# Chain saws getting very hot??



## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

My son has a question about chain saws: 

I have a Huskavarna saw and also a Stihl saw. Both were running very hot recently. They would get so hot that the chain would get loose. We took them to a shop and the man said he fixed them but when we got them back, they still ran too hot. The whole saw itself gets hot. The motor part. It is so hot we have to turn it off and wait a while before trying to work on it. We took the saws back and he is going to rebuild the carborator on the Stihl but gave the Huskavarna back to us and said it was OK.

He did suggest we change the mix of oil to gas. We were using a ratio of 50 gas to 1 part oil. He said to use 32 parts gas to 1 part oil. Today we tried that mix but the saw still ran very hot. It did better for a while but then got hot again.

Could it be that my chains are not sharp enough and the drag makes the saw hot? Or is it more likely that something is wrong with the motor? What ratio of oil to gas do you prefer? What else could be wrong?

Thank you.


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

I have never heard of altering gas/oil mixtures, for two stroke engines, to something other than manufacturer recommendataions.

Great way to void a warranty or tear up an engine. 

Mfgs spend big bucks desigining their engines, to run on a certain mixture.

Should not be too big of deal to slap a new chain on, if you are unsure of your sharpening skils.

What did the shop do to _ Fix them_?


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## Pugnacious (May 17, 2012)

Check the chains and I'd check the chain oiler. Make sure it's getting lubed good. Sometimes they get gummed up. Maybe even get a small pieces of wire and clean it out. Also, make sure the chain isn't too tight to begin with. This could cause drag making everything heat up. I can't see how a carburator could be the issue but I'm no mechanic.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

In my ancient Stihl, if I had the oil/gas ratio (usually a guesstimate), it'd run hot. My cure was to buy one of the single use containers, for measuring devices (usually buy 2cycle oil by the gallon).

When you refuel, do you still have a lot of oil in your bar oil container? I usually have just a tiny bit left... if you aren't getting oil flow on your blades, it'll get hot and wear it out quickly.


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## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

I put the 2.5 gallon oil mix in two gallon of gas .I try to get real gas in hi test version .And yes my saws would get hot enough to boil the gas . :bow:
Hi test is much better too :shrug: Not that i know anything about chainsaws. I ran full skip chains not the home owner ones .:icecream: Use good bar oil the summer type .


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Is the summer/winter baffle in the summer position? Stihl saw


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## frankva (May 21, 2009)

Husky saw, mine is 32:1. Weed whacker is 50:1 Follow advice to check the bar oil volume and the clean the hole advice. The top of the bar hole on inside. Can crud up with sawdust. Owner's manual. Oil mix and hole cleaning instructions. Might also need to clean crud out inside the case.

It is possible to put a new bar on some Husky saws and get the hole on the bottom. Saw runs, bar gets very hot. Not that I would know.

If none of that works try a different shop.


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## solidwoods (Dec 23, 2005)

If a "Shop" says change oil gas/mix ratio, just shut up ,, nod your head and walk away.
That's insane,, never change the gas/oil ratio for an engine. 

Does your saw use up the bar oil in the tank at the rate it always has ????
If not then there is a clog somewhere. the bar has 2 oil ports to send oil from the engines bar oiler through the bar. Only one oiler is used at a time but the bar is built so it can be inverted and used both ways. Either way the oil path must be open on the bar.

Also when the bar is off check it for mushrooming of metal on the side of the bar,, typically on the down side or last cutting side of the bar.

Never change the oil/gas ratio for a 2 cycle engine (and don't run a 2 cycle engine out of gas either)
jim

If the chain were dull and causing so much friction to cause heat you would need 2 people to press the bar into the log.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Dont just check your chain oil and say its still full dont need bar oil. If that be the case the saw is not getting enough bar oil to cool the bar, sounds a little like that to me...


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

RonM said:


> Dont just check your chain oil and say its still full dont need bar oil. If that be the case the saw is not getting enough bar oil to cool the bar, sounds a little like that to me...


Make sure you got the right chain and it shouldn't be too tight.


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## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

You have some great advice to go on here so I suggest you do as many say, check to make sure the oil is getting to the bar.

Just remove the chain guard, chain, bar and CLEAN everything out. Next, take a thin screwdriver, or piece of wire...anything that will fit in the groove of the bar and scrap out the gunk on both sides. Now that you know oil has got to be getting to the bar, check the sprocket at the tip of the bar. If you have been getting the tip down into the dirt, it can foul up and stop turning, or drag as it goes around, making for excess friction on the bar and chain, or force the engine to work harder. If you have done all this, a 10 minute job, then you know you are getting oil to the bar.

Your next probably cause is a dull chain. I disagree that it takes a super dull chain to get your saw chain and bar hot. In fact one of the things I tell homeowners and people new to the logging scene is to keep your saw sharp. Failing to do so, will make the chain hot, the bar hot, which travels to the lower part of your saws base...which is where your crankshaft is located. I know many a chainsaw which has pooched out from failed crank bearings getting too hot because people failed to keep a chain sharp. If your saw has safety chain, get rid of it, and put on a real chain...there is nothing safe about being constantly fatigued because a safety chain just will not cut wood...its designed not to.

Finally, check to make sure your cooling fins on the motor are not plugged up. It should have been checked by your saw repair shop, but considering what he said...well...I might find another one soon.

I practice what I preach. I clean my saw a lot, keep the chain sharpened all the time, and never get the bar into the dirt. Despite being batted by an excavator that cracked the gas tank, being run over by a skidder several times and driven into the mud, got felled on by a tree, and had more bent bars, broken handles and cracked plastic from mishaps with skidders, bulldozers, excavators and tractors, my 1994 Stihl 046 is still running and most years averages over 100 cords per year.

