Alright, me for this, but I have not had to cut wood in a while. Saw has sat since then without fuel in it. Got it "winterized"...Took it and refueled it and ran it a little before I took it to the mountains. Seemed fine. Got in the mountains and running like a dog. Was at 5000+ feet. Tried to tune it as it just would not even idle. Finally got it to go and then when it gets warm, it dies.I decided I'm not going to touch it for the moment until I bounce this off others. I dunno if it just needs more tweaking in the tuning or if I have a carb problem. Have not tried to run it since I got off the mountains. Maybe the elevation was the problem, I dunno.I definitely know when I had the air filters off, it SCREEEEAMED! Put the filters on, it was not so much. Maybe it needs filters as well... :banghead:

this advise is what i would do. how ever, if you kill it don't blame me. Denatured alcohol, put some into the tank witha slight splash of oil. it'll loosen up any varnish that has formed through out. the in tank filters should be changed. you might have a clogged jet based on the fact it'll run without air filters. if the alcohol does not work then just take the carb off n clean it. What saw are we talking about?

I just replaced the piston and jug about 2 years or less ago and barely ran the saw since then. Its on older Stihl 044.I'll look into replacing air filter, fuel filter and possibly cleaning the carb. I have not even tore into this carb yet, so dunno what to expect. All of this saw should have been refurbished when I bought it. Paid $450 for it and ran like a champ until the day I smoked the piston and jug.I suspect it was due to running 87 octane because of the ethanol in it. I have ran 92 octane in it, ethanol free since then. I had a wrist pin circlip break on me and got wedged between the piston and jug wall.

Always winterize mine with a full tank of fuel and no stabil. 20 plus years on my first saw and it barely needed a tune up after 20 years of service. So I'm going to bet the carb diaphragms are all shot being it was left empty and the ethanol ate them for a winter snack.

Bleh... I don't think the ethanol could have done it, as like I said, I buy the 92 octane ethanol-free fuel.I could see how the lack of fuel to keep things wet could be a problem. But I was always told to run it till it dies. That way the fuel won't gum up on me.

Bleh... I don't think the ethanol could have done it, as like I said, I buy the 92 octane ethanol-free fuel. I could see how the lack of fuel to keep things wet could be a problem. But I was always told to run it till it dies. That way the fuel won't gum up on me.

That's how I have always done it as well if I know I am not going to be running it for a while. Either run it empty, or drain the gas and then start and run the gas out of the bowl. I do this with my saw, weed eater, lawn mowers, and atv. My WheelHorse is 30 years old and was handed down to me from my father. From day one he would shut the petcock off after mowing, idle the machine down and let it run itself out of fuel. I have continued that practice and in 30 years that carb has never been apart. We have been really lucky around here ethanol based gas is almost non existant in our area. Not sure why but I'm not complaining I avoid it at all costs.

So maybe I'm not crazy after all!

ah yes the 044. excellent saw. i still think there was some gas residue. it gummed up something. the denatured alcohol should fix it right up.

Yep, popular saw... I like to run a 20" bar on it. Eats through all the wood around me.. I've got a 28" bar it came with, but I can't justify using it much. Slows the chain down a bunch too.I'm not completely sure about doing the alcohol thing as I have never done it. If you were to give me an exact amount and ratio to lube, then I might do it. I'm gonna have to definitely brush up on tuning my saw again.

set your carb setting back to stock, the stock setting should be stamped on the side of the cover.

i'd bet its running lean. it'll run with air filter off, but not on. its "screams" says lean mixture.

as for the alcohol, it'll loosen up varnish. it's the same as white gas or Coleman fuel.. mix a small can like a court maybe and idk the amount of oil needed. math isn't something i can do right now. tired.

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set your carb setting back to stock, the stock setting should be stamped on the side of the cover.

i'd bet its running lean. it'll run with air filter off, but not on. its "screams" says lean mixture.

as for the alcohol, it'll loosen up varnish. it's the same as white gas or Coleman fuel.. mix a small can like a court maybe and idk the amount of oil needed. math isn't something i can do right now. tired.