Hello all, new member here. Just wanted to say thank you for the collective knowledge of the forums helping direct me to the purchase of my first saw.
I work for a property management company in West Tx with a few hundred properties. We don't always trim/cut trees, but when we do it's 8 hours a day several days/weeks in a row until it's done. The company owns a Stihl HT131 which is great (for its intended application) and Poulan Pro 4218 that I would like to throw off a cliff. Many, many days I would go home just wrecked because the PP just wore me out. Not sure if the Oregon chains or the saw itself were the problem. Just seemed like even with a new chain it would make 2 or 3 good cuts and then just make saw dust and struggle from there - especially in the mesquite. The Stihl HT131 works great, and often gets used in place of the PP since it seems to cut when the PP is being moody. So - I decided a "new" saw in the 18" range at my expense would be worth not eating Aleve like TicTacs. I saw Husqvarna made the PP on the sticker - so honestly, I ruled Husky out immediately. I'm not saying those are related directly, but I words can't express how much I hate that PP (and the HT131 just flat works). Anyway, thanks to you fine folks - I picked up a used Stihl MS261C a couple weeks ago for the sum of $250. I then went to my local Stihl dealer and got a new chain (18" Stihl RM since I do cut stumps at times) and replaced the missing chip deflector. I just can't thank you guys enough for the advice you have provided to others on this forum previously that helped me make a saw decision. I had looked at a million different Stihl's - thinking the 251 would probably do what I wanted, but then the 271 must be better because of the bigger number. But no, the 261 is a "pro" saw with some features those don't have. And then...the M-tronic carb seemed like it was well liked - so I very specifically sought an MS261 C-M (MS261 C in my case) out.
Fast forward to a solid week of use later (about 30 hours of actual run time on the saw) - and when I go home, I feel worked, but not wrecked. The difference is night and day and I just could not be happier. Kind of on the fence on the muffler mod - just since this is used in a community and I'm concerned about the noise.
I work for a property management company in West Tx with a few hundred properties. We don't always trim/cut trees, but when we do it's 8 hours a day several days/weeks in a row until it's done. The company owns a Stihl HT131 which is great (for its intended application) and Poulan Pro 4218 that I would like to throw off a cliff. Many, many days I would go home just wrecked because the PP just wore me out. Not sure if the Oregon chains or the saw itself were the problem. Just seemed like even with a new chain it would make 2 or 3 good cuts and then just make saw dust and struggle from there - especially in the mesquite. The Stihl HT131 works great, and often gets used in place of the PP since it seems to cut when the PP is being moody. So - I decided a "new" saw in the 18" range at my expense would be worth not eating Aleve like TicTacs. I saw Husqvarna made the PP on the sticker - so honestly, I ruled Husky out immediately. I'm not saying those are related directly, but I words can't express how much I hate that PP (and the HT131 just flat works). Anyway, thanks to you fine folks - I picked up a used Stihl MS261C a couple weeks ago for the sum of $250. I then went to my local Stihl dealer and got a new chain (18" Stihl RM since I do cut stumps at times) and replaced the missing chip deflector. I just can't thank you guys enough for the advice you have provided to others on this forum previously that helped me make a saw decision. I had looked at a million different Stihl's - thinking the 251 would probably do what I wanted, but then the 271 must be better because of the bigger number. But no, the 261 is a "pro" saw with some features those don't have. And then...the M-tronic carb seemed like it was well liked - so I very specifically sought an MS261 C-M (MS261 C in my case) out.
Fast forward to a solid week of use later (about 30 hours of actual run time on the saw) - and when I go home, I feel worked, but not wrecked. The difference is night and day and I just could not be happier. Kind of on the fence on the muffler mod - just since this is used in a community and I'm concerned about the noise.
