Ryobi P540 manual

Y our chain saw has been engineered and manufactur ed to our high standard for dependability , ease of operation, and operator safety . When properly car ed for , it will give you years of rugged, trouble-free performance. WARNING: T o r educe the risk of injury , the user must read and understand the operator's manual befor e using this produ[...]

2  Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2   General Safety Rules ....................................................................................................................................[...]

3 GENERAL SAFETY RULES READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BASIC SAFETY PRECAUTIONS  Do not oper ate a chain saw with one hand! Use a firm grip with thumbs and fingers encir cling the chain saw handles. Serio us injury to the oper ator , helpers , bystan ders, or any com bina tion of thes e pe rson s ma y r esu lt fro m on e-ha nded opera tion. A chain saw is[...]

4 GENERAL SAFETY RULES KICKBACK See Figures 1 - 2.  WARNING: Kickback may occur when the moving chain contacts an object at the upper portion of the tip of the guide bar or when the wood closes in and pinches the saw chain in the cut. Contact at the upper portion of the tip of the guide bar can cause the chain to dig into the object and stop the[...]

5 GENERAL SAFETY RULES IN THE CUTTING/WORK AREA  Do not operate a chain saw in a tree, on a ladder , or scaf- fold; this is extremely danger ous.  Keep ALL children, bystanders, visitors, and animals out of the work area while starting or cutting with the chain saw . NOTE: The size of the work area depends on the job being performed as well a[...]

6 BA TTERY SAFETY  Battery operated units do not have to be plugged into an electrical outlet; therefore, they are always in operating condition. Be aware of possible hazards even when unit is not operating.  Remove the battery pack fr om the chain saw befor e cleaning, servicing, storing, removing material from the unit, changing accessories[...]

7 SYMBOLS Some of the following symbols may be used on this product. Please study them and lear n their meaning. Proper interpretation of these symbols will allow you to operate the pr oduct better and safer . SYMBOL NAME DESIGNA TION/EXPLANA TION V V olts V oltage A Amperes Current Hz Hertz Frequency (cycles per second) W W att Power min Minutes T[...]

8 SYMBOLS SERVICE Servicing r equires extreme care and knowledge and should be performed only by a qualified service technician. For service we suggest you return the product to your nearest AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER for repair . When servic- ing, use only identical replacement parts. WARNING: SA VE THESE INSTRUCTIONS The following signal words and[...]

9 FEA TURES PRODUCT SPECIFICA TIONS Motor ......................................................................................................................................................................18 V olt DC Bar Length .......................................................................................................................[...]

10 ASSEMBL Y UNP ACKING This product has been shipped completely assembled.  Carefully r emove the product and any accessories from the box. Make sur e that all items listed in the packing list are included.  Inspect the product carefully to make sure no breakage or damage occurred during shipping.  Do not discard the packing material unti[...]

11 This pr oduct will accept Ryobi One+ 18 V lithium-ion battery packs and Ryobi One+ 18 V nickel-cadmium battery packs. For complete charging instructions, refer to the Operator’ s Manual for the battery packs and char gers listed in the General Safety Rules. TO INST ALL BA TTER Y P ACK See Figure 6 .  Place the battery pack in your chain saw[...]

12 Fig. 8 TRIGGER RELEAsE BuTTON TRIGGER WARNING: Keep body to the left of the chain line. Never straddle the saw or chain, or lean over past the chain line. Starting the chain saw:  Place the chain saw on a flat bare surface and make sure no objects or obstr uction s ar e in immediat e vici nity which could come in contact with the bar and chai[...]

13  Maintain a proper grip on the saw whenever the unit is running. The fingers should encircle the handle and the thumb is wrapped under the handlebar . This grip is least likely to be brok en (by a kickback or other sudden rea ction of the saw). Any grip in which the thumb and fingers are on the same side of the handle, is danger ous because a[...]

14 Fig. 12 PROPER CUTTING ST ANCE See Figure 12.  W ei ght shou ld be ba lanced w ith both feet on solid ground.  Keep left arm with elbow locked in a "straight arm" posi- tion to withstand any kickback force.  Y our body should always be to the left of the chain line.  Thumb should be on underside of handlebar . BASIC CUTTING[...]

15 WARNING: If the tree starts to fall in the wrong direction, or if the saw gets caught or hung up during the fall, leave the saw and save yourself!  Felling a tree - When bucking and felling operations are being performed by two or more persons, at the same time, the felling operation should be separated fr om the bucking operation by a distan[...]

