Well, I gave in and bought a little 180. I ended up at the dealer that I felt had the best service dept. I got to run it a while today, cleaning up some limbs from the ice storm, and then we took down a couple of blackjack trees that were really torn up by the storm. I would have to say that I am pretty impressed with the little saw. I was able to bury the bar and, for the most part, it just kept cutting. Its pretty rare for me to be cutting on anything that big, so the 6 to 8 inch stuff that I cut mostly was nothing for that saw. However, I do have a small problem with it. The throttle linkage seems to be bound up somehow. The first time it happened, I had started it and when I went to apply throttle, I could feel something wasn't right. I shut it off, and played with the on/off/choke switch and then it started working. After I ran through that tank, I used half choke when I restarted it and all went fine. I later shut it off to move some brush, and when I went to restart, the thing was bound up again. I was not able to get it to operate normally, so I pulled the aifilter cover for a closer look. I couldn't really see anything there, so I put the cover back on and figured a trip to the shop is in order, since it is only a couple weeks old. I am having a tough time not tearing into it myself. Another thing that I found a bit odd is that it really wants to bog out when throttling it up after restarting it. After a couple minutes it runs great, but its almost like the engine has cooled off in the time it takes to refuel. Iam really happy wih it, I just gotta get that blasted throttle working right.
Ms 180
- Thread starter jimmie600
- Start date
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You were showed how to operate the off/on/choke switch and know that you have to press the trigger to move the switch to the choke position, right? It's common to just try to press the switch down without holding the trigger in at the right moment which might cause all kinds of mess in the neighbourhood of trigger/linkage/switch...
Like this: You can move the switch from off to the on-position by just pressing it down, but to further move it to the choke-position requires you to press the trigger while you push the switch down. Then when it suits you you can push the switch up one step from choke while still having it in fast idle, and you release it from fast idle by blipping the trigger. No magic is required to take it from on to off.
If you have used force instead of the right procedure you might wanna have the dealer take at look at the linkage in case something has been broken or bent.
Ray Bennett
ArboristSite Guru
What He said, I did not get a lesson on my first stihl and snapped the Choke right out of the plastic holder the first time I used it. I had no idea of all the new stuff saws had on them. I still dont know why they want you to pull the trigger to get the choke off but I Just do it. The chain break gave me a fit also the first time it got accidentaly engaged. Saws have come a long way from my first super XL
No real force yet! The first time it happened, I had only shut the saw off for a moment, and didn't even use the choke. I just flipped the switch to on and started it. The throttle felt strange as soon as I pushed on the trigger. I just went out and played with the throttle safety, and don't think that it is the culprit. I don't really know how fragile the linkages are, but I have only applied but a little bit more force than normally required. Another thing is that I played with it and it was operating fine, and then it bound up again.
Ray, I did get the lesson at the dealer. As for the chain brake, he started it with the brake on, then released it. That was the first thing I thought of, because the engine started to accelerate just a bit as the throttle moved (much as it would).
Hmm... no force.. well that's good!
I'm actually not all that familiar with the more delicate internals of the 180, but unless someone else (maybe another 180-owner..?) has a bright idea I guess you should take it to your dealer and tell him you think it feels weird. Can't imagine he wouldn't take a quick look and fix what might be needed as part of the delivery service of the saw. As long as the saw is practically new it's usually the cheapest way...
I'm actually not all that familiar with the more delicate internals of the 180, but unless someone else (maybe another 180-owner..?) has a bright idea I guess you should take it to your dealer and tell him you think it feels weird. Can't imagine he wouldn't take a quick look and fix what might be needed as part of the delivery service of the saw. As long as the saw is practically new it's usually the cheapest way...
I almost forgot, thanks for sharing your thoughts on my problem, guys! 7sleeper, so far I have cut a variety of wood, most, I would think, should be considered a hard wood. My other saw is the infamous Wild Thing. From what I read on here, it must be the only one in captivity that is truly WILD. It is one of the older ones, made in '99. It has served me quite well. Unless you count vibrating my hands numb as a negative. It actually pulls the cut better than my brother's 141 Anyhow, I set out to get a better saw, not really because I needed it, but because I was tired of the vibration. Anyhow, aside from my current issue, I am loving the 180. There is little vibration, and it is surprisingly close in power to the Wild Thing, which as we all know is something like 42cc of raw animal power! When you take into account that the 180 is only like 32cc, I think that is pretty impressive. I was expecting it to be more of a saw for the little jobs, but instead, I think that I am gonna keep the Wild Thing in its cage until I need its 18" bar or a good beating! I acutally burried the bar in the blackjack a couple times, and with a bit of finesse, it just kept cutting right on through. I really like that this saw hasn't dripped one drop of fuel or oil in my garage, I have the keep the other beast on its side or it will foul my floor with its wild self. I really didn't care about the quick chain adjust, but I am finding it to work really well. I like that the fuel and oil tanks are clear, so you can see the levels without removing the caps. I like the bucking spike, and I really like the idea of having a chain brake. My Wild Thing was just too wild to tame with anything like that! Anyhow, I gotta give the 180 2 thumbs up. Maybe more once I get the throttle worked out. I really do not believe that I created my problem, and If it turns out that I did, I will feel that something must be a little fragile, but I will still be happy with the 180.
Maccall, thanks for taking the time to visit with me on this. Yeah, I bought this thing like 2 weeks ago, and before today played with it for only about 5 minutes. I would have a difficult time believing that I applied enough force to hurt anything. As it sits right now, the throttle is bound up and no amount of fiddling with the choke has changed anything. I am gonna take it to the dealer tomorrow. Whatever caused it, I doubt that mine is the first, or the last.
7sleeper
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thanks for the info!! That really sounds great.
I was wondering between a 180 and a Husq 142 but that realy soumds convincing.
Good luck at the dealer tomorrow.
7sleeper
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That is pretty much where I was, we have an excellent dealer for Husky that sells the 142 for the same price that the dreaded "box stores" do. He takes the time to run each saw, and set the mixture so that the saw actually runs correctly, not just to pass the emissions specs. Anyhow, I know that Husky builds an excellent saw, but I just don't know how much better the two little ones (137 and 142) are than their Poulan cousins. For the most part, nobody here wants to talk about anything that isn't considered a pro saw. Someone did recommend the Husky 340. I looked at its specs, and was ready to find the extra bucks, only to be told that Husky doesn't make them anymore. Anyhow, the features that really impressed me with the 180 are absent on the 142. Of course, the 142 has a 16" bar and is also 40 or 42cc and around here $30 less. If I had needed a bigger saw for less money, then that is where I would have ended up. I really did like that dealer too. I visited several dealers for various saws, and liked him the best. I might mention to you that the Echo saws carry a 5 year warranty for non-commercial use. Two of the Stihl dealers are also Echo dealers and one recommended them over the Stihl.
Thanks for those who responded. I took the saw in today, and it was just a linkage that had slid out of place. It was an easy 5-minute fix. I am very happy with the service I got. Of course it would have taken me less time to fix it myself that to go to the shop, but now I know how their service department works. This is the reason I bought from a shop, not Home Depot or Lowes! If that were to happen again I wouldn't hesitate to fix it myself, though.
