Ive been reading about converting engines but havent seen any information about stihl chainsaw conversions? any reason for this or just not very popular? I have a 35cc stihl chainsaw but know nothing much about converting it, what would be involved? Would the power of the engine be worth the weight?

Good question. I have wondered the same thing. Seems Husqvarna and Stihl are the leaders in the chainsaw world and it follows that their engines would make good conversions. They say chainsaw engines are powerful, lightweight, and well-built anyway. The problem may be due to lack of volume/popularity and the ability to acquire one cheaply enough to make the conversion worthwhile. I have a Husq 335xpt, but need it much more as a saw than an aircraft engine. Stripped down a Ryobi 31 cc and have an old Stihl trimmer 25.4 cc that I will tear down next. Whichever offers the best prospect I will use in a 90 size spitfire...

I am interested in seeing the response to this thread...

Only problem (?) with a Stihl is the length of the taper on the end of the crank..You just need to make a longer hub...Otherwise a Stihl is the equal of anything else you will find..Stihl chainsaw models 090 and 070 pistons and cylinders are used in our racing twins.....

Is there anyway to tell if the engine has roller bearings or ball bearings before I take it apart? I read that if it has roller bearings they are not worth converting. What would have to be done to convert it and what size of plane would it pull? (How much thrust will it put out)
thanks

The equal of any other cheapo conversion (Homelite, Ryobi, Poulan, etc) OR the equivalent of any major brand gasser (DA, 3W, Brison, ZDZ, BME)?! As I understand it, though conversions can be inexpensive to acquire, there is still quite a disparity between the power output of a converted Poulan 46 and an off the shelf BME 44cc.

Please, correct me if I am wrong.

There is nothing cheap about major brand chainsaw parts...BME and Brison, among others, use chainsaw cylinders and pistons, and some use the cranks as well...My Poulan 46 conversions turn a 20-10 MA at 7000 rpm,and a Menz 22-8 about 6400...A poulan 46 costs about $100 from Lawnstation.com..Poulan 46 cranks are made by Husqvarna, hardly a cheapo product...
3W, DA, and ZDZ have a power advantage, although some of it is in the mind of the ad writer
There's a lot of money to be saved by enterprising "do it your selfers", hence this forum...[8D]

the BME is just an echo 4400 saw engine with a prop hub. only real difference between it and the poulan is the price of the complete saw, you wont find it for $100 like the poulan.
stihl, husky and jonsered also suffer from high prices as complete saws. they are also hard to find used because being high priced they are usually used by professionals and not simply discarded like the cheap saws are when the plug gets fouled...


dave

I have a few converted Stihl engines. Here is a pic of my 036. I also have several 038's, an 032, and 028. I just started work on a 039, 64cc that looks like the newer style Poulans. The 036, and 038's have the same performance as the G62 Zenoah. Every brand of saw seems to have a few models that do not convert easily.

Dean