Chainsaw Repair

How To Basics - Carb Fixes + Mods - IPL and Service Manuals => How To Basics and Fixes => Topic started by: aclarke on July 30, 2014, 04:36:33 pm

Title: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on July 30, 2014, 04:36:33 pm
Lots of people building "work saw" motors with 220+ psi compression by machining down the chamber and base. While this seems to be a common practice, at what point does the compression kill the power from the associated pumping losses?   

On the flip side, many of the top 5 cube stock appearing race saws run 130-140 psi and make tremendous power on gasoline and alcohol.   

 Curious what everyone else's thoughts are to really high compressions and where it starts to become counter-productive?

Adam
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 660magnum on July 30, 2014, 05:42:54 pm
You cannot run that kind of compression for a full tank without over heating. So it is only good for cookie cutters
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Cut4fun . on July 30, 2014, 07:22:07 pm
I like around 170-180psi on my work saws and gtg saws in past. Ran just fine and held their own.   

I have a stock porting echo 8000 right now with 195psi and no decomp.

Had a woods ported 166 with 190psi.  Nothing to write home about IMO

I'll take good porting with 170-180psi,  over super high 220psi plus and ? . But that is just me.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Cut4fun . on July 30, 2014, 07:24:33 pm
Wayne told me he can pull his 5ci SA race saw over with 1 finger.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: mdavlee . on July 30, 2014, 07:56:10 pm
I've used saws with 230 lbs of compression milling. Tuned richer than normal for sure. The last 046 cylinder had 205 and the husky 390 had 200. I could run all of them a whole tank with no overheating tuned to normalish rpms. I don't run work saws over about 13.7k.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: man of stihl on July 30, 2014, 09:22:21 pm
My Stihl 880 has 230 lbs and I have ran tanks of fuel through it without problems. Running it rich of course.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on July 30, 2014, 10:41:39 pm
I've machined a bunch of cylinders for folks (worksaw/Racesaw) over the years and generally  believed that motors with can type mufflers did pretty well with higher compression.  Recently, I've been fooling around with a husky 181 racesaw I built 3-4 years ago that ran well but didn't turn up as high as the port timing numbers might suggest.  Re-cut the chamber to get about 150 psi static psi and it gained 1500 rpm.  Makes me wonder....  lol. Adam
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: mdavlee . on July 31, 2014, 09:16:08 am
It's hard to say without doing one cylinder on one saw and keep cutting the chamber and base and resetting the timing each time. If I had a lathe at home I would consider trying it.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on July 31, 2014, 09:42:53 am
Yep, be a pain to test this! 
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Cut4fun . on July 31, 2014, 09:47:54 am
I thought Randy  said something about testing early on when he got started that higher psi was his formula for work saws. Cant remember what all he said though or findings he had.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on July 31, 2014, 09:54:18 am
That makes sense to a certain degree.  Seems to me that it becomes counterproductive though after a certain point and it's always intrigued me how many racesaw motors have hardly any compression by design
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: mdavlee . on July 31, 2014, 10:15:04 am
He found more torque with compression. I've got a couple jugs for my 046 I'm going to test when I get time. I had the chamber cut on one and the other is a D combustion chamber one. I may port both and see how the lower compression one does.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on July 31, 2014, 10:56:52 am
Free spinning high rpm engines don't work well with too much compression......

Smaller engines like a 50cc work saw gain lots of torque with over 200psi.

Here's a graph of one of my MS261s compared to a stocker.....

(http://i1307.photobucket.com/albums/s582/Chad0723/Masterminds261cmvsstock261cm_zps7aecf5ff.jpg)

In my world race saws, and work saws are two completely different animals. In the past too many people tried porting a work saw like it was a race saw.....

I've tested bone stock Dolmars with over 200psi.......just saying.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on July 31, 2014, 05:00:02 pm
Makes sense, but we're talking an 3-4,000 rpm spread where a work saw performs well with say 200 plus psi and a racesaw does better with 140psi. Anyone know of any literature/studies on pumping losses at high compression/high rpm? would like to try and understand this more. Adam
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 01, 2014, 11:37:02 am
Adam, you might want to contact Joe (1manband)! I don't build race saws but nly work saws depending on size they run between 170-185 with 1194,  140-165 with gasket.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 01, 2014, 11:42:46 am
I wonder if the fuel used in a race saw makes more dynamic compression than the regular gas in a worksaw? All this does seem really odd. In every instance more compression makes more power as long as the fuel doesn't break down under compression. It has to be because a single cylinder engine loses more to pumping losses.

