Stihl 461

[spudulike]

Have to love customers like that. Fortunately I was pretty lucky and had very few like this👍

[markieg31]

Thanks for the replies. 

I have had the saw since 2017, maybe even before then, it was newly purchased. 

 

I had a 441. Went to replace it and a 461 was not much more so went with that. 

 

I have put some hours on it out felling and ringing up timber over the years. 

 

The saw to me doesn't strike me as low on compression but has always taken a decent number of pulls before it would fire. 

 

One thing that knarks me off is that this saw picks up sawdust around the air filter like crazy, compared to my 550xp where I hardly ever need to.clean the air filter out. 

 

I do.notice that fine dust can get past the air filter where the filter mates against the case, always thought it should have a better seal. 

 

I doubt I have ever been at the carb adjustment screws so maybe it does need some adjustment. 

 

As for fuel left in it. It was a saw that used to go out fairly frequently but certainly the last year it has had some periods of rest. So that certainly could be an issue.

My 066 is in a similar boat with even longer periods, that takes a number of pulls to get going but chugs through the lumber at a sedate pace, two saws that are not setting the world ablaze.  

 

 

 

 

[Muddy42]

12 hours ago, markieg31 said:

Thanks for the replies. 

I have had the saw since 2017, maybe even before then, it was newly purchased. 

 

I had a 441. Went to replace it and a 461 was not much more so went with that. 

 

I have put some hours on it out felling and ringing up timber over the years. 

 

The saw to me doesn't strike me as low on compression but has always taken a decent number of pulls before it would fire. 

 

One thing that knarks me off is that this saw picks up sawdust around the air filter like crazy, compared to my 550xp where I hardly ever need to.clean the air filter out. 

 

I do.notice that fine dust can get past the air filter where the filter mates against the case, always thought it should have a better seal. 

 

I doubt I have ever been at the carb adjustment screws so maybe it does need some adjustment. 

 

As for fuel left in it. It was a saw that used to go out fairly frequently but certainly the last year it has had some periods of rest. So that certainly could be an issue.

My 066 is in a similar boat with even longer periods, that takes a number of pulls to get going but chugs through the lumber at a sedate pace, two saws that are not setting the world ablaze.  

 

I have a 460 that let in fine sawdust aswell even with the foam insert.  I keep meaning to try and punch out a gasket with an old air filter. Let me know if you find a solution.  Otherwise its an awesome size of saw that I find useful for felling and larger diameter wood. I found the bar oiling very stingy so I upgraded it to high output oiler.  I got the saw wreaked so installed a meteor piston and cylinder.  It also had the carb symptoms you describe - fixed with a carb kit.  Honestly the time and money I have spent on this saw is extreme!

[Pete Mctree]

The older stihl air filters were poor. I replaced mine with aftermarket max flow set ups. Really expensive now, but they are a good investment, especially for high use saws

[markieg31]

On 14/02/2026 at 10:41, AHPP said:

Farmer’s saw doesn’t run well. I’ll have to pick myself up off the floor before I can offer any advice. 

Fyi I have been in the trees many years before I came to the farm, collage then prominent company before setting up my own show. 

 

[AHPP]

Yeah. Sorry. I was being pointlessly snide.