I'm thinking Stihl chainsaws are nothing but hype!

[Randallrayusa]

I purchased a Stihl farm boss from ace hardware. I used it for about 5 hours.
Tried to use it again this year and it stalled at high rpm. I brought it to ace for repair and the mechanic says it needs a new carburator for $130.
Should have just bought a poulan for use them throw it away or rent a chainsaw. I'm not sure what I'm dealing with. Junk product or disreputable mechanic. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Newbie78]

Saw "mechanics" like to replace parts. And with labour costs, that might even be cheaper for you than them rebuilding the carb. That is likely a walbro carb and probably is gunked up due to stale ethanol fuel. A carb kit will be available from many sources. Genuine walbro kit is probably 20-30 bucks. I don't know, it's been about 7 or 8 years since I bought a kit for probably less than 20 bucks cad.

the saw is not junk. You probably didn't store it properly. Modern fuel is junk. You have to account for that with proper precautions in long term storage.

 

[Randallrayusa]

You mean like drain the fuel run the gas out of the saw before storing.
Of course never use ethanol.
Been there done that!
What did I miss. Are they that fragile? Everything else I use that seems to work for. I suppose the non industrial farm boss is the exception lol

 

[PaulOinMA]

What he said. My little Stihl sees typical light duty homeowner use, as does my Stihl blower/vacuum. Bought it from a place that deals with professionals. They said to use TruFuel or equivalent due to my occasional use. Starts every time. Chainsaw bought in 2009 I think. Blower older.

 

[Randallrayusa]

That's exactly what is says on the can I use to fill all of my 2 stroke engines.
Thanks though.

 

[begreen]

Hope it turns out to be something simple. Check the exhaust screen to make sure it is not getting plugged. I had a Farm Boss for years and never babied it. I still have a Still weedeater that simply keeps on chugging. That said, the easiest starting 2-stroke equipment I have owned were Echo products.

 

[Randallrayusa]

Thanks.
I my be getting lied to by the mechanic. I will try a different one.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have an older MS290 Farm Boss. I've never had an issue with it.

Try letting the carb soak with seafoam in it overnight. It'll help dissolve any varnish in it. Its saved me a few carbs over the years.

My easiest to start Stihls have to be my 3 SR200 foggers. They get used, abused, and the same the next day/year, etc. I have 1 that's been beat on for 5 years now in commercial use. Its not pretty and has a shoulder strap held on with a heavy zip tie, but it keeps running!

 

[highanddryinco]

I have an older MS290 Farm Boss. I've never had an issue with it.

Same here. Hope the OP gets it resolved easily and inexpensively. Oops, my bad. Mine's an 029.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

That's why it pays to know how to work on your own stuff. I don't run my carbs dry on 2 strokes. It lets the diaphragm get hard. I start them every couple of months when not in use to run fresh fuel through the carb. Premium no ethanol gas, and stabilizer.

 

[weee123]

Pop off the carb and check the diaphragm to make sure it’s not hard. If it is, soak it in wd40. That should soften it up enough to be able to start pumping fuel again. While you’re in there clean it out as well. It’s simple to do and you can find many videos on youtube on how to do so.

 

[Randallrayusa]

Thank You!

 

[Mreif]

Hope it turns out to be something simple. Check the exhaust screen to make sure it is not getting plugged. I had a Farm Boss for years and never babied it. I still have a Still weedeater that simply keeps on chugging. That said, the easiest starting 2-stroke equipment I have owned were Echo products.

I second echo, I have many echo machines for years never give me problems

 

[duramaxman05]

My dad has an 029super for over 20 years. Older saws withstand the crappy newer gas better for some reason. If you are using synthetic oil, most of them are a stabilizer in the to make gas last years. However, it doesn't help with the ethanol. Try to get non ethanol gas. I put starttron in all my gas and it seems to help with that issue. I also run nonethanol gas too. Keep in mind if you go to the station to get gas, pump a couple gallon into your vehicle before filling your jug. It will clean out the gas in the hose.

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

Run some seafoam in the fuel line when you get it running again.

 

[Ashful]

1. There's a reason many pro's prefer Stihl over other brands. Won't go into it, not worth arguing, the Farmboss isn't a pro saw.

2. Echo is a great brand for all around reliability. Many landscapers around here favor Echo for this reason. But they'll never win on performance, weight, etc. In addition to fleet management incentives (which often sways brand choice), this is why you'll see many landscaper trucks filled with Echo equipment, but most tree pro's carrying Husqvarna or Stihl.

