I love Flippy Caps

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Wood Doctor
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12,561
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
Gentlemen,

When I bought my Stihl BT45 gas drill off eBay, I downloaded a free BT45 owner's manual on the Stihl website. Now...I appreciate something that has been finely engineered, but when the company spends two (2), solid pages of an owner's manual to describe how to open, close and adjust, if necessary, the &*#dammed gas cap, it tells you they've invented the $7,000 hammer.

Flippy caps can rot in Hell.
I recall a couple of years ago saying that the entire Stihl engineering team that invented the flippy cap should have been fired. One has to wonder what the test marketing results revealed and what other prototypes they tried.

Perhaps their only redeeming feature is that they don't require a screwdriver to open and close them. Thousands of the screw caps failed when they were overtightened with a scrench. After that, they leaked continuously until replaced.
 
H 2 H

H 2 H

FLASHER
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
3,848
Location
PNW
HMMM; I went to a different saw shop today (had to get parts for a saw) and seen another brand of saw and all but two of them (older models) had flippy caps :msp_wink:
 
Bingo

Bingo

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Jul 24, 2011
Messages
198
Location
mid-Michigan
Flippy Caps:

Seat them correctly, twist clock-wise a 1/4 turn or so...done...They've always worked perfectly if you're not in a hurry or hate them to begin with and are looking for some reason to criticise....They do exactly what they're supposed to do...work. Don't like what Stihl designers devised? Change em out. Wow, this round peg/square hole thing is tough eh?....
 
turnkey4099
Joined
Feb 27, 2002
Messages
20,060
Location
se washington
I recall a couple of years ago saying that the entire Stihl engineering team that invented the flippy cap should have been fired. One has to wonder what the test marketing results revealed and what other prototypes they tried.

Perhaps their only redeeming feature is that they don't require a screwdriver to open and close them. Thousands of the screw caps failed when they were overtightened with a scrench. After that, they leaked continuously until replaced.

IMO using a scrench (or any other tool) on fuel/oil caps is abuse of equipment. I have been running both homeowner and pro grade saws since 1976 plus some way back in the 50s. Never had one cap leak when hand tightened. Did have one ex logger Johnny Red from Canada where someone had hacksawed a slot into the caps for scrench use. I never needed to use one on them and never had a leak.

Harry K
 
CTYank

CTYank

Peripatetic Sawyer
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
3,377
Location
SW CT
When you purge the line you're ridding it of air. Moving the air out and fuel up the line would cause the line to be primed. No reason for you to be rude.

Who's being rude?

Purging is purging, relates to the diaphragm chamber. Not any line.

Priming is spritzing into the throttle bore. Couldn't be a simpler difference. Priming an engine is not the same as priming a line.

If stating facts is rude, sorry 'bout that. Kinda. :msp_wink:
 
Wood Doctor
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
12,561
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
IMO using a scrench (or any other tool) on fuel/oil caps is abuse of equipment. I have been running both homeowner and pro grade saws since 1976 plus some way back in the 50s. Never had one cap leak when hand tightened. Did have one ex logger Johnny Red from Canada where someone had hacksawed a slot into the caps for scrench use. I never needed to use one on them and never had a leak.

Harry K
Agree, Harry. Note that Stihl put decals on the plastic showing how to tighten (and occasionally destroy) the screw on caps. I always thought that was a mistake unless they wanted to sell a boatload of replacement caps. They succeeded in marvelous fashion.
 

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