# Stihl 029 bar



## NCFord (Jul 26, 2013)

I have a 16 inch bar on my 029 and would like to get either an 18 or 20 inch.  I would prefer the 20 but am not sure if it will handle it.  I have a 20 inch for my Johnered, but that is a little big for that saw.  Any thoughts?  Also, should I get a stihl bar or an Oregon?  I think I can get an Oregon bar and chain from Lowes otherwise it's a stihl from the dealer and they can be a little pricey.


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## Ashful (Jul 26, 2013)

My 036 Pro is painfully slow when burying the tip on a 20" bar in hardwood, so I'd not go 20" on an 029. It should sling 18" okay, until you bury the nose in hardwood. It'll work, but it won't be fast!


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## smokinj (Jul 26, 2013)

Well you can west coast style it. 20 inch bar with a skipper chain good to go!


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## Jags (Jul 26, 2013)

Stihl says it can handle from 16-20".  As with most things, if you are at the edge of recommended duty, performance can start to slip.  But to answer your question...Yes, the 029 was designed to handle a 20" bar.


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## HittinSteel (Jul 26, 2013)

Maybe there is a bar adapter that will allow you to run your jonsered 20" on the 029. Check Baileys.


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## clemsonfor (Jul 26, 2013)

i think the oiler holes and such dont match up on husky(josered) saws and stihl saws?


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## MrWhoopee (Jul 26, 2013)

Yes, the 029 is rated for a 20 in. bar maximum
http://www.stihlusa.com/WebContent/...onmanuals/STIHL029_039_with_safety_manual.pdf
page 49 of 90


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## HittinSteel (Jul 26, 2013)

This is what I was thinking of..... unfortunately it is a stihl bar to a husky adaptor


http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=10030&catID=


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## MasterMech (Jul 26, 2013)

Is this an 029 or an 029 Super?  The super will do ok with a 20".  You could do it with the 029 but I really like the 16" option on those.   18" isn't really a good compromise and you won't gain a lot of capability going up 2".  The other thought rattling around in my skull is that if you regularly need more capability than the 029 16" setup provides, you would probably be better served looking at a bigger saw. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## paul bunion (Jul 26, 2013)

An 029 with a 20" bar along with a schindy 360 has put heat in my house for almost 20 years or so.  I haven't known better or worse.   That's what I bought it with and that's what I have been using.


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## smokinj (Jul 26, 2013)

paul bunion said:


> An 029 with a 20" bar along with a schindy 360 has put heat in my house for almost 20 years or so. I haven't known better or worse. That's what I bought it with and that's what I have been using.


 
Yea I ran a 029 for a very long time. The local high school has it now and they use it to teach shop.


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## clemsonfor (Jul 26, 2013)

my wood cutting buddy just bought a 290 withi think a 20" bar. He can about keep up with my 390 but not really, I really am still faster, but he is still better than his old smaller poulan saw.


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## CLL (Jul 26, 2013)

I've been running a 20 inch bar on mine for 17 years they work fine !


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## Jacktheknife (Jul 26, 2013)

CLL said:


> I've been running a 20 inch bar on mine for 17 years they work fine !



My 250 slings an 18" pretty we'll, so I would imagine the 290 would pull a 20" equally we'll. however, you will probably notice a sizable power drop. Wish I had a 16" to throw on mine and save the 18" for when needed.


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## StihlHead (Jul 27, 2013)

I ran a 20 inch on a 290 with a modded muffler just fine (same saw as an 029 Super). I also had a 029 and that was not nearly as powerful, even with a muffler mod. I would say go with an 18 inch on the 029, and a 20 inch on the 290. I ran my modified 310s with 20 inch bars most of the time and the 310 is my favorite saw of that line (the Stihl 1127 series).


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## pyroholic (Jul 27, 2013)

I've been happy with a 20 on my 290.  Certainly there are better saws for the job, but it works fine.  That said I'm still in the market for a 362, or 460 before winter comes.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jul 27, 2013)

smokinj said:


> Well you can west coast style it. 20 inch bar with a skipper chain good to go!


 

Yup.  I cut dozens of cords with that exact setup (on a 290).


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## Elderthewelder (Jul 27, 2013)

well this guy is saying he has a 32" bar on his MS290

looks like a pawn shop so I think they made a mistake
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/tls/3919796643.html

*Stihl Gas Chainsaw 32" Bar - $500 (6th Avenue, Tacoma)*






Stihl MS290
32" bar.
Feel free to come down to our location for more information at
6408 6th Avenue 98406
Or call:
Open 10-7 Weekdays
10-6 Saturdays
11-5 Sundays

Location: 6th Avenue, Tacoma
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Posting ID: 3919796643
Posted: 2013-07-07, 11:38AM PDT
Updat


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## NCFord (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks, How can I tell if mine is a 029 super?  On the saw it just says 029 and on the side says farm boss. 
I think I will go with the 20 inch, since I have some big stuff to cut up and just use the 20 when I need it.


