Chainsaw woes...

[aaj]

Hi All

I bought a cheap Electric chainsaw (Powerdevil 16" £60) to cut some logs for the winter. Everything was going well but after about 3 weeks (evenings and weekends), the motor started spinning without the chain moving. I'd looked after it, cleaning it after each use, ensuring oil was topped up, tensionong etc...

I assumed that it was my fault I'd bought one not really up to the job, so I upgraded to a 2.2kw McCulloch Titanium, and it initially worked like a dream, hot knife through butter. BUT.... After about 2 hours use, there was a screech and exactly the same problem as the power devil happened on this one. The moter runs, but the chain doesn't. On investigation, the teeth between the cog and the chain are properly interlinked, its just as soon as any load what so ever is put on the chain, the cog stops rotating.

Once unlucky, twice... well now I'm worried. Is it me? Have I gotten oil into the clutch mechanism, are they designed to break after x hours use, and I'm working them too hard

has any one else had a similar experience???

thanks

Andy

[spakker]

You must expect power devil stuff to pack up -usually I'd get a warranty replacement and wait for that to do same- then a refund as its not fit for the purpose. I don't know about how good McCulloch stuff really is but ,surely it's under warranty? I got a Bosch from safeways last year only £55.

[aaj]

hi

I thought the same, and to be fair Argos replaced the power devil no problems, but even for cheaper equipment three weeks using it for less than

2 hours a night seems pretty poor.

I went to the McColloch, because its supposed to be a good make. this broke after only a few hours.

If I have to change it every 2 hours, its going to take a while to cut through my pile of logs 9-)

this is why I'm wondering if its something i'm doing?

cheers

Andy

[BigWallop]

You do know not to press with any huge weight on the saw, allowing it to cut through at its own pace. I have known people to use an all mighty pressure on the saw in the thinking that it will cut faster, but this isn't the case at all. The saw should be held on the job and not pressured in to cutting. The more force you put on it, the more it will slow down the chain and put huge strain on the clutch.

Are you also placing the back of the chain on the cut? If you are, then you're only dragging debris in to the motor and clutch housing, which is not good for the machines at all. You should be using the point of the saw, up to the point where the length of chain you use is only sufficient to cut the whole job through. Don't keep the body of the machine against the side of the log while cutting, as it too puts huge strain on the motor and clutch.

[aaj]

Hi Big Wallop

thanks for the ideas

Only gentle force used, especially with the McCulloch, it almost dragged itsself through.

The intersting bit is where you talked about the part of the chain used for the cut. When I looked in the manual, it says its safest to use the Spike Bar on the front of the housing, so as to avoid slipping. By doing this, the cutting part of the chain is close to the housing (depending on the radius of the wood). That said, when the McColloch gave up, I tool the housing off and there wasn't too much residue inside.

One thing though, when I topped up the oil I spilt some over the housing, is there anyway it could have seeped in to the housing?

Andy

[BigWallop]

If you have allowed oil or grease on to the clutch pads, then it's time for new pads, and you'll also need to clean off the drum with metholated spirit or some other de-greaser. Even soaking the pads in a de-greaser won't get clean enough to work properly.

Another few thing I did forget to ask were, are you cutting down in to the logs? Are you jamming the chain in a collapsing cut? Do you use wedges to hold the cut open? Do you cut from below upward to stop the chain getting stuck as the timber weakens and collapses?

Your manual is correct in stating the safest way to use the saw, but experience shows that using the tip of the chain is much easier on the workings of the machines. That's as long as you know what to watch out for in kick-back and pull-in with the different techniques used.

It's just funny how you've done the same thing to two different machines though, but I'm not saying you're doing everything completely wrong by that statement. What I mean is, it could just be the techniques you're using in cutting methods, and that maybe a change in style is needed. Cutting loose logs is best done with the log up off the ground, supported on blocks or proper trestles, and cut from below upward. This means that the cut isn't closing around the chain when the wood starts to collapse in on the section you're removing. This will strain the motor and clutch.

[Barney]

This might be a daft question, but have you activated the brake? There is a 'kick-back' safety device on most of these things that will stop the blade from operating.

[aaj]

No, the brake is deffinately not engaged (wish it was , would make lie much easier)