Picked up a new Stihl chain saw

Had high winds blow through here the other day that split one of the Bradford Pears down the middle

Instead of hiring a schmuk to clean it all up, I ponied up the dough and bought a Stihl MS 251, and I became the schmuk that cleaned it up

this thing made short work of a mess. Seriously, it was like a hot knife thru "butta"

I've got little experience with these saws, but relied on a local, well respected brick 'n mortar for advice

This thing rocks! $$ well spent!
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Comments

  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    I picked up a chainsaw once. By the bar end. While it was STIHL running. I guess I should post about that in the "Stupid things we do to ourselves" thread. :p
  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,438
    nice choice. Stay away from Poulans.
    ..
    ..
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    Randy/Maine
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    Good choice! I've had my Stihl for 20+ years. Sits out in the shed year round...through 100+ degree days and sub zero temps and never fails to start after a couple of pulls.
  • WagnerRC
    WagnerRC Posts: 2,138
  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,623
    My MS-290 is my favorite thing in the whole wide world...
  • Thorton
    Thorton Posts: 1,324
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    My MS-290 is my favorite thing in the whole wide world...

    I've got the MS-290 too and love it. I had to cut down a number of trees and branches this year and it always works like a charm.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2017
    I loves my little homeowner-grade Stihl. It is indefatigable.

    Our son-in-law, with a nearly 80 acre woodlot, treated himself to a real big-boy Stihl this spring, with a 24 inch bar.

    It is amazing what one can do using the right tools...

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    boston1450 wrote: »
    nice choice. Stay away from Poulans.

    While i agree with this statement, it also can go for Stihl as well. Stihl also has some now that are rated at 25 or 50 hrs like Poulans. ALWAYS check motor rating by law it must be labeled and anything rated at 300hrs is considered commercial quality as there is no higher rating. On the other hand i have not found any Echo's that are less than 300hrs. In most cases you can't go wrong with either Echo or Stihl
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    Poulan's had a history of having issues. I realize any manufactured good can have issues, depending on which one you get, however, some have worse histories than others. I realize there are some lower priced tools that are good, however, after some wasted money I came to realize the old saying is true...you usually get what you pay for. When I moved in to this house about 20 years ago I made the decision to research each piece of equipment I bought and have not been disappointed in spending a little extra money to buy quality.
  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,162
    Love Sthil products. I own their top of the line hand held blower BG 86c. But when stepping up to their best backpack blower I went with Husqvarna as it was more powerful and a lot more comfortable to wear.
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
  • Msabot1
    Msabot1 Posts: 2,098
    Been using my old Farm Boss for years without one problem...You made a good choice dude!..
  • decal
    decal Posts: 3,205
    German engineered+American made=Great product
    If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money.
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,962
    That's a nice homeowner saw. I sometimes I wish I had a smaller saw after a day of cutting. Keep the chain sharp and you'll make the job(s) much easier on yourself.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    I love buying new toys :smile:

    Word of advice, spend the money and buy the gas that Stihl sells for it. It will keep it running and starting excellently. Last year or the year before I bought one of Stihl's "multi-tools" that is primarily a weed eater, but you can buy all sorts of attachments as well. I have an old Craftsman chainsaw that was given to me that I never have been able to get running (but I haven't had time to tear the carb apart either). But like the previous owner, I would never use it enough to keep it running. One of the attachments I can buy for the Stihl I have is a chainsaw. I don't need one, but sometimes they're nice to have. I figured once I really need one, I can buy the attachment and since I run the motor all the time, I shouldn't have any issues.
    -Cody
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 2017
    FWIW, I have become a fan of premixed 2-cycle fuel. I use any of the two-stroke engines I've owned so infrequently that I cannot keep ahead of the deterioration of fuel when I mix it. At the least, the pre-mixed stuff is sans ethanol -- which has got to help.

    I am sure the unit price is outrageous -- but if you're like me and use (literally) a couple of quarts per year, it's virtually a no-brainer.

    As an aside, up here in "live free or die" NH (and also across the river in "we're bat-**** crazy" VT), it's not hard to find stations that also sell ethanol-free gasoline for ag use. Again, the price is high relative to the swill for cars, but it solves the storage problem (e.g., in portable generators), when storage times can be long but reliability's important.

    I need to get some for my generator again soon, come to think of it...
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,962
    +1 on the ethanol free gas! Makes a difference for sure. Saw a guy filling up his car with it recently, not sure I would do that though.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    muncybob wrote: »
    +1 on the ethanol free gas! Makes a difference for sure. Saw a guy filling up his car with it recently, not sure I would do that though.

