Anybody have a Senix 4 stroke saw? I saw one the other day in a local store. It was an 18" 42cc I believe and was priced less than $200.
I haven't seen or heard about it. I can't imagine it has an oil sump so likely similar to Stihl's 4-mix 4-strokes. My only concern is that it will likely be heavy relative to a similar displacement 2-stroke. For me, it's about the power to weight ratio. Edit: Just looked it up. No oil and no mix Senix
It has oil, just not mixed oil/gas. Is that what you meant? One thing about it, usually 4 stroke engines are used in applications that remain in an upright position, so it would be interesting to see how they get around that.
According to the specs it turns 7000 rpm and produces 1500 watts which translates to, I think, 2 hp. It ain't no beast except maybe for the weight.
I typed my reply with the same thought before I saw your reply. That's the only way that I can think of that makes sense. Maybe they try the isoflex style crank bearings like skidoo uses on their etec sleds?
Must be a dry sump system. Workable but more complex and heavier than it needs to be IMHO. But I guess mixing gas (or worse, forgetting to mix gas) is an issue for some people.
What is a dry sump? The specs show an oil tank. I guess I'm not familiar enough to it. I assumed they were talking about not needing to mix oil and gas but that there is still oil in the crankcase.
I have a Honda mini tiller that takes about 2oz of oil in the crankcase and it runs in any position. It's such a small amount of oil that at speed its not following the piston up the cylinder so it's not like you flipped your mower over.
Ok, that makes a lot more sense. I thought a conventional 4 stroke would be a bad choice for a saw, but now it doesn't seem so crazy.
Here's another quick explanation of a dry sump engine. Why do some engines use a dry sump oil system?
Dry sump engines are better for doing wheelies with in motorcycles. On a wet sump engine, extreme angles can lead to oil not being at the pickup . So for a handheld 4 stroke it makes sense.
That's what I was thinking. I learned about engines from a 1970's repair manual so I wasn't familiar with a dry sump engine. I still think I would prefer a 2 stroke engine, but at least I understand it more now.
Dry sumps have a pretty old and storied history. In motorcycles, Harley's have been dry sump since the 1930's. Honda's ( some) have used it since the 70's.