Chainsaw Starting Issues

[Formaleins]

My old Husqvarna chainsaw blew itself to pieces recently, so I decided to buy an upgraded replacement, a Stihl 382. Not sure what the issue is with it but it is an absolute pig to start. You have to be very careful on the first start when using the choke as if you give it just one extra pull with the choke on it will flood itself.

 

What I find is that it is extremely difficult to get the starter cord to pull through a couple of cycles smoothly - If you leave it in the OFF position you can pull the starter cord nice and smooth through a couple of revolutions, however, when you switch it to t6he ON position with the choke it feels like it is locking up solidly, then if you switch it to the WARM START after it first fires, it becomes even harder to pull. It feels like it is actually firing, but not enough to keep running, the decompressor switch disengages which I presume means it fired, but it will rip the starter cord out of your hand and it really has a nasty pull back (to the point it has torn muscle and tendon in my arm from the force of the kickback from the cord.

It is so strong that it has ripped the cord out of my hand and cracked the plastic casing on the motor.

I have a few 2 strokes and 4 strokes that all have a similar manual pull start but none of them display this sort of recoil - could it be the timing? Thing is, once it is started, it runs as smooth as any 2 stroke I have ever owned so I don't really want to mess with it too much.

 

My son can get it started, but he is about 6 foot tall and weighs over 120kg, but even he seems to have a problem with the pull back on the starter (pulled muscles) any ideas what to check first as I really do not want to take a brand new motor to one of these local butcher shops that doe "repairs" as I am afraid they will bodge or damage it. (like they did fitting a pulley wheel to my brand new Honda motor - they were hammering it onto the crank with a sledgehammer!)

 

I realise that this is a larger motor than the Husqvarna, and it is a 2 stroke not a 4 stoke like the Honda, but when this thing tries to fire it nearly rips your arm off and you cannot pull the cord past that point.

 

Any help is appreciated.

[In the jungle]

What 2T oil are you using?

[Formaleins]

1 minute ago, In the jungle said:

What 2T oil are you using?

Castrol, it feels like it is firing too early, you cannot pull it through the full cycle, it just locks solid and kicks back.

[Formaleins]

2 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Castrol, it feels like it is firing too early, you cannot pull it through the full cycle, it just locks solid and kicks back.

It might be me, not having the technique but it is a bit strange that it will rip the starter out of my hand with such force. understand it is more than 5HP, but this thing is nasty. When it gets to the point where it feels like it fires, it locks solid, you cannot continue to pull the cord, my hands are ripped ip and bleeding from it pulling me back into the casing.

[In the jungle]

OK.

 

I use a Stihl Chainsaw but one much smaller and less powerful than yours.

 

When I bought it I ran it on Castrol 2T which was readily available locally.  It was very hard to start but ran fine once started.

 

On the advice of the Thai importer in Bangkok I switched to Stihl 2T which is very expensive synthetic oil.  No starting problems since then and no issues such as spark plug fouling.  I use the chainsaw infrequently and I think it still has the original plug after ten years.

 

I cannot think of a rational explanation but this change worked for me.

[In the jungle]

I hate buying the Stihl 2T because of the price but I still do.

[Formaleins]

3 minutes ago, In the jungle said:

I hate buying the Stihl 2T because of the price but I still do.

Where are you buying the 2T from in Chiang Mai? (and thanks for the advice) This pig has ruined my left arm which has been out of action for three days. it actually hurt more that when I broke my wrist, it is an absolute pig to start, but as I say, once started it runs like a dream and can cut through anything here.

[In the jungle]

The last time I bought the Stihl synthetic 2T was from the Stihl importer but you can get it cheaper on Lazada.

[kickstart]

Sounds to me if the engine is flooded ,to much fuel in the crankcase the engine can not turn over ,hence difficult to pull start .

Is the air cleaner clean? that would cause a rich mixture ,I take it you have you tried not using the choke.

Take the spark plug out  ,if it is very wet ,to much fuel getting though.

Will not be timing, they are electronic ignition normaly not a problem .

My 2-stroke strimmer has a habit of pulling back sometimes,normale when cold starting ,never use the choke.

My chain saw just use the choke for 3 -4 pulls then turn it off.   

[Formaleins]

17 minutes ago, kickstart said:

Sounds to me if the engine is flooded ,to much fuel in the crankcase the engine can not turn over ,hence difficult to pull start .

Is the air cleaner clean? that would cause a rich mixture ,I take it you have you tried not using the choke.

Take the spark plug out  ,if it is very wet ,to much fuel getting though.

Will not be timing, they are electronic ignition normaly not a problem .

My 2-stroke strimmer has a habit of pulling back sometimes,normale when cold starting ,never use the choke.

My chain saw just use the choke for 3 -4 pulls then turn it off.   

It is a brand new saw. the air cleaner is spic and span. not using the choke makes no difference, plug is wet a little bit. but will dry if you pull it through a few rimes on the warm start. I am trying the Stihl procedure, two pulls with choke, then flip it to warm but the pig still tries to rip my arm off! As I say, maybe it is just my technique, my son can start it and it runs fine, just annoyed I cannot get it running and bleeding hands trying.

[Sparktrader]

Dont use full choke. Just prime and pull on half choke or no choke.

 

 

[VocalNeal]

To start my small Stihl I would lock the throttle in the start position using the push button. Give it one pull on choke then release the choke and start. If it didn't then I would apply the choke and start the procedure again.

 

With electronic ignition they need a minimum amount of RPM to generate a spark. So you need to use explosive pulls. As we get a lot older that becomes harder.

[Formaleins]

13 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

To start my small Stihl I would lock the throttle in the start position using the push button. Give it one pull on choke then release the choke and start. If it didn't then I would apply the choke and start the procedure again.

 

With electronic ignition they need a minimum amount of RPM to generate a spark. So you need to use explosive pulls. As we get a lot older that becomes harder.

Got you 100% there, my arms are not what they were and getting a really fast pull on the starter is not as easy as it used to be, plus this thing has a lot more compression than the old Husky.

[VocalNeal]

^ Put it on the ground with your foot through the handle????

[Mickeymaus]

Did you try this? 

 

 

 

[drtreelove]

Not about the oil or the timing. It's a bigger saw and higher compression than you are used to, its all about your  technique.  Be sure to engage the decompression button every time, and be prepared to release the handle and not try to hang onto it. 

 

Consider that it may be too much saw for you.  Maybe let your son The Hulk use that one and rebuild your Husky for yourself.  

[drtreelove]

 

Also, it will likely loosen up some as you get a couple hundred starts and some hours on it. 

[KhunLA]

Not sure about technique, but depends how long it was sitting, and the weather.

 

If sitting idle a few months, then I'd take it to the small engine shop, let him 'clean' it up, as saves me about 50 MF'ers and sore arm.  Well worth the 100 or 200 baht.

 

If cool season, then I'd set it in the sun for an hour or 3, let it warm up.