New chainsaw, quality concern

mdaudioguy

Bought a chainsaw yesterday for some occasional firewood cutting. I did a little research and decided to go with a well-known brand - Stihl. I had two probably 25+ year old saws, a Stihl and a Craftsman that were just plain worn out.

I get home, excited to let er rip, and had a hard time starting it. Once I finally got it running, it lasted 3 minutes, shut down, and locked up.

The dealer replaced it without question - said the cylinder was trashed. New saw worked great and cut a lot of wood, but I have to say that I'm a little disappointed and concerned about quality.

WagnerRC

I miss the quality of the 70-80's too. Stihl used to be a great product. I still have my Crapsman from the 80's now.

zarrdoss

I used to fight forest fires in New Mexico and Stihl or Husqvarna is all anyone would use. I lean more toward Husqvarna but I would only get their hi end stuff, its the only stuff made right. The rest of it is just made for occasional use and just not as reliable.

mdaudioguy

Yeah, Stihl offers homeowner and professional models, which I'm sure have a noticeable quality difference, but I couldn't justify the higher price for my occasional usage. Hopefully, the first one was a fluke. We'll see.

littlewoodboats

I bought my Stihl chainsaw right after hurricane Rita and other than a few ethanol in the gas issues eating fuel lines and primer bulbs the reliability has been rock solid. I had to buy an new carb last year for $30.00 installed. $30.00 in maintance not counting chains here and there in 12 years leaves me feeling pretty good about mine. I purchased a string trimmer around eight years ago that had its clutch replaced under warranty with no other issues. If I had to guess I would say for first issue was a fluke.

mhardy6647

Stihl is (ahem) stihl the best AFAIK.
My son-in-law (with assistance from me and others) has been using my little Stihl (homeowner grade) to fell & cut up some pretty big hardwood on his property for firewood (and, in some cases, milling for lumber, too). It is a trouper (or is that "trooper"?).

charley95

Had a 7 year old Stihl blower and it threw a rod. I decided to replace it with another exact replacement, so time will tell. If it doesn't last I'll try a different brand. It's pricey but, I always run Tru-Fuel in mine to avoid ethanol issues.

littlewoodboats

Stihl had some big issues with the ethanol in the fuel. My dealer had a box of replacement primer bulbs on the counter free to anyone who had an issue. I would take in the cracked bulb for a free replacement with no muss no fuss. Stihl seems to have found the solution to the problem as the last round of replacements do not suffer from the cracking that plagued earlier primers. I stick with Stihl because the local dealer supports the product so well.

tonyb

I've used Stihl saws my whole life, mostly professional versions though and they are rock solid.....if you take care of them. They can get a bit quirky if the fuel mixture isn't spot on though or the air filter a bit dirty. I guess the same would apply to any saw. We beat the crap out of them and they always performed. Expensive little boogers though. Not sure how their consumer grade stuff stacks up, but their pro grade stuff is something to hold onto.

scubalab

Although I've not owned Stihl, there is a reason nearly every professional tree company swears by them and Husky. However, as with many brands, I'd think their consumer line may make cut some corners to keep costs within reason for the weekend warriors.

mdaudioguy

Glad to see Stihl still has a fan club! It otherwise seems to be a decent saw, so time will tell. Had I not had the issue with the first one, I'd probably be raving about it.

Fyi, LWB, I'm sure I'll never replace a primer bulb, as there is none. I guess it's self-priming.

motorstereo

I've used a Stihl demo saw at work almost every day for the past 15 years and they never let me down. They're run very hard and under extremely dusty conditions (cutting blacktop) They're always fueled up with dirty containers and without proper 2 stroke mixes. Yet they start right up and work very well with minimal maintenance. I'd have to rank them very high quality.
I wonder what the cause of your "cylinder being trashed" was?

mdaudioguy

Who knows.... When I returned it a little over an hour after buying it, the guy asked me if I remembered to add the oil to the gas. I told him it was still running on the fuel they had prepped it with. They had sold it to me with a nearly full tank. I hadn't added anything.

mdaudioguy

I figure it was one of two things - either they added incorrect fuel, or it was some sort of manufacturing defect. All in all, the dealer handled it well and had me going with a new one very quickly. I think they were scratching their heads about it when I left.

Thorton

I have a Stihl chainsaw, weed wacker and backpack blower I've owed for about 8 years. I haven't had any problems. One thing I always make sure on 2 cycle engines is to always use fresh gas. The backpack blower is probably one of the highest used tools in my garage and it's been flawless....no kidding. The chainsaw and weed wacker have cut through anything I have thrown at them. I've tried other brands in the past but will only buy Stihl from now on.

tonyb

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Who knows.... When I returned it a little over an hour after buying it, the guy asked me if I remembered to add the oil to the gas. I told him it was still running on the fuel they had prepped it with. They had sold it to me with a nearly full tank. I hadn't added anything.

Surprised they sold you something with gas in it. When the heads get fried it's usually always from a wrong premix. A mechanic once told me long ago when in doubt, go a tad heavier on the oil, you won't burn it up. Lighter, even by mistake can toast them fairly quickly.

At work, we had one designed person to always mix the gas. Too many people doing it and you get different results.

Msabot1

Farm Boss...good saw...

Jstas

I do not own a chainsaw.

Well, I do but it's an electric jobby that an ex girlfriend's mom thought she could sell for $50 after she used it once but Kmart had them new for $35 so she handed it to me and said "Just take it". I didn't ask for it but, whatever. It works well enough, I guess.

