Stihl FS250 trimmer...Wow!

[rekees4300]

Could have used a 250 today bending over with a chainsaw to cut 2" Buckthorn then the chainsaw cops an attitude and refuses idle ... frustration.

 

[KeithT]

Why are you guys calling the FS130 a 4 cycle?

 

[Stubee]

And you can add the chisel tooth saw blade to this machine to handle larger brush and small saplings easily up to 1 1/2" and I've taken down 4" trees with it (takes a little time but will do the job).
It is a priceless tool in my tool chest.

+1 here, though mine is a six year old 110. I use the 3-bladed point saw blade 95% of the time. I've got hundreds of hours on mine and have cut probably miles of shooting lanes & ATV trails.

I've bent mine carrying it on the back of my ATV. No real problem until a couple of weeks ago in Canada. Had it strapped a new way on the back, big mistake. Hit a tree and bent it about 30 degrees, thought it was ruined. As I was in the bush with no real options, I stood on it, bounced on it & got it back to 'fairly straight' and started it. Cut six more hours w/o a problem, but knew it needed attention.

Just got a new driveshaft + housing for $150 installed. That's pretty good for a machine I've used for six years cutting literally thousands of saplings--and bigger stuff--plus head-high weeds + hitting rocks etc. It is an amazing machine. The valved motor runs so long on a fill I wish it would run out of gas sooner.

 

[tsteahr]

Why are you guys calling the FS130 a 4 cycle?

When I bought my trimmer, it was labeled as a "4-Mix" motor, which is a 4 stroke cycle but using a gas-oil mix like a 2 stroke.

I see now they are calling the motors "Quad Power". I believe it is the same design, based on a discussion I had a couple months ago with my Stihl dealer. When he was telling me about the FS 250, he mentioned it has a 2 stroke motor, unlike the rest of the pro trimmer range.

 

[doall]

I have the 130 and its a beast too. I wish I would have known there was only $100 difference in price, I would have got the 250. But that said I have cut many a 2- 4 inch sapplings with the chissel tooth blade with no problem. It is simply amazing.

 

[tsteahr]

With all this talk of the FS250, I'd love to try one. I have to say however that the FS130 still is the sweet spot in the Stihl lineup when looking at power to weight ratio. I'm guessing there is more to the 250 than just the 0.25hp extra over the 130. I wish the Stihl website would give more specific differences between the two.

 

[Furu]

How do you like the chipper blade? I was worried I would damage it quickly with all the rocks I have around here.

Tsteahr

The Stihl chipper blade works well but if it hits dirt or rocks you need to sharpen it. Done a lot of field sharpening. Not that difficult. There is a company out here in the PNW that makes a carbide tip blade that is great. If it hits the dirt nothing dulls and it works the same. If I hit sandstone, I lose a carbide tip or two. If I hit basalt I pitch 95% of the teeth in nothing flat and the blade is toast. But the flip side is if I keep it out of the rocks it practically never needs sharpening. I can go 30-40 hours where with the non-carbide tip I had to sharpen every 2 -3 hours most of the time. What is the value of time versus material. I use it on thinning and coarse woody stems up to 4-5 inches and sure beats bending over with the chainsaw to thin.

Steve

 

[SARG]

After numerous Homelites & the like .......... I finally became fed up with the cheap machines and bought a Stihl 250 and Husqvarna in the same day.

What an amazing difference ............ just as notable as when switching from the cheap chainsaws ....... you never go back.

 

[rekees4300]

A Stihl FS250 trimmer and Stihl MS290 Farm Boss chainsaw are on my to-buy list. Figure a $1,000 bucks might do the trick?

 

[jcmseven]

The only thing I do not like about the 250 for general trimming is they are not well-balanced front to back with a standard loop handle. These machines are really meant for heavy cutting where machine balance is secondary. For lighter duty (but still tough) trimming of banks and around the house, I prefer the lighter and better balanced FS90. It is pretty stout also.

John M