STIHL The Official Stihl Chainsaws Thread

[lehman live edge slab]

Got the 16" .043 bar and chain, thanks Sloughfoot!

View attachment 465898

You advance the timing and open the muffler up yet? After doing that it will be close to a stock 201.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Not yet, planning to.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Storm cleanup! Gonna use the MS-250 for the larger branches.

 

[hacskaroly]

Storm cleanup! Gonna use the MS-250 for the larger branches.

Just in time, good to see that it is working out for you!!

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Well John brought me his first blown 500i the other day, kinda odd was the newest all stock one without even a muffler mod. I have a low hour one that got the handle tore off from the boom truck when he swung the basket so I have a good top end but will need to figure out why it cooked. Holds vacuum and pressure now as is with cooked cylinder so doubt it was an air leak. Guess I’m leaving towards a brain fart on the computers part but haven’t hooked it up yet. Figure I’ll swap top ends vacuum and pressure test again then hook to my mdg1 to do a recalibration. I heard some went down before and after a rebuild and reset they were fine. I’ll also muffler mod to get the heat out, this is the only one that isn’t. His very first one from Greece is still going, need to scan that one sometime again. As of last when it got a new rewind it had over 15,000 pulls on it.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Cutting up a cedar with the 250. She pulls quite well with the 16" bar buried.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Cutting up a cedar with the 250. She pulls quite well with the 16" bar buried.

View attachment 466084

Juniper, often referred to as a red cedar even though it’s not. Makes good rot resistant lumber

 

[hacskaroly]

Juniper, often referred to as a red cedar even though it’s not. Makes good rot resistant lumber

Red Cedar/Juniper is one of the few trees here in Northern Idaho's national forest that you cannot cut under a firewood permit (Pacific Yew and White Pine are the other two), regardless if it is standing dead or already down on the ground mostly since it is a marketable wood and people would mill it and try to sell it, then it becomes a commercial product and it is illegal to sell firewood from a personal use permit with wood taken from national forest property. Though, if you wanted to get some cedar to make a cedar chest for yourself or wanted post/pole sized cedar (typically a pickup truck load), then you can talk to the Forester at the local ranger district office and there is potential for a special use permit to be issued.

Cedar smells great too!!

 

[Sloughfoot]

Yeh, the naming of the trees in the West is all jacked up. Douglas firs aren't firs, they're Menzies and the cedars are cypress.

Whoever misnamed the trees back in the day should be cancelled.

 

[FergusonTO35]

The air filter on my MS-250 is pretty dirty. Can I gently wash it in soapy water and let it air dry?

 

[hacskaroly]

The air filter on my MS-250 is pretty dirty. Can I gently wash it in soapy water and let it air dry?

Yes, you should be able to do that. Don't rub it too hard or you risk separating the material and the allowing material in the next time you use it. Same thing with using an air compressor to blow crap off of them, hit it at too much of an angle and you risk making it not work as efficiently.

 

[Sloughfoot]

Cutting up a cedar with the 250. She pulls quite well with the 16" bar buried.

View attachment 466084

Those are stout little clamshell saws. Adjustable carb, timing advance and muffler mod got my little 180C handling an 18" bar with authority. Wouldn't be surprised if a 250 could be made to handle a 20".

 

[sawmikaze]

The air filter on my MS-250 is pretty dirty. Can I gently wash it in soapy water and let it air dry?

You can, I let them soak in a old tub o towel container with scalding hot water and dish soap and shake it every now and then. Rinse it good and let it dry out in the sun for a while.

 

[sawmikaze]

Those are stout little clamshell saws. Adjustable carb, timing advance and muffler mod got my little 180C handling an 18" bar with authority. Wouldn't be surprised if a 250 could be made to handle a 20".

Another good thing to add to that timing advance is the second pawl in the starter with the clip that accommodates it.

I think it's retarded they only come with one pawl. I'm working on bringing a few 211s back to life for the guys at the chipper and added both pawls to all of them. HO pump is a good addition too, they don't oil great for a bar above 50 drivers.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Those are stout little clamshell saws. Adjustable carb, timing advance and muffler mod got my little 180C handling an 18" bar with authority. Wouldn't be surprised if a 250 could be made to handle a 20".

Our state government uses 250's and they are not kind to them. It has my respect for sure!

You can, I let them soak in a old tub o towel container with scalding hot water and dish soap and shake it every now and then. Rinse it good and let it dry out in the sun for a while.

Done and it worked well, thanks!

HO pump is a good addition too, they don't oil great for a bar above 50 drivers.

That's my only gripe about the 250, the saw itself is a lot more capable than the sorry stock oiler. Even the HO oiler, which I put in mine, is just adequate for a 16" bar. My MS-194 also wears a 16" bar, and it is very obvious that it throws more oil when you do the splatter test side by side. My Echo saws all have an adjustable oiler, even the homeowner ones, and they really pump it out.

 

[Sloughfoot]

I've got this theory that greaseable bar tips help a weak oiler keep the bar cool.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Makes sense to me. The OEM Stihl and Husky bars I have had don't have grease holes.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Makes sense to me. The OEM Stihl and Husky bars I have had don't have grease holes.

Stihl hasn’t had a grease hole for probably 25-30 years maybe longer and the bars seem to last as long as anything else.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Here’s John’s 500i piston, did a tear down today. Also cleaned the cylinder of transfer so I can reuse it. Forgot the other one had a bunch of fins broke off so just stealing the low hour piston to put in this saw with new rings. Not sure what caused it to go down but when it’s back together I’ll vac/pressure test and do a recalibration then see how it runs.

 

[sawmikaze]

I've got this theory that greaseable bar tips help a weak oiler keep the bar cool.

Greased bar tips collect crud.

In my experience.