Did I permanently destroy my MS250?

[JFranken]

Hello wood cutting enthusiasts,

I bought a new (my first personal chainsaw) MS250 this fall and have cut 4.5 cords of wood since that I am heating my home with.

Last week I started it and left it to warm up. I came back and it was smoking a lot, left it and tried to restart after it had cooled off but couldn't pull the cord. Apparently I left it (maybe it got stuck?) in the semi-choke position for about 1.5 minutes while running. Took it to the dealership today who said it was completely burned out, not worth the cost of repair.

I can accept that I made a newbie user error but this seems like something that could happen to anyone if they use a chainsaw enough.

Has this happened to anybody? Will I be buying a brand new chainsaw?

Feel like I just crashed my first car...

Thank you for your thoughts and advice people.

Well, well, what do you know? First of all, it's not good practice to leave your chainsaw working not used to get it warmed up, the situation is as follows : if you so due to the low speed not enough lubrication causing the piston, as is the case here, to jam and ... not worth repairing? With a new cooling radiator (?) And ditto piston, your machine can be used again in no time, regardless of the statement of a dealer who is eager to sell. The seller's world is all about one thing only : money, and for that quite a few rogue sellers throw their self-esteem overboard ... after all, proper repair is not as lucrative as selling, right? If it can be done easely, look for another dealer and you'd be better of anyway. I wish you will find someone who is willing to help you in a decent way.

 

[BangBang77]

Well, well, what do you know? First of all, it's not good practice to leave your chainsaw working not used to get it warmed up, the situation is as follows : if you so due to the low speed not enough lubrication causing the piston, as is the case here, to jam and ... not worth repairing? With a new cooling radiator (?) And ditto piston, your machine can be used again in no time, regardless of the statement of a dealer who is eager to sell. The seller's world is all about one thing only : money, and for that quite a few rogue sellers throw their self-esteem overboard ... after all, proper repair is not as lucrative as selling, right? If it can be done easely, look for another dealer and you'd be better of anyway. I wish you will find someone who is willing to help you in a decent way.

The OP bought a brand new saw, cut 4.5 cords of wood with it, started it and let it run on high idle with the chain brake on, which cooked the plastic case.

Why is the dealer at fault and why should the dealer replace or warranty the saw? This is not a saw failure. It's an operator failure.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Well, well, what do you know? First of all, it's not good practice to leave your chainsaw working not used to get it warmed up, the situation is as follows : if you so due to the low speed not enough lubrication causing the piston, as is the case here, to jam and ... not worth repairing? With a new cooling radiator (?) And ditto piston, your machine can be used again in no time, regardless of the statement of a dealer who is eager to sell. The seller's world is all about one thing only : money, and for that quite a few rogue sellers throw their self-esteem overboard ... after all, proper repair is not as lucrative as selling, right? If it can be done easely, look for another dealer and you'd be better of anyway. I wish you will find someone who is willing to help you in a decent way.

Probably should read the whole thread before you jump on the dealer or shop.

Idling causes no harm
There is no cooling radiator
He melted the saw by leaving it at high idle with the brake on.

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[huskihl]

The new HiPo Liquid Cooled MS251 needs a better faster stronger.......





......cooling radiator

 

[ray benson]

I would buy another 250. And keep the saw for a spare , bar, chain, air filter, muffler, clutch cover, chain tensioner, carb and other parts.

 

[holeycow]

Yup, they're a damn good saw for what they are.

 

[cranman1951]

I'm intrigued. Tools (to cut your own firewood) are a tax write-off? How can I get on that program?

Become a farmer.....

 

[HumBurner]

I know. It’s hard to believe some people have such ethics lol

Lol, SOME people

What determines the government's business is what you choose to tell them and when. Nothing more.

I'd be damned if I'd only claim the actual three miles it takes to drive to the saw shop when I'm already a hundred miles from home doing other work and non-work related shopping/errands. Uncle Sam ponies up for the whole round trip, so long as you are in a work vehicle and doing at least one thing related to work.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Taxation is theft...

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[JTI1993]

Wow guys, thank you so much for the responses.

Never leaving the saw running while out of sight is the big takeaway for me here, solid but unfortunate learning experience.

I would love to upgrade to the commercial grade saw (261, etc.) but it seems like my best option is to purchase the same model and keep the original for spare parts and possible future learning. Thank you for the advice. Our dealer actually offered a new saw at 40$ off before the trade-in, we have a good locally owned shop thankfully.

