MS180c jump on it or pass?

[StihlHead]

StihlHead where would you buy the 3/8 picco bar,chain and sprocket to replace the .325 that the 250 comes with

You can get them at many saw dealers here in this area. But this is the great PNW where there is a Stihl or Husky dealer about every other mile. I do not know about Michigan. You can also get them on Ebay, or online at Bailey's. Bailey's had a no shipping charges deal going a few weeks ago. Often times I buy bars and chains locally as the shipping is usually pretty high.

 

[StihlHead]

So waiting on the dude to call me back to go check that 250 out. Is it possible to put a smaller bar and chain on it? This is primarily going to be used as a limbing saw. I would like around a 14" or so? Would I be goofy to do that? My "main" saw is a 290 with an 18" bar and I want a lighter more maneuverable saw, to me that 290 gets tiresome working though the top and what not. Eventually id like to move up to the 440-460 range but that wont be until I get my daughter outta day care ....that is killing me right now...

Sent from my rooted and eclipse running X2--thanks nitro-- if im posting on here I'm probably supposed to be working! I can't help im addicted to HEARTH.COM!

Daycare? Yah, they charge a ransom for that these days. I know what you mean about wanting a lighter saw for limbing. I try to use the smallest saw I can get away with for any falling, bucking or limbing. A 14 inch picco B&C would be fine. I have found that the Stihl engineers have the bar lengths set right in their lists, and you can go to as small as a 12 inch picco bar on a 250. I usually ran a 16 inch picco on my 025/250 saws. The 210 that I left with my ex had a 14 inch on it. She likes the saw, so I left it for her with a 290. She has 100+ acres of trees down there.

The real reason the 180s are 'effective' is that they have the micro/mini picco, which is 0.043 gauge. More of a narrow a kerf and less wood to cut. I would not put that on a 250 though. It is really small chain. I like the 3/8 picco (low profile) chains a lot. I run it on my 211. I have even messed with picco on one of my 026s at some PNW chainsaw get togethers. 0.050 picco came as an option on the 024 with a large format bar, and a lot of chainsaw mill guys used picco but on even larger saws (like 044s). For that reason Stihl stopped selling large format picco bars in the US. Note that there are large and small format .325 mount bars on Stihl saws, and on a 250 you want the small mount bar. You also want a shorter loops (same .325 chain though).

 

[shmodaddy]

The real reason the 180s are 'effective' is that they have the micro/mini picco, which is 0.043 gauge. More of a narrow a kerf and less wood to cut. I would not put that on a 250 though. It is really small chain. I like the 3/8 picco (low profile) chains a lot. I run it on my 211. I have even messed with picco on one of my 026s at some PNW chainsaw get togethers. 0.050 picco came as an option on the 024 with a large format bar, and a lot of chainsaw mill guys used picco but on even larger saws (like 044s). For that reason Stihl stopped selling large format picco bars in the US. Note that there are large and small format .325 mount bars on Stihl saws, and on a 250 you want the small mount bar. You also want a shorter loops (same .325 chain though).

I got about half that. You me had till you started talking about formats ..... I gots me some skool'n ta du....lol.... The lousy bastich didn't remove his add (personal pet peave) then sends me a nasty e-mail back about how it sold three days ago and got 100 + emails about it yet......DELETE YOUR ADD YOU IDIOT ......GRRRR .....I

Sent from my rooted and eclipse running X2--thanks nitro-- if im posting on here I'm probably supposed to be working! I can't help im addicted to HEARTH.COM!

 

[Boog]

I just bought a 250C-BE recently and love it, except that I am not overly found of the chain tensioner as Stihlhead eluded to. It gets all gunked up with stuff and takes extra time to clean up, but it does work. What I really love most about it is the "Easy Start" feature and primer bulb that also comes on the C-BE model. I'm not getting any younger, and have a very bad left wrist, and can forsee a time down the road where that easy start will make a big difference. Either way, can't go wrong with a 250 for $299, or the C-BE for $50 more.