I also have no 2-stroke engines. Everything I have is a 4-stroke engine. Even the weedwhacker and leaf blower. Sure, when they tach up the torque tries to twist them out of your hands and they roar like a straight pipe Harley but at least I ain't gotta put oil in my gas!

A neighbor once asked why everything I owned/did was always so loud.

mhardy6647

Are there any four-cycle chainsaw engines? That'd be a Tim "The Toolman" Taylor kinda chainsaw...

I dislike two-cycle engines, too -- but when the goal is high power to weight ratio, they win the prize.

I know that they really prefer alcohol-free gas for the mixture. In nearby VT, there are several gas stations which sell alcohol-free gas for ag use at a modest premium over the ethanol-adulterated stuff.

dromunds

Most stations around here sell premium gas without ethanol. Sometimes mid-grade and premium are ethanol free. I've been advised to never use ethanol gas in a chainsaw. I've had a Stihl 026 with a 16 inch bar for twenty years and use it as a general purpose saw in the woods. Never had a problem with it, have worked it extremely hard, I pull logs out in the winter and end up sawing 5,000-10,000 board feet of lumber every spring with a portable band saw a guy brings in. I use the Stihl for dropping smaller stuff and limbing, and for dropping the big trees also have an old John Deere chainsaw that my father bought new and has been worked extremely hard and is still going strong after probably 40 years, and also a new Echo, both with long bars. The newer Echo has had problems every year it seems like, to the point where I've considered getting rid of it and getting a new Stihl, until I see the price tag of the big Stihls. Lol.

Upstatemax

As others have said, non-ethanol premium gas is a MUST with Stihl. I keep two gas cans in my garage; one for the mower thats the cheap stuff, and one with premium, non-ethanol 2 cycle mix for all of my Stihl stuff. I have an MS-290 (Farm Boss) chainsaw, FS-45 trimmer and a SH-86 blower/vac.

They have all performed flawlessly for years. The MS-290 is the oldest of the bunch, I think it's about 7-8 years old. I've used it A LOT around my house over the years. I've had a lot of trees removed professionally and personally removed many. I've also been popular with friends when they need something taken down.

Other than new air filters, spark plugs and chain maintenance it's run like a beast. I actually have not used it yet this season. I did start it last month and let it get up to full running temp and just ran it for a bit, not good to let them sit for too long...

Whenever I pick up anything new from my dealer, they always give it a full tune up and run in check before I leave with it. Did they do that for you?

Right off the shelf they are not in exactly prime running condition...

If your saw was set to run way too lean, it would be hard to start and could do some damage quickly.

seabeerob213

Do not run gas with ethanol, 2 strokes hate it, they seize up quicker with it too. Go on youtube, look up a channel "aVe", and find his video on 2 stroke engines. He uses course language and is a bit goofy, but he knows his stuff.

tonyb

Did not know that about the ethanol. Learned something today. I'm not sure my state has anything without it though. Anybody in Illinois know of a station without added ethanol ?.

Upstatemax

Most Stihl dealers sell cans of premixed gas, made by Stihl. It's a premium (forget the octane rating) non-ethanol fuel, already mixed with the oil. Just pour it in and go.

It's not the cheapest option, but if you don't have non-ethanol stations around you, it is an option if you won't be using a ton of fuel.

Luckily I have a non-ethanol option around me so I don't use it.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/oils--lubricants-and-fuels/premixed-fuel/motomix/

mdaudioguy

The dealer did try to sell me some of that pre-mixed fuel, but I couldn't bite for what? $8 for a half gallon? We also had the ethanol discussion, which I've known about for years. Since it's not widely available, he stressed at least 89 octane with no more than 10% ethanol.

I used to sell Poulan saws and trimmers and other power equipment years ago and we always prepped them before giving them to the customer. The two-cycle carbs often needed some tweaking, so I assumed this dealer did the same, however, I never actually heard it running before he walked out from the back with it.

mdaudioguy

Jstas wrote: »

Everything I have is a 4-stroke engine. Even the weedwhacker and leaf blower. Sure, when they tach up the torque tries to twist them out of your hands and they roar like a straight pipe Harley but at least I ain't gotta put oil in my gas!

A neighbor once asked why everything I owned/did was always so loud.

It's pretty dang easy to picture you with a V8 leaf blower strapped to your back, with orange painted flames and a $#it-eating grin!

motorhead43026

Tony should be the go to guy on which saw is the best. Don't the Italians use these to dismember the opposition/competition?

charley95

Stihl brand fuel is pretty expensive. I use the Tru-Fuel brand you can purchase from Lowes or Home Depot. Another thing to consider is that most Stihl products use a spark arrestor that needs to be cleaned on occasion which can cause run problems too. It's located on the end of the muffler which can be removed easily and cleaned with a wire brush.

mrbiron

Well that didn't work....
B&B Chainsaw

Sami

Like others have said there are only two choices when it comes to chainsaws; Stihl & Husqvarna. The latter is my personal choice.

littlewoodboats

We cannot buy fuel without ethanol here other than the premixed at a higher cost. I asked my dealer about the premix fuel and his reply was as long as I was using the Stihl branded oil, ethanol fuel was not an issue and did not effect my warranty in any way. My FS 90 weed whacker has run twice a week for seven years now with no issues other than one trip to have its fuel lines replaced.

I asked about the non ethanol premix and the dealer told me to save my money.