MS170 Question

[RD35]

My Dad has an MS170. He's 80 years old and has bad shoulders. He struggles to start any of his saws...even installed a decomp valve on his 026. Well now it hurts him to pull the rope on his MS170. What would it take, parts wise, to put an easy start recoil on his 170?

 

[Nutball]

It might be time to get an electric chainsaw. I think Makita has some good ones.

If the starter on the ms180 isn't compatible (I don't know), then maybe trade in the 170 for a 180 with the easy start. 170's don't last long anyway.

 

[jehinten]

I would go with the 180, I bought one for my wife and she loves it. Easy start, steel dogs instead of the plastic ones on the 170, and tool-less chain tensioner. I grab it when its convenient and it does well with smaller wood. It's no pro grade saw, but neither is the 170.

 

[Wood Chopper]

This is an interesting topic last year I bought my mother and MS 181. She uses it and likes it and the easy start is nice but find it doesn’t like to be drop started. I think at times I almost find my Makita 4300 easier to start and when it’s warm I literally pull the starter a quarter way and it starts. I’m not by any means saying the 181 is hard to start I just think there’s a lot of easy starting saws if maintained other than the easy starts


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[Wood Chopper]

This is an interesting topic last year I bought my mother and MS 181. She uses it and likes it and the easy start is nice but find it doesn’t like to be drop started. I think at times I almost find my Makita 4300 easier to start and when it’s warm I literally pull the starter a quarter way and it starts. I’m not by any means saying the 181 is hard to start I just think there’s a lot of easy starting saws if maintained other than the easy starts.

Quoted my own post by accident oh well


Wanted to add I love steel but the 4300 was just under $300 with the promotion

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[Nutball]

I forgot about tool free tensioning. I hated that. Such a pain to put back together when putting a chain on.

The 180 is kinda weird though. You go to pull the cord and it feels mushy and nothing happens. Then by the time you go to release to try pulling again it cranks. So, you gotta pull and hold, pull and hold. Good power I thought with a new stihl .043 chain. Muffler mod should help a bit too.

 

[Wood Chopper]

Yes I think the 181 we have definitely needs a muffler mod


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[jehinten]

As to the drop start and odd pull feeling, it just takes a different motion. I've gotten away from drop starting any saws except top handles, so I never really noticed that but I believe it. The 180 does not like a quick pull like other saws, pinch the body with your legs with your left hand on the handle and a nice slow steady pull on the cord. It takes minimal pressure with seemingly no results up until the end of the pull, then the spring that you were winding releases and starts the engine.

 

[furb]

Easy start recoil is a bolt on deal. The only difference between them other than the starter is the wrap handle is slightly wider to accommodate the ez start. It's a small difference that I don't think will matter.

 

[Wood Chopper]

Easy start recoil is a bolt on deal. The only difference between them other than the starter is the wrap handle is slightly wider to accommodate the ez start. It's a small difference that I don't think will matter.

Good to know.


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[lehman live edge slab]

I thought the easy start had a different flywheel, I know you need to change the flywheel to convert an Fs 45 weedwhip to a fs 45c with easy start. Some of the chainsaws have a different coil but I’m not sure if it’s because of easy start or just a change to the saw in general

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

FWIW: I like the MS180 C-BE with the easy start, tool-less caps, and easy adjust bar very much. When I buy a new MS-180 or MS-250 I try to buy them with all three features. I just my saws more then most and they have held up just fine.

I would make a note of caution in regards to the battery power saws. All the ones I have used so far in no way come close to even a MS180 in regards to isolation. When you pick up a Poulan Wildthing and use it, the first thing you notice is how harsh it is compared to even a MS180. If I was having a shoulder problem, the last thing I would want to do is subject it to a battery powered chainsaw. The MS180 with the narrow kerf .043 chain and rubber isolators tends me be a bit more vibration free even though it is a tad heavy for what it is.

I let a tree climber borrow my MS180 to take down a 60 foot oak tree, I think he found the easy start a nice feature.

Why Stihl dropped this feature from their top handle saws beats me. If there is one place I do not want to be pulling hard on a saw, it is 30+ feet above the ground, leaning back on shaking knees, after dragging 10 pounds of saw up there attached to my harness.