Chainsaws without a pull-cord start?

[Rosalind]

I hate my chainsaw.

It's supposedly a good one, a DeWalt. I can't start it to save my life. Yes, I put the appropriate gas/oil blend in it. Yes, I pumped the little button that primes the fuel lines. Yes, I pulled the choke out just so. Yes, I know you have to pull several times before it will start for real. The danged thing will just. Not. Start.

Even DH cannot get the accursed thing started sometimes. Often, I'll get someone else to start it for me, then in the middle of cutting something, it will suddenly crap out, flood the engine, and die for no apparent reason. And then it's another 15 minutes of cussing and yanking to get it to re-start.

I hate it. The day I find a chainsaw without a pullcord, this evil thing is going on Craigslist.

There is one saw, the Envirosaw, that I found online which does not start by means of a pull cord. It is only available in Australia and New Zealand.

Are there any such things available in the US? Am I just not looking right? This has to be a real chainsaw, at least 16" long blade.

 

[Grow 4 Food]

go to you stihl dealer. They have a four stroke saw that has a preload starting system that is pretty sweet. I have one on a weedeater that my 14 yr daughter can start w/ no problem.

 

[Carri]

Is it a two stroke? Those are the devil.

 

[1acrefarm]

I would maybe try a better brand stihl and husqavarna are good. They can be costly but they are worth it. Your chainsaw may just need a carb adjustment. If you do get a new saw make sure its over 40 cc and does not have a catylitic converter. All small ones have cats and it really weakens them down.

 

[flinthillbillie]

Rosalind, I feel your pain! I bought a brand new Stihl last year, my pride and joy. I'd wanted one for a long time. Seems the thing had it in for me from the get-go. I could almost never get it to start for me and finally took it back in to the dealer in tears, begging for help. They checked it out, nothing was wrong, but said they can be cranky (or not??) during their warm up period. He also gave me this tip: try starting it without the chain brake engaged. Somewhat more dangerous, so be careful always, but it's worked fine that way for me ever since. I do know Stihl has a model that doesn't have the cranky cord and they are really great saws.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Husqavarna has the easy pull and ours starts first pull every time except if it has sat for more than a couple months then it's second pull at most. I can start it every time and that says something because I would be frustrated at 3 pulls.

Easy pull is a valve thingy that releases the cylindar pressure until the engine fires so your not working against compression pulling the cord. That's my limited understanding of it, all I know is it works great. I have forgotten to use it and still had the thing fire up if it was laready warm so that says something about how easy Husky's start.

 

[Grow 4 Food]

the stihl I was referring to is a four stroke. They are a little heavier but not a lot to notice unless you have run a large amount of saws.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

The most common cause of hard start is dirty air filter.
It need not look dirty to be dirty.

Next is improper air mixture settings.
You have 2 mixture screws, one is low speed, and the other is High speed, they are marked "L" and "H" respectfully.
The "L" is the one you would want to adjust.

It's also possible you are pushing the priming bulb too many times, or not enough times.

Too much oil in the gas mixture could also cause some fouling of the plug, or a bad plug could also be a problem.

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

I would have it looked at before you buy a new one, sounds like there is a problem. My big 20" McCulloch chain saw from the 80's will fire on the first pull. This is true even after sitting for a long time.