Ok so here is the issue.....

52cc chainsaw that ran fine for first use, then before putting it away I drained the fuel tank and let it idle until it ran out of gas then put away- And yes sta-bil was added to the gas when mixing in the oil and I use 100% gas(no ethanol)

After a couple of months I take it out and fill it with fresh fuel and visually inspect the spark plug and air filter and it wont start or even attempt to fire; after making sure it wasn't flooded I try starting fluid and NOTHING - so I pull the spark plug and ground it to the engine block and no spark; turns out its a connection in the spark plug boot so I fix that and again ground the spark plug to the engine and when the cord it pulled it sparks fine, then I reassemble the saw and the new issue appears.

The issue I'm having now is that the cord is REALLY hard to pull and its almost like there is to much compression. This was not an issue before repairing the spark plug wire/boot and when you remove the spark plug and pull the cord its fine..... reinstall the spark plug and the issue returns?

I haven't tried to start it since this issue appeared as I'm afraid there might be another mechanical issue.

Any ideas on this?

Did you prime it before pulling on the cord? You have no reason to use sta-bil with ethanol free fuel it may have made it run to hot. What type of oil did you use when you mixed it and what was the ratio? like a small pint of oil and gallon of gas? if you didn't prime it before you pulled the rope you may have had the cylinder moving without lube. also I never like to run a 2stroke completely out of fuel because of the same reason... the only reason you would want to do that is if you didn't have access to the non ethanol fuel.

Burned fuel out of 2 stroke chainsaws weed eaters, and boat motors for decades and never had one quit because of it.

Did you take off the pull start rope? Make sure it isn't tangled.

Is it possible the spark plug was loose before?

If your going to take something apart be very careful and pay attention to how things were set them out so you put them back together correctly.

1. There is no primer bulb on this saw, although I did drip a couple of drops of fuel in the cylinder through the spark plug hole to lube the cylinder.

2. All gas can go bad, the ethanol free gas does last longer but it will still go bad and since it might be months before it gets used again all my farm gas has stabil mixed in with it after purchase. - actually my generators owners manual states that if fuel stabilizer isn't used the warranty is void.

3. Oil used was Lucas 2 stroke semi synthetic mixed at proper ratio of 2.5oz per gallon (50:1)

4. As for the spark plug being loose before..... Nope- I always pull the plug and check the gap of spark plugs for any new piece of equipment and while it has been taken out and put back in several times, I always make sure to put it in good and tight but not over do it.

5. Pull rope was never removed from the outside cover assembly where it is housed and everything was put together again correctly - if it was a bad reassembly job then the issue wouldn't go away when the spark plug is removed.

Any other suggestions?

What brand model is it?

Make sure the chain brake is off. The chain should move freely by hand.

Brake is off and its a TK5200- which is a Chinese nock off of a sthl farm boss.... Yeah I know its cheap but its about to be the spare for the Husqvarna 455 I'm about to buy.

It pretty much sounds like you have all the answers...

Is the chain over tightened? My old Poulan will pull hard if the chain is too tight.

Pull the muffler off and see if it's clogged. I don't think 2 strokes have exhaust valves but it sounds like there is some kind of obstruction in the exhaust system.

Have you checked the filter inside the fuel tank? or a pinched line will do the same

Did some more research. This "hard to pull rope" issue seems fairly common for chainsaws, in particular.

The consensus seems to be flooding of the cylinder with fuel. Seems even a drop of liguid gas can prevent the piston from reaching TDC.

The fix is to remove the spark plug, dray it with a clean towel and let it sit out for a while to allow the fuel to completely evaporate.

If the chainsaw has been sitting with gas for a while... like after the winter... suggestions are to first remove any old fuel from the tank and carb. Remove the hose from the carb to the tank/filter and let the gas drain back into the tank.

Remove the spark plug and turn the tool so the hole is facing down. Let it sit this way for a few hours pulling on the rope every once in a while to cause any fuel in the lines to be sucked out.

Install fresh mix, connect the fuel line to the carb, replace the plug and attempt to start.

always a good idea to pull the rope a few times with plug out to remove excessive fuel in the cylinder too.

Chainsaws are a tool of the devil himself. I've never had one that wasn't a pain in the rear.

Went to the lease to build a platform for my new blind last week. Get there, start to work and my (2) Dewalt batteries for my circular died after like 2 minutes, my fault for not charging before I left, thought they were. F'ing Poulan chainsaw just would not fire. I use the pre-mix, ethanol free fuel, so it's not a fuel problem. It's going in the trash this Friday. It's always been a problem.

Charlie

Yep, best way to in-flood one.

got one too that the fuel line dryrotted and was letting air in... still only needs a new tank with lines but I got an Echo lol

Always will be.

Stihl is the solution.

Either orange is good with me

In my Fire Department we have 8 chainsaws riding in a compartment, in a fire apparatus every day. We have 8 gas circular saws riding in a compartment every day. I have a small arborist saw, a large commercial saw, a trimmer, a blower, and a pole saw. Every single one that I mentioned are Stihl, and we never remove plugs, crank a few times, or baby them what-so-ever. And they work every time.

Yesterday morning, at a structure fire, a crew had to vertically ventilate. Which means cutting a large hole in the composition roof. I heard that saw running like a bat out of hell, with smoke coming out of the hole as the opening was being made. That crew was done, and off the roof in the standard 2 minutes or less. Our saws HAVE to work, every time. Therefore all of them are orange and white, and say Stihl on the side.

Great advice!..... Did it and cleaned out what looked like the starting of a dirt dobber nest and it cranks right up - Thanks Guys!

Happy you got it running.

Replacing the muffler gasket solved the very same problem on my Husky 55

One thing you want to remember with regards to machinery is nothing is full proof! I always remind the newer guys " THE AXE ALWAYS STARTS!" A skilled firefighter with an axe can ventilate as fast as a man with a powered saw. I deal with Chainsaws and circular saws everyday in my Fire Dept. I work in our Specialized Equipment section in our Logistics division. I've phased out Stihl products due to the price of replacement parts and from what I've found sub par performance for price. I've got a few of the stihl saws on some of our Rigs but honestly not very impressed when compared to price point. We have 14 aerial units not including reserves in my Department. Each with several chainsaws and circular saws I'm responsible for close to 30 saws or more. Most newer high compression two stroke Chainsaws and Cutoff saws nowadays have decompression valves on them. The very nature of a two stroke requires high cylinder compression in order for them to start and run properly. If your two stroke has less than 100psi compression on the cylinder odds are its wearing out. No decompression valve on this knock off could be an issue as well on top of the muffler clogging.
Also in my experience and I've got 20 years of it Stihl is not a solve all by far. Husqvarna makes a hell of a product.

Try slowly pulling the rope all the way out. Slowly let the rope rewind then try it.

I teach the 4 day ventilation class to our recruit academy. They must ALWAYS take an axe onto the roof, because as you said, the axe always works. They are also required to cut an entire opening with only an axe.