and .325 chain...I couldnt stand that combination and couldnt upgrade to 3/8ths fast enough! I now run 3/8ths full chisel and 16 in bar and nothing slows them down! I am sure you dont want to hear this but you really need a bigger saw in the 60 cc range to pull a 20in bar efficiently...my 039 (64.1 cc) pulls a 20 very nicely running full chisel...early on I tried a 24in bar...no go.

 

[Jotel me this]

A 20 is to much and always will be for 50cc class saws...just because they say they can run a bigger bar that doesnt mean it is optimal...My 260 Pros(50.2 cc) came with 18 in bars and .325 chain...I couldnt stand that combination and couldnt upgrade to 3/8ths fast enough! I now run 3/8ths full chisel and 16 in bar and nothing slows them down! I am sure you dont want to hear this but you really need a bigger saw in the 60 cc range to pull a 20in bar efficiently...my 039 (64.1 cc) pulls a 20 very nicely running full chisel...early on I tried a 24in bar...no go.

no.. no sir i do not wish to hear that

i would get a bigger saw but i dont think i could manage the weight.

are you thinking i would get better use out of it if i downgraded to the 18" bar? is it dangerous to use a 20" bar on this chainsaw?

thanks

 

[Tar12]

no.. no sir i do not wish to hear that

i would get a bigger saw but i dont think i could manage the weight.

are you thinking i would get better use out of it if i downgraded to the 18" bar? is it dangerous to use a 20" bar on this chainsaw?

thanks

It is not dangerous at all! Just slow and filled with frustration is all...like i mentioned earlier if you can upgrade to the 3/8ths set up and a 18 in bar you will be a lot happier with its cutting performance and I wouldnt consider this a down grade at all! It will up your performance by far over the stock set up!

 

[jetsam]

In my experience with Echo saws, they are really plugged up on the exhaust side from the factory. Open up the exhaust a bit, pull the limiter caps, and tune the carb, and you will get a significant power boost for free. (Put the limiters back on after, they also keep dirt out.)

 

[Jay106n]

Return the 490 and get the 590.

 

[woodhog73]

I agree with what others have said but wanted to add a couple thoughts.

I’m assuming your just processing firewood right ? How much couple cords a year ? Well ya the 50cc saw is going to be slower and frustrating to guys used to running 70cc and bigger saws. But if your not on the clock working, cutting wood for a livelihood, or cutting 20 plus cords a year like some people do ( feeding boilers, selling firewood, etc ) then don’t get bummed out thinking you need another saw.

I agree with what Tar said that the 3/8 is faster cutting. But remember 3/8 chain is heavier. on a smaller saw it takes power away from what could be used to spin the chain. So if you go to 3/8 I would drop to a 16 inch bar. However I’m assuming you want the 20 inch. And yes it’s a little long for a 50cc saw but in my opinion for a firewood cutter doing 2 or 3 cords a year who cares. It will get the job done just a bit slower.

My honest opinion let the saw break in, put full chisel chain on it, see if it’s performance better satisfies you after 5 to 10 tanks of fuel.

You could also put a full skip sequence chain on the 20 inch set up. Less cutters will allow the saw to hold rpm better in harder dense wood. Yup slower cutting but I go back to does it really matter if your heating your house with a couple cords a year ?

You probably bought the Echo because it was s good value. Buying more bars, changing to 3/8, etc costs money. So I’m my opinion just upgrade the chain to full chisel for under $20. Get some stihl RS chain. Go run the saw. You might come to the conclusion it suits your needs just fine with the 20 inch bar.

Or you might get obsessed with performance and post up here that you just bought yourself a new 70cc pro saw. It happens. Just depends everyone is different

 

[maple1]

I am guessing a combo of bar too big, and jetting off a bit. And/or maybe also restricted exhaust like mentioned above. That part is hard to diagnose & fix over the internet.

I would downsize the bar. The main gain of having a longer bar is being able to reach all the way through the cut. (And maybe reduce bending over a little bit). Are you really cutting stuff that big? Even an 18" bar can get through 36" stuff, coming from each side. The tradeoff is that it takes more power to run a bigger bar, and your chain speed will most always suffer. Especially if your saw is out of tune a bit. I would likely even go 16", depending what all I was cutting with it. Would make a big difference in keeping your chain speed up.

 

[TJ1]

Have to disagree with a lot of you. I own the exact same saw with a 20 inch bar and it cuts just fine with the stock chain. Yesterday I bucked a white oak tree the wind blew over May 2017. Used two tanks of gas then stopped because the stock chain was getting dull and reached the point where the trunk was bigger than the bar.
Today the 441 and 25 inch bar will have to come out to finish the job.