    HOLY CRIMENY that is like $25.00+ a gallon.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    muncybob wrote: »
    +1 on the ethanol free gas! Makes a difference for sure. Saw a guy filling up his car with it recently, not sure I would do that though.

    HOLY CRIMENY that is like $25.00+ a gallon.

    Not 'round here :/
  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
  • starkiller
    starkiller Posts: 2,723
    Cool!! You are all set for those pesky Trick or Treater's!! :)
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,477
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    muncybob wrote: »
    +1 on the ethanol free gas! Makes a difference for sure. Saw a guy filling up his car with it recently, not sure I would do that though.

    HOLY CRIMENY that is like $25.00+ a gallon.

    Not 'round here :/

    OK my mistake I thought you were talking about the pre-mixed chainsaw gas. It is 6.99 a quart here in Illinois.

    Yes we used to be able to get ethanol free gas at the local independent Shell station it was .30 more a gallon. It's all I used until the owner found out the trucker and shell had been SHAFTING him and selling 10% ethanol gas for the ethanol free price. HE and the other station 60mi away won their lawsuit by the way. He then retired and shut down his station. He was one of two stations that had signed a binding contract to get the ethanol free gas from Shell because we the buyers signed a petition that we preferred PURE gas.

    I now use stable 360 in my gas at fill up.

  • Thorton
    Thorton Posts: 1,324
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....

    Many local hardware stores or yard equipment suppliers will sharpen your blades for $5-7 per blade.
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    Thorton wrote: »
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....

    Many local hardware stores or yard equipment suppliers will sharpen your blades for $5-7 per blade.

    Good to know!
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
  • Thorton wrote: »
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....

    Many local hardware stores or yard equipment suppliers will sharpen your blades for $5-7 per blade.

    Yeah i wouldn’t be in the habit of buying new chains when they get dull.
    Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    Thorton wrote: »
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....

    Many local hardware stores or yard equipment suppliers will sharpen your blades for $5-7 per blade.

    Yeah i wouldn’t be in the habit of buying new chains when they get dull.

    I know. I've only used it a handful of times so I have a total of two chains, but I was planning on buying another one the next time I needed it.

    Maybe I just need to youtube some more videos of sharpening. From my memory of this spring, a new chain does really well for me for about 2 maybe 3 hours of cutting? Once I sharpen it it does ok for about 30 minutes and then it hardly cuts. I must not be doing something right...
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,623
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    Thorton wrote: »
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    If I can chime in here...

    I bough my first saw last year. A little 14" Echo. It's been great for what I need it to do around my home with the exception of the chain dulling fairly quickly. I haven't really gotten the knack of sharpening it well, so if I have a day of cutting I usually go buy a new chain for around $15.

    Also, Home Depot has a pre-mixed gasoline that I have been using. I'm sure not the cheapest thing, but again...I'm not cutting down a forest and my time is usually sacred, so it's nice to just have a get up and go system.

    All that said, it sure is a lot of fun to use....

    Many local hardware stores or yard equipment suppliers will sharpen your blades for $5-7 per blade.

    Yeah i wouldn’t be in the habit of buying new chains when they get dull.

    I know. I've only used it a handful of times so I have a total of two chains, but I was planning on buying another one the next time I needed it.

    Maybe I just need to youtube some more videos of sharpening. From my memory of this spring, a new chain does really well for me for about 2 maybe 3 hours of cutting? Once I sharpen it it does ok for about 30 minutes and then it hardly cuts. I must not be doing something right...


    I have Stihls sharpening kit and it works great.

    Tedious, but it gets the job done.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb2Vwy9H-fc
  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    I like to keep 3 chains. Two good sharpened for backup and a good one, of course, on the bar. Every time I switch one out I take the used one to the hardware store and they sharpen for just a few bucks. Always good to have a back up.
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    Are we STIHL talking about chainsaws? That drives me up a TREE because I'm not SHARP enough to follow this conversation. Maybe I should LOG off? I SAW DUST in the Wind on TV last week. I would go and watch it again if I didn't pull the CORD on my cable. Maybe I would BRANCH out into comedy, but my humor LEAVES people STUMPED. Oh, great. Now the dog is BARKing again. :(
  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 2,962
    :)

    I have a few sharpening tools and I like the Stihl kit mentioned the best. It does take some time to get the process right but it's worth it if you cut a fair amount of wood like me. I also really like the Timberline tool but it's a bit of a PITA to use....................and, it's not a blade...it's a bar for Pete's sake.
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, modded Polk SDA 2B, Rythmik L12 sub.