Smaller Stihl Chainsaw advice????

[jwscarab]

Hi,

You guys have helped tons on my stove issues and then replacement, so I thought I would jump over to the Gear room and ask chainsaw preferences. I already own a Stihl MS310 w/20" - I love it but it does wear me out after hours of use (i'm getting old I know) and it is big for quite a bit of my cutting. SO I need a lighter saw for the smaller stuff.

I want to stick with a Stihl for sure - no other brand.

Would you guys think the 170 is my ticket? That is what I am leaning towards. I like simplicity. I dont mind losening the nuts to tighten the blade. I dont want easy start - more to go wrong.

But my concern is - do you think the 170 will actually be "too small" and just plain take me too long to cut thru stuff?

I am imagining my smaller saw will be used 75% and the MS310 at 25%.

What your thoughts on which smaller saw would be best????

Thanks in advance!

 

[smokinj]

Hi,

You guys have helped tons on my stove issues and then replacement, so I thought I would jump over to the Gear room and ask chainsaw preferences. I already own a Stihl MS310 w/20" - I love it but it does wear me out and it is big for quite a bit of my cutting. SO I need a lighter saw for the smaller stuff.

I want to stick with a Stihl for sure - no other brand.

Would you guys think the 170 is my ticket? That is what I am leaning towards. I like simplicity. I dont mind losening the nuts to tighten the blade. I dont want easy start - more to go wrong.

But my concern is - do you think the 170 will actually be "too small" and just plain take me too long to cut thru stuff?

I am imagining my smaller saw will be used 75% and the MS310 at 25%.

What your thoughts on which smaller saw would be best????

Thanks in advance!

If you want to go with a stihl check out the 192t very light saw

 

[woodflamer]

Hi,

I have the MS180 saw.
It is a great little, light weight saw.

Good luck in your seach.

 

[timm525]

I have a MS 180 also.

Not a bad little saw for lighter stuff.

 

[TMonter]

I'd also look at the MS260 which is a great saw in the 50cc range. 50cc seems to be a great size where you can still cut small to medium stuff while still not being short on power.

 

[glacialhills]

I have health problems and tire easily. The Stihl ms180 I have is so light I can cut for much longer than with the big 310 I have. Now the 310 saw is relegated to big rounds and such. But the 180 will do all you ask of it and I actually prefer it to fell trees and limb because it is so easy to maneuver and hold.I think it has plenty of power and I cut the hardest hardwoods in the woods. And for me, I wouldn't get another saw without easy start. It is just a compression release, ands not really more complicated than a normal starter. But makes starting the saw so easy, I just hold it between my legs and pull. No more having to find a clear flat spot on the ground. And no more pulling so hard over and over, that I am winded just from trying to start the saw.I also really like not needing any tools to change or tighten the chain. For me, having such a light easy starting saw is really a safety issue, The less tired I am starting and using a saw, the less likely I will be to have a stupid accident because of fatigue.

 

[biggenius29]

I am in the boat of looking for a smaller saw right now too, and for me I am going to get the MS260. I am only 25 and believe in buying once. I know that that saw will probly outlive me if treated right. Now, my dad has a MS 180, and that thing just keeps on ticking, it has taken alot of abuse. The linkage broke on it so it only has full choke and run, so when you need to shut it down you need to choke it. This is his second 180 and the one before that had the same problem.

My dealer told me to look at the 210, because it had more power for the buck.

 

[kevin j]

Two good choices, but not apples to apples. 026 is a pro quality limbing saw, and the 180 is a very light homeowner saw at less than half the price. but I would recommend either.

I have an 026 and was my primary saw a long time. cut some really big wood, just slower, (which is why I bought some bigger saws for bigger wood), very light and nimble, much more than the 290-310-390 homeowner series. Use it for all my limbing with 20 inch bar.

My son has a 180 and with the narrower kerf 14 inch chain it keeps up with the 026 in anything up to maybe 6 or 8 inches. Handles wood up to a foot very easily, just slower.

He does not have the ez start. I thought it was more than just decomp it was some sort of spring recoil windup thing? I can't imagine having starting problems with a 180- keep it in tune, use fresh mix. All 2 cycles, the drill is critical: full choke, pull until a VERY faint pop or firing, sometimes barely noticeable. NO MORE PULLS until take off choke, then pull again and should start. Blip the throttle once to come off fast idle down, and let it warm up.

I have quick chain adjust on a Stihl 280. Would be good for tree saw, but for ground work, I don't really care for it. a bit flimsy, more to fail eventually, and chain tension is not that big a deal on the ground. Quick oil and fuel caps are nice though. The handle quick brake option is nice too.

For homeowner use and even firewood cutting, if time is not critical, I think the 180 is a great saw, and at under $200 way better value than a sears/poulan. It is still a throwaway engine design, but should serve you many years. arboristsite had a thread about changing to a fully adjustable carb ( they usually come with fixed high speed jet) and modding muffler for more power if you choose to tinker a bit.

Other wise, I think the 026 is a way better saw, but if starting is a concern, I'd go the 180. and learn to maintain it, very simple to do. Don't leave fuel in it more than a couple months.

good luck you will like either.

kcj

 

[jwscarab]

I assume everybody has MS180 because is it has a bigger engine then the MS170 but only 0.2 lbs more???

