Chainsaws....

[JMF661]

I’m a stihl fan, I used them as a kid, my dad owned stihl lawn equipment, and I have purchased them for keeping upmy own property. I’m convinced they make a pretty solid small 2 stroke motor. If I were in the market for a chainsaw, I wouldn’t hesitate to pay the few extra bucks for the stihl chainsaw, if taken care of I would imagine it would be the last chainsaw you would ever have to buy.

My $0.02.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I got a stihl weedwacker i really like. It busted the driveshaft (my fault) but it always fired right up, was smooth and quiet and light. Which is why i decided to look at stihl saws.

Ill pry still get the old McCulloch running at some point (it needs an oiler, clutch, chain, sprocket, and prolly a bar) but that thing has cut the equivilent of the amazon worth of wood.

Pretty set on the MS180. Watched alot of youtube last night and they seem to be pretty impressive for such a small saw. Hell one guy put a 28in bar on it and even at 31cc it still ripped through a good sized log rather well.

Ill let ya guys know. Pry pick one up next few weeks. I looked online at the MS251 you recommended, its 359.99 VS 199.99 for the 180. For the price difference ill take my chance.

 

[91stranger]

Wow they gone up in price since I got mine. mine was $299 when I got it. I never said I was all about stihl and only stihl, I'm just saying that when I compare my stihl to other chainsaws that I have used I will say its a pain in the dick when you just start cutting wood and the chain pops off or when you need to carry a screwdriver to get the gas cap off or when you go to start it and you realize the primer bulb is cracked, I have NONE of these issues with my stihl which means I can keep cutting and get more cut in less time which we all know time is money. Maintenance? like I said before I've literally not done anything other than flip the bar each year. Still runs like a raped ape, fires up on the 3-4th pull every time, no primer bulb to fail prematurely. Can't say the same about other saws I've used.

Not sure what you have against plastic but all my plastic is fine on the stihl. I had an issue with a craftsman chainsaw where it leaked gas from the plastic housing, apparently it wasn't sealed good when they put the two halves together.

Also wouldn't stihl be out of business if they weren't good and over priced??

I looked into the milwaukees 18v chainsaws and they cost too much if you want the better batteries and if you want 2 batteries.

I don't know much about the ms251 but I know I can adjust the carb on my 250, had to adjust it when I did the muffler mod.

Just buy the ms180 already. I would get a full chisel chain and be done with it. Also get good oil to mix with your gas. I use stihl synthetic oil and mix it 50:1 and never have issues and I run cheap 87 pump gas.

 

[8thTon]

I've nothing against plastic saws, I have several of them. And my chains don't pop off and all my saws start easily, regardless of brand (because those are maintenance, tuning and operator errors). You ever tear an MS250 down completely, engine and all? Cause I have, and it's nothing special. And the one I tore down had a primer bulb, and originally cost $409 quite a few years ago. It's not that it's a bad saw, it's just not as nice as something like an Echo CS400.

Rusty I'm sure your MS180 will work fine when it's new, enjoy.

 

[91stranger]

All i'm saying is I want a saw that I know 100% is gonna start up and cut wood for however long I need. Maintenance is a factor but i'd rather grab one saw and know it will cut all the wood I need. I don't have time to tinker with a saw to get it running or keep it running. I am curious about the no-name cheapies on ebay. I hear they are stihl/Husqvarna saws without the names pretty much. Guy bought one and it was made from the same country as stihl and he was able to use parts from his stihl saw and put on the no-name saw as if it were the same thing. I just don't need another saw lol. I think I have about 10 or so gas saws and about 3-4 electric ones (my wife actually helps cut wood too but won't use a gas saw). With all these saws I still just grab the stihl and cut away.

 

[8thTon]

All i'm saying is I want a saw that I know 100% is gonna start up and cut wood for however long I need. Maintenance is a factor but i'd rather grab one saw and know it will cut all the wood I need. I don't have time to tinker with a saw to get it running or keep it running. I am curious about the no-name cheapies on ebay. I hear they are stihl/Husqvarna saws without the names pretty much. Guy bought one and it was made from the same country as stihl and he was able to use parts from his stihl saw and put on the no-name saw as if it were the same thing. I just don't need another saw lol. I think I have about 10 or so gas saws and about 3-4 electric ones (my wife actually helps cut wood too but won't use a gas saw). With all these saws I still just grab the stihl and cut away.

Of course you do, that’s what everyone wants out of a saw. It’s great your MS250 does that for you, but there’s nothing about how it’s designed or made that contributes to that. Until the diaphragms get hard, or the fuel lines crack, or the check valves in the carb stick or leak, or it goes out of tune it will work fine. But the carb is just the same as everyone uses. My saws do too, and the have all sorts of brand names on them.

My dad got an MS250 for exactly that reason, but it was unreliable junk from his point of view, so he got a Husky 455R and that was great as far as he can see. In reality he stored fuel in inappropriate plastic containers which eventually ruined the carbs in both those saws, so I had to tear them down and put in Chinese knockoff carbs, and now they’re both reliable again. The reality is you can’t use brand name to get to reliability as they all have the same fuel systems.

The clones are fun, I have several and use them a lot, but don’t get one unless you want to tear it all apart and finish deburring the parts, possibly supply some parts they forgot or were unusable, and put it together properly.

 

[Josh B]

Bought this 361 at an estate sale this past summer for $10, haven't even messed with it yet. Saw some chainsaws in an ad and immediately noticed the kickback bars, walked back there and looked, sure enough, no kickback on it. Yet another example the many great benefits of AD/HD

 

[91stranger]

That thing looks like it'll shake your bones.... Also looks like the pull rope will snap on the first good pull. You may have paid $10 too much unfortunately since you probably can't get parts for it being as old as it is.....

 

[Josh B]

Haha, I figured I could get $10 off the aluminum case, that thing weighs 25 pounds

Actually I don't think parts would be an issue if I decided to use it, this area is a logging haven with no less than a dozen major lumber, pulp, chipping, and paper mills within a hundred miles, also 3 major forests owned by mostly Weyerhaeuser.

Also at least a half dozen hardware stores at least a hundred years old within a 50 mile radius.

 

[Curious Hound]

Those things aren’t chainsaws. THIS is a chainsaw.

 

[Grumpaw]

Find out what brand he's using. Been using it since 1974 and still running and running and running...

 

[Grumpaw]

Those things aren’t chainsaws. THIS is a chainsaw.


View attachment 40364

Mines bigger...

 

[Curious Hound]

Mines bigger...

 

[Dirtman]

Mines smellier.

 

[Snoranger]

Rusty, I’m surprised that you even use chainsaws...