Stihl MS191T
Stihl MS250 C-BE
Stihl 031 AV (currently on the operating table undergoing major "open heart/brain replacement" surgery)
Stihl MS440 Magnum - 20/24/28" bars
70's 20 lb Sotz "Monster Maul" splitter, other lesser wimpy devices for small stuff.
80's Charmaster wood/oil forced air furnace
25 acres mixed Ohio hardwoods: Red/White/Pin Oak, Smooth/Shag Hickory, Beech, Cherry, Maple, Ironwood, dying/dead Ash.
Sell my big logs as timber and burn the rest. Plant native Oaks, Black Walnuts, & Evergreens where I've tread.

 

[MasterMech]

I just bought a 250C-BE recently and love it, except that I am not overly found of the chain tensioner as Stihlhead eluded to. It gets all gunked up with stuff and takes extra time to clean up, but it does work. What I really love most about it is the "Easy Start" feature and primer bulb that also comes on the C-BE model. I'm not getting any younger, and have a very bad left wrist, and can forsee a time down the road where that easy start will make a big difference. Either way, can't go wrong with a 250 for $299, or the C-BE for $50 more.

Stihl MS191T
Stihl MS250 C-BE
Stihl 031 AV (currently on the operating table undergoing major "open heart/brain replacement" surgery)
Stihl MS440 Magnum - 20/24/28" bars
70's 20 lb Sotz "Monster Maul" splitter, other lesser wimpy devices for small stuff.
80's Charmaster wood/oil forced air furnace
25 acres mixed Ohio hardwoods: Red/White/Pin Oak, Smooth/Shag Hickory, Beech, Cherry, Maple, Ironwood, dying/dead Ash.
Sell my big logs as timber and burn the rest. Plant native Oaks, Black Walnuts, & Evergreens where I've tread.

I love my MS230C-BE as well. Gets some second looks when a half-hearted tug on the rope lights it off crisp and clean.

 

[StihlHead]

I got about half that. You me had till you started talking about formats ..... I gots me some skool'n ta du....lol.... The lousy bastich didn't remove his add (personal pet peave) then sends me a nasty e-mail back about how it sold three days ago and got 100 + emails about it yet......DELETE YOUR ADD YOU IDIOT ......GRRRR .....I

Yah, CL idiots. They are endemic. Or they are an epidemic.

As for format bars on Stihl saws: Stihl saws will accept either large or small format bars. The small format bars are on the smaller Stihl saws like the 170, 180, 210, 211, 200T, 230 and 250, and a lot of earlier model smaller Stihl saws. The large format bars are found on the 024/026/260/261 saws and larger, right up to the 880. Small format bars do not fit on large format Stihl saws, and vice verse. Picco bars and chains (3/8 low profile) are only available in small format on Stihl saws. 3/8 standard bars and chain are only available in large format on Stihl saws. Stihl bars and chains overlap in the .325 type, and you can get large or small format bars for the same .325 chain; the small format bars just use fewer links. Personally I do not like .325 and I do not run it on any of my saws any more. But that's me.

Now for the exception to the above: For a brief time Stihl made a large format picco bar for the 024 chainsaws, the baby brother to the 260. They were an instant hit, but not on that saw. Chainsaw millers like using picco B&C becasue they have a narrow kerf, and a narrow kerf means less wood wasted in a cut and faster cutting. Chainsaws tend to overheat when milling, so using picco B&C also allows them to do the job with less overheating. So people were putting the picco B&C on saws like the 044, which they were not designed to be run on. Picco is small chain, and Stihl got nervous when they saw people running it on the larger saws. So the large format Stihl picco bars were discontinued in the US. Logosol continued to carry them up until a few years ago, and they come up on Ebay now and then.

 

[shmodaddy]

10-4! I still keeping an eye out for a steal the deal on a good "smaller" saw. Kinda like the heinz commercials good thing come to those who wait......Thankyou to all that helped!

Sent from my rooted and eclipse running X2--thanks nitro-- if im posting on here I'm probably supposed to be working! I can't help im addicted to HEARTH.COM!