First Impression of New Stihl MS 290

[homebrewz]

I bought a 290 a week ago. It came with two chains, so I got one safety and one full chisel. So far, its been cutting great just with the safety, but I'm only in some medium sized cherry right now. I've only gone through about 2 tanks, but so far I really like it.

 

[Jags]

LOL quads cuts a lot of wood and he picks the 290. #1 saw sold...we can all justify are choices, but the people have spoken 290 #1 lol

A Ford F350 can out haul a F150, but the F150 is a far more popular truck. Just saying that there is a tool for every job.

 

[smokinj]

LOL quads cuts a lot of wood and he picks the 290. #1 saw sold...we can all justify are choices, but the people have spoken 290 #1 lol

A Ford F350 can out haul a F150, but the F150 is a far more popular truck. Just saying that there is a tool for every job.

lol just giving you some ravsssberrys.....

 

[Jags]

LOL quads cuts a lot of wood and he picks the 290. #1 saw sold...we can all justify are choices, but the people have spoken 290 #1 lol

A Ford F350 can out haul a F150, but the F150 is a far more popular truck. Just saying that there is a tool for every job.

lol just giving you some ravsssberrys.....

Ha..lets see that 880 with an 18" bar.

 

[smokinj]

LOL quads cuts a lot of wood and he picks the 290. #1 saw sold...we can all justify are choices, but the people have spoken 290 #1 lol

A Ford F350 can out haul a F150, but the F150 is a far more popular truck. Just saying that there is a tool for every job.

lol just giving you some ravsssberrys.....

Ha..lets see that 880 with an 18" bar.

21inch is the smallest they make and 60.00 bucks without chain...I will have to swing the whole 41 inchs

 

[quads]

Smokin I wonder if quads was located near the 7 inches of rain they (Wisconsin) got nailed with.


zap

2 inches here, but 10 just to the south of me and I heard 7 in Waukesha. I was just out cutting and it's not real hot, but boy is it HUMID! Dew point is 79°! I'm not sure if I have ever seen it higher. If I have, not much higher. Not going to be fun milking the cows tonight! Weather like this and my antiperspirant ends up running down into my underpants!

 

[quads]

Yeah Jay, I have a buddy with the 290. Nice saw, good value, but I will gar-own-tee he doesn't keep up to me in a cut. I have also ran quite a few hours behind that saw, again, it is a very capable saw, but the 361 takes it without breaking a sweat (as it should). The anti-vibe and hp to weight ratio is also a plus.

Yep put you could make the same agrument for WHY IN THE HECK DIDNT YOU GO WITH A 441/460 THATS WHERE THE REAL POWER IS! (back-up 880) lol if a saw works for you then it works...I do like the 290 and have work on my fil's great vaule for a tough saw.

Well...ya gotta stop somewhere. :cheese: and the 361 was the smallest saw that I thought could reasonably handle a 25" bar. And knowing the majority of the saws life was going to be spinning a chain on an 18", anything bigger than the 361 was like putting a 20hp engine on a 11 gpm pump. Way overkill. At least that was MY reasoning.

Ha ha ha! Those big saws are nuts! I'm only cutting firewood. The faster it cuts, the more firewood I have, the more work I have to do, and I already have trouble finding places to stack it all! My little teeny tiny saws are plenty good enough to impress myself with. Ha ha! And I'm sure I will break a sweat long before the saw ever does. Like today, I sweat so much I think my manhood washed away out in the woods, but the teeny tiny 290 didn't seem to mind.

 

[smokinj]

Yeah Jay, I have a buddy with the 290. Nice saw, good value, but I will gar-own-tee he doesn't keep up to me in a cut. I have also ran quite a few hours behind that saw, again, it is a very capable saw, but the 361 takes it without breaking a sweat (as it should). The anti-vibe and hp to weight ratio is also a plus.

Yep put you could make the same agrument for WHY IN THE HECK DIDNT YOU GO WITH A 441/460 THATS WHERE THE REAL POWER IS! (back-up 880) lol if a saw works for you then it works...I do like the 290 and have work on my fil's great vaule for a tough saw.

Well...ya gotta stop somewhere. :cheese: and the 361 was the smallest saw that I thought could reasonably handle a 25" bar. And knowing the majority of the saws life was going to be spinning a chain on an 18", anything bigger than the 361 was like putting a 20hp engine on a 11 gpm pump. Way overkill. At least that was MY reasoning.

Ha ha ha! Those big saws are nuts! I'm only cutting firewood. The faster it cuts, the more firewood I have, the more work I have to do, and I already have trouble finding places to stack it all! My little teeny tiny saws are plenty good enough to impress myself with. Ha ha! And I'm sure I will break a sweat long before the saw ever does. Like today, I sweat so much I think my manhood washed away out in the woods, but the teeny tiny 290 didn't seem to mind.

290 is a great choice imo....

