Stihl chainsaws (who else has one?) (Page 1 of 2)
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VA, USA
Posted: 1/1/2025 4:32:02 PM EDT
I had my Stihl MS171, 16" chainsaw serviced back in November. All this time, it has sat in my shed, only used very rarely to cut fallen branches after a bad storm. Anyway, I was just outside making sure my dog Reggie goes pee, etc... and I decided to go in my shed, get out the Stihl MS171, and I flipped the lever, and pulled the cord. Vroom... cranked right up! I let it run and warm up for a bit, and then shut it back down again. No other chainsaw runs like a Stihl!  (Photo taken back when I got it back from the service shop -- still has my name and repair# on the tag!)  |
| All my 2 stroke stuff seems better when I started only using ethanol free mix. I've got an MS250 (may be right model number), a string trimmer, and an off brand blower. |
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Thinking back to my thread as the OP.... Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, etc... I think the WORST of the worst chainsaws I ever owned was Poulan. I mean, OMG, what a complete POS!!  No matter what you did, the chain would slacken, I mean dangerously slacken!!  You'd have to stop and tighten it back up every few minutes.... |
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261, 500i, 661 - These are my main saws that get lots of use. 500i is my main saw, felling, bucking, etc. 261 is for limbing or felling if I'm in small stuff. 661 for stumping, chainsaw milling, and those REALLY big bucks. Echo 355t for climbing A few vintage McCulloch that pretty much just sit around. |
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I have several Stihl saws. They always start right away, regardless of OAT. Owned for years, problem-free. Make sure you only use alcohol-free gas in them or any other small engine, though. The smaller the engine, the more critical. |
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Ethanol-free is the only way to way go these days... That sh** eventually will eat away at any small engine. Believe me, I have an old Toro roto-tiller in my shed that hasn't run in about 5 years. One of these days, I'll tear it apart and figure WTF happened and try to rebuild it. |
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| 13 year old 290 still going strong. Starts up every time if you do it right......get it off sequence and it wont start easily. |
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This is relevant to my interests. My 30 year old mcculough which was a cheap unit bought on sale at home depot, gave me faithful service for many years. Punched well above its weight. Then I got it out to help clear some timber, and it wouldn't run. All the fuel lines had turned brittle. So I replaced them, and the filter, and the little pumper bulb (twice) and the plug, and it still won't run reliably. After the last troubleshooting session I sate it on my workbench and all the chain oil leaked out. It's time to give it a viking funeral. RIP old friend, we cut a lot of trees. So I'm thinking of a homeowner grade from one of the big names, stihl, husqie, etc. |
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Originally Posted By FedDC: I want a 462…debating carb vs Mtronic Unless you're REALLY stuck on the nostalgia of adjusting a carb to get absolute perfect performance, and you have the knowledge to do so, m-tronic is great. I do not see any reason at this point to get a regular carb. If you generally set your carb once and never touch it again unless it starts acting up, get m-tronic. There's just a few differences you have to take into account when running m-tronic carbs to keep it happy: 1. Let the saw idle for 20 seconds after completing a long full throttle cut. You can cause issues with M-tronic by immediately shutting off the saw after a long WOT run. It might not want to start up again after that without holding the throttle open. 2. Semi-related to the above, don't run the saw out of gas in a long cut. Same thing can happen. Carb is adjusted for WOT and doesn't have time to pull back to idle adjustment before it's shut off and might flood the saw when trying to restart. As soon as you hear it burble on low fuel, get it out of the cut, let it idle a bit, shut down and refuel. That's it. The only time I've ever 'reset' my m-tronic saws is when I do something performance related to them. I've never had one cause me problems and I've never had to take one of my m-tronic saws in for service. |
