Choosing your casual chainsaw

Press, 8 May 1980, Page 15

Choosing your casual chainsaw

What do you intend using the chainsaw for? How many hours work per year do you expect from it? How long do you expect it to last? What size timber do you expect to cut? What can you afford? Before you buy a chainsaw you should decide what you expect from it. Manufacturers design saws for three different markets. They are the casual market, fanner market and professional market. Obviously, the professional market demands more specialised features, such as efficient fuel consumption, effective antivibration of handles, low’ noise levels, additional safety features, high power to weight ratios and good reliability. At the other end of the scale, the casual user gets a much smaller saw of lower power, and most of the professional features compromised, in order to reduce the price. The farmer gets a saw which is basically a professional model without the specialised features. He is getting a good reliable saw’ at a medium price. Of the total world market, about 80 per cent of the total world production of chainsaw’s is sold within North America. Of that market, the breakdowm goes approximately 70 per cent casual, 18 per cent farmer and 12 per cent professional. Therefore

around 56 per cent of the world total production is of chainsaws designed for the casual market of North America. Because of the very low' usage these saws get in this market, some models have design lives of as little as ten to 25 hours life. (The design life is usually the period the manufacturer bases his warranty on). To some casual users in New Zealand this may be acceptable. It depends on what you expect from a chainsaw. The manufacturers build a range of saws, the choice is yours. Cutting capacity: Manufacturers build a range from about 25cm to 1.5 m or more. It is possible to fell a tree with a diameter three times longer than the effective cutting length of the bar. It is possible to cut up wood twice the < ’.ameter of the cutting length, by cutting from both ides. However, generally you wouid use a bar length which is equal to the average diameter you expect to cut. Prices: Prices are usually very competitive between brands. Most brands cover the range from casual to professional models. After sales service: This is a very important factor often overlooked. There seems to be no item of machinery w'hich does not require any after sales service. A small high performance engine as used on a chainsaw probably

needs more than most other machinery. Be sure that the dealer you purchase from has an adequate range and stock of spares, and provides good after sales service. If you already own a chainsaw’ there are some important points to be aware of: As most chainsaws have a two-stroke engine which requires oil mixed with the petrol, it is important to be absolutely sure that you are using the correct oil as stipulated by the manufacturer, and that the oil is mixed with the petrol at the correct ratio. No oil, or the wrong type, can ruin your engine in a very short time. The safest w’ay to be sure is to purchase the oil from a chainsaw dealer or from an oil reseller in an appropriately marked container filled by the dealer or a retailer oil company.

Using used engine oil or dirty oil in the'chain oiler is false economy. The dirty oil can ruin the oil pump and accelerates the wear of the chain and bar. Always use clean oil. The air filter should be cleaned regularly. A choked-up air filter will effect the performance of the saw and make starting difficult. Unless you know how to tune a saw, leave the mixture jets alone. On a motor-car the high speed mixture is usually fixed by the manufacturer so that you can not adjust it. On a chainsaw, the mixture is usually adjustable but a lean mixture will not only affect the performance, it will also ruin your engine. Unless you are sure of what you are doing, take the saw back to your dealer. It is a very small job

which costs very little. Keep the fuel going into the tank clean. The carburettors are very , small and are easily affected by dirt lodging inside them. If your saw is hard to start, or will not idle, there is a reason for it. If you cannot find the fault, do not wear the starter out. Take it back to your dealer before you have more than just hard starting. Keep the chain sharp. A blunt chain reduces drastically or stops the cutting performance. It also accelerates the wear of the chain'and cutter bar, and can also cause chain breakage. If the chain is sharpened correctly and yet the saw still will -not cut, or cuts off to one side, your bar probably needs repairing. Your dealer should be able to renair it for von.