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## StihlHead (Jul 27, 2013)

029 Super will have a plate on top saying just that. Otherwise it will say 029 and be the Plain Jane 029 model. The 029 Super supposedly has better porting than the later model 290. Do yourself a favor and get a 360 rim drive kit (clutch drum and rim). It is a perfect fit and then you only need to replace the rims when they wear out. Rim drives are also way better on chains.

029:
Displacement 54.1cc
Bore 45 MM
Stroke 34 MM
HP 3.7

029 Super (same as the 290):
Displacement 56.5cc
Bore 46 MM
Stroke 34 MM
HP 3.8+


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## clemsonfor (Jul 27, 2013)

Get the 20" bar. Keep your chain sharp and u will be fine. Mod your muffler for optional performance, and if that is not fast enough chain speed get skip tootth chain.


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## NCFord (Jul 27, 2013)

How do you Mod the muffler?  Any other mods?  I just got this this saw from my dad, whom got it from my grandfather.  It's been around a little while, but has very little run time.  I am sure I have used it more in the last 2 weeks than it's been used in  the last 5 years.


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## clemsonfor (Jul 27, 2013)

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/stihl-chainsaw-weird-object-in-muffler.110808/

Here is a link to my thread. U don't need to read the whole thing bit long story short I got a new muffler and finially do a mod. The aftermarket muff has 2x the exhaust outlets as OE and after MM :s advice I put some more holes in it. heThe more holes the exhaust can get out the better it will run with more power. More air out equals more in equals more power. But you have to tune your varb after or you will burn your piston up running lean. This should tell I what u need to know and gibe mastwrmechs tune instructions


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## Jacktheknife (Jul 27, 2013)

clemsonfor said:


> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/stihl-chainsaw-weird-object-in-muffler.110808/
> 
> Here is a link to my thread. U don't need to read the whole thing bit long story short I got a new muffler and finially do a mod. The aftermarket muff has 2x the exhaust outlets as OE and after MM :s advice I put some more holes in it. heThe more holes the exhaust can get out the better it will run with more power. More air out equals more in equals more power. But you have to tune your varb after or you will burn your piston up running lean. This should tell I what u need to know and gibe mastwrmechs tune instructions



I seem to recall reading about this mod when I first got the MS250, but never found one for that saw. Can I do this to mine?


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## StihlHead (Jul 28, 2013)

The more holes you put in a 029/029/310/390 muffler, the LOUDER they will get. There is also a maximum muffler opening that you want to go to which is typically 80% of the engine exhaust port size. After that you just get more noise and not much gain.

I have modified over a dozen of these saws and I have found the original porting to be the best, while keeping the saws fairly quiet. This is a photo of a factory Euro muffler for any the 1127 saws, which was the same as on the original US 029 saws (giving the Euro model 290 4.1 HP):




Note that this mod also has a ground off beveled section on the muffler cover to improve breathing. I also leave the screen in place as we have requirements for them during fire season here in the west. You also want to re-tune the saw after porting the muffler, or it will run lean and overheat (and then the engine will score). If you have an MS saw the H and L screws have limiter tabs on the carb to prevent you from setting the required tune after this type of muffler mod. Pull the limiters and cut the tabs off, and re-set them in place, and then tune the carb with a digital tach. Note that the factory specs for all Stihl saws are 500 RPM under the actual engineered RPM limits.


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## Beer Belly (Jul 28, 2013)

I'm running a 20 inch on my Farmboss.....it'll cut, but if you bury the bar in a round, you'll see it struggle a little, but it will get the job done


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## HittinSteel (Jul 28, 2013)

My cutting buddy uses and 029 Super with a 20" .325 setup. I modded the muffler for him and it does pretty well.


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## clemsonfor (Jul 28, 2013)

no matter what it will be slow with the nose buried in oak. My 390 is slow to me fully buried running 3/8 .050 chain. If you downsize to .325 picco chain like Hittin suggests it will speed up a bit with a more narrow kerf.  But when I run my smaller 45cc husky saw I realize how fast the 390 was


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## MasterMech (Jul 28, 2013)

StihlHead said:


> The more holes you put in a 029/029/310/390 muffler, the LOUDER they will get.


