Husqy 435 Cutting "on a curve"

[s219]

Oh, yes, most saws have an adjustable oiler. But the newer Stihls are very stingy with oil for environmental reasons. Even with the oiler at max, they put out far less oil than people are used to with older saws. You can no longer put the tip near a stump and see a line of oil flung off -- you may see a mist at best.

On every recent model Stihl I have owned/run, the saw will go through a tank of oil about the same as a tank of gas, which tells you that they are oiling as intended. But it's way less oil than you'd traditionally see. So as a result, the saws have a more limited range of operation in terms of bar sizes, cuts, etc. (the first two sentences are facts, the last one is my opinion based on a lot of cutting)

Some people upgrade their oil pump, or enlarge the oil ports on the bar. My best advice is to leave the saw be but turn the oiler up to max and be sensible about bar length and long/laborious cuts.

In contrast, I have a 2011 Echo saw (which is great) and it slobbers oil like the old days -- it will fling a line of oil on the stump that you can see. I actually turn the oiler down on that saw when I run smaller bars on it.

 

[meburdick]

Stihl *used* to spec the 250 with an 18" bar off-the-shelf, but for the 2012 model year it's now officially 16" (see page 32 of the new catalog). You can still buy whatever bar you want of course, but I'd stick to 16" as it's marginal oiling an 18" bar in my experience. Just not enough oil for long cuts in hardwood.

Where can I find the catalog (aside from the dealer)? I didn't see anything that I could view on their site aside from the product page itself (and that just says 16" to 18" is the recommended bar length for that powerhead).

 

[JoeBuyer]

As far as the amount of bar oil used by Stihl goes, since that seems to be driven by environmental restrictions, I would conclude that other manufacturers follow suit with any new saws they put on the market.

 

[s219]

Here's the 2012 catalog online:

STIHL Online

 

[meburdick]

Here's the 2012 catalog online:

STIHL Online

Thanks... I was looking on the main Stihl site and couldn't find it there.

I looked where you mentioned, and the catalog lists only the 16" as an "available" length. The main Stihl site, however, lists 16"-18" lengths for that saw. One of them is off, and I honestly think it's the catalog. If you go to the main site for that saw (link below), you can do two things:

1) Look at the Specifications tab to see that the saw can use a 16" or an 18" bar.
2) Use the "Find A Dealer" option from the Description tab to locate local dealers then click through to Reserve one on line. You should be able to find, at minimum, that saw with an 18" bar by default and priced at $299.

MS 250 Chain Saw - High Performance Compact Chainsaw | STIHL USA

I spoke with my dealer and he said that they can swap the 18" out for a 16" and it would drop the price by $10, but they come default from Stihl with the 18" bar.

My dealer is having a "festival" this weekend and the Stihl rep will be there. If I get a chance to talk to him, I'll ask and see what he says.

 

[s219]

The 2011 printed catalog, and earlier versions, did list the 250 with 16-18". For 2012, they changed the printed catalog to 16". Normally with Stihl, the printed catalog is very reliable since it goes through annual edits. For whatever reason, someone specifically changed the spec from 16-18" to 16" between 2011 and 2012. Maybe it was because there have been melting issues with the 250 CBE, who knows.

From experience I will tell you that the 250 will struggle with an 18" bar in hardwood, and it will get hot. It just doesn't oil or cool enough, but that is not surprising since it's a 45cc homeowner saw. If you really need to depend on an 18" bar, then the mid range saws like the 271, 290, 291 are better options, or go pro and get the 261 (well worth the $$). The 250 is an OK saw if you stick to a smaller bar and realize it's a 45cc "limited use" saw (it even balances better with a 16" bar).

Stihl has classifications of "limited use", "mid-range", and "pro" that are loosely based on cooling and lubrication factors. By "limited use", they are referring to homeowner type scenarios where you might pull the saw out once every 1-2 years for storm cleanup or light maintenance. Firewood cutting and farm/ranch maintenance falls into mid-range or pro, and then stuff like land clearing, timbering, heavy maintenance, and long-term use is solidly pro. You definitely get what you pay for with these grades of saws. I won't ever buy anything but pro models anymore.

As that rep about the melting clutch covers on the 250 CBE, and see what he says. I bet he'll start hemming and hawwing.... Or maybe he never heard of the problem... :laughing:

 

[meburdick]

The 2011 printed catalog, and earlier versions, did list the 250 with 16-18". For 2012, they changed the printed catalog to 16". Normally with Stihl, the printed catalog is very reliable since it goes through annual edits. For whatever reason, someone specifically changed the spec from 16-18" to 16" between 2011 and 2012. Maybe it was because there have been melting issues with the 250 CBE, who knows.

From experience I will tell you that the 250 will struggle with an 18" bar in hardwood, and it will get hot. It just doesn't oil or cool enough, but that is not surprising since it's a 45cc homeowner saw. If you really need to depend on an 18" bar, then the mid range saws like the 271, 290, 291 are better options, or go pro and get the 261 (well worth the $$). The 250 is an OK saw if you stick to a smaller bar and realize it's a 45cc "limited use" saw (it even balances better with a 16" bar).

Stihl has classifications of "limited use", "mid-range", and "pro" that are loosely based on cooling and lubrication factors. By "limited use", they are referring to homeowner type scenarios where you might pull the saw out once every 1-2 years for storm cleanup or light maintenance. Firewood cutting and farm/ranch maintenance falls into mid-range or pro, and then stuff like land clearing, timbering, heavy maintenance, and long-term use is solidly pro. You definitely get what you pay for with these grades of saws. I won't ever buy anything but pro models anymore.

As that rep about the melting clutch covers on the 250 CBE, and see what he says. I bet he'll start hemming and hawwing.... Or maybe he never heard of the problem... :laughing:

The 261 looks quite nice, but buying that would be to *replace* my 290 and I still wouldn't have a backup saw. I think the 250 will serve me well for what I need it for... It's primary duties will be for limbing and cutting smaller diameter stuff. "In a pinch", I'll use it for heavier cutting if the 290 is out of service for some reason.

With that said, the 16" bar probably makes the most sense for me anyhow.

 

[s219]

Also look at the Echo CS-400 -- that's one of my favorites in that same size range. It's a little zippier than the MS-250. The specs are equivalent to the mid-grade Stihls, but you can actually buy that model Echo at Home Depot. I believe it's $299 there. It's a great limbing saw. It comes with an 18" bar, and runs that fine, but I put a 16" ArborMax bar/chain on mine and it's perfect.

 

[meburdick]

Also look at the Echo CS-400 -- that's one of my favorites in that same size range. It's a little zippier than the MS-250. The specs are equivalent to the mid-grade Stihls, but you can actually buy that model Echo at Home Depot. I believe it's $299 there. It's a great limbing saw. It comes with an 18" bar, and runs that fine, but I put a 16" ArborMax bar/chain on mine and it's perfect.

If all things were equal, I'd definitely consider it. The Still is available thus weekend for me at about $260, though. There's something to be said for being able to drop it offs at the dealer where you bought a fairly expensive tractor too if it needs anything.

 

[s219]

I like having Stihl and JD under the same roof too -- have a dealer less than 3 miles from my place -- though we also have a local Ace that sells Stihl and they are better with parts/service.