Opinion on the quick chain adjust of a stihl

had a 280 with it. Seemed to hold tight on a 20 inch bar, worked ok, but seemed flexy to me in the knob area parts. I could not envision it lasting 20 years, but maybe it does.
I think it would be more valuable for a tree saw, but for the ground, KISS. Finding the scrench and doing a quick adjust while fueling is no big deal to me.

I would not base the saw decision on it. would not buy a saw just for it, probably would not refuse to buy one with it, but my preference is tried and true bar nuts.

I had an MS180 with the quick chain adjust and did not like it at all.

I have it on my little RedMax and I hate it. I need to run that saw a little looser than normal because it has a narrow-radius hard-nose bar on it. I need to stick a scrench handle in between the bar and the chain in order to get the proper slack when adjusting it. PITA if you ask me.

When they try to make these things idiot-proof, they should consider the fact that an idiot shouldn't be running a saw in the first place. :roll:

Had it one on a older Stihl MS 180. Not a big fan. Seemed a bit flimsy to me, could not see it last without breaking. I'm a huge fan of Stihl products, the quick chain adjust appears to fall short of the Stihl quality standard. I'm just sayin.....

I like it on my ms250.

I didn't mind it on a ms180. With that said: I sold that saw just didn't think it was going to take heavy abuse.

smokinjay said:

I didn't mind it on a ms180. With that said: I sold that saw just didn't think it was going to take heavy abuse.

Click to expand...

Jay I'll vouch for the MS180 taking abuse. Our golf course superintendent has one he uses on the course and I'm pretty sure he thinks it says MS460 on the side. :lol: Still starts, runs, and cuts reliably after years of that kind of usage.

As far as the quick adjust on Stihl saws? I like it as far as quick adjusts go, it is pretty well tested and proven reliable. Best thing you can do for it is keep it clean! I used to be a service tech at a Stihl dealership and we didn't see very many problems with them. Usually just clogged with sawdust. Take it apart once in awhile (it's one screw to remove the adjuster from the bar.) and blow it out with compressed air. The setup works far better than the style with the screwdriver slot in the bar as those NEVER hold adjustment properly and still require tools to adjust. You can adjust your chain after it warms up on the saw, stretches during break in, or relax it after your done for the day. You also cannot over tension the chain with this thing like you can with a traditional setup. I like Stihl's setup because you can swap chains in the field with no tools as well. The only drawback I can see in the setup is that it only uses one bar stud to clamp the bar in place. I'm a bit leery of using that on 16"-20" bars on mid-size saws but if it's on a Stihl, it's been tested, and they are one of the most conservative companies when it comes to safety and chainsaws.

Here's another saw thread that might interest you.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/81271/

Like not having to figure out where a screwdriver is. On MS250 it can and does get gunked up with sawdust/oil mix making it hard to turn with the smallish adjustment knob.

velvetfoot said:

I like it on my ms250.

Click to expand...

Like mine on my ms 250 also.
5 yrs no probs.