New Stihl MS 200 bar length and chain question

[jlficken]

My brother picked up my new saw from the dealer yesterday. It was a spur of the moment purchase as I was looking at the MS 201 C-E but a dealer said they had a MS 200 so I jumped on it.

Anyway, I am curious what everyone's thoughts are on the fact it came with a 16" bar and I was thinking a 14" would be better for all-around ground use? It would be used mainly for trimming trees and taking some down that are in the 10" diameter range. Also, my wife will be using this saw (I have already purchased a set of Labonville chaps and a good helmet for her) to learn on and use while I am using my MS 361.

Is there a chain selection guide out there anywhere for the MS 200 as I can only seem to find one for the MS 201 now?

I will probably go with the safety chain since my wife will be using it the most unless that is a bad idea for some reason?

View attachment 297834

 

[Trailtrimmer]

Great saw!

The 16" is fine, yellow chain is fine. Gas it up, run it and don't worry about it, there are tons of 200's with 16" bars in professional hands every day.

 

[Raganr]

Nice score. I have a 14" bar on mine.

If you don't mind sharing. What did you pay for it?

 

[jlficken]

Where can I find the part numbers for the "yellow label" chains at? I suck at finding that stuff :msp_sad: If you could point me to a PDF or something I could figure it out from there but all I can find is for the low kickback stuff. Thanks!

Nice score. I have a 14" bar on mine.

If you don't mind sharing. What did you pay for it?

It was $720 OTD with a 6 pack of the HP Ultra oil and a 2 year vs 1 year warranty since I purchased the oil. From what I could find I got a fair deal...how'd I do?

I was quite shocked to find one in stock as I figured they were all gone but found it at a John Deere dealership of all places.

 

[Raganr]

I think you did well. I have more than that into a used one. If you don't need it, pull the spark arrestor and re-tune.

Mine is set up with 14" 3/8 LP. The Stihl chains I have are a full chisel safety chain and a semi-chisel non-safety. I will probably try this one next

Bailey's - WoodlandPro 30LP Chainsaw Chain

 

[XSKIER]

14" bar would be a good choice. 63 PS3 50 would be the correct matching chain. It is the fastest cutting safety chain available for small saws.

 

[jlficken]

Thanks for the input guys!

From what I can find then on the Woodland Pro chain and for all others I would want:
50 links for the 14"
55 links for the 16"

I think I may just grab a 14" bar and have them both around for now just to have them. I will have to go into the local Stihl dealer and see if they have the bar and Stihl chains this weekend.

 

[Procut]

Nice saw , nice score! I cant seem to find one at all here in Hawaii. Seems like I may have to look elsewhere.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

My preferences

On my MS200T I like the Stihl 14 inch Rollomatic E-Light bar. As long as you don't try to bend it or yank on it when pinched it will hold up well.

As to chain, I run Stihl 63PMC Picco. The local Stihl rep gave me a loop of their newer full chisel Picco PS3 to try. So far I've been quite impressed. The PS3 is very smooth as compared to the PM and just as fast, maybe faster in a standard cross cut application. Though it does not like to, if you take your time and try a few different techniques the PS3 will bore cut. Not as well or as fast as the PM but you can get there. I need to run another 2 or 3 loops of the PM before taking the plunge and not using the PM.

Take Care

 

[Mpbowyer]

I have a 14" bar on my 200 with non safety semi chisel stihl chain, love it.

My 200t has the e-light bar, which wouldn't really make enough of a difference in a two-handed application. It's nice for my one-arming in a tree though. I'm a little guy.

I can't believe you found that deal. They could have ensued the thing for $1200 probably.

 

[jlficken]

I was totally shocked I found it too! Supposedly the dealer had 2 of them so I may call tomorrow and see if he still has one and get it if he does.

I did find a 63PS3-55 on eBay that I got for $17 delivered so I snagged it as well as 3 more of the 63PM3-55 chains for a grand total of $48 delivered so I am pretty happy about that. I supposedly had a loop of the 63PM-55 from the local Stihl dealer but found out after I got home that the package had a 63PM3-55 chain in it Sadly there isn't much I can do about it since the other isn't made anymore.

I did get a chance to use it this weekend and I like it A LOT!! I may wind up selling the MS361 as I just don't think I will use it as nothing that I will be doing now will require me to anymore.

I thought about the "light" bar but I really like the balance the way it is as when holding the top handle the saw stays perfectly level. It had winter oil in it so I added some standard when it got low (it was almost like sugar water when it was 80F on Sunday) and that seems to help a bit.

Here is a better picture..
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