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Originally Posted By TNC: This is relevant to my interests. My 30 year old mcculough which was a cheap unit bought on sale at home depot, gave me faithful service for many years. Punched well above its weight. Then I got it out to help clear some timber, and it wouldn't run. All the fuel lines had turned brittle. So I replaced them, and the filter, and the little pumper bulb (twice) and the plug, and it still won't run reliably. After the last troubleshooting session I sate it on my workbench and all the chain oil leaked out. It's time to give it a viking funeral. RIP old friend, we cut a lot of trees. So I'm thinking of a homeowner grade from one of the big names, stihl, husqie, etc. If you want homeowner grade saw I would go with Echo. Professional lines are great inside Stihl and Husqvarna but their home owner stuff, in my opinion, isn't of the value that Echo is. Price to performance/longevity is better on Echo equipment. Just my opinion of course, but I've had good luck sticking to this approach. |
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I have had overall good experience with stihl except for a brushcutter (HD weedwacker) that was always hard to start. I have worn a couple out (30 years of use will do that) and still have one that I bought with my covid check. In the same time period I bought a husky and it was always a bitch to start and never seemed to have good power. I also have a good size and a smaller Echo chainsaw along with a Echo backpac blower. My conclusion is Echo makes good equipment that seems to be a great value , easy to start with good power |
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WA, USA
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I have a 170 for limbing, a 261, and a 362. My first Stihl was the 362. I wish I would have went bigger with that one. I use the daylights out of my 261. I may pick up another just for a spare. Used to have a Husky 51. It was a good saw too. I cut 25-30 8’ pickup beds of firewood a year. Plus everything else I need to do on 110 acre farm. Attached File |
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Attached File MS251 Wood Boss. Ran yesterday for a couple of hour clean up job, stopped to cool and fuel, drag brush. It sat since March but fired right up. Non ethanol fuel is the best move on all small equipment. It’s enough for me now to do my homeowner work. Got a BR 700 blower that gets right much use. Love it. Got an older Huskie 450 that’s same way too. I don’t run them like I used to so I’m careful to use good fuel and keep them sharp for when I do need to pull it out. |
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blowers BR800X, SH 56C, Saws MS 290, MS 262 C-M, 462c, MS390. I'm not sure of the weed Wacker model... |
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MS 201TC is my favorite saw. Attached File |
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Love my Stihl stuffAttached File |
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Originally Posted By lp6: Tell us about the Sugihara bar. Cant speak for the sugihara but I run Tsumura bars on my felling saws and LOVE them. The stihl and stihl lite bars are ok, but the tsumura will outlast them 2 to 1 and they are lighter than even the stihl lite. The abuse these bars will take and come back to being perfectly straight is amazing. |
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MS271. With a sharp chain it is a light saber. It’s like Darth Vader cutting through Luke’s arm. I used to get all my ethanol free gasoline at a marina pump. Now I buy it at Sheetz. Sheets E0 is cheaper without the valve protection additive for older boat engines. |
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MS180 - My first gas saw. Had it about 5 years. I owned a couple electric saws in the past and used a buddy's battery saw that ran out of juice twice when I tried to use it. Living in the suburbs, I don't have a regular need for them, but figure I should have a real one around. I have an extra bar, two new chains, and a pair of chaps sitting along side the saw in a case, but aside from a downed limb or two I use it to cut scrounged wood at camp. Because I didn't grow up using saws, I found the BC Faller Training videos on YouTube to be helpful. I didn't watch all 17 videos, but those videos showed me how to do things correctly and cautiously.  BC Faller Training Standard - Introduction (1 of 17) |
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Had a 391 clamshell that ran great and decided to go to the pro grade saws to minimize vibrations. Sold it to a tornado victim for $200 with a spare new chain. Then bought a 362 and a 441c that were ported by Mastermind in Jamestown. (He only does NIB saws) Can’t count the offers I got after letting people try them out. Sold the 441c last year as it was getting too much for me to handle after my heart attacks. Always told people to buy whatever brand where you get competent service, Stihl has a great dealer network. I have no issues with Husqvarna, Jonsered or Echo if you have good dealer service locally. All are great saws. |