Also something to consider is flywheel weight VS inertia. Do you guys run a heavier, or a lightened flywheel?   
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: aclarke on August 01, 2014, 12:25:48 pm
I'm sure fuel combustion chamber design, etc plays a role. Just one of the many aspects of two stroke engines that keeps things interesting.  Tim, had a long chat with Joe last week about port  velocities, timing and CC design. Super knowledgeable and helpful!!
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 1manband on August 03, 2014, 08:47:03 am
Free spinning high rpm engines don't work well with too much compression......

Smaller engines like a 50cc work saw gain lots of torque with over 200psi.

Here's a graph of one of my MS261s compared to a stocker.....

(http://i1307.photobucket.com/albums/s582/Chad0723/Masterminds261cmvsstock261cm_zps7aecf5ff.jpg)

In my world race saws, and work saws are two completely different animals. In the past too many people tried porting a work saw like it was a race saw.....

I've tested bone stock Dolmars with over 200psi.......just saying.

backtracked some numbers to get some torque figures from that graph posted above.  (more intrested in torque curves).

rpm/stock/ported:  (lb-ft)
6K/2.107/2.472
6.5K/1.825/2.415
7K/2.238/2.507
7.5K/2.228/2.468
8K/2.340/2.500
8.5K/2.240/2.504
9K/2.241/2.534
9.5K/2.156/2.559
10K/1.769/2.557
10.5K/1.630/2.368
11K/1.451/2.304
11.5K/1.264/2.200

(did my best to decifer the 11K and 11.5K numbers on the graph)

stock sum avg TQ = 1.957 lb-ft
ported sum avg TQ = 2.449 lb-ft

20% avg increase.
still amazes me to see what an avg gain of about 1/4 lb-ft will do when its moved up the rpm band a few thou

worked out some bmep's to see a different view

stock = 3.97 bar (at peak)
ported = 4.34 bar (at peak)

+8.5%

compliment you on a nice increase that should give long reliable service.

regards
-joe
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 03, 2014, 09:00:39 am
I have no idea what you just said Joe.........but my 8th grade education gets tested a lot around you guys. lol
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 1manband on August 03, 2014, 10:06:33 am
.... torque is where its at, and always was, imo.

TQ= (HP x 5252)/ RPM

you moved the TQ peak up from the stock 7000 to 9000 range into the ported 7000 to 10500 range.  the extra 1500 rpm or so, move up the ladder did the trick for the HP gains shown on the graph.

the bmep thing, just shows the stock peak TQ compared to the ported peak TQ using cylinder pressure.  just find it easier for me to see the true gains this way.

HP graphs look nice, but imo, don't show the two most important measures of a motor.  acceleration time and rpm recovery time (when a motor has come off peak TQ rpm).

i'm just a guy who does not know much of anything when it comes to saws, but have an incurable interest in how/why motors work.  in my head, all my motors run on math.  hahaha.

-joe

Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 03, 2014, 10:14:42 am
Engine math is very cool......but sorta over my head.

All I've used is trail and error. Lots of videoed cuts to compare timing numbers and so forth. To get the gains I've found in most cases has taken more error than many would believe. I have some big crates with tested jugs that didn't impress. :(

Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 03, 2014, 10:46:55 am
Well, don't let Joe fool you, he knows what he is doing and has an engineering background he uses to prove things he looks into. He IS the one that came up with the T/A program for chainsaws that I spoke to you about. You would have a ball talking to him! However, to Randy's point, Edison said 'invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration'. I was once told that you could tell if a guy who ports 2-strokes was any good by the number of trashed jugs on his wall!

IMO everything an engine does or is capable of is based on math. There are some folks out there who have an inherent understanding of the math no matter if they they learned it in some sort of school or through trial and error. It is obvious to me that you are one of those folks. The fact that you were able to determine what the designers were after and improve on it proves it beyond doubt.

That is why I sent an extra jug with the Solo 665 in case one needs to end up in one of those crates!
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 660magnum on August 03, 2014, 10:49:33 am
Potter?
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: DexterDay on August 03, 2014, 11:22:08 pm
Subscribed. . ;D
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 08:33:37 am
Well, don't let Joe fool you, he knows what he is doing and has an engineering background he uses to prove things he looks into. He IS the one that came up with the T/A program for chainsaws that I spoke to you about. You would have a ball talking to him! However, to Randy's point, Edison said 'invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration'. I was once told that you could tell if a guy who ports 2-strokes was any good by the number of trashed jugs on his wall!