16  Felling Backcut. The backcut is always made level and horizontal, and at a minimum of 2 in. above the horizontal cut of the notch. See Figures 14 - 15.  Never cut through to the notch. Always leave a band of wood between the notch and backcut (approximately 2 in. or 1/10 the diameter of the tree). This is called "hinge" or “hi[...]

17 BUCKING LOGS UNDER STRESS See Figures 19 - 20. When the log is supported along its entire length, it should be cut from the top or overbucking. When the log is supported on one end, cut 1/3 the diameter fr om the under side or unde rbuc king . Then make the finis hing cut by overbucking to meet the first cut. As the log is being cut, it will ten[...]

18 LIMBING See Figure 21. Limbing is removing branches fr om a fallen tree.  W ork slowly , keeping both hands on the chain saw with a firm grip. Always make sure your footing is secur e and your weight is distributed evenly on both feet.  Leave the larger support limbs under the tree to keep the tree of f the ground while cutting.  Limbs [...]

19 MAINTENANCE BA TTE R Y P AC K RE MO V AL AN D PR EP ARA TI ON FOR RECYCLING T o preserve natural resour ces, please r e c y c l e o r d i s p o s e o f b a t t e r i e s properly . This pr oduct uses nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion batteries. Local, state or federal laws may prohibit disposal of batteries in ordinary trash. Consult your local was[...]

20 REPLACING BAR AND CHAIN See Figures 24 - 28. WARNING: The safety instructions in this section are to protect the user from serious personal injury . WARNING: Remove the battery pack from the chain saw and make sure the chain has stopped before you do any work on the saw . Failure to do so may result in accidental starting and possible serious in[...]

21  Replace the chain cover , washer and chain cover screw . Tighten the chain cover screw finger tight only . The bar must be free to move for tension adjustment.  Remove all the slack from the chain by turning the chain tensioning screw clockwise until the chain seats snugly against the bar with the drive links in the bar groove.  Lift t[...]

22 CHAIN MAINTENANCE See Figures 31 - 32. Fig. 33 Fig. 32 ChECK fOR wEAR OR DAMAGE Use only low-kickback chain on this saw . This fast-cutting chain will provide kickback reduction when properly main- tained. For smooth and fast cutting, chain needs to be maintained pr o per ly . Th e cha in re qu ir es sh arp en ing wh en th e wood ch ip s ar e sm[...]

23 WARNING: Improper chain sharpening increases the potential of kickback. TOP PLA TE FILING ANGLE See Figure 35.  CORRECT 30° - File holders are marked with guide marks to align file properly to pr oduce correct top plate angle.  LESS THAN 30° - For Cross Cutting.  MORE THAN 30° - Feathered Edge Dulls Quickly . SIDE PLA TE ANGLE See Fi[...]

24 Use a Flat File and a Depth Gauge Jointer to lower all gaug es uniformly . Depth gauge jointers are available in .020 in. to .035 in. Use a .025 in. depth gauge jointer . After lowering each depth gauge, restore original shape by rounding the front. Be careful not to damage adjoining drive links with the edge of the file. Depth gauges must be ad[...]

25 SAFE-T -TIP ® NOSE GUARD MAINTENANCE See Figures 41 - 42. Tighten the mounting screw of the nose guard as instructed below . These are specially hardened screws. If the screw cannot be installed tightly , r eplace both the scr ew and the SAFE-T -TIP ® before further operation. Do not replace with an ordinary scr ew . In addition to preventing [...]

26 PROBLEM CAUSE SOLUTION Bar and chain running hot and smoking. Motor runs, but chain is not rotating. 1. Check chain tension for over tight condition 2. Chain oil tank empty . 1. Chain tension too tight. 2. Check guide bar and chain assembly . 3. Check guide bar and chain for damage. 1. T ension chain. Re fer to Chain T ension earlier in this man[...]

27 LIMITED WARRANTY ST A TEMENT T echtronic Industries North America, Inc., warrants to the original retail purchaser that this RYOBI ® brand outdoor product is free from defect in material and workmanship and agrees to repair or replace, at T echtronic Industries North America, Inc.’ s, discretion, any defective product free of char ge within t[...]

983000-538 4-15-08 (REV :06) OPERA TOR’S MANUAL 18 VOL T CHAIN SA W P540 P540A P540B TECHTRONIC INDUSTRIES NOR TH AMERICA, INC. 1428 Pearman Dairy Road, Anderson, SC 29625 Phone 1-800-860-4050 www .ryobitools.com R YOBI ® is a register ed trademark of Ryobi Limited used under license. • P ARTS AND SER VICE Prior to requesting service or purcha[...]