Stihl Flippy Cap solution

[sb47]

It's very simple. Make sure the saw is on it's side so the cap is strait up. Then wait a second so what fuel is in there settles before you open the cap. It works every time.
It's the people that get in a hurry and are not paying attention to what they are doing.
Blame the saws design not the idiot using it.
Never had a gusher with a flippy cap or had one come off while running the saw.
Screw on can, never a gusher but have had them come off and spill fuel all over me.
I like the flippy cap.

 

[Cycledude]

Another flippy cap disliker here, mentioned it to my dealer once and he said “ya tell me about it hardly a day goes by where I don’t hear about those stupid caps” I am perfectly happy with a regular screw on gas cap.

One interesting thing I did learn from the original post, your not supposed to fill the tank to the top, but I had also learned that from an Echo chainsaw filled to the top, it caused the hose to get pushed off the primer because the tank was over filled, was a pain putting the hose back on but it never happened again once I learned not to prime if the fuel tank happens to be over filled.

 

[Mad Professor]

Ummm yeah yeah! I wouldn't drink the 'milk' though, being lactose intolerant and all. lol

Flippy caps = Stihl USA reps = useless as teats on a bull

 

[Mad Professor]

This is from an old post by @Sagetown about flippy caps.......

 

[buttercup]

I don't know why people complain so much against flippy caps. I never have any big issue with the flippy caps. I think it depends on the operators more.

Perhaps you nailed it there, how much thoughtful technique and practice does one need to close a screw cap

 

[holeycow]

When we accept ridiculous, we just get more and more of it.

...Like vehicles with minds of their own that we have limited control over.

These things add up.

 

[Moto Vita]

Perhaps you nailed it there, how much thoughtful technique and practice does one need to close a screw cap

Yeah,
Instructions for screw caps = turn cap clockwise to close, turn cap cap counter clockwise to open.
Instructions for flippy caps = read 2,357 pages on the internet and hope for the best.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Best video out there by Andre on them.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Yeah,
Instructions for screw caps = turn cap clockwise to close, turn cap cap counter clockwise to open.
Instructions for flippy caps = read 2,357 pages on the internet and hope for the best.

And, be prepared to replace the flippy cap in case it's stuck tight and you need a pair of pliers to remove it. Crack!

 

[Bwildered]

stihl flippy caps are extremely hard to do up if the fluid levels are at the top of the tank hole, if the level is below the bottom of the hole they aren't a problem to do up, I'm a slow learner & even I eventually worked it out, luckily with out rooting the cap up by forcing it.

 

[CR888]

I think the Nascar solution Wrangleblah was discussing in his video was more to do with pressure spraying out gas which btw is not unique to flippys, it occurs with screw caps just the same. It a fire hazard for him, & he discusses other applications like tree climbing where fuel spraying out is not too in nice. Main thing I didn't like about the NASCAR design was how it would not completely fill the tank, it was 2/3 - 3/4 full. Which is what the OEM wants, they don't want a completely full tank. Clever product, I bet its not cheap but undoing the cap with a rag over it will solve the issue too.

 

[Bwildered]

Today I was in a store that sold the latest stihl 2t & 4st equipment, not one item had a fippy cap.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

lol....thousands of uses of flippy caps(even some relatively old ones) and not a single issue described in the video...Never had fuel gush out, never had the cap fly off, never had it get stuck...If I have to fuel up half full for whatever reason, I lay the saw down on it's side, go grab the fuel/oil, take the cap off by pressing down like you're supposed to, the pressure releases and I take the cap off. It works perfectly...every single time...

I had 1 leak one time because I messed with it while it was out and turned the mechanism. Took it out, turned the mechanism back to where it was supposed to be, installed, no more leak. Contrast that to most of the saws I ever ran with threaded on caps that had to be torqued on with a scrench or pliers to get them not to leak...and even then they usually dripped a bit. Of course, maybe they just needed new O-rings?


I think this is a problem caused by the users and not the design. I just don't understand why some people have such issues with certain things and I run them for years without problem. Now that I've said this... I will probably have every problem in the book with my flippy caps...lol

 

[holeycow]

Huh.?

Ah yes, I see. You are young. You have grown up with unnecessary over-complication. You accept it and believe it to be acceptable.

