Still ms 251 cbe?

[Haironyourchest]

The 180 is very much part of their "homeowner" series, and a different animal from the professional linup, just the same with husqvarna and echo. You will be looking at double the price for the equivalent "pro" modal, i.e, weight and cc. Any two stroke will burn up if its dogged. I would have thought your 180 could well handle that kind of work, provided:

 

Perfectly filed chain all the time

 

Perfectly fresh petrol with the right amount of 2-stroke for your type of cutting I would venture 40:1 (opinions vary, but whatever ratio you use it must be Stihl HP Ultra or similar top-shelf oil)

 

Drive and nose sprocket in good nick.

 

Clean bar at all times, oiler oiling etc.

 

Tuned properly. Maybe tuned a little on the rich side.

 

Clean air filter.

 

No running the saw till its empty - you know when it revs up for a few seconds, indicating the petrol tank empty - big no-no according to most the folks on here. It causes a lean condition, too little fuel and oil, and repeatedly doing this can knacker the engine.

 

And don't overstrain the saw. Let it cut at the speed it want to, no pressure.

 

But then you'd be wanting to do all of those things with a pro saw as well.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Haironyourchest

[Couldyajust]

Wow... Many Thanks for the response so far! I have wondered about the modern features of the cbe..ie easy start, easy chain tension etc! I do see your points regarding these issues.

 

Re my use for a chainsaw, its mainly for logging due to our wood burner. I would say that I will be cutting mainly 8 to 9 inch in particular and that will be mainly sycamore. I have a lot to cut up now that was from cutting back by Western power on my land.

 

The main reason I want to go bigger than what I had before (Stihl 180) is because when the opportunity arises to cut more and for longer, I don't want the same thing happening again where it burnt out. It is no surprise when I look back as I was going for a couple of hours on a tree whose trunk and branches were 12 inches to 9 inches and a lot of them to!

 

I want a saw that can tolerate cutting down a tree and to cut it up as well without the worry of this happening again. In the very near future, I have a large sycamore fairly close to the house that is dying and this year is showing huge fungi growing around the trunk. This will have to come down and require cutting up. If I bought a 180 again or an equivalent, then I will have to either buy another larger chainsaw again or pay for someone to do it for us! I would rather put the money to get the best chainsaw I would require, and get it now.

 

I guess I have been impressed with Stihl due to other garden machinery I have of theirs that has lasted years. On the other hand I feel a little despondent re their chainsaws after the burn out on my 180.

 

Should I consider other makes like has been suggested- Husq, Oregon etc??

 

Thanks again for the replies so far.

 

Regards

 

Arnold9801

 

Firstly I should say your 180 should of been up to the job you were using it for, When you say it has "burnt out" that could mean anything but suggests a component was failing anyway & just happened to go while you were using it. If you still have it then I think it would be worthwhile taking it to a dealer to find out what it would cost to repair it, it may not cost much to fix and even if you buy a new saw it will still have its uses. If the repair required is not cost effective then what most people would do is stick it on ebay described as spares/repairs & it would generate a bit of money to offset against the cost of buying a new one you would be surprised what a faulty saw can sell for particularly if you offer to post it by courier rather than as a collection only item.

 

When it comes to brands then people tend to go with familiar names for example the "Stihl Easy File" filing guide mentioned earlier which is a very good product is actually manufactured by Pferd but people tend to buy the Stihl version because it is a familiar name simply because they haven't heard of the Pferd ChainSharp CS-X the only difference is the colour of the plastic parts & the brand name on it both are identical in performance & made by the same company in this instance but still one sells better than the other.

 

Other brands are always worth considering, Echo & Dolmar saws are definitely worth considering for quality, performance & longevity but for the way you use a saw I would suggest Efco is another brand worth serious consideration. Efco uses more plastic for the casing rather than metal but you would not be as heavy handed with it as many people who use them professionally would so that shouldn't be an issue. All 3 of these brands will be cheaper than the Stihl or Husqvarna equivalents and will perform equally well or better for what you will be using the saw for.

 

When you choose a saw something with an engine around 40cc-50cc should be more than adequate for what you want to use it for. A saw in that range would have more power than you would typically need so wouldn't have to work very hard & would therefore last longer than a less powerful saw would.

