Help with chainsaw in Winston-Salem

Billho

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With the potential hurricane coming, I need to get my chainsaw running. However, I tried and tried for several hours last weekend to get it started and I couldn't. Does anybody around Winston-Salem have a good recommendation of a good small engine repair place that could take walk-ins? I am traveling today, but was hoping to get it looked at this weekend before the storm hits (where I am, I hope it is overkill, but I have a few trees in my yard that I need to cut back anyway, so either way, I need to have my saw working). I know how to sharpen a blade and change the oil, but that's about the limit of my usefulness with small engines.

Small engine repair is something I wish I was better at. If somebody in the area would be willing to teach me, that could be something I might be interested in down the road. I could barter with woodworking skills or computers.

Thanks.
 
the carbs in those things have teensy passages so anything like, say, ethanol gas turning into sludge will clog them fast. I recommend a product called Seafoam and ethanol free gasoline+synthetic 2T oil premix.
Generally that's all you need to keep things running.

To get it running is going to require a carb clean, which you might be able to do yourself by taking off the fuel line feed from the tank and spraying some carb cleaner in it along with medium air pressure.
 
I took my little Poulan in last month and ALL of the lines had deteriorated from ethanol fuel. Cost me 65 bucks to get it running again. And now that it's running I need to sell it because I bought a bigger Husky. The Poulan cost me 129.00 new and now is worth 80.00, great investment huh??
 
I use only pure gas, and I cleaned out the carb last weekend (maybe I didn't do it right).

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You can try the ACE Hardware in Bermuda Run. I'm not sure on their turn around time but they've always been good to deal with from my perspective. There's also Lake Way Mower repair. I think that's the name, it's on 158 in Clemmons across from Clemmons Kitchen. I had them work on the carb for my tiller. I'm not sure about working on a saw. You may want to call first.
 
Brand of chainsaw?
You are going to have a hard time finding a brick & mortar shop that can turn it around in a couple days. Most are backed up 2 weeks in season, and if it needs a part or carb ordered that puts it even more behind. Some will do emergency repairs and put you ahead in line if you Already have a tree down.
Or pickup a new saw and have that one repaired for a backup.
 
Going to be tough to get it done in the time allotted. Try Forsyth mower works on Griffith rd. Might be better off buying a new one and getting that one fixed later.


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I like Joe's Tractor but they're probably not very close to you. They sometimes take awhile for repairs and at other times, they've turned around machines for me in a day or two. Might be worth a call if you're willing to travel a bit.

http://www.joestractorsales.com/
 
Are you getting a good spark when starting? Pull the plug and then attach the wire and place the plug to the cylinder head
and see if you get healthy spark.

Sometimes a little gumout or your favorite carb spray will help get it running, just a little spray into the air cleaner.

Check for old collapsed fuel lines and if tank filter is clogged.
 
Going to be tough to get it done in the time allotted. Try Forsyth mower works on Griffith rd. Might be better off buying a new one and getting that one fixed later.


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Work takes all our small engine junk there since we decided not to replace the small engine tech. The work is good, but you pay for it.

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paging @Mikew
He's in HP, on the WS side, and I THINK he does small engine repair (IIRC)
 
I am going to attempt to clean the carburetor and change the filters and spark plug tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the advice.
 
Brand of chainsaw?
Or pickup a new saw and have that one repaired for a backup.

It is a Ryobi 18". I know- I should have gotten a better one. If I can't get this one running, I'll probably go get something that is a lot higher quality. I just don't have the cash right now to do that.
 
It is a Ryobi 18". I know- I should have gotten a better one. If I can't get this one running, I'll probably go get something that is a lot higher quality. I just don't have the cash right now to do that.
Check for spark as suggested above.

Hold your thumb over the spark plug hole while you or someone pull it should pop your thumb off, its just a crude compression check.

If it has spark, looks like it has compression and still won't start pull the plug back out after trying and see if it is wet look in the cylinder see if it's wet, should be, but not dripping.

Can also try a shot of starting fluid or brakleen. If it starts and dies you have a fuel problem.