3. Any saw can get gummed up if you leave old fuel sit in it, that's not a problem unique to Stihl, or any other brand. If you're going to do that, then yes, you'd be better off buying single-use Poulans. Just buy a new saw each year.

My oldest Stihl is an 85cc model 064 AV, still running perfectly fine on its original carburetor, after many hundreds (thousands?) of tanks of fuel through the last ~40 years. It still has a better power to weight ratio than anything ever made by Echo, then or today. I also owned an Echo 510EVL for more than 20 years, and it was a very reliable saw, but didn't have enough power to swing more than a 20" bar and it weighed as much as a sack of bricks!

 

[salecker]

I add Seafoam to my mix gas (32:1)
I have every make of saw that i use before i sell them.
I don't have carburetor issues,even if they sit for 6 years.
Personal saws that i am keeping to use are only Stihl,but i collect all makes.Mainly large cc saws,rare saws or old saws.
The all get the same mix and seems to be fine in even the 60 year + old ones

 

[duramaxman05]

1. There's a reason many pro's prefer Stihl over other brands. Won't go into it, not worth arguing, the Farmboss isn't a pro saw.

2. Echo is a great brand for all around reliability. Many landscapers around here favor Echo for this reason. But they'll never win on performance, weight, etc. In addition to fleet management incentives (which often sways brand choice), this is why you'll see many landscaper trucks filled with Echo equipment, but most tree pro's carrying Husqvarna or Stihl.

3. Any saw can get gummed up if you leave old fuel sit in it, that's not a problem unique to Stihl, or any other brand. If you're going to do that, then yes, you'd be better off buying single-use Poulans. Just buy a new saw each year.

My oldest Stihl is an 85cc model 064 AV, still running perfectly fine on its original carburetor, after many hundreds (thousands?) of tanks of fuel through the last ~40 years. It still has a better power to weight ratio than anything ever made by Echo, then or today. I also owned an Echo 510EVL for more than 20 years, and it was a very reliable saw, but didn't have enough power to swing more than a 20" bar and it weighed as much as a sack of bricks!

We have a stihl 041av that's the same way. Still all original and runs and cuts great.

 

[ericm979]

Stalled at high rpm? Like stopped running stalled? Or just misfiring stalled?

If its the latter then MAYBE the carb is at fault if it's not flowing enough fuel. I'd replace the fuel filter (under $10) first. But they usually do not clog after 5 hours use. Most carb problems show at low engine speed though.

If it stopped running then I'd remove the muffler and inspect the exhaust side of the piston to check if it seized. Lots of things can cause that, and it could still turn and even run afterwards but it would run poorly.

The tree services here pretty much all use Stihls. A few use Husqvarnas. I like my one Echo saw but the rest of my saws are Stihls. They work ok for me.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

"stalled out at high rpm" sounds like it was straight gassed or something besides a carb.

 

[bigealta]

I love my 25-30 year old stihl 029 super. I did have to clean the carb this year, 1st time i've cleaned it in 20 years. But if you are cheap and non mechanical you can just get a replacement carb Non oem carb for like 10 or 12 bucks on ebay. Just put in a new one and keep the original and find someone to clean it. It's not hard and tons of carb cleaning youtubes. I have a poulan smalll saw and hate it. It's a carpal tunnel destroying piece of junk. I just got a stihl ms 250 to replace that one. It's a dream compared to the cheap poulan.

 

[Ashful]

There is a type of saw made just for people like the OP. They run on electrons, rather than liquid fuel. They used to be practical only within 50 feet of a wall outlet, but thanks to Lithium Ion tech, now you can take them into the woods.

 

[Eman85]

Must be all hype that got most of the tree services and loggers buying them and using them for decades now. Those guys will fall for any gimmick.

 

[Doublebogey]

I am primarily a Husky guy when it comes to chainsaws, but we use Stihl cut off saws for our masonry business and they are the real deal. We have between 10 and 20 of them running hard in the field at any given time. Anyone who operates a cutoff saw on a regular basis probably understands that they are truly the most brutal punishment for any 2cycle equipment. In years past I have tried Partner saws and since then Husqvarna cut off saws (which are basically rebranded partners) and I have even tried Mikita/Dolmars. None of them come close to what a Stihl cut off saw is. Not even remotely.

I LOVE my Husky chainsaws but I have nothing but respect for Stihl 2cycle power equipment. I have run plenty of it for all types of applications and I see no evidence that they are doing anything other than doing it right.

 

[ericm979]

It's too bad the OP chose to jump to conclusions (see thread title) rather than ask for help figuring out the problem.

Also while I like my local Ace hardware store, I'd take a saw to an outdoor power equipment store that has real mechanics.