NEVER AGAIN!!!!

[wood4heat]

the operators lack of experience operating it.
in theory the "pro" saw is higher "quality" in materials and build design.
in actual use proper maintenance and use will dictate the "value" of said tool.

I promise you the difference in build quality between homeowner and pro equipment is not theoretical.

 

[west041]

Agree with what others posted here about proper care and operation of equipment. I had some problems with a 291 burning up an oil pump and melting some plastic but others on here pointed out I may have been pushing it too hard. Dealer said I ran it with the chain brake on which I can assure did not happen. However it did illustrate to me that heat is not quickly or easily dissipated from the inboard clutch area, (that is 1/2" away from a plastic engine case) which I see as a weak area of a lot of these newer homeowner grade Stihls. Especially when combined with the fact that the new EPA non-adjustable oilers have very poor bar oil delivery in my opinion. Maybe I am just used to the older saws but I am constantly annoyed by the lack of oil delivery (and I am using summer/winter grade oil during appropriate season). Those are the two weaknesses I've experienced with the homeowner grade saws.

With good care, homeowner grade Stihl will at least get you what you paid for, and more.

 

[angelo c]

I promise you the difference in build quality between homeowner and pro equipment is not theoretical.

and I can promise you I can get as much use out of a MS260 as an MS250 and the wood will never know the difference.
as long as you don't smoke the clutch on a plastic case clamshell you'll get many bd ft of wood on the deck.

 

[Roll Tide]

I seen a few 290 ' with the control switch interfering with the throttle linkage. About a minute with a file fixes it.

 

[PhilMcWoody]

I got a h/o MS250 that keeps on starting and cutting above it's pay grade. Glad to have it in my back pocket when things don't work out with the big feller.

I promise you the difference in build quality between homeowner and pro equipment is not theoretical.

This is also true.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I figure a homeowner saw will cut wood as long as this old body of mine holds up so my firewood saws are an MS250 and an MS390 but I use my Echo 330T probably more..

 

[Chris-PA]

On one hand I think Still plastic clamshells have some fundamental design flaws in comparison to other saws, especially considering the price premium. The switch mechanism is particularly lame in my opinion. They are light and have chrome plated cylinders and run OK when they work. I've had my dad's MS250C torn all the way down any there was nothing impressive about it - it was more complicated than it needed to be.

On the other hand they are entirely conventional fuel systems and if they don't start it is likely due to the same issues any other saws have.

 

[Full Chisel]

The control lever is a known issue with the 290s for sure.

"Homeowner" Stihls are alright for what they are but the price doesn't reflect the quality, IMO. The xx1 series seem better quality to me though. The 171 and 291 are big improvements over the previous models.

 

[Rockjock]

The control lever is a known issue with the 290s for sure.

"Homeowner" Stihls are alright for what they are but the price doesn't reflect the quality, IMO. The xx1 series seem better quality to me though. The 171 and 291 are big improvements over the previous models.

Perhaps the 171 and the 291 have some ergonomic improvements but the 017/MS170 029/MS290 are no slouches. decades of use and abuse and they are still out there. I have seen literally hundreds of these fine examples just in for routine service as well as units held together with duct tape and bailing twine.

 

[struggle]

I traded a mountain bike for a Stihl MS211 last year. Guy bought it for some storm clean up. I did separated the muffler and cleaned it out properly and removed limiters and have a small tree service and the 211 is the go to Saw for limbing. It is light and very capable. I would get another one in a heart beat. Spring antivibe works well.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[1Alpha1]

As others have stated, it's all about proper care / maintenance and some love. All that, and knowing how to properly use the equipment.

All my current Stihl equip. is pro-grade stuff. But, so many years ago, I bought what I could afford. That meant living within a budget and spending wisely. I leaned how to make home-owner grade stuff last just as long as the pro-grade stuff.

