m4coyote
New Member
My wifes father passed away last January, and my mother in law gave me many of his "yard" tools. One of these tools was a Stihl 044. It is in the orange plastic case with all the original paper work, and factory supplied tools. She informed me that he only used it one time to clear some sapling trees from their back yard, and decided that it was too much saw for him. He emptied the fuel tank and put it on the shelf in the garage.
I had some small maples to clear out today, and thought I would give it a try. I found out that it is definitely worthy of respect when I tried starting it. About the fourth pull on the rope, the crank handle was ripped from my hand, and my right thumb is still pretty sore! I can see how he could be intimidated, but I then remembered that larger two strokes need to be cranked on the compression stroke.
I am sure that there are more powerful saws than the 044, but this thing absolutely runs circles around my little 19t. It has a 24" bar, and did not give any indication of ever stalling. I read the owners manual, and made sure the carburetor screws were adjusted correctly before cranking and using it, and It does give the 4 stroke sound when the throttle is wide open.
I only had the small orange bottle of Stihl two stroke oil, which I mixed with one gallon of 89 octane gasoline. The saw was stored with the chain very loose, so of course I tightened it up before use. I did pull the muffler, so I could inspect the piston, and it still looks new, as does the muffler.
Is the regular Sthil oil in the orange bottle OK, or should I try to find some of their premium oil? Is there anything else I need to watch out for, or need to know as far as care & maintenance for this saw is concerned?
Thanks ahead for any advice!
I had some small maples to clear out today, and thought I would give it a try. I found out that it is definitely worthy of respect when I tried starting it. About the fourth pull on the rope, the crank handle was ripped from my hand, and my right thumb is still pretty sore! I can see how he could be intimidated, but I then remembered that larger two strokes need to be cranked on the compression stroke.
I am sure that there are more powerful saws than the 044, but this thing absolutely runs circles around my little 19t. It has a 24" bar, and did not give any indication of ever stalling. I read the owners manual, and made sure the carburetor screws were adjusted correctly before cranking and using it, and It does give the 4 stroke sound when the throttle is wide open.
I only had the small orange bottle of Stihl two stroke oil, which I mixed with one gallon of 89 octane gasoline. The saw was stored with the chain very loose, so of course I tightened it up before use. I did pull the muffler, so I could inspect the piston, and it still looks new, as does the muffler.
Is the regular Sthil oil in the orange bottle OK, or should I try to find some of their premium oil? Is there anything else I need to watch out for, or need to know as far as care & maintenance for this saw is concerned?
Thanks ahead for any advice!