You are very intelligent to try to get a handle on why your saws are running hot. They won't last very long if they are.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

Your chain saw will run hot. In hot weather it is usual that the bar gets too hot to touch. If it is really running too hot, the fact that both are running hot means that it is something you are doing, not a fault of the chain saw.

Something that has not been mentioned is that the Husky has two small holes, one on each side, near the tip of the bar that you have to shoot grease into for lubricating the sprocket. Most stores that sell chainsaws should have the little grease gun specifically for this.

Do check that the bar oil is being used up at about the same rate as the gas. If the chain is not being oiled, it will run hot. 

It sounds like you are tightening the chain too tight. It will run hot if the chain is too tight. Both are running hot so this makes sense. A properly tightened chain will have enough play that you can pull on the chain in the middle of the bar and it will come down about an eighth of an inch from the tight position. 

A new chain will stretch the first few times you use it. If it is too tight it will stretch more quickly. A hot chain will be slightly longer than a cold one. You have to shut off the saw periodically and check the tightness of the chain.

The bars are made so that you can run them upside down or right side up. Change the orientation once in awhile to keep the wear even.

Be sure that you are using oil for the gas mix that is designed for air cooled engines. The TCW-3 oil that is available in gallons is for water cooled outboards, not chainsaws. I had a chainsaw poop out shortly after I started using the TCW-3 oil in it.

You can change the oil/gas mixture to make the mix richer in oil, not the other way around. If you make the mixture with too little oil the engine will not get enough lubrication and seize. If you make the mixture with too much oil it will lubricate the engine better but it will smoke more and fowl the plugs quicker. 

If the chain is sharp, the "sawdust" should be little flakes of wood, not fine sawdust.

I do occationaly take the compressor and a blowgun, remove the cover, and blow out all the oily sawdust that builds up. Pay special attention to the head's cooling fins. Do this on a day you won't mind feeling oily for the rest of the day or are going to take a bath just after blowing out the saw.

Wipe the caps off for the gas tank and bar oil before you open them. You don't want to get saw dust and dirt in them.

Good Luck


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Thank you everyone. I think he needs to check what the book says about the gas and oil mix. He was going by what the shop man and a neighbor said. 

And I think those little holes might be clogged up too. He is going to clean it out tomorrow. Next week we are lucky enough to have a job helping a professional Tree Crew at a job. We have known them for ten years now. He said he will give my sons a chain sharpening lesson and also show them how to take them apart and clean everything good. That will probably be a valuable lesson.

Thank you.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Pugnacious said:


> Check the chains and I'd check the chain oiler. Make sure it's getting lubed good. Sometimes they get gummed up. Maybe even get a small pieces of wire and clean it out. Also, make sure the chain isn't too tight to begin with. This could cause drag making everything heat up. I can't see how a carburator could be the issue but I'm no mechanic.


This is what I'm thinking.

Plus I have a Stihl they have Double Rings to allow for Less Oil in Gas Mix but I've always run more Oil than called for.The only concern would be Exhaust clogging but it never has.

big rockpile


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## Plowpoint (May 2, 2012)

You just have to love those double rings on the Stihl chainsaws. Not only can you run leaner on the oil like you said Rockpile, they run cooler too and last longer. I know they do not turn up like a Husky, but that is easily compensated by taking more of the rakers down and getting a bigger chip.

As the instructor said when I took my Certified Logging Professional course; a requirement in order to sell wood to the pulpmills here, "The whole point of sharpening a saw is to get from point A to point B as fast as you can. "You can either do that by taking small chips more often (smaller bite, faster RPM) or by taking a bigger bite but lower rpm). I prefer the second, but I am an experienced logger and as I said, seldom get the saw in the ground. By taking more of the rakers down, you get a bigger chip, but also do more collateral damage if you hit something since more of the teeth are exposed, plus you get more kickback.

I do disagree however with greasing the sprocket on the bar. As it was explained to me, by doing that, if you do get the tip down into the dirt, the sprocket gets filled with dirty grit and prematurely wears the bearings out in the sprocket. I have never greased my bar sprockets and my bar is junk long before the sprocket seizes.

A good rule of thumb I have always gone by is this; with every new chain, I get a new file. That is about all I can say, other then 5 cord of firewood per year, the majority of the wood I cut is tree length pulp destined to make paper, or logs, so my type of logging is far different (and easier) then those that do primarily firewood.


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

I always check the bar oil by putting the tip near a log and running the saw up and down quickly, you should see a thin film of oil on the log. Of course use the correct weight of bar oil, chain needs to be razor sharp, pulling chunks not dust from the cut. The chain grove needs to be clean; the blade needs to be filed to remove any burr that is made by the chain.


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## frankva (May 21, 2009)

Spitting bar oil! I wonder what kind of bar I was sold with only one oil port...

Moral of that story is to avoid 20lb monofilament with a saw.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Fiddle. We cleaned the saw up and sharpened the chain but it still got so hot it was smoking. Since we are going to meet the Professional Tree Man late next week to help with a job, we are going to wait and let him give us some chain saw lessons. The boys are also going to double check the manuals, clean saws again good and then just wait and learn from someone who knows more.

Thank you everyone.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

lessons are good, if you don't have sawdust in your veins...:happy2:


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

texican: no sawdust in veins here. Cement in the heads sometimes but no sawdust. Just kidding. My boys are great. The Tree man changed the dates and we hope he is coming this way Monday or Tuesday. The boys have our chain saws and are ready to learn.

Thanks again everyone.


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## Darstcreek (Apr 28, 2012)

check and see if your exhaust is stopped up or bent inward check your fins make sure they arent broken or stopped up with mud or debris .


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Thank you Darstcreek - no one has mentioned that yet. We will check on those tomorrow. Thank you.


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