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Echo chainsaw leaks fuel when filling and won't start, new chainsaw... Login/Join 
wrightd
Member
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quote:
Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I've been around chainsaws my whole life. As a kid, we burned 10-12 cord of wood per year, all cut from our family's land. My Dad's Stihl 041AV (AV: anti-vibrabration my ass!) was a workhorse. Vibrated so bad that you couldn't put it down. Literally, your hand was stuck and you had to have your fingers pried off.

I now have a Stihl 029, Husqvarna 257, and a little Stihl MS170 pruner. The 257 is a Swedish-made saw, and screams quality all over. Never owned an Echo saw, but my brother is a fan. They seem like a prosumer saw, in the same field as the Stihl 029. Parts are a little harder to come by than the Stihl or Husky.

After all my experience with saws, I'm increasing leaning towards the belief that my needs would be better served with the new Milwaukee cordless. I am already heavily invested in their tools, have many batteries, and would have two 12ah and one 9ah batteries, plus a mess of 3,4,5ah batteries. I'm thinking I could cut every tree I own without ever needing to recharge.

I used to be opposed to cordless anything. Back when the Makita 9v drill ruled the world, I wouldn't give a cordless a second look. I'm afraid I've made the switch where I'm completely taken by cordless everything. Yesterday my son was trying to start my Echo string trimmer, and I said "Crap, I should just get a cordless one."

I've switched to the dark side. There is no longer any conflict within. Smile

I can vouch for the Milwaukee line trimmer. There's something about just pulling the trigger and getting to work vs mixing the gas, getting a funnel, trying to remember the secret sauce to get the bugger to srart, draining the tank for the winter, changing the filter and spark plug, and all that. The Milwaukee battery trimmer is light, quiet, and powerful.

But I didn't know chainsaws had "arrived" in the battery world though, I just can't wrap my head around the physics of batter juice vs the chain, the bar, hard oak logs, I don't see how it could work. Time to watch some videos I guess.



Lover of the US Constitution
Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
 
Posts: 8685 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
frayedends
paradox in a box
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So I feel a bit dumb. Apparently I was flooding it because I gave it more than 5 pulls with the choke open. Instructions said to pull until it tries to start and then put the choke in. The gas leaking out the front was apparently just from overfilling it. Guess i need more experience with this thing.



These go to eleven.
 
Posts: 12439 | Location: Westminster, MA | Registered: November 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
ensigmatic
Nullus Anxietas
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quote:
Originally posted by arfmel:
quote:
Originally posted by hairy2dawg:
Not fuel, but I bought one about a month ago and used it once. The other day I picked it up in the garage, and there was bar oil all underneath it. I plan to take it back next week. I expect better from Echo.

Every chainsaw I ever owned did this. I thought all chainsaws did. Confused

Both my Stihl 025 and my little top-handle Tanaka do it. The Stihl just a bit. The Tanaka quite a bit. I leave a folded paper towel in the Tanaka's case, and drain the oil if I don't expect to use it for a while.

quote:
Originally posted by frayedends:
So I feel a bit dumb. Apparently I was flooding it because I gave it more than 5 pulls with the choke open. Instructions said to pull until it tries to start and then put the choke in.

I think you have "open" and "in" confused.

A choke is "open" when it's not closing-off airflow. It's "closed" when it is restricting airflow.

Cold air is a lot denser than warm air. Closing the choke decreases the fuel/air ratio. Once the engine warms up a bit, the engine warmth decreases intake air density, so the choke has to be opened to get the fuel/air ratio right again.

The other effect of closing the choke is more suction on the fuel line. That is why, as soon as the engine "coughs" once, you're often supposed to back off the choke to half-choke or so, otherwise you'll flood the cylinder.

I have some small engines that are relatively immune to over-priming and over-choking. Others are very sensitive to it.

quote:
Originally posted by frayedends:
The gas leaking out the front was apparently just from overfilling it. Guess i need more experience with this thing.

You rarely want to fill hand-held gasoline-powered tool fuel tanks all the way to the brim.

