LittleLebowski's big inspirational chainsaw thread

[Tensaw]

Gents, I'm going to post this and I hope it does not start a big controversy (I don't think it will here, but probably would other places).

I've been following Richard Flagg on YT for over a year now. He is a small engine mechanic (in Georgia I think) and has a lot of good nuts and bolts chainsaw content on his channel. Over a year ago, he started posting that he was noticing that engines run with Stihl Ultra oil (the $pendy stuff in the silver bottle) had bad carbon build-up and seemed to lack much of an oil film on the crank and piston when he would tear those engines down. That kicked off a year long odessey of him doing some redneck testing and observation of oils and chainsaw engines that came thru his shop. He has numerous engine teardowns showing what various oils do in various saws. As a result of what he was showing, I switched away from Stihl Ultra, first to Red Armor (high detergent properties) and then to VP Racing two stroke oil. Subsequent to that, what he seems to have figured out is that two-stroke oil bottled and marketed to motorcyle folks is not only less expensive per mixed gallon, but has much better oil film/cling properties and very good detergent packages. Once I run through the VP Racing oil that I have, I'll be switching to probably the Honda oil that he tested. Bel Ray was another good one and there were a couple of other good ones.

Note: Flagg's bedside manner is a little gruff, I guess. Enough that I had discounted much of what he said early on. The more I paid attention to what he was posting, the more I realized that he is probably right and has no axe to grind. His observations are not scientific, but he seems to see a lot of saws come through his shop. If you take the trouble to watch *all* the videos he posted about oil, you will likely come to the conclusion that he is not just talking out his ass.

This video is pretty much the culmination of a year's worth of paying attention to how various oils behave in chainsaw engines. Lastly, I started running all my saws at 40:1 instead of 50:1. Flagg commented somewhere along the way that 40:1 is so manufacturers can make the hack with the EPA; it is not for the longevity of the saw. Made sense to me and I switched several months ago. So far, so good.

[TOTS]

I had a farm boss. The dealer said it was popular. The professional line- at that time a 260, now is a 261, was comparable. The 260 was lighter. I personally would choose the professional line. That 260 is nice. Whatever you get take care of it, either drain the tank and run it dry or run it monthly and keep fresh fuel- 6 weeks or less. I’ll occasionally go 8 weeks, but I use Stabil in all my small engine gas. And no ethanol premium gas.

+1 on a 261. Heck of a saw. If I had to choose only one saw to keep, it would be that one.

Understood. But not in the budget. I’m already choosing the Stihl over less expensive brands so still buy/cry once. I also don’t have use for a saw more than two or three times a year unless there’s a hurricane, etc. I think the 271 (probably the 251 as well) is already overkill.

Any further thoughts?

[Eric_L]

Understood. But not in the budget. I’m already choosing the Stihl over less expensive brands so still buy/cry once. I also don’t have use for a saw more than two or three times a year unless there’s a hurricane, etc. I think the 271 (probably the 251 as well) is already overkill.

Any further thoughts?

How big are the trees/branches you are cutting? I cut for a couple weeks at a time on farm edges in NE. I use an Echo 361P nearly all the time. Of course it is slower, but picking up branches takes much more time for me than cutting. I only use the 260 on bigger things. The Echo , other than an initial air leak, has been reliable. If you buy an Echo at a dealers one day sales event you will save 15%. Call your dealers and ask when that event is. It is different for each dealer. However if the Stihl dealer is closer and you like them, go Stihl.

[Tensaw]

Understood. But not in the budget. I’m already choosing the Stihl over less expensive brands so still buy/cry once. I also don’t have use for a saw more than two or three times a year unless there’s a hurricane, etc. I think the 271 (probably the 251 as well) is already overkill.

Any further thoughts?

