The engine in a chainsaw is no different to any other internal combustion engine. They need a bit of time to warm up and get the moving parts lubricated. You wouldn’t hop into you car, start it and then hold it at redline. You are correct to let your engine warm up.
Maybe I have not been paying attention. I had to learn the hard way to let the saw idle down for a few minutes to prevent hard hot starts or flooding. Yours is the first comment I have noticed suggesting this and why. It also helps avoiding vapor lock.
Great video mate! Have been running my 500i for a year now and I’m pretty happy with it, great power! The only negative is the air filter! Any work dry timber or anything like that just blocks the air filter up so quick. A pre filter definitely helps but it’s definitely a lot worse then the other pro saws I have used
Have two in the shop now. Crank bearings and having to rebuild them, my dealer said just weak bearings. He had 10 or 12 of them in there all for the same thing
Really impressive saws. Only complaints are the mounting for the top cover (loosens with time), soft suspension, and they’re pretty thirsty. But so far, reliable, strong, smooth, and great power to weight.
Really informative video, thanks. Just wondering if you have seen any problems with the injector on the 500i since you made this video 2 yrs ago, I am thinking particularly of ethanol-related deposits blocking the injector. I would appreciate any opinions you had on this. Thanks and happy new year.
The injectors themselves seem to be very reliable. Luckily I’ve not seen any that have been exposed to ethanol fuel. It’s certainly something that I advise against using.
just like a race car, you dont rip the quarter mile with out letting it warm up first. thanks for the parts check.dont need it but i really want a 500. maybe someday.
I recently bought a 500i. I'm sorry I did. The saw will not start as it should during intermittent use. My 044s and 362s start every time once warmed up. But not this bloody 500i.
50:1 isn’t enough oil especially when you’re running stihl brand oil. Motul 800 2T, Schaffer’s 9000, maxima any high quality oil at 40:1 for a stock saw in commercial setting. Of course this is purely my opinion. Great video!!
Stihl oil is garbage too, only JASO FB, very dirty stuff. So many JASO FD options more easily available, and cheaper. Lots cleaner running. My preference is Echo Red Armor.
I don't think that was a cold seizure,if it was it would be around the whole piston,looks more like dust sucking through the intake and scoring that side only cheers for the vid.
Stihl tech here, you’ll want to let it idle for about 30 seconds, then begin a pattern of making a cut then letting the saw idle for the first and second tank of fuel.
If the saw ingests debris you’ll see scoring on the cylinder below the inlet port and wear in the centre of the piston skirt. This damage was on the sides of the piston.
@@ProSaw70 Damage looks centre enough on the piston to me! Occam's razor says everyone finds saw dust in the inlet from the top air filter seal and that's the simpler explanation (time for Stihl to sort that ASAP). That a pretty new ms 500i should have the issues you mention more than any other saw sounds implausible. I live in Husqvarna country and the pros hardly warm the saws up here and it's cold when they use em. I'm no pro, I give mine a little time, perhaps 15-20 seconds. Not so much idling since it causes carbon build-up and hardly generates any heat. On shut down a few seconds to dissipate the heat but no need to let it sit for 30 for sure.
Let it idle for about 30 seconds or so. Give it a few blips and start cutting. When you finish cutting, give it 10 seconds to idle down before you shut it off.
G'day mate. How is parts availability for these saws? Am worried about things like the ecu going south. Being up there in the Blue mountains these saws must get a work out. How do you find these modern Stihl 462, 500, 661 for reliability? Putting aside user error of course.
Hi mate. Parts availability is good for these. You can buy every part from your Stihl dealer. I personally haven’t heard of an ECU going bad. They are an epoxy potted item. I have had one through my workshop that had one of the electrical plug seals compromised. This allowed moisture into the actual plug/terminal area. One of the male terminals corroded through necessitating a new ECU. I personally much prefer the 462 & 661. (I run a modified 661 myself) The 462 & 661 will be quite happy in the back of the ute. They are both solid & well built saws. The 500i has extremely thin case castings. (That’s why it’s so light) Unfortunately these thin castings are also prone to damage from impacts the other two stihl’s would shrug off.
Sorry mate I don’t do port work myself. That’s a very specific and exacting field and very few actually do it properly. There are only two blokes that I trust and use for porting. Both in northern NSW.
