Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

Dale Stansbery

>Sure doesn't sound logical. I've always run the original length bars on my saws so have no comparison. Usually when the oil flow slows, the track has become packed with sawdust and needs cleaned out. I thought that was where your post was going until the surprise ending.

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

John Lucas

>Mike

Based on that if I put a 40" bar on my Husky that came with a 16 I would hardly use any oil at all. Cool. Maybe 60"?

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

-e-

>...but you'll have to buy an old volkswagon engine to run the chain!!!!

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

jared herbert in iowa

>While we are on the subject, I believe it was on this forum a few months ago that there was a link to a site that had a short movie of a couple of guys with a V8 chainsaw. I got a different computer and lost the link. It was hilarious. Does anyone still have the link? Thanks Jared

John, If You Use A 60" Bar...

Clem Wixted Jonesboro, AR

>... you will have oil put back into your oil tank! :-)

Clem

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

John Lucas

>Jared

I don't have that video anymore either but it was hilarious. My friend who actually has a 60" bar saw said it came with a handle on the nose end for an assistant to hold. Can you believe anyone would be dumb enough to stand on that end of a saw with that much power.

before OSHA

TDaniel

>That was my job. We had a Mc with the suicide handle on the end of the bar; at about 13 years old it was my job to push that handle into the tree. It was always scary but I am still here and have both hands. Funy thing, when you KNOW it is dangerous you exercise caution; when there are guards over everything you assume the guards will protect you. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. All farm machinery used to be very dangerous to operate. Remember the big flat belts that powered everything? Scary when they jumped off the pulley! Now all we have to worry about is dirty bombs.

TD

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit

Gary Evans

>Hi Mike,

I am curious as to what regulates the rate of oil flow on your saw. Most of the Huskies that I am familiar with use a tapered screw to open or close a fixed orifice. I am not familiar with a system that determines oil flow based on the amount that the bar retains.

I am using a friends Stihl 024, but I have not looked at adjusting the oil flow yet. It could stand to be jumped up just a bit.

I don't want to try to tell you something that you already know, but the saw should flow enough oil so that a little flings off the tip of the blade when you rev the saw. You can see how much by aiming it at a flat surface.

I don't have the Stihl manual, but if you do, perhaps there is some info in there about the type of adjustment that is available. I would be interested in knowing.

Thanks,

GE

can you explain it?

Tom Sontag - St. Louis

>As Gary mentions, the Stihls I have used do not seem to have any regulator on oil flow other than a screw mechanism. I cannot make any logical sense out of the phenomenon you describe...

I can reproduce it, but not explain it

Mike Schwing from Maryland

>However, I think I'll call Stihl tomorrow for a factory fresh explanation. Will report back.

Re: Chainsaw bar oil consumption tidbit *LINK*

Jean Michel

>Here is the link for the V8 Chainsaw, plus the v6, plus the Harley Davidson...

Have fun seeing it,

Jean.


V8 Chainsaw no POOO...

Here's the link  *LINK*

Jeff Gerardot, Indianapolis IN

>


V8 Chainsaw

EXPLANATION, from Stihl

Mike Schwing from Md.

>and it makes sense.

Longer bars DO indeed "use" less oil, but thats not necessarily a good thing. The reason for reduced consumption on the longer bar has nothing to do with the longer bar somehow being more efficient at oil retention, as reported by the Stihl service center technician.

Rather, and this makes perfect sense to me, the longer bar/chain drops the RPMs of the chain sprocket, which is the device that drives the oil delivery pump. Lower sprocket RPM means less oil delivery.

In any case, there should be enough oil being delivered to observe a small amount of oil droplets being thrown off of the bar tip when held in front of a clean surface. This was a fact known to me and in both cases oil was being thrown. The oiler adjustment screw may have to be played with in order to keep the proper oil delivery rate.

Straight from Sthil corporate tech.

Re: EXPLANATION, from Stihl

Doug Trembath

>Unless I miss my guess, Mike, we better rethink that.

'Rather, and this makes perfect sense to me, the longer bar/chain drops the RPMs of the chain sprocket, which is the device that drives the oil delivery pump. Lower sprocket RPM means less oil delivery.'

Changing the bar length does nothing to affect the RPM of the engine. The sprocket is fixed, and is driven by the crankshaft. No matter the length of the bar, the sprocket will turn at the same speed, determined by the engine RPM. The tech was a bit off, I think.

Now, I can't for the life of me see why a different length bar would affect oil usage, either, so maybe I'm not as smart as I used to think! I'm sure your observations were true, but I think there's a little hooey in the explanation you got from the factory. As my old philosophy teacher used to say,

"Well, then, this one may take a cigar to unravel".

Let's all give it a little thought, what say? Maybe we can come up with something a little closer to reality.

Till then, Mike, I'd suggest you crank up the oil feed screw a little with the longer bar. I like to run the tanks out pretty evenly, in other words, one tank of oil per tank of gas. Keeps the bar in better shape, and at ~$60 each, it helps.

Oh, last minute thought! Take a look at the line-up of the oil passages feeding the bar. Maybe if they weren't properly aligned, or partially obstructed, it would restrict the flow, and lessen the usage. Might be worth a look, anyhow.

Doug Trembath

Studio in the Woods

Re: EXPLANATION, from Stihl

Gary Evans

>O.K.! That makes a lot more sense.

I was going to suggest that it might have something to do with lowered engine RPM using the longer bar, but having had no experience with the bigger Stihls, I thought I might be offbase. I figured someone would inform me that their saw will turn just as many RPMs with the longer chain.

By the way, If the chain drive sprocket is turning slower, so is the engine, unless the clutch is slipping. That's why there is an upper limit to how big a bar you can use on your saw.

GE

Re: EXPLANATION, from Stihl

Gary Evans

>Hi Doug,

Actually, the length of the chain does affect the RPM that the engine will pull due to greater friction forces. If the engine could pull the same RPMs with any length bar, there would be no restriction on the length of bar you could use.

Think of it as putting a smaller rear sprocket on a motorcycle. At the same road speed, the engine is turning fewer RPM. At the extreme, the engine can be slowed enough to take it right out of it's maximum horsepower and torgue ranges.

By the way, some type of restriction at the bar holes was another scenario that was worth considering.

GE

Re: EXPLANATION, from Stihl

Mike Schwing from Maryland

>Doug, I could have worded it either way, using sprocket RPMs or engine RPMs. I chose to use the wording from the factory rep. I did know that the engine and sprocket are tied together on a 1:1, and that the larger bars didn't allow for as high a RPM. I used the sprocket as it was the device that is used to drive the oiler - which is what we were really trying to get at anyway.

I'm going to continue to use the factory instructions, which say that a small spray of oil should be visible when the bar is held against a clean surface. Both the longer and shorter bars do give off oil, just in slightly different amounts.

I found this very to be interesting conversation. Thanks everybody. Tomorrow I'll be using the long bar to cut up some willow thats been around since we were colonies.