MS-250: Supporting Stihl's Bulletproof Reputation

[thinkxingu]

SO,
Took my MS-250 and new full-chisel chains to a friend's house in Vermont today. Dropped 13 trees: 6 oak, 18-22"; 4 birch, 12-24"; and 3 maple, 19-20". Got the bar pinched twice (I know, I suck) but the saw wouldn't quit. This thing fires up each and every time, is super light and nimble, and, with the full-chisel chain, cut all these up like butter. I'm impressed each time I take it out, and now I've got next year's wood!

Interesting question: I have the 16" bar, which some people said would be hard to cut bigger trees with, but since the front cut is only 1/3 of the way through and the back the same, doesn't that mean that the diameter of the tree is not actually the length being cut? Specifically, a 24 inch tree 1/3 of the way in would not be 24" (I can't figure the math now), right?

S

 

[fossil]

Right. When felling, you're not normally cutting all the way through the trunk on any single pass, except maybe in the case of relatively small leaners. Limbing's typically no problem, either. But then comes bucking. That's when you might find a longer bar is useful, depending (of course) on the diameter of the logs you're working with. Rick

 

['bert]

I am with you on the MS250 I find that I grab that saw more often then I thought I would. I don't think I would go any bigger on the bar though. I think a 16 micro is about all that saw can pull. If you went any bigger I think the performance would drop substantially.

Instead I would look for a larger used saw to complement your arsenal

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I do all my cutting with a 16" bar and have no problems. I could run a longer bar but then performance suffers. With a smaller saw, definitely nothing longer than 16".

As to the bucking or limbing being easier with a longer bar, not much. I've used bars up to 36" and all in between; I'll still stick to my 16" bar.

 

[Wildman_fab]

I run 20 in bars on my Shindiawa 757's I find that its a nice compromise in weight and speed of cut. I could run a MUCH larger bar with a 75CC saw. For bucking up the large (24in+) wood I usualy cut partly the way through then roll the log and finish the cuts.

 

[KeepItNatural]

I use a fairly small 36cc craftsman with a 16" bar. It's my father's and the one I have. The chain ABSOLUTELY needs to be sharpened, but that being said, it got the job done. Come to think, I'm going to need to post some pictures of what I cut, how much wood I got on a free scrounge score, and the car & truck I used to transport it hope.
You guys are going to think I'm nuts. (I'm on the right forum)

 

[Skier76]

Nice report on the MS250. That's on my shortlist regarding what saw to get. Good to know that it's reliable and can hold it's own.

 

[mike1234]

I have a neighbor who called me to help them get theirs started, said they had been at it for an hour and could not get it to start. I picked it up, turned it over, dumped the extra gas out of the muffler (can you say flooded?), kept shaking it and pointing it blade down to get the extra gas out, took about 10 minutes, pulled twice, and it was off and running. I have never used a 250 before, and they have safety chain on it, but it ran well and cut up the branches they were wanting cut. It's also really light, seems like you could cut with it all day.

 

[mskif]

I bought a new MS 250 with a 16" couple weeks ago and was able to put to good use yesterday. I didn't really look at other brands since there is Stihl dealer a couple miles from my house and they repair all my other power equipment. At first I had buyers remorse and thought I should have went for the 270 but I cut about a cord and a half of walnut, maple and birch and was very impressed. This seems to be the perfect saw for me... it's light, starts easily and is powerful enough for what I need to do. I just need to cut about 4 cords a year, and yard cleanup. With my usage and good maintenance this saw will hopefully last a long time.

 

[Wacky1]

Love my 029. Very reliable. And it has cut ALOT!! Would buy another Stihl

 

[btuser]

I've got a ms250 with 16" bar, bought 2 years ago and has about 8 cords through it as of yet. It was definately an ecomomic choice. I like pro equipment, but the ms260 was just too much $$$, and I'm trying to burn wood not money. The big choice was between the MS290 and the MS250. At the time there was about an $80 difference. The MS250 felt like the right choice and I think it was. Light, just enough power for me, and with a full-chisel chain (found this out later) it can do the job. This is my first "real" chainsaw (I'm sure the pros are chuckling at that) before which I had hand-me-downs and $20 yardsale specials. I picked Stihl because they were the closest dealer, and I've never seen a knock-off Stihl in a big-box store which counted for something. It would be really nice to have a larger saw with a 20" bar for bucking large hardwood. Other than that, its got a pretty good sweet spot between weight and power. The MS290 is 30% heavier with an 18" bar, not that much of an upgrade in power for the weight.

I was thinking I might trade up to a larger saw untill I bought a full chisel chain. Big difference. The saw might jump around a little more but I'm spending a lot less time bending over in uncomfortable conditions and the smaller saw is not a monster. It doesn't wear me out. Its enough power with the new chain for casual firewood (2 cords / year). If I was doing double the wood I'd have more that just a bigger saw to think about. Excactly how much safer is a safety chain extends the time of your cuts?

I'm still looking for that ms260pro but with this little saw I can still cut it faster than I can burn it.

 

[smokinj]

I've got a ms250 with 16" bar, bought 2 years ago and has about 8 cords through it as of yet. It was definately an ecomomic choice. I like pro equipment, but the ms260 was just too much $$$, and I'm trying to burn wood not money. The big choice was between the MS290 and the MS250. At the time there was about an $80 difference. The MS250 felt like the right choice and I think it was. Light, just enough power for me, and with a full-chisel chain (found this out later) it can do the job. This is my first "real" chainsaw (I'm sure the pros are chuckling at that) before which I had hand-me-downs and $20 yardsale specials. I picked Stihl because they were the closest dealer, and I've never seen a knock-off Stihl in a big-box store which counted for something. It would be really nice to have a larger saw with a 20" bar for bucking large hardwood. Other than that, its got a pretty good sweet spot between weight and power. The MS290 is 30% heavier with an 18" bar, not that much of an upgrade in power for the weight.

