Firewood and chainsaws.

[chaoticbob]

I've been burning coal for a couple of winters but would like to resume processing wood for the fire. I have a Stihl two-stroke chainsaw, but I can't get the the thing to start now. My fault - forgot to flush it out before storing. I suppose I could take it in for a service, but it might well be cheaper to buy an electric machine - eg Titan 40cm bar from Screwfix for £40. The reviews seem positive, but it just seems too cheap! Any advice?
Robin.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I've been burning coal for a couple of winters but would like to resume processing wood for the fire. I have a Stihl two-stroke chainsaw, but I can't get the the thing to start now. My fault - forgot to flush it out before storing. I suppose I could take it in for a service, but it might well be cheaper to buy an electric machine - eg Titan 40cm bar from Screwfix for £40. The reviews seem positive, but it just seems too cheap! Any advice?
Robin.

Firstly, send me the scrap chainsaw - it's only cluttering up your shed. I will be more than happy to take it off your hands.

Secondly, electric chainsaws seem to have a bizarre method of tightening the chain, using a rotary knob. This has a tiny, tin screw which breaks, and renders your saw unusable. From what I can make out, the Screwfix model doesn't have this system, but anything that looks like the image below should be binned before use - it will only make you sad otherwise...

The difference in quality between a Stihl saw and a tinpot £40 quid Chinese bit of tat is going to be huge - Screwfix will have added their markup, and the shipping and middlemen will have taken their cut, so the actual manufacturing cost is going to be around £10. Think of it as a disposable item.

Finally, how much is a can of carboreter cleaner? A new spark plug would be £3.00, and probably all you need.

 

[novocaine]

standing in one spot just processing logs? spend the 40 quid. put the Stihl in the corner for another day when you have the time to bung some fresh juice in it, clean the plug and pull it till it starts. or the next time you need to cut stuff down away from home.
the titan is lighter, quieter and can be put down without having to start it again or leave an engine running while you pull stuff about. if you plan to process in batches it will be an efficiency boost.

 

[HappyHacker]

I had a not so cheap electric chain saw a few years ago, I think it may have been a B&D. From memory the chain went blunt very quickly and I was forever re-tensioning it as it stretched. I did buy a replacement chain for it but that was probably the same cheap rubbish and I may have been better off trying to find a decent chain for it. I gave it to a friend but It found its way back to me recently and I have stuck it in a corner. I may one day have the time and inclination to try it agin with a decent chain. The electric ones are more suitable to the job of cutting firewood where there are a series of small cuts with manual handling in-between when compared with the petrol ones where you are trying to find a suitable place to put down a vibrating beast safely while you get the next bit of wood ready to cut.

 

[porker]

I process all my own firewood for two woodburners. I have a petrol Husqvarna and an electric titan Screwfix saw which I bought 6 years ago and it has been great and I would recommend if the current saw is as good as the one I have. Chain adjustment is similar to my petrol model.
Some advice I would give....
If you don't use a chainsaw regularly the electric ones are good in my opinion at least for reducing branches and limbs to length for splitting.
For a petrol saw not in regular use, I would use Aspen or Moto mix fuel. It is quite expensive but ordinary petrol now contains bio which goes stale very quickly and gums up the carb and causes starting problems usually requiring a carb clean. Aspen doesn't have this problem. If I'm doing a lot I use petrol mix and finish with Aspen so the saw is not stored with a petrol mix.
It also goes without saying, don't compromise on PPE.

 

[Stigmorgan]

I have a titan electric saw, my only small complaint is that it uses quite a bit of chainsaw oil but I think that's down to it being well used. As said already, if it's not going to be used much and only for smaller jobs then go electric, if it's for regular use on bigger jobs then buy a decent petrol one.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I've been burning coal for a couple of winters but would like to resume processing wood for the fire. I have a Stihl two-stroke chainsaw, but I can't get the the thing to start now. My fault - forgot to flush it out before storing. I suppose I could take it in for a service, but it might well be cheaper to buy an electric machine - eg Titan 40cm bar from Screwfix for £40. The reviews seem positive, but it just seems too cheap! Any advice?
Robin.

