I had an issue with a Stihl 310 regarding the high compression and the need for a decompression valve. The following is the response I received form Stihl.
We are in receipt of and thank you for your e-mail. I will be
happy to pass your suggestion onto the product manager. I can tell you
though that our main concern is with the customer. This is one of the
hardest subjects that we work with. From a safety point of view if the
customer cannot start the saw due to compression they more than likely
cannot physically control the saw when cutting due to its weight. That
is why we only offer the EASY2START(r) system on our small home owner
saws. Our main concern is customer safety. I would ask you to observe an
elderly user and watch the way they compensate for the added weight,
they tend to stand more in front of the handle than to the side and have
a tendency to drop the left hand to the side of the handle bar. Thank
you again for your e-mail and if we can be of any further assistance
please feel free to contact us again.
Best regards,
Bob Myers
Technical Support and Customer Support Lead
We are in receipt of and thank you for your e-mail. I will be
happy to pass your suggestion onto the product manager. I can tell you
though that our main concern is with the customer. This is one of the
hardest subjects that we work with. From a safety point of view if the
customer cannot start the saw due to compression they more than likely
cannot physically control the saw when cutting due to its weight. That
is why we only offer the EASY2START(r) system on our small home owner
saws. Our main concern is customer safety. I would ask you to observe an
elderly user and watch the way they compensate for the added weight,
they tend to stand more in front of the handle than to the side and have
a tendency to drop the left hand to the side of the handle bar. Thank
you again for your e-mail and if we can be of any further assistance
please feel free to contact us again.
Best regards,
Bob Myers
Technical Support and Customer Support Lead