when did stihl change to flip open caps

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firemn260

New Member
Sep 20, 2014
23
maryland
[Hearth.com] when did stihl change to flip open caps
I picked up this ms 660 and it has screw caps. I though when stihl changed to the ms models is when they went with the flip cap instead of screw caps.

I'm just curious if some models changed style and some didn't or if my ms is a bit older than I thought. Thanks

I paid 500 for it but other than being dirty it's in real good shape with good compression
 
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The 660 & 880 have screw caps.
 
I don't believe the 660 got the flip caps until they changed it to a 661.
 
Oh ok. The guy I bought the saw from said it was only 3 or 4 years old so it threw me off. I like the screw caps better anyway. I'm betting any serious logger or tree pro would tend to agree.
 
yup, 660 and 880 were last to have the screw caps from what I've seen. Seems all the pro saws had them up until just a few years ago.
 
I had a older 020T that I had rebuilt and sold (regret that every day). I had a guy come and look at it and was very interested until he realized it had screw caps. He said I don't want to go looking for a tool every time I want to fill my saw. It was a deal breaker for him.

Just goes to show you the mindset of a homeowner that fills his saw up maybe 5 times a year as apposed to a pro who might fill fill his saw 5 times or more a day and wants nothing to do with the flippy caps.
I'm guessing stihl wants to cater to guys like that but it causes guys in the tree business to hang on to there saws s bit longer just because of a gas cap. I see both sides of that coin.
 
I dont like them either. My 441 and 261 both have the darn flippys. I break about 2 per year..luckily they are about $4 each so I always keep few spare on hand. And...the gas and oil caps are different #s fyi..

Its funny how my little 180 has the better screw on caps...what the heck !
 
I had one of the first MS250 with flippy caps, hated them. Had to be just perfect to get them to close correctly. Then there was the matter of dust particles getting down in around the caps. Got in an argument with someone over on the big "not to be named" chainsaw forum, he said it wasn't possible to get dust down in there until I showed them a bunch of photos with the oil cap removed and there were lots crap down in there. Then he said my chain was dull and throwing too much dust instead of chips, geez. I'll take regular old screw on caps any day.

I agree the MS180 has great screw on caps. I find the Echo CS590 caps have a bit of a weak screwdriver slot, it flexes with nearly any torque at all.

[Hearth.com] when did stihl change to flip open caps
 
^^^ this. This is why I like it over here, not as much attitude and tendency to insult. Well, maybe insult isn't the best choice of words but you know what I mean
 
The argument was pretty much one sided on his side, I'm not going argue with people on forums, not often anyway. I just showed the proof with photos.

Yea I like it much better here. If you buy a homeowner, farm or ranch saw you don't ridiculed up one side and down the other here like over there. They're more interested cutting cookies, thin slices of wood, to see how many milli-seconds they can take off their cut times, worrying about a few ounces of powerhead weight and power to weight ratios. Don't get me wrong there's some great guys over there but also too many trolls. :)
 
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Maybe if enough people wrote or emailed Stihl about the caps, they'd fire the guy that designed them & go back to the old style?
 
My ms170 has screw caps and my ms360 has the flip caps. I much prefer the screw caps.
 
I have a 026 with screw caps and a ms460 with flippy caps and have no preference both work equally well. My 460 was one of the first ones right after they changed from the 046, I never have had to replace a cap and only spilled oil on myself once my falt I didn't have it in right.
 
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