“New” 261C, chain question

[burnt03]

Gave up on fixing the 028 for now and the Jons630 was a bit heavy on the last load so took the opportunity to treat myself to something “new”. Found a local 261 on FB marketplace, picked it up earlier today.

Came with
Came with a 20” .325 sprocket and bar but the guy had a 3/8 chain in it (at least I think so, wasn’t sitting tight on the nose… see pic). Changed it out with an 18” rollomatic bar and chain that I had on the 028 (3003 008 6617) and seems smooth now.

Question is - looking at a new chain for the bar on Baileys and it’s got a couple different semi chisel Woodland Pros: the 23SC74 and the 20SC74. Main diff in the specs is what chain it replaces…. But I have no idea what chain is on there now (it’s marked Stihl but can’t really see anything else).

Anyone know the difference?

EDIT: just realized this was my 261st post… weird!

 

[ABMax24]

The 20 vs 23 refers to the chain gauge. 20 is .050", 23 is .063".

The gauge of the bar should be stamped on it.

 

[burnt03]

Great, thanks ABMax24!

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

Make sure you get a 2in1 sharper for that chain ..

 

[ericm979]

I use a lot of Bailey chain. Supposedly it's made for them by Archer. It does not stay sharp quite as long as Stihl chain but its close, easy to sharpen and costs a lot less.

 

[CincyBurner]

Stihl MS 260 and MS 261 are great 50 cc saws with the 261 having more power and more responsive throttle.
My MS 260 runs OK with 18" bar, and would probably bog down occasionally with 20", but with 16" runs great !
These are transition saws great for all-round use (trim, storm cleanup, and firewood). They typically come equipped .325" pitch with .063 gauge chain; however, you can switch to 3/8" pitch chain to maintain consistency with other 3/8" pitch saws (but would need to switch to 3/8" rim sprocket) , but with sacrifice to performance.

Stihl now offers a narrow kerf (NK) .325", .050 gauge chain (e.g., Stihl 16" Full Chisel Chain .325" .050" 67 DL 23RS-67 3690-000-0067) that pairs well with its Light 04 bar for .050 gauge chain. It is full chisel. It's popular in Europe and Canada. Stihl NK chain is very difficult to purchase at Stihl USA dealerships, but can be purchased on eBay for comparable cost as other Stihl chain.
I noticed a marked performance improvement over the RS .063 gauge chain - faster, smoother cutting, and less 'grabby' compared to other RS Stihl chain.

 

[burnt03]

Used it for the first time today, what a treat compared to my old 028 and Jons630… was never able to get those tuned in just right and always found myself screwing around with the idle once I got up into the mountains and constantly restarting. MTronic was nice, one pull start and easy idle. Felt lighter than both the old saws too.

One quick question though… after first refuel it started after one pull. After second refuel had to pull a few times and even use the cold start to get it to fire. Normal?

 

[ericm979]

My Mtronic saws take a few pulls to start just like my regular carb saws. Mtronic is just a carburetor with computer controlled jetting. Except for the tuning always being right they work like normal saws. Stihls without fuel bulbs usually need a few pulls to get fuel into the carb.

 

[burnt03]

Great, thanks. Thought it was weird how it fired on first pull after it ran out of fuel the first time but was “normal” the second time. Just trying to get used to it, but diff than my old ones.

 

[marty319]

My Mtronic 261 is about 7 pulls to get it going when it's cold,after that 1 pull all day.