Another alternative - if you're feeling only slightly brave - would be to fix up the Stihl machine yourself. There are lots of YT videos showing 'how-to' and there's probably not much needing fixed - Stihl saws are well engineered.

Cheers, W2S

 

[RogerS]

That Titan chainsaw looks interesting. All I need now is a 2,600 ft long extension cable :lol:

 

[Trainee neophyte]

That Titan chainsaw looks interesting. All I need now is a 2,600 ft long extension cable :lol:

A 3kw generator would sort you out, too.

 

[Tris]

It's pretty easy to change a stihl carb yourself and they aren't that expensive.
If you are doing a lot of fairly straight timber of 4 to 6 inch diameter then worth considering a portek type saw horse with an electric chainsaw, saves putting down the saw every time you move the wood.

 

[RogerS]

That Titan chainsaw looks interesting. All I need now is a 2,600 ft long extension cable :lol:

A 3kw generator would sort you out, too.

And the trailer.
Oh yes...the 4x4 to tow it all :lol:

 

[Lazurus]

Run on Aspen 2 and you will never have the same problem again

 

[Freddyjersey2016]

Has anyone else tried one of the electric log saw - e.g. https://www.toolstation.com/scheppach-hs410
designed for chopping smaller logs (max 170mm diameter?) quickly and safely.
I have used something similar in Switzerland - quick and very safe

 

[BigMonka]

The Titan electric one is really good (and not just for the cheap price). I personally find an electric one much more convenient when batch processing logs, but the petrol one still comes out when doing something on a tree or further from a socket!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A bonus with an electric one is if you have a lathe you can mount all manner of weird shaped bits on it and then saw off the bits that prevent their rotation. I have a 2000w Ikra - an excellent tool.

 

[chaoticbob]

Thanks for comments - it sounds like the Titan will do what I want. I am just standing in one place in the yard, so no need for portability and I'm not dealing with massive logs - 10" diameter maximum. There are some negative comments on the Screwfix site about the supplied chain and complaints that replacements were unavailable, but it looks like those have been addressed and the current offering takes standard Oregon 40cm chains. I'm OK with sharpening - weird that one reviewer binned his saw when the blade dulled and blamed the product.

I expect I'll get the Stihl going again eventually (sorry TN!) It's actually less than ideal for use at home for reasons others have mentioned - I bought it because I had an opportunity for foraging at the time and it made economic sense.
Rob.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Be realistic when you read star ratings - one very good chainsaw was given one star ............... because it didn't come full of petrol. I got spare chains for mine - it pays to have a couple of spares because it's quicker and easier to change a chain than to to sharpen it - from https://www.northernarbsupplies.co.uk/ . Their customer service is pee poor but their products are good. Small lightweight chains are cheap enough. Buy your files at the same time.

 

[chaoticbob]

Reminds me of a one star review on Screwfix for slot head brass screws - didn't fit his pozidrive bit and had a distressing tendency to shear....
Rob.

 

[AJB Temple]

I sympathise. I use Stihl and it is essential to use the special fuel unless you are using the tool a lot.

My advice - - cheap chainsaws are a waste of money. Chain tensioning is poor and they glug oil like it is free.

I have almost fully switched to the Stihl battery system. Very good.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Standing in one place,processing small logs and sticks - I made one of these: [youtube]WfNqmR4xcGo[/youtube]

NB I made mine out of wood (obviously), and it is lower, much heavier, and less likely to fall over. It is also something you don't want to fall over onto! However, it means you lift the wood, not the chainsaw, and it is about 4 times faster to process the wood. I will be recommissioning mine in the next few weeks, and may even post a picture of the horrific awfulness that is a Heath-Robinson chainsaw murder system.