I HATE CHAINSAWS! - HATE'EM!

[tracter]

My technique is pull till it fires and then choke off or to half depending on brand and as Jackie Gleeson once said "Away we go"

 

[tcreeley]

I like my 266 Huskie I bought in 1983. Starts well, but the pull cord is as hard as anything to pull. Good saw- strong. Had a stihl once- passed it on to someone who needed it.
Use to have an old Ryobi weed wacker- could always get it going until it burned itself out. No luck since with my small engines- ethanol piston damage!

 

[boomer1025]

Starting Fluid works good on 2 cycle stuff.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Just as an aside...
I spent some time this spring getting my dad's old Homelites going...
He used to sell them in the 60's, 70's and 80's...
I didn't really know how many he had in the tractor shed...
8...
They are all running now after cleaning out the old gas and putting in new spark plugs...
3 super xl's, 2 super ez automatics, a 330, 340, and an xl 12...
Those old saws are easy to crank...
Usually 3 pulls with the choke and then fire and go...
Really well made but heavy and vibrate...
I like Dolmar, Stihl, Echo, and Husky in that order...
Why do I need anything else?
8 is enough...
Forgot about the CS 450 Echo...
It is a mid 80's vintage and the best of the bunch...
No vibration and good power...

 

[LD1]

LD1, if Mahindra made chainsaws, they would be the best. They don't make chainsaws, because they want to give someone else a chance to be the best at something.

(Note: 25.1 hrs and 12.5 weeks exp...)

:laughing::laughing:

Starting Fluid works good on 2 cycle stuff.

dont do that:duh:

 

[Jstpssng]

Take 'em to the shop and get them running right. I have a small Poulan and a larger Craftsman; they both start quickly even after sitting for years.

My 20 year old 16" McCullough gets used about once a year. I don't drain the fuel... but it starts right up on year old gas the next time I need it. Same starting procedure as previously mentioned for a Stihl, but I press the primer button twice first.
It's probably not the best saw in the world, but it has never let me down.
My BIL had the same saw, he loved it... until he backed over it with his pickup. He replaced it with a Stihl, and has trouble starting it... has tore the starter rope out of it twice in 2 years.
I guess the best saw is the one that works good for you.

Pete

Older carbs are much more tolerant of junk fuel.
I agree though, take them someplace where they can get them running rihht.

 

[cili]

And I dont like to run em during hot weather, rather turn key on then a/c and get with it forestry mowing/tree trimming - YouTube :laughing:

 

[Redneck in training]

Dunno about the Pull-on, but with the Stihl, try this.

Set choke full on
Pull 2 to 3 times till you hear it fire once
Set choke to half and pull one or two more times till it starts

Don't know why, but every Stihl I've ever run starts that way.

Same for my Husky. But I turn the choke off after it fires once.

 

[buck12]

I have the same experience as the OP. My Stihl saw ( pro 260) is very cold natured but my Kawasaki string trimmer is easy to start even after setting for months. Same gas with both running the Stihl oil in the silver bottle. I just don't get it. I really like the Sthil saw except when it has set for a while. It has been hard to start cold since it was new. The thing that really makes me mad is that I spent extra on the saw to get the pro grade and went for Kawaski's cheapest trimmer. I expected the saw to work better since I shelled out extra bucks for what I thought was a top of the line saw.

 

[lockhaven]

had trouble with my 041 with the new type gas, went to high test and double the oil runs like it did 20 years ago cuts fast I can sit it down and it just sits and does a rumble.

 

[s219]

Well, the original post touched on a subject I have mentioned many times. Though I am a Stihl man and have some older Poulans and Huskies, I do have one Echo chainsaw, and it is by far the best behaved and most consistently starting. I don't like the larger Echos, but below 45cc, I'd say they make one of the best saws you can buy. Even their homeowner models (which you can buy at Home Depot) match up with the mid-grade and pro-grade Stihls in many features. I have never had a starting problem with my Echo, but have with almost every other saw I own.

By the way, you mention starting the saw 2-3 weeks later with the dealer gas. If that had ethanol in it, you were pushing your luck. I do not leave ethanol gas in my saws longer than about 7-8 days. I currently run real (non-ethanol gas) just for this reason. When I used ethanol gas (all I could get last fall when we had a hurrican hit) I would run my saws dry if I knew they were going to sit for more than a week. Ethanol gas is just tough on chainsaws, regardless of whether it has stabilizer in it.