I was thinking I might trade up to a larger saw untill I bought a full chisel chain. Big difference. The saw might jump around a little more but I'm spending a lot less time bending over in uncomfortable conditions and the smaller saw is not a monster. It doesn't wear me out. Its enough power with the new chain for casual firewood (2 cords / year). If I was doing double the wood I'd have more that just a bigger saw to think about. Excactly how much safer is a safety chain extends the time of your cuts?

I'm still looking for that ms260pro but with this little saw I can still cut it faster than I can burn it.

290 will cut as good as the 260 if your not cutting more the 10-15 cords a year you will be fine. heck I ran a 180 nice little saw as well just didnt think it would hold up the my so-in-law works hes a big bull

 

[Beowulf]

In the "for what it is worth" category, I have an MS250C and absolutely hate it. It was given to me as a gift by a very well meaning relative, purchased new at an out of state dealer. I have no Stihl dealers within about 1 1/2 hours of me, so that is part of the problem.

Received the saw new in 2003. Ran about 3 tanks of pre-mix through it just fine and loved it. I cut through a rotten log and blew a bunch of rotten sawdust into the air. The saw appeared to suck it in and died.

Cleaned the saw up, cleaned the air filter, removed the CHINESE carb and cleaned all jets and passages with spray carb cleaner. Found a piece of debris under the diaphram that appeared to get in behind the diaphram through a vent hole in the cover plate. Put every thing back together and the saw ran great. For about 1/3 tank of gas. Then it started bogging down until it would only run at an idle. Ran fine at idle, would rev up, but then acted like it was starved for fuel. Re cleaned carb, reassembled, ran fine, for about 1/3 of a tank.

Have a couple of husky saws that always work, so have not invested the brain power into really figuring this one out, yet. Mad as hell, though, that this fine "German" saw comes with a POS Chinese carb. Also can't believe that you can kill one of these things by getting it dirty. I have been running and maintaining saws since about 1970, and never had one die from sucking up a little saw dust. (no, the fuel tank vent is not plugged, checked it at least.)

<end rant mode>

If anyone has any ideas on what the next diagnostic step is, I would love to hear them. This thing probably has less than 3 hours of run-time on it and has really soured me on Stihl. Kept inside, so no weather exposure problems. The same pre-mix is happily running in two other saws, so I don't think it is bad gas.

 

[thinkxingu]

I've not heard great things about the C models--perhaps there's a difference in where they are made/parts sourced from?
On a side note, I wanted a bit larger saw but didn't want the 250 going to waste, so I sold it to my friend and bought a 361. Now, I drop the trees, he limbs them and I buck them. These Stihl saws start every single time, if you do it right!

S

 

[Beowulf]

OK Folks, the demon :snake: has been cast out of my relatively new Stihl MS250C, please see post above for rant about it.

A kind soul on the Arboriste forum sent me the shop manual and the illustrated parts list. After studying both, I attacked the wayward saw again. Here's what I found/did:

The rotten log comments above must have been a coincidence. No crud impairing the fuel flow. This was a design deficiency related to the commie Chinese carburetor and someone's misguided cost reduction program at Stihl.

As I mentioned above, the saw would idle fine, but when revved up to make a cut, would act like it was starving for fuel. Well, it was, but the normal nonsense of crud in the gas, crud in the carb, plugged tank vent, plugged screen in carb, etc. were not factors. This carb has a vacuum diaphragm that when engine vacuum is applied, it actuates and opens a fuel valve that looks a lot like a float valve in an old automobile carb. However, on this carb. (C1Q-S77), the cover plate for the vacuum diaphragm has four corner areas (one rounded) but only two diagonally opposed screws installed. Evidently this was a brilliant cost reduction idea to make the carb cheaper to assemble.

Unfortunately, where the plate holds the diaphragm to the carb body, (mating surface) there is a cutout in the body for the fuel valve that makes the mating surface with the diaphragm cover about .020" wide at this point. That might have worked out ok, but it is at one of the corners where there is no screw in the crummy stamped cover plate.

It appears that when the saw warmed up, the plate warped just enough to allow the diaphragm to leak air at this point. It would then shut off the gas when the saw was revved up and the vacuum dropped under WOT conditions.

The fix: well, probably swapping a new carb in would be the normal solution, and hoping the tolerances worked better on the next one. However, cheapskate that I am, I took a Q-tip and slopped a little gasket sealer on the narrow bit of the mating surface, under the diaphragm (vacuum side.) Worked fine, I can now run WOT with no problems!

After this experience, I am definitely not a Stihl fan. Maybe their PRO series are better, but this saw came from a small Stihl dealer in the mid-west, not some big box store. I think they are riding their name into the ground to make an extra buck or two per saw.

 

[Rich M]

I've cut over 40 pulp cord with my MS250C and its never given me any trouble, starts and runs reliably every time. The 250 is economical up front and in the long run as replacement chains and bars are cheaper than a larger saw and it also uses less oil and fuel. Being lighter is less fatiguing which has many advantages. For the large trunks I occasionally come across it handles those too, slower sure but it gets the job done as long as the chain is kept sharp.

I sold my back up saw years ago.