 
Not if you stay away from that center rectangle with the drill/dremel.  As soon as you start poking holes in that, you have a straight through path for exhaust and noise to get out.






Make your 029/029S/039/MS290, 310, 390 Muffler look like that one and you should see a very noticeable increase in power (after you re-tune the carb of course) without waking the dead.  The MS390 I did like that is hardly noticeable from stock, noise wise, but has a definite attitude adjustment in the wood.






Don't forget to open up the deflector cover a bit otherwise it becomes the bottleneck.




Jacktheknife said:


> Can I do this to mine?


 
You can do it to just about any saw but the amount of work involved and the potential gains to be had vary by model.  I have not tried it with a MS250.... yet.


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## clemsonfor (Jul 28, 2013)

Cool you used my pic  Unless the one u did was similarly rusted and dirty as mine?  I don't care one bit and feel honored that it looks OK enough for u to use in your excellent directions!


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## MasterMech (Jul 28, 2013)

clemsonfor said:


> Cool you used my pic


 
Where do I send the check? 

It's exactly the same as the one I did. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of the actual saw I modified. So I stole yours.


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## Jacktheknife (Jul 28, 2013)

clemsonfor said:


> Cool you used my pic  Unless the one u did was similarly rusted and dirty as mine?  I don't care one bit and feel honored that it looks OK enough for u to use in your excellent directions!


He stole it and I printed it out.


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## HittinSteel (Jul 28, 2013)

My buddy rides a Harley.......so I drilled a hole through the rectangle and the deflector. Its loud and flows very well


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## StihlHead (Jul 28, 2013)

clemsonfor said:


> no matter what it will be slow with the nose buried in oak. My 390 is slow to me fully buried running 3/8 .050 chain. If you downsize to .325 picco chain like Hittin suggests it will speed up a bit with a more narrow kerf. But when I run my smaller 45cc husky saw I realize how fast the 390 was


 
Corrections: .325 is not picco chain. Picco is 3/8 low profile. Picco bars are extremely hard to find in large format size for Stihl saws (1127 saws are large format). Also .325 does not have any narrower kerf than 3/8 std. unless you go to an aftermarket Stihl size NK .325 B&C. The difference is .325 has a slightly lower profile, and more cutters per length than 3/8 std. I have run many tests of 3/8 vs. .325 on my 026s and 310s, and they were a dead heat. Neither was faster or cut any better. NK has a 10% narrower kerf, but most I have read that have run it say it is not that much better, if at all. I run all 3/8 std. for one size B&C for all my saws, 026 and up.


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## StihlHead (Jul 28, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Not if you stay away from that center rectangle with the drill/dremel. As soon as you start poking holes in that, you have a straight through path for exhaust and noise to get out.
> 
> Don't forget to open up the deflector cover a bit otherwise it becomes the bottleneck.


 
If you go with the 6 ports on the muffler like you have there, the deflector is still going to limit the flow. I have drilled out the entire outer section with a large slot at the top and an 'L' at the bottom and compared it to a 4 slot port mufflers and they ran pretty much the same. So I stick with the 4 slot ports more or less like you have in your photos, and that is more area than the deflector has with the bevel section ground off. On a 290 that will give you a 4.0-4.1 HP, the original design power for those saws, and the same as a stock 310 (though they are not as smooth as the 310). You can get the same gains from a 310 mod and get stock 390 power, and make a 390 into a poor man's 361. Though the lower rev limit of the 390 keeps them slower than the 361 in timed cuts even with the 'factory' muffler mod; I have tested them back to back with the same B&C and the same logs. Also the 361 is far smoother than any 390, or even a 310.

I fully agree with staying away from porting the dimple section though. I have cut out the entire dimpled section and left the deflector off and they are as loud as hot saws. More power, but the gas mileage drops and you can smell the unburned gas pouring out of them from lack of back pressure. Which is another reason I keep the muffler porting tightened up a tad. Also the max RPM get hit pretty fast with excessive muffler porting, especially with the low rev limit of the 029/290.

These mods are so easy and take 30 minutes if you have done them before. They also make the saw run better and cooler, and they will actually last longer. But as I have said before, they are a modification from factory and EPA standard, and if you take a modified saw into a dealer with these mods, they are required by law to restore them to factory condition, meaning re-installing new original restricted muffler and limiter tabs and de-tuning. It is not illegal for you to do these mods, but it is illegal for them to do these mods, or leave saws as they are if they come across a saw with these modifications.

BTW: here is a good page at Madsen's on carb tuning:

http://www.madsens1.com/saw_carb_tune.htm


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