stihl chainsaws..

[rockriver]

the storm took out a bunch of trees. cedars, cypress, oaks, pines... -
Stihl chainsaws.. endorsement.

several Christmas's ago i rec'd 2 Stihls . now the storm has hit us.. they've had light use up till now.. takes about 4-5 pulls if they are cold. then 1 afterwards. a 291 with 20" bar and a lighter 180c with a 16" bar.. 5 star rating!

i was at local dealer, standing in line to buy extra chains.
the guy behind me had a hoss of a Stihl, but it looked like it had been buried and dug up. i asked? it had sat beside house for 5 years. storm hit. they cleaned off debris, changed old fuel, cleaned spark plug, cleaned and oiled bar and chain, and it had been running great till chain got dull!

another endorsement.. i've used 8+ gallons of fuel so far... non ethanol gasoline.. mixed with pri-g and stihl premix. (the stihl premix probably isn't necessary,) but only a small incremental cost.. the initial 2 gallons was over a year old.

i've used 3 different brands of chain lubricant.. the stihl brand seems "lighter" but costs double. seems like the heavier/thicker brands would work better? i haven't been loyal on the lubricant.

[Lowdown3]

Ebay is usually a good source for parts and manuals on Stihl saws.

I love them. Have 4 of the 290's. Two are in regular use. Then about 5 years ago I heard they discontinued the 290 so I found one more locally and bought one online. Those stay in deep storage along with a tote full of spare parts, chains, etc.

It may be romantic to use an axe and cross saw, but it's not very practical from a standpoint of labor and time savings. Long term yes the gas will run out but I will strive to maintain 3-5 years of firewood in storage plus regular refilling throughout the year.

[RobertJ]

For Bar oil I generally just use a walmart brand motor oil (shrug) cheaper and works.