Such is the gap...

 

[rd35]

Personal experience! I have one of the very first flippy cap saws...an MS260. On two different occasions when I first got the saw I spilled an entire tank of gas on my pants when the cap popped off just after filling the tank. The reason for this was that the cap dogs were not engaging the recesses for them in the tank opening. What I finally figured out was that dogs are supposed to rotate into position first, then a continued clockwise rotation causes the cap to tighten and expand the o-ring to make a tight seal on the tank. What had happened to me was the second operation would happen before the dogs engaged which would simply leave the cap held in place by the compressed o-ring pusing outward on the tank opening cylinder. When I would fire up the saw and the interal pressure of the tank would increase, it would overcome the holding power of the o-ring and blow the cap off the tank...along with all the gasoline in the tank. Once I realized what was wrong...I never had an problem again as I knew what to look for. Usually had to use a screw driver to force the cap to rotate the dogs into position before locking the cap down. Pain in the rear....but it has worked for m now for almost 20 years. Really this is the ONLY complaint I have about that saw. I've cut several hundred ricks of firewood with it! Great saw! Would be even better if it had caps like my 066. Lefty loosey, righty tighty, done!!!

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Huh.?

Ah yes, I see. You are young. You have grown up with unnecessary over-complication. You accept it and believe it to be acceptable.

Such is the gap...

Maybe.

I've been running saws since I was 12...so 21 years...seems like enough time to come up with my own opinions on what works and what doesn't. Flippy caps work for me and have been for years. I won't be spending money to go back to trying to get my threaded caps tight enough that they won't leak. You do whatever works for you. If that's a two person buck saw and an axe (because to hell with unnecessary complication of chainsaws amirite?), more power to ya.

 

[Moto Vita]

Today I was in a store that sold the latest stihl 2t & 4st equipment, not one item had a fippy cap.

Were you looking at the hand tools?

 

[holeycow]

None of my threaded caps leak. Occasionally i just have to grab an o-ring out of my universal kit. That is all.

Your leaking screw caps is BS. Or you were dealing with junk or jacked-up ****.

And their is no "maybe" about it. Sorry.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

None of my threaded caps leak. Occasionally i just have to grab an o-ring out of my universal kit. That is all.

Your leaking screw caps is BS. Or you were dealing with junk or jacked-up ****.

And their is no "maybe" about it. Sorry.

Maybe. None of my flippy caps have problems at all. Never had to grab an o-ring out of a universal kit.

The threaded caps I used back in the good ol' days leaked. Can't tell ya why, sold them and bought flippy caps because they work.

Just telling you my experiences, champ. Don't get your panties in a wad.

 

[Andyshine77]

lol....thousands of uses of flippy caps(even some relatively old ones) and not a single issue described in the video...Never had fuel gush out, never had the cap fly off, never had it get stuck...If I have to fuel up half full for whatever reason, I lay the saw down on it's side, go grab the fuel/oil, take the cap off by pressing down like you're supposed to, the pressure releases and I take the cap off. It works perfectly...every single time...

I had 1 leak one time because I messed with it while it was out and turned the mechanism. Took it out, turned the mechanism back to where it was supposed to be, installed, no more leak. Contrast that to most of the saws I ever ran with threaded on caps that had to be torqued on with a scrench or pliers to get them not to leak...and even then they usually dripped a bit. Of course, maybe they just needed new O-rings?


I think this is a problem caused by the users and not the design. I just don't understand why some people have such issues with certain things and I run them for years without problem. Now that I've said this... I will probably have every problem in the book with my flippy caps...lol

Well I still think Stihl's flip cap desighn is absurd. That said the cap on the video was actually recalled by Stihl sometime after I made that video. The issue was bad plastic was used, so it would swell up when it was in contact with fuel for awhile.The replacement cap has worked well enough ever since, still a little tight, my guess is the tank swells a bit too. Fact is Stihl was trying to reinvent the wheel and failed miserably. Overfill an oil tank just a hair and try and seat one of these caps. The new versions do seem to work much better than the earlier runs. But again why? They still trap dust and dirt like crazy, in no way are they an improvement, it was just an attempt to to prioritize everything and make it harder for aftermarket suppliers to make a cap, which also failed.