Elasto-start rope

[J.W Younger]

Yep, that one has a spring so I stand corrected. The one I have apart has no spring.

 

[longunner]

Hey Guys, That one with the spring is the cheap imitation the ChiCom's make and WILL BREAK IN COLD WEATHER WHEN IT HITS THE SIDE OF YOUR SAW. Yes, I had that to happen to every one I installed and the temps dropped to 10 degrees F or colder. While hanging to to the spring end and starting my saw for several weeks I'd think to myself "Why would an American based company sell these to unsuspecting consumers " Bad business dealing are long remembered like bad tasting food lingers on the tongue. I quit buying from that mail order company for a couple years after that.Do you really think the Germans would engineer something that poorly?? Just try changing a belt on a ChiCom vacuum cleaner. No 2 simple levers to rotate and the bottom covers off, but 6 or 8 screws to turn and lose. I guess we've screwed ourselves on this one.

 

[TK]

I Did not know that.
The larger ones don't have a spring.
Thanks.
je

That's out of a 261 for reference.

 

[RAMROD48]

Hey Guys, That one with the spring is the cheap imitation the ChiCom's make and WILL BREAK IN COLD WEATHER WHEN IT HITS THE SIDE OF YOUR SAW. Yes, I had that to happen to every one I installed and the temps dropped to 10 degrees F or colder. While hanging to to the spring end and starting my saw for several weeks I'd think to myself "Why would an American based company sell these to unsuspecting consumers " Bad business dealing are long remembered like bad tasting food lingers on the tongue. I quit buying from that mail order company for a couple years after that.Do you really think the Germans would engineer something that poorly?? Just try changing a belt on a ChiCom vacuum cleaner. No 2 simple levers to rotate and the bottom covers off, but 6 or 8 screws to turn and lose. I guess we've screwed ourselves on this one.

NO ITS NOT....The one with the spring is for the small saws and FS 250....

The larger ones have rubber in them...

The one the OP needs is 1128 190 2900 and list price is $2.90

I have a bag of them in my parts shelf...

Some of you guys should know what your talking about before you spew off at the mouth....

 

[longunner]

Well, I guess I'll go eat some dirt now. Go and buy an aftermarket starter cover from NWP for a 044/440 and see what you get, a usable cover with a pile of junk rope like you have in the picture.

 

[RAMROD48]

Well, I guess I'll go eat some dirt now. Go and buy an aftermarket starter cover from NWP for a 044/440 and see what you get, a usable cover with a pile of junk rope like you have in the picture.

I dont buy that garbage...

I buy OEM and I never have issues...

of course I dont break starter ropes because I start saws properly:msp_wink:

 

[woodgrenade]

I start my saws the right way too. A friend of mine insists on drop starting though. I tell him all the time not too, as well as letting the pullcord snap back in. Some people just won't learn. I also heard he needs a base gasket for a 046.

 

[brokenbudget]

Well, I guess I'll go eat some dirt now. Go and buy an aftermarket starter cover from NWP for a 044/440 and see what you get, a usable cover with a pile of junk rope like you have in the picture.

what part of oem don't you understand? he's showing you an oem part
go to your stihl dealer and look.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I think people have the wrong notion of how this thing works. I know I did before a closer look. 1st of all, theres no spring in the handle. The handle is in 2 parts with the inner /lower part being kinda strechie(if thats a word)..The rope is a good but not a strechie piece. There is a smaller cylinderical shaped piece of plastic molded to the rope which seats on the lower portion of the handle and a larger molded piece that seats on the top side of the handle. The rope between these 2 pieces is longer than the distance between the top and bottom of the handle allowing the handle to strech untill the slack is taken up. It seems to me the main advantage is that it takes some shock load off the starter dawgs when the guy thats not buying the saws yanks on it before engagement of the dawgs. Hell, I buy my own saws and still do it.

Terrific explanation. Unfortunately, Elastostart fails if the starter rope is a tad short. A hundred or so sudden jerks by a strong operator will eventually break the handle apart.

My "redneck" solution is to cut the starter rope an extra turn longer. Then the starting pull seldom reaches the end, there is seldom a jerk, and nothing gets broken. I recently did this for an 084 operator who is strong as a bull and broke his Elastostart handle fastened to a shorter rope.

I'll report back what he says after a few outings.

 

[2dogs]

Just to clarify some Stihl Elastostarts use a spring others use the stretchy handle. Just go to your dealer and buy the propper part and an extra rope or two. I buy 6 at a time in both the large and small and have an extra MS200T assembly. For "fire line" duty I carry a complete starter assy in the truck.

A few years ago I bought the Bailey's knockoff. It lasted about a month. Pure junk.

I really like the Elastostart on almost all my saws. The recoil spring in my MS260 broke a month ago so I swapped in a non=Elastostart assy. The shock load on my hands and arms was very noticeable. I have an MS460 Rescue handle on a 394XP and I must say that works well too.

 

[donjr5]

My "redneck" solution is to cut the starter rope an extra turn longer. Then the starting pull seldom reaches the end, there is seldom a jerk, and nothing gets broken. I recently did this for an 084 operator who is strong as a bull and broke his Elastostart handle fastened to a shorter rope.
.

This is a good way to over-extend the recoil spring, straightening or breaking the hook where the spring attaches to the starter housing.
Weedeater published a TSB back in the early '80's telling the user to back up to a wall to start the unit, your elbow will hit the wall at that sweet spot where you are least likely to break the rope or break the spring.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Wood Doctor]

Just to clarify some Stihl Elastostarts use a spring others use the stretchy handle. Just go to your dealer and buy the proper part and an extra rope or two. I buy 6 at a time in both the large and small and have an extra MS200T assembly. For "fire line" duty I carry a complete starter assy in the truck.

A few years ago I bought the Bailey's knockoff. It lasted about a month. Pure junk.

I really like the Elastostart on almost all my saws. The recoil spring in my MS260 broke a month ago so I swapped in a non=Elastostart assy. The shock load on my hands and arms was very noticeable. I have an MS460 Rescue handle on a 394XP and I must say that works well too.

Stretchy handle and a short rope killed this one and probably hundreds of others. Looks like the original Elastostarts were pure junk just like the Bailey's knockoff that you talk about.

I think my solution is just as good. Just lengthen the starter rope and get rid of the jerk. Perhaps that includes the jerk that designed the original Elastostart.