I like the simplicity of the MS170, but I have to agree 1.7hp vs 2.0hp - tempting - maybe thats why the 180 is the winner in this thread???

I may look at the MS192 at the dealer too - it is very light!! But again, 1.7hp.

 

[kevin j]

170, no. not much hp more, but as a percent of hp, you would notice it a lot. and here they are only $10 difference. k

 

[Jake]

I've got an 026 and love it

 

[polaris]

Another vote for the 180. I was in the same situation you are. I bought the 180 and have worked it hard. So far so good. I have found myself using it far more than I thought I would on bigger stuff than I thought I would.

 

[taxidermist]

Due to a bad back I went with a 260 pro and I dont have a need for any other saw. But I due own a few bigger ones they stay in the shop.

 

[HittinSteel]

I just went through the same thing, looking for a light duty saw to compliment my 041. I used it over the weekend and was quite impressed. I like the fact that the 210 comes standard with the 16" bar and a much beefier chain. Another reason I went with the 210 is because it did not have the quick chain adjuster (chain adjusts on the side with ease) or the easy start. This kept the weight down and I actually got a saw that weighs about the same as 180 but with I think 5 or so more cc's. The 192 was my first choice, but a lot more money than the 210.

 

[computeruser]

The 170/180 are decent little saws for what they are. Keep the bars short for best results (12" or, at most, 14"). The 192 non-T is also nice, and more nimble...but more expensive. I'm presuming that the 200 non-T is not in the running, but it is a great saw.

 

[jwscarab]

Well I did stop at the dealer yesterday. He tried to talk me up to the 210. A lot of good reasons - he believes its just a better quality saw all around. But here we go with more weight. My main concern is weight - nt that I am a weakling, but a very light nimble saw would be great. He did mention it is possible to swap out the thicker bar/chain and put them on the 180 (same bar/chain as 210). That is tempting. Im gonna sleep on it a little bit......lol.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Hey but doesn't the 192t cost buku more than the 170 (at $180). Somehow this is missed on this thread. The 192t seems like a great saw used from a top a ladder while prunning. But at $400 more is it worth it?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Hi,

You guys have helped tons on my stove issues and then replacement, so I thought I would jump over to the Gear room and ask chainsaw preferences. I already own a Stihl MS310 w/20" - I love it but it does wear me out after hours of use (i'm getting old I know) and it is big for quite a bit of my cutting. SO I need a lighter saw for the smaller stuff.

I want to stick with a Stihl for sure - no other brand.

Would you guys think the 170 is my ticket? That is what I am leaning towards. I like simplicity. I dont mind losening the nuts to tighten the blade. I dont want easy start - more to go wrong.

But my concern is - do you think the 170 will actually be "too small" and just plain take me too long to cut thru stuff?

I am imagining my smaller saw will be used 75% and the MS310 at 25%.

What your thoughts on which smaller saw would be best????

Thanks in advance!

MS660

 

[peterc38]

I had an MS180 and I didn't like it. I use an MS260 for smaller stuff but thats pricey and I don't know what your budget is.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see that anyone else has mentioned it is the smaller Stihl that is getting rave reviews now is the MS211 which will only set you back about 250 clams.

 

[wolfram]

Given your ratio of 75% on the smaller saw and 25% using your larger saw, look for a used MS200T. I found a nice one for $250 (14" bar). It is a pleasure to use. Weighs half of what your 310 weighs. It is a pro saw (can be rebuilt economically, high resale value, etc.)

 

[polaris]

It seems to me that all Sthils retain their value quite well.
Joe

 

[Flatbedford]

Another vote for the 180. I bought mine used for $100 about a year ago. I have had an 029 w/20" since 1996, but I wanted something small and light that I could use on a ladder. The 180 has plenty of power to turn the 14" narrow kerf chain. Mine will happily cut through 6"-8" stuff and surely could do more a little slowly. Mine does not has the easy start, but does have the tool-less tensioning and it seems to work OK. I nice, light, affordable, little saw.

 

[Flatbedford]

Now, my dad has a MS 180, and that thing just keeps on ticking, it has taken alot of abuse. The linkage broke on it so it only has full choke and run, so when you need to shut it down you need to choke it. This is his second 180 and the one before that had the same problem.

The linkage on mine fell apart too. I carefully disassembled it and figured out how to put all the little parts back together correctly. It has worked fine for almost a year now. The same thing happened on my 029 and I fixed it the same way. This is the only problem I have ever had with either of my Stihl saws.

 

[Beowulf]

I truly hate my 2003 vintage MS 250C. Stihl went with a poorly designed Chinese carb that has horrible tolerance stackup issues.

I got it to work, but it took 6 years of diagnostics in my spare time to figure out that the diaphragm cover (only held down by 2 screws) would warp enough to leak vacuum and shut off the fuel when the saw warmed up. Maybe Stihl's pro-saws are still ok, but after this experience, I will never buy another one when there are so many good alternatives.

 

[SWNH]

FWIW, I have 2 MS170s and use them for 90% of my cutting needs. Both with 14" bars, .043 narrow chain. The only issue I've found with them is they don't idle well in really cold weather (i.e. 10F or colder).