just bought a new one yesterday 42cc. 18" bar. anyone have one are they any good or did i goof.. ?
homelite chain saw
- Thread starter squib
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
For a first saw, you will be fine. You will however be buying a stihl or husky in a year or two. It's how it is. We all start with a homelight or Poulan. Either way, it will be a fine saw to learn on. Just keep the chain sharp and oiled. Have fun with it.
For several years I cut with nothing BUT a homey 240. Still runs. Shaaaarp chains is where its at.
But yeah, after a while, you will be bitten by the Stihl/husky/Dolmar bug. It just happens. %-P
But yeah, after a while, you will be bitten by the Stihl/husky/Dolmar bug. It just happens. %-P
Still use my homelite timberman 45, had it for quite some time. 5 years or so. been thru 30+ cords. still have the o.e bar, second chain. .325, not 3/8. had to replace chain brake, start rope and handle, and new air cleaner this year. 15 bucks off of homelites website. sometimes the saw runs great, other times it will not idle. set it down for 10 minutes and all is well. then it wants to idle at full speed. not bad for a learner saw. if your gonna make a mistake that costs you a saw, why not make it as cheap a mistake as possible? and if the saw lasts, makes for a nice back-up when you get that stihl 880 super whatever it is.
thanks for the advise. stihl saws do look nice, maybe next time. now the saw is out of the way, next purchase will be a hydralic log splitter..
well this is my second same saw from hd. the first one i used for less than 30 days cut & ran good then it started to not come up to full rpm, seemed to back fire thru the carb. & cut out. so i took it back for a xchange, no problem they gave me a new one got it home gased it up put chain oil in fired it up let it idle for 10 min. seemed to run fine wiped it down & put it in the box, yes now i`m ready to go cut wood, well.
nxt day opened case oil all over bottom of case, ok just oil left from running it wiped it down put away nxt day got ready to go cut wood & guess what...... bid puddle of oil in the case, again.
i got a oil leaker, back to hd tody to xchange it again or should i.
anyone have this kind of problem. ??
nxt day opened case oil all over bottom of case, ok just oil left from running it wiped it down put away nxt day got ready to go cut wood & guess what...... bid puddle of oil in the case, again.
i got a oil leaker, back to hd tody to xchange it again or should i.
anyone have this kind of problem. ??
Yo,
That saw gets 2.5/5 ratings. Should you have this kind of problem? Not if you buy a good saw!
That Homelite is about $160. With a coupon at HD, TSC, or Lowe's, you could pick up an Echo or Husqvarna for probably less than $100 more and get a much better saw. You've spent more wasting time so far.
S
That saw gets 2.5/5 ratings. Should you have this kind of problem? Not if you buy a good saw!
That Homelite is about $160. With a coupon at HD, TSC, or Lowe's, you could pick up an Echo or Husqvarna for probably less than $100 more and get a much better saw. You've spent more wasting time so far.
S
That Homelite will do ya fine, as has been said over and over a sharp chain is where it's all at. Look into an Oregon low pro semi chisel chain for any duration of cutting beyond a limb or two. Just I say in my sig, the chain makes the saw. I'm going on 2.5 years now with my Craftsman 42cc, it does what I need it to do.......................
herman said:
A lot of saws will leave a puddle of oil (or as the old Triumph guys said, "mark their spot") - It is just the few drops left in the oiler line between the pump and the chain and which oozes out over a while when you shut down. Doesn't take a lot of oil to make a big puddle... Some saws will also slowly leak what is in the oil tank, especially if put away with the tank full - the pump really isn't a shutoff valve, so if the level of oil in the tank is higher than the pump it can slowly drip downhill....
That said, I would agree with the others, that Homelites, Pull-on's and other such "homeowner grade" saws are not bad to learn on, but you will be happier with a "pro-grade" saw and will probably want to move up to one sooner or later. Note that your saw is essentially a "disposa-saw" - I wouldn't put any money into repairs for it, other than chains, filters, and other "maintenance items" - labor for major repairs is likely to exceed the cost of a replacement saw. It is also significantly "over-barred" - the standard that a lot of us use is approx. 3cc of engine per inch of bar - 42cc of engine would be more appropriate for a 14" or 16" bar, not an 18" which only gives you 2.3cc / inch...
There are lots of threads about picking chains, again, you will probably find that once you have started to get the hang of using a saw, you will be happier with the performance of a "pro-grade" chain rather than the "safety chain" it came with.
Lastly, especially since I haven't seen anyone else mention it, have you gotten the safety gear (PPE, or Personal Protective Equipment) to go with the saw??? Home Depot doesn't believe in selling customer safety, but you really should get a pair of chainsaw chaps and a "logger's helmet" at a minimum, plus ideally a pair of chainsaw rated boots and chainsaw gloves...
Gooserider
i did get the helmet when i got thev saw. chain saw boots, chaps & gloves where do you get these. ?
