Stihl Flippy Caps

[NuggyBuggy]

The arrival of spring means I got to bust out the BR600 blower and remember all over again how awful the cap is on that thing. PITA to open sometimes and ten times more of a PITA to close it.

 

[Somesawguy]

I like flippy caps. :greenchainsaw:

 

[brncreeper]

So does oboma.

 

[milkman]

I bought a used 026 and Stihl said it is an early '90s model. Well the screw gas cap was leaking so I took the gasket off and turned it over, stopped the leak. I took the screw oil cap off and filled it with oil, took the oil jug back into the shed, came back and grabbed the saw and dumped bar oil all over the place, I forgot to replace the cap. Why don't they put a buzzers on the caps that reminds us to put the cap back on. Maybe the flippy caps need buzzers to let you know they're not seated too.:bang::bang::bang:

 

[Nine6Teen]

has anybody tried lubricating the cap ? especially the gas cap ? would that make a difference in longevity ?
is it worth while to replace the o ring after a year or so ? as preventive maintenance ?
also periodic maintenance ... I will occasionally remove the cap from the saw, then blow it out with compressed air.
do any of you guys do any of this stuff ? or am I wasting my time ?

 

[Rockjock]

[

Great answer Harry. You ought to run the PR campaign for the Guberment Motors Chevy Volt.:msp_tongue:


Irregardless, When a at least 40% of consumers detest a feature on a product, that is a problem.


FWIW, a few minutes ago I sent a complaint to Stihl USA regarding "flippy caps". In a few days I'll share what they say.

I am sure they will send you a link of a 5 year old using the flippy cap as an instructional aid

 

[Rockjock]

Stihl makes some excellent chainsaws. No argument there. To lose even one possible sale because of a feature that has no appreciable value other than marketing gimmick makes no sense. Yes many claim that they have never had a problem with them, but there are enough that do have problems and this is just bad advertising.

How many complain about any other chainsaws screwcaps? I haven't heard anyone yet. Its silly when a manufacturer makes problems for themselves for no reason.

Do echo and poulan saws count? I get several of those saws in with " bloated " caps every so often. I think both work well, the old style and the new one. Mind you the new style do take a little more finesse but I seldom hear back from customers that they are an issue. Of all the pars in the back room those covered with the most dust are the flippy caps.

 

[c5rulz]

[



I am sure they will send you a link of a 5 year old using the flippy cap as an instructional aid

Surprisingly enough, they never responded.

 

[Rockjock]

The cap works, if you can get it to work. Therein lies the rub. Getting it work seems to be a matter of luck more than anything... I will be positive that it will work, but when that cap flips down one side comes up.

The canadian Stihl dealers I have talked to are in agreement that the caps in general suck, but when I last asked there was no awareness of a cap recall. Perhaps they were not recalled in Canada.

Every time I go to fill up I think that will be the time I will figure out what magic is needed to make it work. It never is.

No issues at my dealer with the flippy cap... I am opening them dozens of times a day to demo the sales. Then again we are Ontario largest dealer. ( so the stihl rep reports ) Recall was issued but it was limited to certain serial numbers Main screen of Stihls B.Net has all the recalls listed.

 

[Rockjock]

Surprisingly enough, they never responded.

Interesting. But I think it would take some time for a reply. You would need a child to make the video. The it would need to be in many languages. Hmm I can see this being very $$$ all for a problem that so very very few have.... Yes I can see your point!

I am opening and closing these flippy caps dozens of times every day. Be it brand new units to fuel them up for the customers, to the repairs and they seem to open and close just fine. Joe home owner to Garry the garden guy to Larry the lumberjack. I should ave asked Dr Nicholas Stihl personally about the caps when we had dinner earlier this month. LOL ( he actually was in London Ontario for a dinner )


There are far bigger problems out there than flippy caps..

 

[banana boat]

flippy or non flippy both work fine for me, never had an issue with either.

 

[c5rulz]

There are far bigger problems out there than flippy caps..

Perhaps, but to create moving parts that fail and break in something as simple as a threaded cap with an O ring is just dumb. It is not good engineering.

BTW, all flippy caps are not equally awful, some models are much worse. My neighbor has a pole saw that is just ridiculous to get the cap to seat correctly.

If you really need a flippy cap, engineer one like Husky did that takes the old cap if you don't like the new one or vice versa.

 

[jughead500]

Hell yeah halloween week.Night of the living flippy cap!
what other dead threads can we dig up?

 

[Perry pioneer]

Went to fill up a 391 at work the other day put flippy back on it exploded in my hand boy I was impressed, POS.

 

[Rockjock]

Went to fill up a 391 at work the other day put flippy back on it exploded in my hand boy I was impressed, POS.

 

[fearofpavement]

Well, I have plenty of saws with flippies and continue to detest them. Time and experience has done nothing to garner any appreciation for them.

 

[AKDoug]

I'm an impatient bastard... every time I have to thread in a Husky cap I find myself wishing for a flippy 1/4 turn.

 

[rd35]

I learned patience the hard way after dumping several tanks of premix on my jeans. Each time I was drop starting my MS260 just after a fuel fill-up as I was walking back to the tree I was cutting up. When the patience kicked in....I spent a few minutes fiddling with the cap and figured out the installation process has three steps. 1) insert cap into tank opening until fully seated. 2) rotate cap clockwise making sure the ENTIRE cap assembly rotates thereby engaging the dogs into the tank opening recesses. 3) Continue rotating cap clockwise until it stops and bail tab aligns with relief in tank rim.
My problem was that the cap on my saw was allowing step 3 to happen prior to step 2....which then defeated the ability of the cap dog to rotate into the tank recesses. So, the only thing holding the cap in the opening was the friction of the o-ring. Once I shook the tank during the cranking process, then the pressure in the tank would blow the cap out of the opening and the gas all over my jeans. So, now, I always make sure the cap base is properly seated and rotated before finishing the closing process.
My 036 and 066 have standard threaded caps! Much better design in my opinion!!!!!

 

[c5rulz]

I'm an impatient bastard... every time I have to thread in a Husky cap I find myself wishing for a flippy 1/4 turn.

Well can a Stihl cap be retrofitted to a 25 year old saw and vice versa like a Husky flippy cap?

 

[Definitive Dave]

had a ported 3652 drip a half tank of fuel from a shelf onto my computer keyboard in the garage this week, first flippy problem for me and the keyboard was covered in so much dust it was damn near useless anyway, haven't used the saw in a couple of months no idea why it decoded to leak now
I still vote that flippy caps rule, but I have a new solution for a few new MS series builds
Dave