It will not last long with the cover off. The system is designed so the larger chips are removed by the air past the flywheel before they reach the filter. Is the filter plugging with fine sawdust? If so, the chain is not sharp.

Hi Canguy,

I have a pic on my phone but left it in my pickup so won't be able to post pics until tomorrow night. The filter has the full range of sawdust from superfine to larger stuff. I've cut with a dull chain on the 6700 with no problems of plugging. 'Course I don't make a habit of cutting with a dull chain but it happens sometimes. I'll try another chain on it. It did come with 7 of them.

I am not sure if you have done it but also clean your air filter. Compressed air (blowing from inside to the outside of the filter) works well, but don't blast it so hard that you damage the filter. You can also wash the filter in the dishwasher to get it clean.

I have A CS5000 CS6700 and 2 CS510 saws, my 5000 is the only one where the filter plugs up faster and has the auto style round filter like my CS510 saws which seem to run forever without clogging. I don't know what the difference is, never looked into it. If you want your 5000 and 6700 to really cut open the muffler up a little. Steve