IMO everything an engine does or is capable of is based on math. There are some folks out there who have an inherent understanding of the math no matter if they they learned it in some sort of school or through trial and error. It is obvious to me that you are one of those folks. The fact that you were able to determine what the designers were after and improve on it proves it beyond doubt.

That is why I sent an extra jug with the Solo 665 in case one needs to end up in one of those crates!

Looks like I should learn to listen more. It might save me a few bucks in extra cylinders. :)
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 04, 2014, 11:10:53 am
I think you listen plenty good! So why do you think that the Solo 665s will be something special as quoted elsewhere?
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 11:11:58 am
The design.....
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 04, 2014, 11:36:30 am
Cool, take your time, I'm in no hurry! It will be interesting to see if the timing numbers are close to the 7900/681 as you suspected. Would sure be nice if you could get the kind of gains you usually get like those that Joe commented on. If that is how it turns out, I am sure the rest of them will be headed your way.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 11:41:27 am
We would need a dyno test.......stop watches are so 1900 now. lol
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 04, 2014, 11:51:46 am
I suppose that we could do that if it will help you out.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 12:02:08 pm
I think Chad and I have reached an agreement on his dyno. I'm hoping to have it in a dyno room someday......
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 04, 2014, 12:22:57 pm
That would be slick! Are you gonna build one like Chad's? The room will be quite the challenge to build, what with all the remote operation and sound control stuff needed!
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 12:24:55 pm
I'm pretty sure I will be getting Chad's dyno. He wants to play with it a while longer......then we've talked about it moving to TN.

The room I build for a dyno room would be open on at least two sides........think porch with roof. :D
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: DexterDay on August 04, 2014, 07:15:38 pm
Great. If you get his dyno, then ALL my saws need to go back to your place. Cause I want a Fancy Graph!!  ;D

I'm looking forward to what your impression is on the 665 as well. I seem to have one of those that is yet to be messed with.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 04, 2014, 10:10:14 pm
I'm working on the last few saws that were backlogged. In just a couple more days I will be completely caught up for the first time in several years.

Then I hope to dig into the 665s.....
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 3000 FPS on August 05, 2014, 12:25:54 am
At what point does the very high compression start degrading bearing life.   If it is a work saw I think I would want to know that.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 05, 2014, 08:32:14 am
Very good point Roger!  ??? Unfortunately I have no idea, I suppose we would need to get the radial load specs on the bearings as a starting point. Mains, I believe would be the lesser problem, caged needles at the wrist pin would be my biggest worry or worse yet a twisted crank. But then again I have seen bent rods and the bearings suffered very little, messed up yes, but not catastrophic failures.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: 660magnum on August 05, 2014, 08:53:36 am
I've run 32:1 since back in the 70's and never had a galled piston or bad rod or main bearing unless I bought the item that way.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 05, 2014, 09:01:49 am
I use 32:1 with Belray H1R......and I've never seen a bearing failure. My 262XP is blowing 220psi, and has been used hard in 100 degree weather with nary a hiccup.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 05, 2014, 09:11:20 am
That is certainly a good bit of info. I too run H1R @ 32:1. You think the 665s might be close to that 200 pound mark?
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 05, 2014, 09:17:29 am
On that size saw I shoot for 195 - 205.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: adam32 on August 05, 2014, 09:30:31 am
On that size saw I shoot for 195 - 205.

I have a feeling mine will be around 160-170...it'll be interesting to see the results.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: KilliansRedLeo on August 05, 2014, 11:56:48 am
No one that I know of is in any big hurry so take your time. I think it makes more sense to come up with a good base set of measurements, and then develop a formula for porting the saw than to be in a big hurry to run the saw. I have a trashed 665 jug here and have been looking at it trying to determine in my feeble mind (since finger ports are beyond my experience), if finger porting would add to or diminish the torque the saw already produces or if it would ultimately be unnecessary. IIRC, Randy has done them on 262XP saws but I don't have a good understanding of what advantages they provide and in what situations they might have a positive effect.
Title: Re: Saw compression
Post by: Mastermind on August 05, 2014, 11:59:23 am
Hey Adam, what exhaust height would you be using?

On a 65cc engine I'll be looking for 102 - 103 atdc.