Hi Guys. I bought a brand new Stihl MS290 Farm Boss back in 2011. I haven't used it much. It has always been very hard to start as the engine's compression rips the pull start cord out of my hand when I give it a yank. There is no decompression button on this saw but it sure seems like there should be. In watching videos of other people starting their 290's they don't have the problem I have. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Guys
Don <><
Hi Don,
Stihl MS-290 Chain Saw - Compression High Problem
When I attempted to start my Stihl MS-290 Farm Boss Chainsaw, the compression seemed way too high. All I got was
a thump between pulls. Thinking I has a serious problem, I pulled the sparkplug and it pulled fine. Pulled the
muffler and checked the interior as best I could (no problem there) watched the piston move up and down, no fluid
of anykind there. Took off the flywheel bold to check the keyway, it was fine. I was satisfied that the mechanics
of the piston and travel were ok due to the sparkplug when removed allowed the engine to rotate normally, I set it
on the floor and put my foot on the handle and pulled it (like a madman) 12 to 15 times until it started. It blew
smoke for about 30 seconds and all was fine.
I alway store it horizontally, use Stihl oils and oil/gas mix. Don't really know what was in the cyliner to cause
the problem but guess it was gas mix or chain oil but I don't see how chain oil can get anywhere near the combustion
chamber.
What really clued me on the "keep pulling" trick was that when I first noticed the problem, I was pulling it and it
had about 5 pulls where it was free again before becoming hard again.
Hope this is of some help. It really had me going for a while.