cold weather cutting

[mattallica]

so at what point do we consider it to be 'cold' weather and necessary to tune the carb appropriately?
I'm looking at mid 20*F for Saturday..should I worry about tuning the saw(..Partner S65)...or will it likely stand up ok?
I've read that you should use light weight bar oil....but at what temp does the mixture become a critical issue?

[RandyMac]

I cut in cold weather some, I kept my saw warm mostly, but did do a few very cold starts. Carb tuning probably won't be needed. If the bar oil doesn't flow, it's cold. You can thin it with a bit of fuel, let the saw warm it up or go to a lighter grades of oil.

[bruce hopf]

I wouldn't worry about adjusting your Carburetor. If the Chain Saw quits, then your Fuel Line and your Carburetor is Frozen up. You might want to put a little Additive in your Gas/Oil Mix if it gets too Cold out. Bruce.

[mattallica]

thanks guys for the input...I've got about 10 cord of wood to start bucking this weekend...gonna put the old Partner thru the paces!!

[woodplayer]

If you are really concerned about the mixture just adjust the high speed 1/16 turn richer (CCW).

Speaking of S65, here is one I just got finished replacing crank seals and main bearings. I wish some of the snow would disappear so I could run it to make sure everything is OK.





If you want to see the inards, I can have a few photos of her ripped apart.

BTW, were are you from?

[mattallica]

sure post up some pics...I just took mine appart and cleaned the air filter..checked the muffler etc,..

anybody know where to find IPL's for this model?
I noticed my chain tensioning screw is missing...and I looked all over and cant find an air filter either

[woodplayer]

mattallica, I have some .pdf documents on the S65, pm me your email if you want them.

Some photos of the inards.

Mahle piston


Mahle jug


Half apart


Large bevel on the ports


Half of case


Other half

[MCS]

The bar oil I have gets quite thick in zero deg weather but I don't cut when it's that cold. I see there is all season bar oil available.
Now, what about cutting frozen wood? Since wood has moisture in it, I'd guess that it turns to ice when cold. Who has cut wood when it is cold like 10 deg or so? Are the cutter able to get a hold of the wood fibers and make some progress without a lot of bar pressure?

[OBR]

Cold weather cutting = below zero, wind chill of -15 ;D But no, I've actually been there before, however its almost always dead wood im cutting, so I couldn't really tell you about the freezing aspect of the wood. When you start getting to those temps things arent always peachy, normally we'll leave the oil in the truck to keep it warm so it will still flow and initial start-up is a bear, but just warm it up and keep it warm and things usually work alright.

[redsqwrl]

My two cents on cold weather cutting.

I cut Frozen wood. I also Cut Ice. I turn on the high Mix screw daily when cutting in the cold. Cold to me is in three stages, 40F and below is cold if you are used to 70's.
15-30 thin bar oil and a tweak on the high/low speed.
0-15 definate adjustment on the idle and high, Keep the saw out of the cold when not running. refueling, stacking/throwing.
Below 0 warm the saw and save the pull rope, when cutting in the very cold don't dip the bar in snow or leave it out of the water to long, It will freeze the chain to the bar. (hard on the clutch)
I am a bit lazy in the Bar oil dept. If I find myself with a heavy or thick Bar Oil I may cut slow and give the saw some time to warm the oil on its own. The runny stuff is worth the money for me If I am short on time. I use vegetable oil when cutting Ice that HAS to be kept warm.

Mike

[redsqwrl]

Yes good point about the sugar antifreeze, I agree that trees don't freeze in principal, but it seems like my edge holds longer in winter that summer. I too touch up but not each tank, it seems the dirt in the bark prompts when I file.

It was real cold a few weeks ago here in WI and I took my 14 yr old daughter for her first Gun deer hunt. Between whispering that she was cold, I'm hungery, where are the deer ect.....

