In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Options
Stupid Chain Saw Mistake...No, Not Dangerous!
nunn
Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,013 ******
I was using my chain saw, and refueled it, and added more bar oil, and it got to where it would barely run, and then it quit and would not re-start. Hmm...
So, I took it to Glen's Small Engine, and my good friend Glen Tucker checked out my saw from stem to stern.
Do you know what I had done? I had put bar oil in the fuel tank and fuel in the bar oil tank. It didn't run long like that. That was stupid!
It didn't require much fixing. Just empty the tanks and fill with the correct fluids for each. Works fine now. When he told me what I had done, I thought, "NO WAY!" For crying out loud, there are markings next to each filler cap!
I was embarrassed, but Glen said he has done the same thing.
Comments
You forgot to put the chain on backwards.
Wanna talk about feeling Stupid.
My old trusty Murray riding mower from the 80-90's was a well built workhorse. 17.5 horespower. I let the grass get really high one time, and was having to go really slow giving it a workout. Ran out of gas. Broke out a new red plastic gas can. Within 5-10 minutes it started chugging white smoke. I figured I'd finally blown the engine. Limped it back to the garage. After it cooled down, I tried to start it. No Bueno.
A couple weeks later bought a new riding mower. (Poulan Pro, apparantly built by Husqvauarna.) Grass was even higher by now. Going really slow, giving it a workout. Emptied the tank it came with. (Really big yard.) Grabbed that same red plastic gas can. Yep about 5-10 minutes later blowing white smoke and vibrating. Took it back to the local Farm Store. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with it either. We unloaded it. They didn't have any more. (I had got a really good end of season deal on it.) Took a refund check. Bummer.
Went home put some "gas" from that same red plastic gas can in my fairly new Poulan Pro push mower. Pulled my brains out, it wouldnt start. Feeling totally jinxed, I headed to the house. About a day later the farm store called. "Are you in the market for a good riding mower?" Yes, what did I do? "Come on over we'll show you." It fired right up and purred. (Like a total DA,) I had poured clear K-1 Kerosene in it from an unmarked gas can. (I'm usually religious about labeling, if it's not gas in the gas can. So I hadn't checked it.) The said they had a "Old Timer" that worked there. He had stuck his finger in the tank, pulled it out and smelled it. Doh.
Feeling like an idiot, I gave them back the refund check, reloaded my lawmower and headed home. By now the light (more like dim bulb) was going on in my head about what I had done to all three mowers. Doh. I gave a work buddy a screaming good deal on the Murray, which he got running good as new/used, after new plugs, dumping the oil and filling with super (non-ethanol.)
It took a long time to live that down at my Work lunch table and with my friends. It still gets brought up on occasion. Not my finest hour.
Went to sleep much of the time with that engine purring away.
One evening we heard the engine just quit. Never heard it do that before.
A little while later dad came in and we asked what happened and he reluctantly told us.
He carried two gallon cans in the back of his pickup. One was gas and one was engine oil.
Yep, he'd grabbed the gas and dumped in a good bit of gas in the hot engine. Hit the kill switch and got away before anthing happened.
Let it cool off overnight, drained the oil and refilled the crankcase with 30 weight and engine took off like normal.