We own a few investment properties. Equipment relating maintenance or repairs can be considered a business expense. A receipt for a chainsaw from a hardware store is much more clean cut to an accountant than a portion of car insurance payments based on personal estimate of the percentage of time using your car for business purposes versus personal use. This has just been my experience though.

You guys are awesome...

 

[JFranken]

The OP bought a brand new saw, cut 4.5 cords of wood with it, started it and let it run on high idle with the chain brake on, which cooked the plastic case.

Why is the dealer at fault and why should the dealer replace or warranty the saw? This is not a saw failure. It's an operator failure.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Not sure what your odds are of finding a new 250 anymore. The 251 came out to replace ir in what..2013?

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[JFranken]

I did most certainly not say that the dealer is at fault or that he should replace in warranty. But let's get serious, I could at least have offered to repair without "total loose" the saw. But again, I guess There must be a reason why you are so stubbornly defending the dealer unless, of course, you are him? However, there was a more decent way to fix this problem, even though the cost would come to the buyer. Probably cheaper than buying a new chainsaw, right?

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I did most certainly not say that the dealer is at fault or that he should replace in warranty. But let's get serious, I could at least have offered to repair without "total loose" the saw. But again, I guess There must be a reason why you are so stubbornly defending the dealer unless, of course, you are him? However, there was a more decent way to fix this problem, even though the cost would come to the buyer. Probably cheaper than buying a new chainsaw, right?

If you run a saw like this for 90 seconds with the brake on at high idle, the plastic housing around the clutch and brake will be blistered and melted, clutch destroyed, bearing destroyed and probably marred the crank too.

A new housing (tanks, housing one piece) oil pump, brake, clutch, and probably crank seal is a solid 250 in parts...and a good hour in labor...assuming the crank isnt purple or blue. Inching up on $340 to fix it . a brand new ms251 is $349.99

If that saw comes into my shop..i get a quick estimate on parts and labor, and cost to replace and cost to upgrade.

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[cranman1951]

I priced out a piston and cylinder last week for a ms271 from Stihl......pretty close to the cost of a new saw, without the labor. Chinese parts aren't available for this saw, but I was lucky to save the cylinder, and a 261 piston was available in aftermarket and fit..

 

[Woodslasher]

Not sure what your odds are of finding a new 250 anymore. The 251 came out to replace it in what..2013?

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I think he said the saw was actually a 251 somewhere previously.

 

[JFranken]

I priced out a piston and cylinder last week for a ms271 from Stihl......pretty close to the cost of a new saw, without the labor. Chinese parts aren't available for this saw, but I was lucky to save the cylinder, and a 261 piston was available in aftermarket and fit..

Yes, you are so right, prices for original spare parts are skyrocketing whereas aftermarket parts are in general qualtity-wise far more cheaper. The fact that we pay for "brand names" is not fairytales, believe me. Although before anyone starts to argue about quality ..... I know it's not all gold that glitters. The "CE" quality stamp, in this particular case stand's for "Chinese Export" and not what it is in general : "CE stands for Conformité Européenne", which means as much as in accordance with European regulations...... And even that might be true.

 

[SawTrash]

Yes, you are so right, prices for original spare parts are skyrocketing whereas aftermarket parts are in general qualtity-wise far more cheaper. The fact that we pay for "brand names" is not fairytales, believe me. Although before anyone starts to argue about quality ..... I know it's not all gold that glitters. The "CE" quality stamp, in this particular case stand's for "Chinese Export" and not what it is in general : "CE stands for Conformité Européenne", which means as much as in accordance with European regulations...... And even that might be true.

Whenever I have bought a new chainsaw the dealer has always fueled up the saw, put bar oil in, showed me how to start the saw and given it a short running demo - even though they know I have been using chainsaws since I was a foetus and that I maintain, repair, sharpen chains and generally understand how to look after my saws.
Maybe if your dealer said you should start your new saw with the brake on and leave it running for a while on high revving setting then you may have a case for some sort of refund, otherwise good luck.

 

[Tin-knocker]

I’ll buy that fancy new chainsaw radiator though if you want to get rid of it!

 

[Canyon Angler]

I’ll buy that fancy new chainsaw radiator though if you want to get rid of it!

Does it have the trans cooler? I need one for my F-250