NFG

Hi Jon, 461 is a great saw, even tho it has flippy caps! N

Hi, Welcome, my 70cc 365 runs a 20" bar fine with relatively low vibes. It may be a little heavy if you intend to use it a lot. Cant comment on 372 or 576 as I have not used them, but other than that MS460 & later 461 will pull 20" easily if you want Stihl. N

Merci beaucoup! N

Bravo Angleterre! Excellent match but score should have been 28-16 though? La France contre Ecosse se soir! N

Hi all, Costs down & quality up? On the one hand you have BTs arrogance who recently declared it was not financially viable to increase broadband speed to one of 38 so called 'tech cities' along with the fact that BT increases as a monopoly & has two recent large investments to fund? All pigs well fed & ready for take off... N

Hi So thats why the Russians prevailed on the eastern front? Made me smile anyway. N

hi Spud, Excellent hypothesis & one I often use myself, no need to make things complicated if they already work. N

Hi, there were some issues with the clutch bearing a while ago, clearly those with first hand experience of problems are much more likely to post. Unfortunately, almost anything new seems to have a few wrinkles to be ironed out. In one discussion a while ago, it was suggested to grease the clutch bearing periodically & consider replacing on an annual basis if used extensively as its only about 3 quid from L&S Engineers. N

Hi WYK, Many thanks for this, I read that post a while ago & was trying to remember which one it was, deffo worth a look at Just got a try & locate one tho! Thanks again N

Agreed, but your 60cc saw is probably faster than an 880 with a 20" bar Had to limb up with the 365 as I broke 250 fuel cap yesterday, good work out though! Always puts a smile on my face when cutting . N

Hi & welcome Your 181 has served you well, So a 251 will cut a bit faster but its still only 45cc & runs well on a 14 & can run up to an 18, I refer to my 250 as the 'little saw' - its good for what it does but runs out after about 10 inch or so. At 50cc you have 550xp or MS261 or Echo 550 - (55cc not used one tho) If you have larger wood as stated, Id be considering 60cc or 70cc saws with 18/20" bars to make a noticeable improvement. My 365 really cuts well in bigger wood & is a joy to use, my choice of Stihl would be an MS461 on a 20" Sugihara this may seem like overkill but it is a great saw, although the 365 is a bargain, Im sure a few more will post thoughts soon. N

Hi Ukulian & TGB Ukulian - That Echo looks really good & very well priced, I think that may be just the ticket. Some nice carvings on your site BTW. TGB - Yes, Im a bit of a tried & tested type, Ive considered the 241 in the past & wish Id had gone for that over the 250 TBH, I looked at a 543 (43cc) which is Huskys smallest pro saw & non autotune but a bit pricey here! Maybe if those clowns in Brussels print more money the exchange rate will go a bit more in my favour! Anyway, thanks for replies appreciate your postings & good to have some alternatives N

Hi, Thanks for your opinion, appreciated I can understand the inbuilt difficulty with this, if only they'd stuck to making toys! Incidentally, I had a look on the Husqvarna version of the 'flippy cap' today & I must say, the design & functionality of them is vastly superior to those on the Stihl. N

OK noted & thanks I think a 543 maybe an option if its not daft price, 43cc similar power to 250, mag alloy case & looks like no flip cap. Perhaps should wait & consider the 550 an option as it seems popular with must have Robd bar or Jon wont speak to me! N

Hi I understand your frustration though, Thanks very much I appreciate your thoughts, have a virtual glass of Pineau from my barrel! (last but one post P3) Ive never used a screwdriver to loosen a screw thread type bung, I line the threads carefully & torque sufficiently to seal, you get a feel for how tight these things should go & I dare say they are half the price to replace as a flip cap should one fail. N

Hi OK point noted, this was the fuel cap, it leaked like a sieve. I try my very best to align these things correctly but they constantly require removing & re-fit despite having permanent marker alignment marks. The breaking of it could have been because it was quite cold today but fairly poor IMO, it just snapped with the minimal torque needed to turn it prior to flipping. But according to some posters, with their ever sensitive 'problem divining rods' it is of course entirely my fault! Anyway, looking at a non flippy husky tomorrow N