 

[RobertN]

The saw I have used most since I was a teenager back in '80, is my Dad's Stihl 024. I guess I am so used to how to start a Stihl, I never give it a second thought. It's really the first saw I learned on, so I have always started them, "the Stihl way".

 

[Bluegill2]

I've never had trouble starting a chainsaw.

 

[xyz123]

Sounds like a carb tune issue to me.

Exactly what I was thinking too.

 

[bm3]

I own 4 stihl chain saws and would not consider any other . One of them has easy start , its a real joy to start

 

[General Lee]

Dunno about the Pull-on, but with the Stihl, try this.

Set choke full on
Pull 2 to 3 times till you hear it fire once
Set choke to half and pull one or two more times till it starts

Don't know why, but every Stihl I've ever run starts that way.

This ^^

 

[JoeBuyer]

but with the Stihl, try this.

Set choke full on
Pull 2 to 3 times till you hear it fire once
Set choke to half and pull one or two more times till it starts

Don't know why, but every Stihl I've ever run starts that way.

Exactly as my Stihl pros start. I have two pro series, 441 and 026 and the smaller arborist 192 which is listed as a pro but is really a home owner saw. I have to prime bulb that saw about 3 times prior to the sequence above, then she starts right up, maybe 3 pulls instead of two. But once it is warm it starts better than any other saw I have ever had.

I never bought the 192 for anything other than light limbing, but yesterday I flooded my 441 (already had run it but forgot and choked it again) and I had to use my little 192 to fall four 20 to 24" hardwoods at my rental house. I couldn't wait until the 441 dried out, as I had the electric company drop and pull back the power lines the trees were in danger of falling on and they were waiting for me to fall the trees before they hooked power back up. That little 192 cut like a champ falling the trees and cutting enough so the power company could get the boom truck back in and connect the power. They do that and leave and of course the 441 decides it is ready to start LOL. That little 192 impressed the heck out of me. I should have tossed my 026 in the truck, but I thought 3 saws would be overkill for 4 trees that size. I will not say anything negative about other saw brands but I will not own anything but a Stihl.

 

[lilranch2001]

Exactly as my Stihl pros start. I have two pro series, 441 and 026 and the smaller arborist 192 which is listed as a pro but is really a home owner saw. I have to prime bulb that saw about 3 times prior to the sequence above, then she starts right up, maybe 3 pulls instead of two. But once it is warm it starts better than any other saw I have ever had.

I never bought the 192 for anything other than light limbing, but yesterday I flooded my 441 (already had run it but forgot and choked it again) and I had to use my little 192 to fall four 20 to 24" hardwoods at my rental house. I couldn't wait until the 441 dried out, as I had the electric company drop and pull back the power lines the trees were in danger of falling on and they were waiting for me to fall the trees before they hooked power back up. That little 192 cut like a champ falling the trees and cutting enough so the power company could get the boom truck back in and connect the power. They do that and leave and of course the 441 decides it is ready to start LOL. That little 192 impressed the heck out of me. I should have tossed my 026 in the truck, but I thought 3 saws would be overkill for 4 trees that size. I will not say anything negative about other saw brands but I will not own anything but a Stihl.

That is how I am have only owned, and used Stihls all of my adult life, and I have no need to look elsewhere.
Someone else may make as good or even possibly a better saw, but I am not going to experiment when I have what I feel is already the best.
And I have cut up a lot of wood in my days.

 

[creekbend]

I have owned two Stihl chainsaws. I currently use a Stihl and a Craftsman. The Craftsman is around ten to twelve years old. I use it to cut roots because the bar is worn and needs replacing. I also have a Stihl weed eater with a brush cutter attachment. Everyone has a different preference, but I have had good results with Stihl products. In retrospect, any make of chainsaw is most certainly easier than using an axe.

 

[k0ua]

This thread reminds me of my Toro 4 cycle weedeater.. It just wont start on old gas, It just has to have fresh gasoline or it will NOT start ever. Got some fresh gas today, and poured out the old fuel (about 3 months old) and it started right up. The lawn tractor runs fine on old gas, The truck runs fine on old gas, The generator starts fine on old gas, but the Toro, want's nice fresh gas.

James K0UA