Chainsaw

[jbrooks19]

On a further note, can we discuss the changes coming down the pipe with stihl? Might help the OP to jump on a stihl sooner than later if needed.

When i called to inquire about chainsaws, i specifically wanted the farm boss, smith implements in greenfield said they had two left in the bloomington store and to hurry up and jump on it before they sold because that would be the last of them. Some new EPA standard on emissions was forcing still to change their entire line. I did jump as i was ready to buy anyways, but it has me nervous about any other saws. In my experience the more environmentally friendly things get the worse they work, the more complicated they are, the easier they break, and the harder they are to fix.

Does anybody know about these "changes"?

A lot of these "Changes" are in emission control... There are very few major things that are changing. However Stihl is launching the first ever Fuel Injected model chainsaw. They are working on coming up with a solution to the Ethanol issue. We have people that are having to have carb work done on a 1yr old product (Not just Stihl) due to the effects of Ethanol.


As of the MS200 issue, i'm sorry... What is your issues with it? I haven't heard much negative, but we don't sell a lot of them in my store.

 

[CountryBoy19]

A lot of these "Changes" are in emission control... There are very few major things that are changing. However Stihl is launching the first ever Fuel Injected model chainsaw. They are working on coming up with a solution to the Ethanol issue. We have people that are having to have carb work done on a 1yr old product (Not just Stihl) due to the effects of Ethanol.

The emissions changes, as "minimal" as they may seem have slowly eroded the power:weight ratio and slowly taken away user control (like adjustment stops on carbs). Some people, especially the ones that want max power with minimal weight rely on a fully adjustable carb to keep them running the right AFR after porting or removing the catalytic mufflers. The adjustment stops on the carbs make this hard to do.

 

[Zoub]

The bar and chain in this video is surprisingly affordable. I plan to add one, if nothing else as a wall hanger and conversation piece................and because this would look cool on the back of a snowmobile.

[video=youtube;Aw03qrFNtr8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw03qrFNtr8#action=share[/video]

 

[Tnichols00]

I heat my house with wood and only wood, I have baseboards that for the first time I debated turning on this winter but the wood stove did just fine on those -15 nights.

I have two stihls, a 025 and an 031, both of them take a lot of abuse and run like a champ year after year! I would not buy anything other than a stihl or a husky. I don't buy the husky cause the parts are a lot harder to find in NE Indiana and it seems every shop around here carries stihl so it kinda makes it an easy choice for me.

 

[LEaSH]

The bar and chain in this video is surprisingly affordable. I plan to add one, if nothing else as a wall hanger and conversation piece................and because this would look cool on the back of a snowmobile.

Oh man I used to Sturgeon hunt. What memories... Never had one swim under my shanty (as far as I know).

Pretty neat rig. No use for one where I am now, though.

 

[SMiller]

Still MS362, it is the Glock of chainsaws. I use ONLY Stihl HP Ultra oil and 91+ etonal free gas, always using a fresh supply, if supply is old just dump it in the car and make fresh for power equipment.

Don't use a huge bar and crank the oil (chain lube) adjuster all the way up, chain lube cools and coats the chail so it will last.

 

[CountryBoy19]

crank the oil (chain lube) adjuster all the way up, chain lube cools and coats the chail so it will last.

Not necessarily good advice. With the oil turned all the way up it's possible you will run out of oil before you run out of gas. So you overlube your bar for the first 90% of a tank of gas then don't lube it at all the last 10%.

That's not good. Tune it to where you consume ~80% of the oil tank per fillup and you will be much better off. This will leave a good amount of oil in the bottom of the tank for the oil-pickup...

Also, very few home-owner grade saws have adjustable oilers. You have to get a pro-saw for that...

 

[LEaSH]

I rarely completely top off the fuel to prevent starving the bar from being oiled.

That's not practical for everyone else, but if you are not running it like a lumberjack, you can baby it a little more.

I don't think I'lll ever have to buy another saw in my lifetime. But chains and bars are considered consumable anyhow. So running out of bar oil and stretching the chain or ruining the bar isn't the end of the saw's life. It's just a PITA when you are trying to work.

 

[caverjamie]

Stihl, Husky, and I'm sure others are designed so that even with your adjustable chain oiler turned to the max setting, you will always run out of gas before oil, assuming you start with a full tank of each. Don't worry about it!

 

[LEaSH]

I've had oil passages get restricted from debris before.

Always a good idea to pay attention to the chain to make sure it's throwing a little oil off.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I rarely completely top off the fuel to prevent starving the bar from being oiled.

That's not practical for everyone else, but if you are not running it like a lumberjack, you can baby it a little more.

I don't think I'lll ever have to buy another saw in my lifetime. But chains and bars are considered consumable anyhow. So running out of bar oil and stretching the chain or ruining the bar isn't the end of the saw's life. It's just a PITA when you are trying to work.