Hi, Agreed, why re-invent the wheel? I guess it makes Stihl more unique than other brands. Its a pity they dont at least have an option to use either, it would be simple to add as all that needs to be done is provide a threaded insert that will take a bung, whist the flippy cap brigade could screw in the adaptor to take the cap. N

All, What Husqvarna would you reccomend to replace a 45cc MS250? I also have a 365 which does an excellent job. All I need is a fairly small saw for limbing with no daft gimicks, perhaps not 550 or 560 as they are too dependant on 'expensive when it goes wrong' technology for my liking & a daft price here. Thinking a 135 would probably do as its 40cc (199 euros here ) or a 50cc 545 if its worth the extra. thanks in advance N

Thank you for the explanation, I think I will have to agree to disagree with the lovers of this device, its a dismal failure for me - Im certainly surprised that an O ring should fail after 3 years moderate use, thankfully in the past engineering environment, they survived a lot longer despite being in very harsh conditions. However, I did spend the entire afternoon flippy cap free with my 365, both quicker & easier to fill. N

I have experienced none of the problems you list. - Then you are fortunate, Here is a barrel which containes 28 litres of our Pineau - thats a mixture of Eau de vie at 60% diluted with unfermented grape juice to around 20 percent proof. Despite the barrel being very old, it is fairly watertight loosing less Pineau in half a century than I have fuel & oil in three years of flippy caps. It too is sealed with a bung, stopper, plug call it what you like, I dont mind, however the bung works & that is whats important. N

To all those who consider this an 'improvement': 1. They don't work, they never seem to align correctly so look like they are in when they are not, to date 1 tank of oil & 1 tank of fuel all down my chaps, even making alignment marks they still create a fiddle. Now its broke, even my O/H laughed a 'how on earth did that happen?' when I told her the fuel cap had actually broken. 2. They introduce dirt into the fuel & oil tanks as these wretched things have lots of crevices which trap dirt. Despite cleaning with a soft brush each time prior to filling dirt still finds its way in - that alone is reason to be rid of them. 3. I discovered in another forum the rubber used for the O seal was not of the correct material for fuel, how can this be? As an engineer of some years I am seldom challenged, but of course this must be the users fault (?) My money is on malevolence, no doubt some school leaver been given a project to fix a problem that did not exist, as badly as possible, as everything that can break must, such nastiness makes it a 'revenue stream'. if this is an improvement, then the human race is surely doomed. So now I will finish my rantings with dignity because if I had the money would drive my friends caterpillar digger over the saw posting the resulting video on YouTube for all to view my eternal dislike for this evil spawn of Satan. Where after I would enter my local dealer & say in my best French "I would like a nice Husqvarna saw with screw in bungs that work, like on my 365 - please ". N

Hi Jon, Probably but what is wrong with screw in bung? never had one of them gone wrong. I wish I could meet the designer so I could give them a well aimed kick in the fork hopefully preventing any future reproduction as that sort of design nonsense needs eliminating by every possible means. Theres a Husky 135 going for 199 euros in our local dealer & Im very tempted as I could get decent money on Leboncoin Site de petites annonces gratuites d'occasion - leboncoin.fr or in Arbtrader as its been well cared for & I have both 14 & 18" b&c as well. N

Hi NLJ Got one on the way from L&S Engineers, postage not too bad We dont have many Stihl dealers around here, but Im going to change it anyway before something else breaks. N

All, Today I filled my MS250 before work, shortly afterwards I noticed fuel leaking from nasty horrible flippy filler cap. Checked the seal was clean, re-seated it carefully, still leaked repeat above & the wretched thing snapped off despite not applying much force. My saw is now useless until I obtain a new one & Im far from happy with this appalling crappy design. Going to get rid of saw & replace with one that has screw in bungs in the not too distant future. Anyone from Stihl reading this, I hate this type of useless 'innovation' that overcomes problems that dont exist, how is it you have the gall to manufacture something so poor? N

Hi NLJ, Looks like a smart Landy - we have a 300 TDi Disco but a bit ancient. Bought an ex police Sierra once that went like a rocket, but none other than that, just got to give it a good check over for signs of abuse & check service history & see what it drives like if possible. I suspect the newer ones dont have half the faults older ones do. Theres plenty of places doing spares on line when you need something. N