Stihl easy start chainsaw

Have any of you bought this? I have a husky now and have t bought a Stihl in years...any thoughts? Just considering it for the easy pull

My neighbor has two Stihl saws. One is so old all the markings have worn off. They both start first or second pull but to expensive for my taste. I’m not going to be felling large swaths of forest anymore. He also has a battery powered Ryobi saw that I’ve fell in love with. With the minimal amount of work I’ll be doing from now on battery power is my choice.

I understand the appeal of a battery chainsaw.  But I am doing too much large work for that.

I don't have any experience with Stihl's newer saws, but from what I hear their homeowner line of tools are not much different from other companies', but their commercial line is still top quality.

I'm not sure which saw you're referring too ... there are several versions of start-assist on the Stihl saws.

I have a MS251 that I find very easy to start and has never taken more three pulls, but I'm a big person and its not a big saw so my experience may not be relevant to you.

I also have the Stihl MSA-200 and an MSA 210.  The 200 is a battery saw, the 210 is a corded electric.  I really like both of them for their respective tasks - the corded electric is fantastic for bucking logs into rounds before splitting them into firewood - no extra noise, no fuel, no seasonal maintenance .... just check oil, check sharpness (as with any saw), plug and go.  The battery saw is wonderful and my favorite - it has a short 14" bar but for any task that can use that bar length I reach for it before the gas saws.  I really hope to see larger, heaver battery saws in the future.

My suggestion with the Stihl line for larger saws is to err on the expensive side, and go for the Farm & Ranch or the Professional series.  It does get expensive but then you actually want the thing to start and not vibrate you silly.

Thanks to y’all.. I am using a Husky 51 with a 20 in bar now but it’s getting used up.  I have to haul it inside and warm it up or 10 pulls won’t begin to get it going. Yes.  It’s been serviced.

I went to the Stihl dealer and he told me the only models with “ easy start” which is their new product are a 45 cc and a smaller something cc. I liked the saw but was just curious if anyone actually had used one. I just don’t have that monster pull in me anymore.

Thanks again. All thoughts are appreciated.

Janet:  20" is right in the middle, that's tough ... that's what's on my 251.  I don't know if it has "Easy Start" but whatever.  The bigger saws (the 361 with a 26" bar) have a compression release - I don't understand how it works but it does make that beast easier to start.  Its too bad the battery ones only make it to 16" bars at the moment.

Happy hunting!

My understanding is that Stihl easy start is just a semi-stretchy pull rope on the starter. Doesn't seem like it would help the saw to start any better, I guess it might be easier on the arm but it seems more like a gimmick than anything else. I mean, "yay those couple few pulls were so much less stressful on my elbow, now to RUN A CHAINSAW"...

Dan Fish wrote:My understanding is that Stihl easy start is just a semi-stretchy pull rope on the starter. Doesn't seem like it would help the saw to start any better, I guess it might be easier on the arm but it seems more like a gimmick than anything else. I mean, "yay those couple few pulls were so much less stressful on my elbow, now to RUN A CHAINSAW"...

The easy start is not a stretchy rope.  It’s an initial flywheel that engages the main starting flywheel.  You don’t have to jerk on it.

I tried it in the store and you just pull steadily and you can feel it engage and turn the main flywheel over snd start.

My concern is more with the car Eurasian on a Stihl and the longevity of the product; wondering if someone actually had one.  I’ve just “RUN A HUSQUEVARNA” for so many years...

Carburetor on the above!

Spell check

I think all Stihl carbeurators are still adjustable on chainsaws.

"Car Eurasian" I love it...

If the question is "are Stihls durable?" then the answer is yes.  When it becomes "which brand" then Stihl and Husqvarna are on the tops of most lists, with the decision largely based on local support options.

Hahaha oh I see. I know one of the manufacturers' "easy start" is a bungie cord...  It sort of looks like Stihl is running out of justifications to raise their prices. Kinda reminds me of current smartphone "innovations". 3 cameras!

Janet, yes, I have a Stihl 261 with a 20" bar and it starts easily.  It gets used at least twice a week, before the rainy season, on big pine trees.  It needs starting a few times during felling it and limbing, as certain things need to happen where it needs to be shut off, and every time it's easy.

The local hardware store has dedicated it's whole chainsaw department to Stihl, and for a little store in a really big lumber part of the world, that's a message right there.  Lots of women and men using them around here.

Stihl also has a chain sharpener which is really great and easy to use.

Another thing to consider is that your nearest hardware or equipment-type store carries a full line of them so you can always get the right stuff for them in a pinch, and not have to mail away for it.  Or if you don't mind driving to the nearest store that stocks them, then that makes it a lot easier.  That's kind of true for any equipment we buy these days, it makes a huge difference to get parts/accessories/repair locally.

For what it's worth, and I've said this in other forums here, when a quality piece of equipment seems like too much to pay, and it's got a longstanding history of reliability and quality, it's worth every penny.  I've always thought I had middle-of-the-road jobs to do and bought middle-of-the-road equipment, only to have it slowly but surely $%#& out in 3-4 years, so I ended up buying 2 middle-of-the-road pieces of equipment, which added up to way more than the quality piece in the first place.  The "slowly but surely" part of the breakdown ends up with me struggling with each piece of equpment for hours, and sometimes losing a day in frustration and anger that the piece seems to be working, but isn't.  That's the absolute worst thing to happen before having only so much time to get something done before the sun goes down.

Since I have been paying more than I imagined for quality equipment, they have been reliable for many more years, which makes them cheaper.  Often the quality stuff uses less gas, and that saves money.  And I'm not exhausted, angry and frustrated at the end of the day.  That right there is worth a chunk of change.  Things get done, I don't have to worry whether something will start or not.  

It's only my own stupid mistakes that mess me up now!!  :-)

I have a ms180c with the easy start. its  some kind of spring system in starter that turns engine over after kinetic engergy is built up in the pulling of cord. the 180 runs and cuts well but in no way compares to the cutting speed or power of a pro saw.
if you have to rely on a chainsaw for one reason or another, an ms261 is a great saw that will last most folks a lifetime as long as you use fresh non ethanol gas mixed with still oil.  always starts after 2nd or 3rd pull. I have one of these saws and it has one of the greatest power to weight ratios of any chainsaw built. with a sharp chain cuts through whatever kind of wood you might feed it super fast. as a stihl pro model saw it will retain its value and be easy to sell if you want to get your money back. just be aware that there are a whole lot of unscrupulous people out there that buy these pro saws that are broken, frozen, worn out, and rebuild them with super cheap huztl/farmertec parts and do not disclose this.
I guess its like the old saying goes, you get what you pay for

Jordan Holland wrote:I think all Stihl carbeurators are still adjustable on chainsaws.

They are... it it’s the only part of a Stihl that’s not warranteed

some of the, I think they are called, mtec,  carburetors are fixed and have a circuit board attached, stihl had a lot of problems with the ms362 that had this non adjustable carburetor and they came out with another model of the ms362 that had an adjustable carburetor.
I am not a stihl expert but know enough about them to get get me into real trouble.

I personally do not like the easy start pull cord feeling.  I about pulled my shoulder out of socket the first time I used an easy start. I started with a 031 back as a kid and you had to pull it hard.  The other thing I don't care for is the extra parts to go wrong in the starter housing.  Now I like to run the 311, 20" bar and a big chip chain.  The newer style choke till sputter, flip up and run works well for me.  My biggest complaint on modern stihl saws are the chains they come with.  The anti kickback teeth are like trying to file a log into instead of cut it.  They know me when I come in, because I always get the biggest chip chain I can for the bar that I am using.