I was looking at my Stihl MS390 the other day and it is 15 years old and going strong. It's been used a fair bit. It is a Farm/Ranch grade Stihl. My little MS170 is about 10 years old and I use it all the time. That's the cheapest saw Stihl makes and it's still rockin'. Neither of these saws hold a candle to the MS500i, but they still run as well as they did the day I brought them home. I think you'll be fine regardless of which one you pick. Just remember you may be living with your choice for a long time.

[jeep45238]

Understood. But not in the budget. I’m already choosing the Stihl over less expensive brands so still buy/cry once. I also don’t have use for a saw more than two or three times a year unless there’s a hurricane, etc. I think the 271 (probably the 251 as well) is already overkill.

Any further thoughts?

251 is a fine saw as well, and if that's too big for your uses, that's okay.

If you get a saw with an EZ start, make sure you understand how it works, and don't let someone just rip on the cord like it's a standard saw - that'll break the mechanism.

[TOTS]

How big are the trees/branches you are cutting? I cut for a couple weeks at a time on farm edges in NE. I use an Echo 361P nearly all the time. Of course it is slower, but picking up branches takes much more time for me than cutting. I only use the 260 on bigger things. The Echo , other than an initial air leak, has been reliable. If you buy an Echo at a dealers one day sales event you will save 15%. Call your dealers and ask when that event is. It is different for each dealer. However if the Stihl dealer is closer and you like them, go Stihl.

Right now the largest one I'm expecting to cut down is 12-14 inches thick. My property is about 5 acres with about three with mature woods. There’s some 30 inch pine back there but I'm really only concerned with the yard.

Im thinking the 251 may be my sweet spot but like @Tensaw said- I want to be living with it for a long while. I don’t want to be wishing for a larger saw down the road. My brother does have a 291. But what if it’s not around?

[Eric_L]

Right now the largest one I'm expecting to cut down is 12-14 inches thick. My property is about 5 acres with about three with mature woods. There’s some 30 inch pine back there but I'm really only concerned with the yard.

Im thinking the 251 may be my sweet spot but like @Tensaw said- I want to be living with it for a long while. I don’t want to be wishing for a larger saw down the road. My brother does have a 291. But what if it’s not around?

Big saws get heavy. Get what you need but no more. I respect my 260 and it is not even that big in the big picture.

[ccmdfd]

Big saws get heavy. Get what you need but no more. I respect my 260 and it is not even that big in the big picture.

+1
My first saw was a 311, recommended to me by the local dealer. After using it for one day I was so sore I felt like I had been run over by a truck and took me a week to recover. Mind you, I am not in the best of shape and had no prior experience using chainsaws, so my body was not used to that particular set of motions.

170 definitely gets more use than the 261.

[jeep45238]

Right now the largest one I'm expecting to cut down is 12-14 inches thick. My property is about 5 acres with about three with mature woods. There’s some 30 inch pine back there but I'm really only concerned with the yard.

Im thinking the 251 may be my sweet spot but like @Tensaw said- I want to be living with it for a long while. I don’t want to be wishing for a larger saw down the road. My brother does have a 291. But what if it’s not around?

You don't need a bar that's equal the diameter of what you're cutting to get through it - you need just over 1/2 the diameter. A 16" bar will cut a 30" log, you'll just have to work from more than one place to do it.


If you truly need a capacity, you can get a longer bar and equip it with a skip chain (has fewer cutters) to get by. This setup is much more sensitive to technique than many realize, and does require a VERY sharp chain.

I don't recommend this as a standard, but it's a lot cheaper than a new saw, and a lot easier to store when you're done.

When I was doing this for a living and we had big trees to remove, I'd let my crew have the 661 with a 32" bar and I'd put a 32" bar w/ skip teeth on my 462. Normal life I'd run the 462 with a 25" chain, but if we had a ton of hardwood to cut, I'd put a 20" on the 462 and 661 and let them eat.

[TOTS]

@jeep45238 or anyone else, do you have any thoughts/concerns about differences between the double vs single nut vs Quick Tightening assemblies on the newer Stihls?