Consumables? Yes
But they are expensive consumables and burning them up is 100% preventable. Sure would suck to put a $100 bar and $25 chain on and burn them both up in the first tank. What I suggested above is very basic chainsaw usage and is very common advice you will see from most any professional saw operator. I care for my saw, bar, & chain, I don't needlessly run them out of oil...

Stihl, Husky, and I'm sure others are designed so that even with your adjustable chain oiler turned to the max setting, you will always run out of gas before oil, assuming you start with a full tank of each. Don't worry about it!

Not necessarily. As a matter of fact, most Stihl & Dolmar (one of the top 3 pro saws out there) saws I've ran will allow you to turn the oiler up to the point where it runs out of oil first. Not sure about Husky, I've never owned one and only run them on occasion (don't mess with oiler settings). Either way, the point of having an adjustable oiler is so you can adjust it to where you are putting the max lube on the chain without running out of oil first. If they wanted it to be cranked all the way up no matter what the outcome don't you think they would put a non-adjustable oiler on it with that oil setting? Just adjust it to where you have about 20% of a tank of oil left when you run out of gas and your B&C will last longer and you won't be causing unnecessary wear & tear on things...

 

[caverjamie]

Not necessarily. As a matter of fact, most Stihl & Dolmar (one of the top 3 pro saws out there) saws I've ran will allow you to turn the oiler up to the point where it runs out of oil first. Not sure about Husky, I've never owned one and only run them on occasion (don't mess with oiler settings).

My Husky has three settings meant to be adjusted depending on bar size. My max setting will not use all the oil on a full tank of gas mix. I've never maxed out the Stihl adjustment on the one I use at work, but I just assumed Stihl was as smart as Husky and wouldn't see a need to allow you to fling that much extra oil on the ground. One less thing to worry about on the orange saw I guess!

 

[CountryBoy19]

My Husky has three settings meant to be adjusted depending on bar size. My max setting will not use all the oil on a full tank of gas mix. I've never maxed out the Stihl adjustment on the one I use at work, but I just assumed Stihl was as smart as Husky and wouldn't see a need to allow you to fling that much extra oil on the ground. One less thing to worry about on the orange saw I guess!

Maybe Stihl and Dolmar know that there may be some situations that warrant more oil and give the user that option. That would be an option only intended to be utilized by somebody that knows what they are doing and knows to stop and fill the oil before running out of gas. I guess Husky knows their buyers aren't smart enough to figure that out all the time so they dummy-proof their saws?

 

[SMiller]

Not necessarily good advice. With the oil turned all the way up it's possible you will run out of oil before you run out of gas. So you overlube your bar for the first 90% of a tank of gas then don't lube it at all the last 10%.

That's not good. Tune it to where you consume ~80% of the oil tank per fillup and you will be much better off. This will leave a good amount of oil in the bottom of the tank for the oil-pickup...

Also, very few home-owner grade saws have adjustable oilers. You have to get a pro-saw for that...

I don't use crap saws, Stihls will ALWAYS run out of gas well before they run out of bar lube, both get refilled at the same time as well as checking the chain adjustment.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Stihls will ALWAYS run out of gas well before they run out of bar lube

Not true at all.

If you have a "west-coast" Stihl (also known as a full-wrap) or if you have the high-flow oiler on your saw it is very possible to empty your oil tank long before the gas tank. Which all goes back to my comments, DON'T turn your oil all the way up unless you know what you're doing and you know that you aren't running your saw out of oil before you stop cutting. It's really that simple. Many saws will run out of oil before gas if you turn the oiler all the way up as suggested above, especially if they've had a high-flow oiler put on them or came with the high-flow oiler from the factory (Stihl full-wrap handle models). It was bad advice plain and simple.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Stihls will ALWAYS run out of gas well before they run out of bar lube

Not true, and bad advice.

 

[caverjamie]

Here is the rest of the story, so to speak. I just happened to be talking to a Stihl service technician today while picking up a new saw. I asked about the chain oiler adjustment. I don't know what CountryBoy19 is talking about with west coast saws or high flow oiler options, so I assume that is for someone like a logger. The tech told me that the newer Stihl saws can have the oiler set to max and you will not use all the oil on a full tank of gas. They pre-set the 362 I was picking up to max based on the bar size we would be using. He said that older Saws, specifically mentioned a Stihl 024 or 034, could run out of oil. We only use saws newer than that so it is not an issue for us. I guess if in doubt, ask your dealer.

 

[grasshopperlegs]

As far as the epa goes. I know over in Germany where Stihl is mainly made they used a vegatable oil (Canola) for their bar oil. I ask why and they said regular oil polutes the ground and could get into the ground water. I have seen bio oil used for chain oil in the past and maybe this is some of the things coming here in the usa. I was station In Germany and they are very hard on polluting the forest as well as the contry side.

 

[Dosproduction]

STIHL lol its the way to go.

 

[aaron580]

I have 7 stihls, I am also a dealer, but, the ones I use most often are a 201T and an MS391. No tree left on the ground in my woods. Lol