Is this what Stihl's have come to?

[Cliff R]

My neighbor was trying to cut down a small pine tree yesterday with his MS-250. It would hardly stay running, so he brought it over for me to look at. I get my neighbors power equipment when the don't run correctly, sort of goes with the territory of doing this sort of stuff for a living. I don't mind at all, it helps maintain good relationships, which doesn't seem to be the norm these days.

Anyhow, his MS-250 has very little time on it and just needed the chain sharpened and carburetor correctly adjusted. I also dumped his 2 year old fuel out of it and added some fresh mix.

The air cleaner was loose on the box, as the snaps were spread out slightly. No big deal there, I worked them in some and got it to snap in place, even though I thought the entire concept was "cheezy".

Got it running, and set the carb, and did a few test cuts with a sharp chain. It ran OK, but not impressive anyplace for power or cutting speed. Not sure what cc's they are, but runs like about 40cc or so, absolutely MAXXED out with an 18" bar/chain set-up. It would have been better suited to a 3/8 LP 14-16" bar.

Go to shut it off, and it continues to run. Turns out the metal spring deal had found it's way under the switch. I asked the owner and he said it hasn't been shutting off, so he's been choking it to kill out the engine.

Fixed that problem, then put the air cleaner cover back on and it's doing the same thing again...WTF??

Take the cover back off, which is another adventure all in itself. Couldn't they come up with something a little better there?

Turns out if you left the start switch in the upper or "run" position, (which is another thread all in itself about how complicated a simple operation should be) and tried to install the cover, it pushed the spring clip stop under the switch.

Anyhow, got it all back together and working correctly for him.

Not really wanting to start a Stihl bashing thread or anything of the sort, but that saw just wasn't showing me much for the price tag. I don't know how many cc's they are, but it wouldn't hold a candle to an Echo CS-510, and probably no faster anyplace than a CS-370 or 400.

What ever happened to a choke lever that works like a choke lever?

I'm glad I never got all wrapped up in the "lengendary" Stihl saw thing, because I'd be as unhappy with an MS-250 as I was with the POS orange Poulan's Husqvarna dumped on the market a few years ago.....Cliff

 

[derwoodii]

My 25s alright but your points are true the saw fails the brand name test
You didn't even suffer any flippy cap frustration. That master switch metal tang failure issue runs though a few too many models now. Stihl say u need to pull in throttle 1st before you choke em or it will pop out. Well thats swell info stihl but it don't work in the real world so many suffer the switch failure.
My saws got a 16inch bar now it really does chew it well now. I say the 18 inch is sales pitch your got a bigger bar thing that kinda fails the test again.

Price v saw v issues v life span v work output hmm its just ok I still like it enough to say alright for weekend home use or 1 year throw away pro use. Flip the flippies fix the master switch tang n sort the bar length u got a ok saw.

 

[joe25DA]

I ran into that problem with the switch working on the schools 170 and my cousins 290. I hate the on/off/choke combo. But I also don't run these saws. Maybe its cheaper to build them like that.

 

[mountainlake]

Seems like quality goes down every year on thier home owner saws. Steve

 

[Cliff R]

"You didn't even suffer any flippy cap frustration."

I did, but figured I pointed out enough negative issues on the original thread. It's not my style to "bash" any particular saw or brand, but what were they thinking and why haven't they improved a few things.

These saws are catagories as "homeowner" models.......most "professional" folks from the city that wonder out into the country to buy property and live the dream, should NEVER be allowed to own a chainsaw. They should hire folks to cut their trees and spend their money on ornametal ponds and pretty shrubs, etc......IMHO......Cliff

 

[dieselram]

Stihl say u need to pull in throttle 1st before you choke em or it will pop out.

I thought that was common sense??? I have ran Stihl saws for 20+ years and never had this issue. Of course I would only assume that it would be easier to pull the throttle first and then move the lever to full choke...oke:

 

[Cliff R]

Magic word(s) here.....COMMON SENSE!

Why would using the wrong sequence of starting procedures with the switch cause the spring to find its way on the wrong side of the switch right to start with?

IF this is what happens, it is a design flaw, or lack of effort on the company producing that product to find a better set-up.

You can't teach common sense, and you can't make anything, especially chainsaws "idiot proof". I still think they could come up with something better all the way around, more worthy of the lengendary Stihl name......Cliff

 

[blsnelling]

Not really wanting to start a Stihl bashing thread or anything of the sort, but that saw just wasn't showing me much for the price tag.

I'm glad I never got all wrapped up in the "lengendary" Stihl saw thing, because I'd be as unhappy with an MS-250 as I was with the POS orange Poulan's Husqvarna dumped on the market a few years ago.....Cliff

It's not my style to "bash" any particular saw or brand, but what were they thinking and why haven't they improved a few things.

You're doing a good job of doing what you say you're not wanting to do, or is not your style. Either say it, or don't say it.

I thought that was common sense??? I have ran Stihl saws for 20+ years and never had this issue. Of course I would only assume that it would be easier to pull the throttle first and then move the lever to full choke...oke:

+1. Never had this issue. Operator error IMHO. It's not designed to be pushed down without first pulling the lever. Read the manual. I rebuilt a 250 last year and was quite impressed with it's power. Must be something more wrong with this particular saw if it's that down on power.

And don't try to brand me as a blind folded Stihl lover. This thread just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[Cliff R]

Sorry Brad, just pointing out a few facts from an actual experience with an MS-250 yesterday. No need to bash the messenger, just making a few observations.

Not overly impressed with that particular saw anyplace, and I spent some time with it in the woodpile fine tuning the carb for the best possible power in the cut.

