Stihl HD filter Extream Conditions for 660 880

I have had problems with fine dust getting through the standard filter when cutting dry Red Gum,this is what the dealer came up with.A oiled foam filter the fits over the standard filter,and fits UNDER the filter cover on MS660 MS880.

The instructions that came with it


With filter cover back on

Fits on and under filter cover MS660

Looks like it makes the height of the filter taller, which is a round about way of addressing the underlying problem with the 660's filter design.

Also it appears that you have applied foam tape to your filter cover ?

What has worked perfectly for me is 1) dump the hard plastic inner baffle in favor of the old style foam inner baffle and 2) file down the die-cast boss that holds the filter stud.

When tightening the filter cover, sometimes the lips of the filter would fail to make a good seal because either 1) the hard plastic inner baffle was bottoming out before the filter lips bottomed out or 2) the top of the filter was bottoming out on the die-cast boss before the filter lips bottomed out.

Your uni-filter gets around this problem by making the filter taller. I don't doubt that it works, but my solution works, too, and is simpler and cheaper.

Yes i like your idea on sealing the filter.The problem we have in Os is that the fine dry Red Gum dust gets through the filter not around.

I cant believe all you Ossy red gum cutters dont have any comments on this topic.

Stihlman441 said:

I cant believe all you Ossy red gum cutters dont have any comments on this topic.

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I haven't cut any red gum since 2007 and that was green so I can't really say much about this. Dry jarrah is pretty dusty but it is a lot softer than dry red gum. So what I do for dry jarrah is up the cutting angle (raker - cutter tip - wood) to about 6.5º and it forms more chips and less dust but this is something I doubt will work for dry redgum. Dry Wandoo is very dusty and much harder than redgum and also leaks thru the filter. It still doesn't seem to bother the cs though although I haven't cut up a lot of it. I can imagine if you are cutting this stuff day after day that a good filter would be needed.

Stihlman441 said:

I cant believe all you Ossy red gum cutters dont have any comments on this topic.

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I use a Makita 7901 with the HD filter on it

Prior to that I used Matt's trick of oiling the OE flocked filter, and I had three of them that I rotated as they blocked up.

The HD filters I use on my 066 saws have a felt band that goes around the filter cartridge, then the cartridge itself, and then a foam filler in the back that can be oiled to trap even more dust. They do pretty good, even with the fine red Douglas Fir bark dust that's probably our equivalent problem dust for filters up here.

Brmorgan said:

The HD filters I use on my 066 saws have a felt band that goes around the filter cartridge, then the cartridge itself, and then a foam filler in the back that can be oiled to trap even more dust. They do pretty good, even with the fine red Douglas Fir bark dust that's probably our equivalent problem dust for filters up here.

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Thats an idear,the newer models dont have that foam filter on the inside anymore,i will look into that.Thanks

Well, I can't speak for "down under" but I just got a brand-new three-piece HD filter kit for the 066 rebuild I did a few weeks ago. It cost me just shy of $50.

I was just in at my dealer about an hour ago inquiring about an HD conversion for the 084 I picked up this week. The necessary parts are all in the IPL, but there's no single "kit" part number like there is for the 066. The guys there are looking into it for me.

I would say the filter will do the job.
Same type of filter used in dirt bikes.
Keep it clean and oiled. There is a possibility
it will run a bit on the rich side. Check your
plug.


Lee

Uni makes a good filter and, I have one on my kx500. I will look into getting one for my 088.

thomas72 said:

Uni makes a good filter and, I have one on my kx500. I will look into getting one for my 088.

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Totally different company here to the US UniFilter.

Nice uni filter Stihlman. How much in Aussie dollars? My 066 and 084 have the felt outer which seems to catch the dust pretty well. Do you remove that before fitting the Uni filter? And do you keep the inner filter?

Nardoo

Stihlman441 said:

Yes i like your idea on sealing the filter.The problem we have in Os is that the fine dry Red Gum dust gets through the filter not around.

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Exactly right mate, many people don't understand that the dust here (such as dead Red Gum/Pink Gum) goes straight through the filter media.
Hope the idea you've got there works mate, it looks like it will definately help at a bare minimum.
Those Stihl Extreme Conditions Filter kit are ugly as hell when you can't use the filter cover as it's too big. They do work well but not when it's raining.
Your solution and the Stihl dealer's solution looks promising mate, let us know how it goes

Nardoo said:

Nice uni filter Stihlman. How much in Aussie dollars? My 066 and 084 have the felt outer which seems to catch the dust pretty well. Do you remove that before fitting the Uni filter? And do you keep the inner filter?

Nardoo

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I think the Uni filter was about $20,and it fits over the top of the original standard filter and you can leave the felt outer on or off.I dont realy know if the filter system will have an affect on carb settings or not ,haven't used it yet.

Brmorgan said:

The HD filters I use on my 066 saws have a felt band that goes around the filter cartridge, then the cartridge itself, and then a foam filler in the back that can be oiled to trap even more dust. They do pretty good, even with the fine red Douglas Fir bark dust that's probably our equivalent problem dust for filters up here.

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The instructions on my 044 HD Filter says to only oil the filter not the foam insert or the felt. No dust gets through this filter and it's used on a RipSaw bandmill that makes a lot of dust.

MCW re foam filters

i am pretty sure it was finer filter that i was talking to and he was talking around 10 or 12 dollars per filter direct , that is pretty reasonable but the 2 square metre sheet at the local parts place for $60 is not bad , same price for whatever thickness you wanted and if you want a lot of filters it could be the way to go. make a template , cut them out , glue together and done . lot of filters for $60 and some glue . you will need filter oil regardless . easy enough to readjust carby for air flow changes .
its normally not too bad but l like the idea of easy change filters in the cutting pack that go with me . i mostly try for 2 tanks of fuel before i stop to file and clean filter and give the back a rest and have a cuppa . its a good time to just enjoy being out in the bush .
ps i normally take at least 2 saws so it really is every 4 tanks of gas as i swap saw every tank i use .

Same as the new model MS880 system in Oz.

Hey Stihlman441 does your 660 cover fit over the unifilter set up?,i run mine without the cover
because it just dont fit real good,real tight fit

I have used the uni filter with the filter cover both on and off,yes it is a very tight fit,but if ya muck around it does go over the filter and gives that little bit more protection to the filter .While out cutting ad you find that one part of the filter is full of #### just take the filter off and turn it around and put it back on.