I have the 33cc 16" Homelite - definately too much bar for a non-safety semichisel chain
Once you get the saw broken in get the carb adjusted - mine (and many internet complaints) would not restart warm. I opened up the low side jet about a 1/4 turn and it idles much better and restarts easily (without choking).
I also modded the muffler - it's much louder but can deal with the 16" bar. I can bury the bar in a 30" standing dead pine and it is now happy; before I had to baby it to keep it in the cut.
not looking for 30 years out of the saw - if it dies tommorow I've got my $129.99 worth out of it.
Aaron
Once you get the saw broken in get the carb adjusted - mine (and many internet complaints) would not restart warm. I opened up the low side jet about a 1/4 turn and it idles much better and restarts easily (without choking).
I also modded the muffler - it's much louder but can deal with the 16" bar. I can bury the bar in a 30" standing dead pine and it is now happy; before I had to baby it to keep it in the cut.
not looking for 30 years out of the saw - if it dies tommorow I've got my $129.99 worth out of it.
Aaron
herman said:
Good saw shops should have a lot of it, or any of the on-line shops like Bailey's and Labonville have a lot of it. Labonville makes their own line of boots and chaps that have a good reputation.
I am partial to the Matterhorn chainsaw boots - expensive, but very high quality, and arguably the best protection in the business. I wear a pair of Stihl chaps that I got at my local True Value hardware store, they are good, but nothing outstandingly great, other brands are probably about as good. For gloves, I like the Lumberworks gloves that I purchased at Amick's (a search will find the review I did on them a while back) - much better protection than the more common Husky gloves that a lot of places sell, and I like the "technical" style, as it helps keep the chips out of them.
I wouldn't use chainsaw gloves for doing more than minor wood handling, as they are expensive, and wood is hard on gloves. What I've found to be a good value in that they fit well, are reasonably priced, and very durable are the Atlas FIT style gloves, or some of the other similar rubber coated stretch knit fabric gloves. I used to get them at the local hardware store, but I've found that if you are willing to get a large quantity, they can be bought on-line for much less at places like Cooper Safety Supply.
Gooserider
used the homelite yesterday first time for this one,had a terrible time getting it started & warmed up, bogged down when i gassed it. after cutting shut it off to load wood tried to start again man i lked to pulled my arm off very hard to start pushed to bulb no gas coming into it sounded like it was sucking air, yes there is gas in the tank.
this went on all day long, this saw is a P.O.S. & a P.I.T.A.
!!
spent more time trying to start it & keep it running than i did cutting wood..
thanks for the info.goose & everybody, if i can`t get this saw to run, i`ll, i`ll .
herman
this went on all day long, this saw is a P.O.S. & a P.I.T.A.
!!spent more time trying to start it & keep it running than i did cutting wood..
thanks for the info.goose & everybody, if i can`t get this saw to run, i`ll, i`ll .
herman
Well, you could always return it to HD, get your money back, and then possibly go to a regular saw shop and get a better quality saw from someplace that will give you some service to go with it...
Gooserider
Gooserider
I use a Homelite 33cc with a 16 inch bar, and it works fine. I have the carb adjusted once, which solved a problem with bogging down and not starting warm. I have a safety chain, which cuts just fine as long as I keep it sharp. This may not be a great saw, but it works fine for me. My big problems have been keeping the chain sharp (same problem that you'd have with any saw), and occasionally my gas/oil mixture gets old and the saw seems to run poorly.
Herman,
See my post, above: Spend the money, you cheapskate. You've already spent WAY too much time with this: you've wasted at least 6 trips to HD and who knows how many days?! You could have saved the gas and aggravation and bought a real saw.
Where's Big_Redd when you need him?!
S
See my post, above: Spend the money, you cheapskate. You've already spent WAY too much time with this: you've wasted at least 6 trips to HD and who knows how many days?! You could have saved the gas and aggravation and bought a real saw.
Where's Big_Redd when you need him?!
S
I'd forget about a splitter other than an ax or maul, and put your money into a good saw. Splitting by hand is easy. Cutting wood with a saw that won't run is hard.
herman said:used the homelite yesterday first time for this one,had a terrible time getting it started & warmed up, bogged down when i gassed it. after cutting shut it off to load wood tried to start again man i lked to pulled my arm off very hard to start pushed to bulb no gas coming into it sounded like it was sucking air, yes there is gas in the tank.
this went on all day long, this saw is a P.O.S. & a P.I.T.A.
spent more time trying to start it & keep it running than i did cutting wood..
thanks for the info.goose & everybody, if i can`t get this saw to run, i`ll, i`ll .
herman
Well...if you haven't tried to see how far you can throw it yet, just try giving it half choke to start it when warm.
I have one of those buggers, (and have launched it a couple of times)..........The carb and idle need to be adjusted from stock, and the air filter needs to be cleaned often. I've used mine quite hard for the last few years and it finally crapped out last week. I may or may not take a look inside it to see if it's something simple. Otherwise, I'll go looking for another something or other.
- Status