It's OK for power, but nothing overly impressive, and it's pretty much maxxed out with the 18" bar/chain set-up. It would probably really come around with 3/8" LP 14-16", but that's just an opinion.

The good news is that the owner now knows how to correctly work the stop/start/choke switch, and how to remove the air cleaner cover and put it back in place. Guess he wasn't smart enough to figure it out from the owners manual, or the instructions given to him by the dealer where he bought it? None of that is my fault.

BTW, he's a chemistry Proffessor at a local university, semi-retired and substitutes for a few local College's here and there........Cliff

 

[blsnelling]

It's all good. It's just that I'm quite critical of ALL stock saws. But the MS250 I rebuilt last year shocked me with how strong it was, especially for a homeowner saw of it's size. And it's hard to find fault with the master control switch, when it was being used as designed. All Stihls are supposed to have the throttle pulled first IIRC.

 

[brages]

Seems like quality goes down every year on thier home owner saws. Steve

For what it's worth, the master control lever on my ms210 works way better than the one on my 026...

 

[edisto]

And don't try to brand me as a blind folded Stihl lover. This thread just rubbed me the wrong way.

That's just because you are not the kind of person that would impulsively vent their frustrations on this forum...

:monkey:

 

[jerryw66]

I'm not bashing stihl, just the 250, I've got a buddy with one, and it's the most gutless thing. He's had all the above problems and then some. It has very few hrs on it, looks almost new and runs like it's wore out. He runs a lawn care business and takes very good care of his equipment, I like almost all the stihl saws, but not the 250. That is the only 250 I have run or even been around.

 

[blsnelling]

That's just because you are not the kind of person that would impulsively vent their frustrations on this forum...

:monkey:

Only in a previous life

 

[JustinM]

+1. Never had this issue. Operator error IMHO. It's not designed to be pushed down without first pulling the lever. Read the manual. I rebuilt a 250 last year and was quite impressed with it's power. Must be something more wrong with this particular saw if it's that down on power.

And don't try to brand me as a blind folded Stihl lover. This thread just rubbed me the wrong way.

Got to agree with brad here. There's things I dont love about my stihls - but then there's things I dont love about my Dolmar, Husky etc etc. No saw is perfect but understanding the little subtleties about each one will help in the long run.

 

[SawTroll]

My neighbor was trying to cut down a small pine tree yesterday with his MS-250. It would hardly stay running, so he brought it over for me to look at. I get my neighbors power equipment when the don't run correctly, sort of goes with the territory of doing this sort of stuff for a living. I don't mind at all, it helps maintain good relationships, which doesn't seem to be the norm these days.

Anyhow, his MS-250 has very little time on it and just needed the chain sharpened and carburetor correctly adjusted. I also dumped his 2 year old fuel out of it and added some fresh mix.

The air cleaner was loose on the box, as the snaps were spread out slightly. No big deal there, I worked them in some and got it to snap in place, even though I thought the entire concept was "cheezy".

Got it running, and set the carb, and did a few test cuts with a sharp chain. It ran OK, but not impressive anyplace for power or cutting speed. Not sure what cc's they are, but runs like about 40cc or so, absolutely MAXXED out with an 18" bar/chain set-up. It would have been better suited to a 3/8 LP 14-16" bar.

Go to shut it off, and it continues to run. Turns out the metal spring deal had found it's way under the switch. I asked the owner and he said it hasn't been shutting off, so he's been choking it to kill out the engine.

Fixed that problem, then put the air cleaner cover back on and it's doing the same thing again...WTF??

Take the cover back off, which is another adventure all in itself. Couldn't they come up with something a little better there?

Turns out if you left the start switch in the upper or "run" position, (which is another thread all in itself about how complicated a simple operation should be) and tried to install the cover, it pushed the spring clip stop under the switch.

Anyhow, got it all back together and working correctly for him.

Not really wanting to start a Stihl bashing thread or anything of the sort, but that saw just wasn't showing me much for the price tag. I don't know how many cc's they are, but it wouldn't hold a candle to an Echo CS-510, and probably no faster anyplace than a CS-370 or 400.

What ever happened to a choke lever that works like a choke lever?

I'm glad I never got all wrapped up in the "lengendary" Stihl saw thing, because I'd be as unhappy with an MS-250 as I was with the POS orange Poulan's Husqvarna dumped on the market a few years ago.....Cliff

You just described my impression of the same model almost to the letter, but remember that it is a quite old design - not typical of the latest ones.

Some operater error also was involved in your story, like Brad said!

It is between 44 and 45cc, and imo should run a bit better than you described - but far from great.

 

[madhatte]

Go to shut it off, and it continues to run. Turns out the metal spring deal had found it's way under the switch. I asked the owner and he said it hasn't been shutting off, so he's been choking it to kill out the engine.

That can even happen with trusty old 036's and such. It's get everything to do with the operator and nothing to do with the design.

 

[SawTroll]

....
BTW, he's a chemistry Proffessor at a local university, semi-retired and substitutes for a few local College's here and there........Cliff

Being a professor is no excuse for not caring to read the manual!

 

[SawTroll]

That can even happen with trusty old 036's and such. It's get everything to do with the operator and nothing to do with the design.

The combo switch is a bad design to start with - and it invites operater errors! :greenchainsaw:

 

[Chris J.]

...Guess he wasn't smart enough to figure it out from the owners manual, or the instructions given to him by the dealer where he bought it?....

BTW, he's a chemistry Proffessor at a local university, semi-retired and substitutes for a few local College's here and there........Cliff

Ha! My FIL has a PhD in chemistry and is quite famous (well, at least among chemists) for his achievements in industrial research & development, but the man can't use a simple tool like a hammer or screwdriver without injuring himself. I wouldn't want him to look a chainsaw, much less run one!