I'm not worth a darn with small engines but if you have no other option I can help you check these things Sunday. N. of town almost to King.

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I use only pure gas, and I cleaned out the carb last weekend (maybe I didn't do it right).

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Check to see if you accidentally misinstalled the choke linkage when you worked on the carb.
 
Check for spark as suggested above.

Hold your thumb over the spark plug hole while you or someone pull it should pop your thumb off, its just a crude compression check.

If it has spark, looks like it has compression and still won't start pull the plug back out after trying and see if it is wet look in the cylinder see if it's wet, should be, but not dripping.

Can also try a shot of starting fluid or brakleen. If it starts and dies you have a fuel problem.

I'm not worth a darn with small engines but if you have no other option I can help you check these things Sunday. N. of town almost to King.

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This is pretty much how I diagnose small engines - this will generally put you in the direction you need to go.
 
I still haven't gotten my chainsaw to start. I'm not giving up on it and will keep trying- I completely cleaned the carb, changed spark plug, changed fuel filter, air filter, and cleaned everything up. But, I created a problem with the trigger and need to figure out what I did wrong.

I think I have decided to start looking for a "real" chainsaw. The Ryobi is a piece of crap and I want to upgrade to a Stihl, Echo, or Husqvarna. There's no rush, as I need another paycheck or two to feel like spending the money, but if anyone knows of a smoking deal on an 18" or 20" saw out there, please let me know. Also, any thoughts about Remington Rodeo or Cub Cadet saws? The reviews seem pretty good.
 
After years of experience (and aging), my opinion is the top issue is which size/weight saw is best. It cost a lot to have multiple saws just sitting in the garage but being able to forego the big saw when cutting little stuff allows me to get a lot more done before exhaustion sets in. Before buying a small saw, I was using a bigger/heavier saw even for cutting branches. That's like hunting mice with a 12ga.
 
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Jonsered is made by Husqvarna, most of the parts are even stamped as much. Typically they are exact copies just in red, unlike Poulan Pro which is also made by Husqvarna but definitely a low end cost cutting line.

I don't have broad enough experience to make a recommendation. My Jonsered has run without fail for three years of slightly heavier than normal homeowner use. They all fail if abused, I really don't think they cut much at the city, especially per saw, but they go thru a pile of Stihls annually, I do believe its probably abuse and bad fuel or mix.

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Jonsered is made by Husqvarna,
Jonsered was on my short list to check out. I watched a bunch of videos on Youtube comparing them to Stihl and Husqvarna and they seem to hold their own. I'm not sure I will find one in my price range, though. I'm hoping to stay in the not-too-much-more than $200 range. I figure that Stihl is probably out of my range, but can probably find one of the other ones on sale somewhere if I'm patient.
 
After years of experience (and aging), my opinion is the top issue is which size/weight saw is best. It cost a lot to have multiple saws just sitting in the garage but being able to forego the big saw when cutting little stuff allows me to get a lot more done before exhaustion sets in. Before buying a small saw, I was using a bigger/heavier saw even for cutting branches. That's like hunting mice with a 12ga.
I have a little top handle Stihl 019T that I'm not giving up for that reason. It's balanced and got an oversized 16" bar on it and I've put that little saw through h$ll and back. Comes with a metal loop to tie a rope to for hauling up in trees.
 
Jonsered was on my short list to check out. I watched a bunch of videos on Youtube comparing them to Stihl and Husqvarna and they seem to hold their own. I'm not sure I will find one in my price range, though. I'm hoping to stay in the not-too-much-more than $200 range. I figure that Stihl is probably out of my range, but can probably find one of the other ones on sale somewhere if I'm patient.
Stihl MS250 with 18" bar is currently on sale at dealers for $299, that's 50 bucks off.
 
Problem solved. I bought a Husqvarna 440 that I found on Craigslist for a good deal. I wanted a Stihl MS250, but didn't find one really close to me (I found one in Lexington, but I'd have to drive an hour to pick it up and the Husqvarna was 5 min away and $50 cheaper). I'll still try to get the Ryobi running, so that it can be a backup, but there's no rush on that.
 
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