Another chainsaw hint: Every time you add fuel: Check the chain oil level.


"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Georgeair
thin skin can't win
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by hairy2dawg:
quote:
Originally posted by arfmel:
quote:
Originally posted by hairy2dawg:
Not fuel, but I bought one about a month ago and used it once. The other day I picked it up in the garage, and there was bar oil all underneath it. I plan to take it back next week. I expect better from Echo.


Every chainsaw I ever owned did this. I thought all chainsaws did. Confused


The Stihl chainsaws on our fire trucks don't leak like this one does. Neither does my Husky. We're not talking about a light film, this thing has leaked out half of the tank.


Try this for you oil leakers. When you finish using the saw and while it's still hot, loosen the bar oil cap, remove and put back on. Relieves pressure build up in tank.

May not work, but has for me on Poulan, Stihl, etc. Tip from a Stihl dealer years ago.


You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02
 
Posts: 12420 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
frayedends
paradox in a box
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by arfmel:
quote:
Originally posted by hairy2dawg:
Not fuel, but I bought one about a month ago and used it once. The other day I picked it up in the garage, and there was bar oil all underneath it. I plan to take it back next week. I expect better from Echo.

Every chainsaw I ever owned did this. I thought all chainsaws did. Confused

Both my Stihl 025 and my little top-handle Tanaka do it. The Stihl just a bit. The Tanaka quite a bit. I leave a folded paper towel in the Tanaka's case, and drain the oil if I don't expect to use it for a while.

quote:
Originally posted by frayedends:
So I feel a bit dumb. Apparently I was flooding it because I gave it more than 5 pulls with the choke open. Instructions said to pull until it tries to start and then put the choke in.

I think you have "open" and "in" confused.

A choke is "open" when it's not closing-off airflow. It's "closed" when it is restricting airflow.

Cold air is a lot denser than warm air. Closing the choke decreases the fuel/air ratio. Once the engine warms up a bit, the engine warmth decreases intake air density, so the choke has to be opened to get the fuel/air ratio right again.

The other effect of closing the choke is more suction on the fuel line. That is why, as soon as the engine "coughs" once, you're often supposed to back off the choke to half-choke or so, otherwise you'll flood the cylinder.

I have some small engines that are relatively immune to over-priming and over-choking. Others are very sensitive to it.

quote:
Originally posted by frayedends:
The gas leaking out the front was apparently just from overfilling it. Guess i need more experience with this thing.

You rarely want to fill hand-held gasoline-powered tool fuel tanks all the way to the brim.

Another chainsaw hint: Every time you add fuel: Check the chain oil level.



Yeah I was typing a quick update and not really thinking. I think when I said open I was thinking about the push rod that engages the choke, not what it was actually doing. But I appreciate the explanation. I never really knew the details on why choke was needed.

I didn't know about not filling up the fuel all the way so good to know also.

Thanks



These go to eleven.
 
Posts: 12439 | Location: Westminster, MA | Registered: November 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
ensigmatic
Nullus Anxietas
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Georgeair:
Try this for you oil leakers. When you finish using the saw and while it's still hot, loosen the bar oil cap, remove and put back on. Relieves pressure build up in tank.

May not work, but has for me on Poulan, Stihl, etc. Tip from a Stihl dealer years ago.

Wow! Thanks for the tip!

That might explain why sometimes it seems to happen, or happen with more volume, more so than other times.


"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
mjlennon
I'd rather have luck
than skill any day
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Mine works ok. But, I found if I stored it in upright position, all the fuel drained out of it. I end up storing with caps up and no more leaking... If that helps...
 
Posts: 1827 | Location: Fayetteville, Georgia | Registered: December 08, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Krazeehorse
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I would caution you to never use fuel that has any ethanol in it. We ruined the carbs on 2 new 041 Stihl's before we ran 5 gallon of fuel through the pair. Clogged up the carbs and messed up the inside of the fuel tanks. The fuel we bought was not supposed to have alcohol in it but they got a load that did and paid us for the repairs.


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Posts: 5686 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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