As the sun came up, She asked what all the cracking and banging was. when I was her age my father told me it was the trees freezing, Not that they froze like a ice cube but that parts of the cells freeze and expand at a different rate than the bark or heart wood, and long story short I fell for it. I just googled this and found a few interesting articles.
One of the articles had this paragraph

"One of the most common reasons for cracks and splits on tree trunks is frost cracking. Frost cracks occur during cold winter weather. The inner and outer wood in a tree's trunk expands and contract at different rates when temperatures change. When winter temperatures plummet below zero, especially after a sunny day when the tree's trunk has been warmed by the sun's rays, the different expansion rates between the inner and outer wood can cause such a strain in the trunk that a crack develops. Frost cracks occur suddenly, can be several feet long, and are often accompanied by a loud, rifle-shot sound. Frost cracks at a point where the trunk was physically injured in the past. "

Either way How did saturday Go?

Was your saw lean from all of that crisp fresh air?

Was the air filter dirty enough that it didn't matter?

Mike

[mattallica]

very interestingstuff.....as to my Saturday of cutting...that got put on temporary/permanent hold.
My brother is house sitting an old farm for a lady while she winters in New Mexico...She has about 10 full cord of seasoned log lengths that she said we could have to cut/split/sell as long as we do so evenly and fill her small woodshed for her in the process.
After a week transpires she says that 3 different people stopped and said that they paid $600 a piece for loads of firewood earlier this year to the man on the property who was splitting it and they had yet to recieve it.
The man was/is her uncle who was cartaking the place for her at that time...so I told my brother I wouldn't be the one to be answering for a total strangers fraudulent practices while we were there sawing up the wood that apparently 3 seperate individuals had already bought.
So I'm waiting to see what the complete story is before I get involved in any manor.

[redsqwrl]

isn't life grand......

I just for grins today took my project of the week saw out to test my theory.( I had some time to kill before the kids concert)

I bought a slightly distressed 750 off of evil pay.
Saturday and sunday here in balmy WI we enjoy a snow melting 37-39 degree day with rain. I freed up (looked at)the rings and changed the boot and fired it up. after warm up compression check, I buried the 750(40"+ bar and new chain) into a stump 26-30" cutting vertical down with the grain so to say and I set the high speed needle. I Take it to the perfect wound tight song and then out just a tick.
This morning it was 1 degree and windy as Sh$t, After work it had warmed to a wonderful 7 The saw is some what warm where it is stored so it started easy, It really was a quicky warm up and then off to my test stump. It was lean and a bit boogy under load, It was a 1/16 to 3/32 of a turn out to put it back into stride.....

[mattallica]

nice ...I'm eagerly awaiting my xp1000 I got from ebay...just another addition to my growing collection...the wife said I've got more saws than wood....I hope she was talking about the firewood!!!


come to think of it...shes right either way!!

[chainsawwhisperer]

Dec 16, 2008 17:21:11 GMT -5 mattallica said:

nice ...I'm eagerly awaiting my xp1000 I got from ebay...just another addition to my growing collection...the wife said I've got more saws than wood....I hope she was talking about the firewood!!!


come to think of it...shes right either way!!

Sounds like the two have good senses of humor!

[OBR]

mattallica, just wondering, were you the fellow who purchased the good looking xp-1000 with the automatic oiler attachment that was on ebay a short while ago?

[mattallica]

Dec 16, 2008 20:29:44 GMT -5 OBR said:

mattallica, just wondering, were you the fellow who purchased the good looking xp-1000 with the automatic oiler attachment that was on ebay a short while ago?

well...there was one I was watching that needed a resto..but is said to run good...so I bid probably a little more than I was comfortable with...ended up winning it.
I figured it was worth it becuase it was a rare find..at least for me.
Then I saw there was another one the same week...considerably cleaner /less used looking...so i watched to see what the bid ended up being..and it ended at $404+shipping.
the latter one was not me if thats what you're asking....I dont have anywhere near that kinda coin for hobby collections right now....but it was a really nice looking piece for sure.

The one I bought will get the 'treatment' of restoration as soon as I get a few of the others I already started squared away.

[redsqwrl]

100 cc's of giddy up. have fun with that.

Mike

[OBR]

Dec 17, 2008 10:31:07 GMT -5 redsqwrl said:

100 cc's of giddy up. have fun with that.

Mike

Not sure about you but kinda makes me jealous...gotta get me a 100cc+ someday, but the one I want is a 909D and those are a smidge hard to find ;D Enjoy the beast mattallica!! oh...and we like pics.

[mattallica]

you got it man...as soon as it gets here.

I need to fire up the camera and get some before and after shots for the record anyhow!!