Stihl 880

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

josh1981

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
1,589
Reaction score
183
Location
Born in New York now live in Georgia
Good evening fellow as members. I hope everyone is doing well.

I am needing some info on a Stihl ms880. I am going to be getting one soon for a fun saw (like a guy having a sports car he drives only on weekend). This saw will also fit into some plans I have when I move to the country (I live in suburbs now).

Actually it'll be good to have now anyway. Never know when might need it now. Had a tornado close by few weeks ago. Storm season now.

My questions- 25 inch bar. All i need for right now. What pitch chain? 3/8 be ok? Got all my bars and chains 3/8 so would be best. Or is .404 better? I'm just a firewood cutter. Storm cleanup. Weekend warrior.

Best gas? 50:1 or different?

What do I need to know about the saw?

Btw: I have used many saws. 180 290 361 261 jonsered 535 Stihl 066 magnum 441 m tronic ported stock 460 poulan 3400.

Currently have 5105 dolmar 441 m tronic husky 365. 192tc and 260 pro. Ms250.

My plan: sell 260 192tc and 250.

5105 441c 365 husky and 880.

Bases covered.

Again what do I need to know about 880?

Is the price on dealer site including shipping. Where do they ship from.

J.
 
Last I checked Madsens price was less than $1500 which is less than most Ebay sellers want used. You probably want to get used to the saw but I can tell you that if your gonna use it much, you'll love having it ported. It's hard to top a good ported 880 with a 36" bar. That way they will outcut the small saws on the small stuff and will out cut almost anything on a big cut.
 
25 inch bar. All i need for right now. What pitch chain? 3/8 be ok? Got all my bars and chains 3/8 so would be best. Or is .404 better?
According to the 2011 bar and chain catalog there is no 25" rollomatic bar available in 3/8" but there is a 25" duromatic bar for .063 chain. There is a 30" bar available in rollomatic in 3/8".

Best gas? 50:1 or different?

EPA says 50:1 but I think most people run their bigger saws with either 40:1 or 32:1.

What do I need to know about the saw?

It's big, heavy and has massive amounts of power and you feel like a real man when you use it:)

Regards

Phil
 
They're very disappointing in their stock configuration. At a minimum, you want to mod the muffler and install a 441 coil. Once ported, they're an animal! I certainly wouldn't get a 25" bar with it. Your 441 would probably be faster. They balance very nicely with a 36" bar. If you don't intend to use at least a 36" bar, then you're wasting your money, unless just collecting. BTW, you can take any of the sprocket nosed .404 bars and put a 3/8 nose on it.
 
Last edited:
You might be able to find a 3/8 bar for the large Stihl mount - not sure it would be worth it though. Most longer bars for that mount will be .404 .063, if roller nose and .063 if not. I bought a 25 inch bar for mine in 404 063. Works well for those times when I need to noodle big rounds. Cuts well through the oak I deal with. Not sure the 25 inch setup is any faster than the 066 with a 25 inch bar.

The 880 is a lot of fun. I have mine for the same thing you talk about - because I wanted one. Brad can do wounders for it. I found mine on Ebay with a 47 inch solid bar and two new chains for 1200 plus shipping. A lot to spend for a "toy" but it is fun.

Hal
 
If the dealer won't eat shipping on a saw that expensive I'd look around..... Unless Stihl has crazy shipping rules. Most distributors flat rate items under a certain category until they hit a large order.
 
Once Brad gets done porting an 880, they scream so fast they actually have a tendency to just rip the drive links right out of 3/8" chains.

So I've heard, anyways. Kind of like putting street tires on a Top Fuel car.

Nick
 
Once Brad gets done porting an 880, they scream so fast they actually have a tendency to just rip the drive links right out of 3/8" chains.

So I've heard, anyways. Kind of like putting street tires on a Top Fuel car.

Nick
In my dreams maybe, lol. 3/8 holds up fine, not an issue. I've run it on a 50" bar, with a 9-pin rim, buried in oak.
 
It will suck with the stock coil and that short of bar. It'll constantly be bouncing off the rev limiter. If a 361 coil will work, that would completely remove the limiter. But, no one has tested this yet. At a minimum, a 441 coilwill raise it to 13,000-13,500. IMHO, this is a must have mod.
 
It will suck with the stock coil and that short of bar. It'll constantly be bouncing off the rev limiter. If a 361 coil will work, that would completely remove the limiter. But, no one has tested this yet. At a minimum, a 441 coilwill raise it to 13,000-13,500. IMHO, this is a must have mod.

Well if you can't get it done with 13,500rpms in the cut, you have issues, LOL.

The 441 MM - Mtronic is pulling a 28" with skip RMC through white and red oaks in the 11-12,000 range depending on how hard I have it dawged in.

Thats a lot of extra weight for another 1,000 rpms, but the big saws are sure fun. I like to use my Modded 084 with a 30" .050 3/8" bar for noodle cutting my firewood rounds when I could use 25" lengths, the big saws are like holding a boat anchor, but it sure makes the smiles stay put ............... gravity has enough of a hold on it that it self feeds, LOL.

Sam
 

Latest posts

Back
Top