 

[Rx7man]

Well, if you want to talk about cheap homeowner crap, look at a Poulan 4218AVX.. I have 3 of them, all given to me by different people.. I could have figured one of them was straight gassed.. but not all 3.. They are just pieces of garbage right from the get-go, and the strato carb is probably their biggest killer.
Yes, proper care of even homeowner stuff can make it last respectably, but the same care on pro material will make it last a lifetime.. We bought a Stihl pro grade brushcutter in 1990, and apart from being finnicky to tune, it's never given us any grief... Same goes for all my Husky saws.. The 61 isn't cheap crap, though it might be a little short of "pro grade", and the L65's, while not powerhouses, certainly last a long, long time (going on 40 years on mine)

 

[wood4heat]

So I started this thread out of frustration. I get that some people like the 211 and have even had good luck with them. That just wasn't the case for me. The only real issue that stopped me from using it was a sort of internal guide tab that supported the throttle linkage when you pulled the trigger. It broke resulting in a trigger that did nothing. I drilled a couple small holes and used a zip tie to support the linkage. It worked fine after that but still had things that annoyed me. My biggest complaint was that I had to drain the bar oil when I was done or it would empty itself all over my shop floor. It was also an inconsistent starter. There is absolutely no comparison in the quality of that saw and the 024 that replaced it. $$$ wise they cost about the same.

I was really excited to get this hedge trimmer last winter. It fired up easy when I bought it and ran good. I got some good use out of it in the spring but then it sat all summer. You can imagine how irritating it is now when I can't get the damn thing to run on only the second time I wanted to use it.

I'm sure there is a market for their homeowner line but it ain't for me. I'll pay extra, or buy something a little older to stick with the tools that have treated me well.

 

[Big_Wood]

i am a homeowner stihl hater but it sounds like your saw just needs a little tuning and at the most a carb rebuild. has it ever done any sitting?

 

[wood4heat]

i am a homeowner stihl hater but it sounds like your saw just needs a little tuning and at the most a carb rebuild. has it ever done any sitting?

It has sat since June or so. It ran fine then but now seems to be starving for fuel. I will get it running again it's just irritating that I am having work on with something I've only used once.

 

[Big_Wood]

i would get a diaphragm kit for the carb to bring her up to snuff. i got an FS38 POS that is the same way. seems you install a new kit, run it a season and then come back to a trimmer that don't wanna run right. i want to cut a pump diaphragm out of a better material for it.

 

[7sleeper]

Several years ago I bought a new stihl weed eater.. it was my first stihl purchase.. after gassing it up and making sure it would run, the dealer said.. oh. Btw, this has a ryobi motor...

That clearly indicates that the dealer know's what he is talking about...

7

 

[HarleyT]

That clearly indicates that the dealer know's what he is talking about...

7

Probably he was talking about the FS36.

 

[Little Al]

I am always amazed that posters to this forum buy either of the big 2 brands & then for one or other reasons have problems, moan about it/them but then go out & have a repeat purchase of the same or similar kit from the same manufacturer & have problems. There are other brands but seemingly these are dismissed as the person in question seems to be led blindly into buying only the same brand that they have had problems with/moaning about I'm conversant with the big 2 having worked/working on them in my retirement day job. For my own use (running for cover) I do not own a saw of either of the big 2 brands, my reasoning is cost I can purchase/ acquire others at a lot more reasonable cost & they get used a lot. If I have problems ( especially poor or non starting )& the usual fix fails it gets moved on, there are many brands /models of saws out there that Joe Homeowner has given up on that will with a little TLC give you good service for years. But then again if you own/use 1 of these you are not complying & in the herd with the sheep. My post is in no way a knock at users that are happy & satisfied with the kit they have chosen but a non understanding of why unhappy users keep returning to problem kit when other brands are available & then ranting on as to how c**p it is .

 

[HarleyT]

It has sat since June or so. It ran fine then but now seems to be starving for fuel. I will get it running again it's just irritating that I am having work on with something I've only used once.

The fuel these days goes bad pretty quick.