The general rule for bar size is 3cc of engine power for each inch of bar at the most so a 42cc saw would happily run a 14" bar all day every day if needed, they can run larger bars but it puts a strain on the engine & they don't perform as well, parts wear out faster etc... causing premature engine failure. Remember you can cut a log from both sides so a 14" bar will have no problem cutting a 28" log or tree trunk, lots of people seem to forget this & buy bigger saws than they really need or put on longer bars than is good for the saw.

 

As the saw will be sitting unused for long periods it may be worth considering the use of Aspen pre-mixed 2-stroke alkylate rather than petrol if you have a supplier near you it is more expensive but it eliminates problems with stale fuel. I don't use it myself but many people do & they seem very happy with it.

[NFG]

Hi

 

A lot of good info in these posts, I agree a 40-50cc saw is probably fine for what you need.

 

The Echo 420 or Dolmar 420 would be my choice as both are very good saws at your price level. Both have a sound reputation for durability & build quality. Thes run 14" or 16" bars well.

 

Its worth noting the bars once fitted are slightly shorter on the 250, I have 14 & 18", the 18" is only just a bit longer than the 16" for the 260 & the 14" bar is more like 13" providing 12" of cut from the spikes - its something to do with the mount - can't recall why but the 210,230 & 250 all take the same style of bar.

 

If you use your saw infrequently then you may like to consider using Aspen or Husky Power2 - both these are premixed fuels so better for your saw & better for you (as already suggested).

 

 

 

N

Edited November 28, 2015 by NFG

[peatff]

How did it "burn out", has it seized or has something actually overheated and melted part of the saw ? A friend of mine has a 181 which has stood some abuse cutting wood like you are describing for a few years now and it's still going well. If I was using a saw for regular property maintenance not just a bit of firewooding I'd go with a farmer or semi pro saw at least and the 420 looks good for that.

[Kornomaniac]

Id vote for a dolmar ps-42c . build very good. Starts very easy. One of the beter saws in its class imo

[tomlt]

I reckon I must have bought one of the first MS251's in the country back at the start of 2012 (took 2 weeks to get it shipped from Germany), it had only just been launched when I took the plunge. In all honesty its been a fine saw, never missed a beat in the 3yrs I've owned it, and it's tackled all manner of jobs. I have no doubt it's not as strong a saw as the MS241/261, but it doesn't seem to have suffered any of the associated bearing problems, despite me giving it some serious grief at times.

 

It's mainly used for logging up for our 2 wood burners, and having also got an MS180, I usually reach for the 251 when tackling most jobs, it's heavier than the 180, but the extra grunt makes up for it. I found mine really opened up after about 6 tanks of fuel through it. I'm running on a 16" and to be honest I wouldn't put anything bigger on it, but it'll happily pull this buried in all but the hardest of woods. I logged up a fallen 30" chestnut for a friend in about 2hrs with only 3 tanks of fuel, I'm always amazed how little fuel it seems to use, but then it is one of the "strato" saws. It's never failed to start, 2-3 pulls even after standing, the only thing I would say is that on cold days it needs 30-60s to warm up otherwise it's a bit "boggy" but once warm it goes well for a 45cc saw.

 

As others have said best to avoid the CBE versions, the quick chain tension is crap, and to be honest with side tensioning it's totally unnecessary. The quick turn caps however are very marmite, I have on several occasions ended up with chain oil dribbling down my trousers

 

Anyways heres some photos of mine on the bench earlier for a quick sharpen before some logging up this afternoon.

[john p]

Ms 241 is a brilliant little saw

[Arnold9801]

Well once again, many Thanks for your responses. I am so gad I have asked this as I am now put off the cbe. Am still pretty content with the 251 but will certainly spend some more time looking at the others you have mentioned.

 

Re my 180..... When I took it to my local garden tool engineer, it was clear there was no compression at all. We had a look and the engine case had ruptured.

 

I was thinking of placing a further article on here to ask if it was more than achievable and economic to get the required parts and repair it? The engineer stated that it would cost more for him to do this for me than to buy a replacement.

 

I will try and attach a picture of the damage. I don't think its the parts that heightens the price to repair, but the time. Whereas for me, it will be in my own time, so your views on this I will probing soon!

 

The fat some of you have outlined this is achievable has give me some inspiration, but on the basis of keeping it as a spare.

 

Thanks again.

 

Arnold9801