Just a few days in 1) when left to idle for a half minute or so, stalls occasionally. So far about 6 or 8 times. Using stihl fuel. 2) Twice when noodling chips got bound up between chain and bar near the drive sprocket. Twice I had to pull the bar and clean everything out. Tension was good, chain was sharp. Oiler is working fine.
Try angling the saw a bit when noodling, stop and clear them when they pile up, and clear them from the cover before they get too packed in. This is normal stuff when noodling. The saw needs to be ran some to calibrate itself, and the Mtronic saws don't like to idle for long periods. When you say Stihl's fuel you mean the premixed fuel in a can?
My normal carb 261 has run fine. Dont think ive let it idle that long. I usually shut it off. Maybe four tank fulls in. I noticed the same problem while noodling hickory today. Didnt bind, but they quickly accumulated and shot out the front.
When noodling if you see noodles hanging out the bottom of the clutch cover, shut the saw off and pull them out.almost any saw will clog up if you just keep noodling. Some saws are just more prone to clogging up when noodling.
They don't like to idle a long time. This will improve with break in. When noodling angle the saw slightly to shorten the length of the noodles and leave a gap between the saw and the end of the log to allow the noodles to drop away. They all plug occasionally!
Sometimes if it jams with noodles i will "drag" the bar among a logs edge so the teeth catch and tug when teeth catch the wood. This will usually free up the chain without having to shut it off. If it binds ill also engage the chain brake and pull the clog out. The noodles clog up a lot faster on the 261 than on my 290 and 460 saws. Cutting another load of hickory with it today. Smaller diameter so it will cut solo again.
That could be considered a feature were you to back in to a bald face hornets nest while bucking a tree you just felled. Then you'd be able to go take some Benadryl instead of putting on your winter coat, overalls, bath robe, motorcycle helmet, winter work gloves, and a bunch of your wife's scarves to seal the gaps so you can pick your way through the brush and swarm of angry hornets to retrieve your still running saw off the ground where you dropped it (as you ran away getting stung and shrieking like a little girl) and turn it off. Not that I've ever done that...
Could a different chain possibly help with the noodling problem? Granted, I don't do a whole lot of noodling with my little saw, but have never had any issue with clogging when I do.
Happened to me (sort of) two Summers ago. My GF's mom had an oak cut back to the stalk just into the woods as it was dangerously close to her house. They left wood and stalk for me to fell. Im starting the cut and i notice a swarm of yellow jackets next to the tree. Dropped saw and ran out. Had to go back for it few minutes later and they got me.