 

[Jags]

but the teeny tiny 290 didn't seem to mind.

Oh Quads, I wasn't trying to suggest that the 290 is teeny tiny in any way. As said above, I have several hours behind one and they are a VERY capable machine. I just ain't gonna strap a 25" bar on it and expect it to perform very well. It wasn't its design.

Wait till your break in is done on that machine. You will be surprised how it "opens up". Running a 18 or 20" bar on that machine is the sweet spot. Make NO mistake, I have respect for the 290.

 

[quads]

but the teeny tiny 290 didn't seem to mind.

Oh Quads, I wasn't trying to suggest that the 290 is teeny tiny in any way. As said above, I have several hours behind one and they are a VERY capable machine. I just ain't gonna strap a 25" bar on it and expect it to perform very well. It wasn't its design.

Wait till your break in is done on that machine. You will be surprised how it "opens up". Running a 18 or 20" bar on that machine is the sweet spot. Make NO mistake, I have respect for the 290.

Ya, I know you weren't bashing the 290. I was just laughing because it's so teeny tiny compared to those big Redwood saws. I'm not sure I could even lift one of those saws. I would never consider using anything over 18", or possibly 20". My trees aren't that big and I'd probably just keep hitting my knees on the bar as it stuck out from my trailer! My trailer is only 30" wide! I'd have to haul it sticking up in the air like a flag, and then it would get caught in low-hanging branches! Ha ha!

 

[homebrewz]

This seems appropriate to add here, so I will.

I was on the phone recently with a friend's brother who works for the Forest Service out in Idaho. I'm not a big guy, and neither is he, but cutting up trees is part of his job. I mentioned to him that I was picking up a new MS 290, and his response was "that's a nice little saw".

That doesn't matter to me.. for me, it seems just right

 

[quads]

I did have a few small problems with it today, the second day of use. No big deal, just minor annoyances, but I'll mention them in case someone else comes across them.

1. One of the two studs that holds the bar to the saw was a little loose. When loosening that bar nut, the stud would turn slightly before the nut would turn. Then when tightening, the stud would turn a little just before the nut was tight. I assumed that these studs are threaded into the case, so I tightened two nuts together on it, then turned the stud until it was snug. Preliminary results are good; the stud no longer turned when tightening/loosening the nut. I hope it stays that way.

2. It was about 80° today and very humid. I ran the saw, shut it off, then went back later to start it again. The hot saw did not want to stay running. I had to choke/no-choke and play with it for a few minutes to get it to finally straighten out and stay running. I am assuming a vapor-lock due to the heat and humidity. I have had the same problem with my old saws under the same conditions.

3. The on/off/choke lever seemed to take way more effort to move than it needed to. One time I went from full choke to high idle with it and the lever assembly popped right out of it's pivot. I took the air cleaner cover off and discovered that the metal spring clip for the kill switch had went underneath the switch lever instead of on top and popped the assembly out of the pivot. I was able to repeat this malfunction several times. So, I bent the spring clip up, lessening the spring tension and it cured the problem. Also, the switch works much more easily now, which I think is better.

4. It was idling too slowly today and would die sometimes. I just turned the idle speed screw up a little bit. Cured the problem.

 

[thewoodlands]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

 

[smokinj]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

being in the wood like that its a perfect saw. When Cutting down Big Yard Birds can get nuts.

 

[thewoodlands]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

being in the wood like that its a perfect saw. When Cutting down Big Yard Birds can get nuts.

Smokin last night I had some sparks when I was cutting in to the beech is that normal.

zap

 

[quads]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

being in the wood like that its a perfect saw. When Cutting down Big Yard Birds can get nuts.

Smokin last night I had some sparks when I was cutting in to the beech is that normal.

zap

I get sparks sometimes from the old dead oaks.

 

[quads]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

being in the wood like that its a perfect saw. When Cutting down Big Yard Birds can get nuts.

You're right Jay, perfect saw for me. Not too many big trees around here. The biggest tree I ever cut in my life was just under 3 feet diameter (and I did that with one of the 026's no problems).

 

[smokinj]

Quads I had a similar problem with the lever assembly, I took it back and they adjusted the tension no problems since.

Quads I have the 310 stihl and thats plenty of saw for what I do so would the 290, just keep cutting plus load that wagon to the top. Some trees like the big old hard maple I wish I had more but I did it with the 310 just more work.

zap

being in the wood like that its a perfect saw. When Cutting down Big Yard Birds can get nuts.

You're right Jay, perfect saw for me. Not too many big trees around here. The biggest tree I ever cut in my life was just under 3 feet diameter (and I did that with one of the 026's no problems).

I wish I had a woods like that, and we did growing up(Parents place). My first saw was an 029 (my money) that was used and not in very good shape. You had to warm the saw up with the truck heater in the winter time just to start it. That saw was light years ahead of my dad lombard and you would have thought I won the lottery