Anyone have issues with their Stihl MS-250

[weimedog]

How reliable has yours been...those of you who have ACTUAL real time experience on these little saws..please!

How about those "Easy Start" versions?

[eamassey]

I have a MS-210.  This is a second saw, used mainly for fencerow work.  This saw cuts beyond my expectations- especially if the chain is really sharp.  I would think that one should for sure choose the MS-250 if it is to be an only saw. I have cut up to 20" red oak.  I really like the "Eazy-Start".  If you have even the slightest hint of joint pain, etc., or, are in the over 60 age group--- this thing can be valuable.  My saw is only a couple of months old.  I must tell you that I am a bit skeptical of the performance of the EZY-start system, and the quick adjust chain tensioning system----over the very long run of time.   However, today, with maybe 10 hours on the saw, I am well pleased with the saw, to include EZY-start and chain tensioning.

My other saw is a Dolmar 116, about 20 years old.  If it ever gives any trouble, I will go to a 460 or 372.

[sawcollector]

This saw started life as the 1123 series back in 1990, then sold as as a 021, 025. Since then it has evolved into the MS 210, MS 230, MS 250. It is a modular engine design, as I explained in another post, which is fine for homeowner / occasional user use. It is not designed to be used as a logging saw for several hours a day.
The nice thing about a design that has been around a long time is that any problems have been sorted out and dealt with. The Easy2Start feature works well and has been trouble free. The only complaint I have heard is that it may be easier to flood the saw on a cold start since you may not hear it "pop" on the second spin and know to open the choke before the next pull.
The QCA (Quick Chain Adjuster) works great but seems to be either a love it or hate it kind of thing. The only thing that needs to be done is take the bar and chain off and clear it out often, but I do that after I am through cutting so I have never had a problem with it.

[rebocardo]

I like my MS-250 just fine. Very nice for limbing and smaller stuff, revs fast from a stand still compared to other 33-45 cc saws. I would not cut 16+" oak all the time with it though.

> I have heard is that it may be easier to flood the saw on a cold start

Actually, where I have flooded it is on warm starts after refilling. I think because I use to leave it laying on its side before and after filling while I did other things. I have learned not to choke it on restart.

I like the saw, I might actually keep this saw for over two years.

[Polly]

  i got a 250 and i was watching ty a greenhorn was trying to start the saw reminded me of myself i wish my wife had bought one with easy start option 

[MartyParsons]

We carry one in the truck to all the shows this summer. Works great.
Marty

[amberwood]

I have one as a second saw, great for quick docking and trimming around the mill. I have used it as a delimbing saw for harvesting and with a sharp chain works well. No probs with starting hot ot cold. Standard starter.

DTR

[park ranger]

I bought mine new to thin 40 acres about 15 years ago. I love the saw, it's small and just the right size for cutting up small stuff and packing up the trail.  I have cut a lot of fire wood with it but you have to bend over too much.  I have had a bad cage on a crank bearing, it was plastic and broke into chunks.  I have done the bearings, a ring at the same time, a carb kit, and the rest is routine maintenance.  I have a ton of hours of use for the money I've put into it.

[isawlogs]

 I have an 025 that has been around for a while and gets used often . This saw is on the bike and will do all chores that is required from the bike saw .    It is light and has some balls for a saw that size , now it aint no 036 and I aint trying to saye it is , but for its size and weight I really like it .

[Cut4fun]

My brother loves his 025-250. But be  warned if you ever have to tear it down to work on it, you will kick yourself. Plastic case with clamshell crank design. Fine while they are running. But dig into one and they are POS. I gave away a 029 super that looks like new after tear down to keep from having to put a piston in it and putting it back together. Thats how bad they are to work on  .

[Engineer]

I've had mine for ten years plus, and like it, my father and brother also have them. 

If it dies, I will replace it with a pro saw, probably a Dolmar 5100 or Stihl MS260.

[SawTroll]

I don't like those saws, lots of soft plastic and way too much vibration.
Hard to work on as well.

[isawlogs]

I hate those saws, higly vibrating plasitc POS.....

  I think you have never used one to state something like that about one . I think you dont know how to appreciate a good home owner saw if you saw one . 
 This is my opinion.

 One does not need  only to have  pro saws . there are good less expensive saws out there , you should get out more and look into it .

[SawTroll]

I don't like those saws, lots of soft plastic and way too much vibration.
Hard to work on as well.

  I think you have never used one to state something like that about one . I think you dont know how to appreciate a good home owner saw if you saw one . 
 This is my opinion.

 One does not need  only to have  pro saws . there are good less expensive saws out there , you should get out more and look into it .

I have used and worked on some of them, owned by friends.

The Husky counterparts are much nicer saws, specially the 350.

[Rocky_J]

The Stihl 025 is one of the best homeowner saws around. It's been a solid performer with very few updates for the past 15-20 years. Stihl makes some crappy homeowner saws but this is not one of them.

I'm not fond of the new 'easy start' gizmo, just another example of Stihl fixing a non-existent problem (like those infernal gas caps). I suspect most who buy it have no idea how it works and will take the saw to the dealer for routine maintenance and servicing. People who can change their own spark plug and sharpen their own chain wouldn't bother with some dumb 'easy start'.

[Engineer]

My dad, who's approaching 70 and has some pretty bad arthritis in his hands and arms, would benefit greatly from the easy-start feature.  He has an MS250 without it, and I am going to approach the dealer and see if his saw can be retrofitted with it.  If not, I'm going to help him sell his saw and get a new one with the easy-start.  He has a very hard time (i.e. painful) starting his saw.  The feature may not be for the younger folks, but it sure benefits the older people who sometimes stop cutting wood altogether due to physical ailments.

[SawTroll]

I don't like those saws, lots of soft plastic and way too much vibration.
Hard to work on as well.

  I think you have never used one to state something like that about one . I think you dont know how to appreciate a good home owner saw if you saw one . 
 This is my opinion.

 One does not need  only to have  pro saws . there are good less expensive saws out there , you should get out more and look into it .

Opinions vary, it would be no fun otherwise!   

Btw, I changed the post you quoted........

[isawlogs]

  Yes they do  , now had it been posted as such, the response would not have been the same . I realy hate it when something that aint all that bad , such as the 025/250 gets knocked down to a POS. I know it aint the best feeling saw out there , not the less vibration free , but you must give it what it has going for it being a low cost homeowner saw . I think most saws are good , good if used for the purpouse they where built for.
 There are a lot of people out there that just dont have the 600$/800$ or more to buy a prosaw, they need to be able to fall back on the less expensive owner saws , now if all we do is jab them as POS how in the world will they be able to make a sound decision on what to get .
   I aint saying that the 025/250 is the end of the line for small inexpensive saws ... It has being around long enough to have some proof of reliability to some extent .

   Oh ... sometimes opinions are expressed from emotions too ...

[rebocardo]

I know a guy in his 50s that likes the easy starting due to a shoulder injury where he can't pull that hard with his right hand though he can easily hold the saw.

I like the new gas/fuel caps too.   

[Red 93 L1 #3383]

I like the new gas/fuel caps too.   

Same here, I wish my 064's & my 020T had them. 

[Cut4fun]

  Yes they do  , now had it been posted as such, the response would not have been the same . I realy hate it when something that aint all that bad , such as the 025/250 gets knocked down to a POS. I know it aint the best feeling saw out there , not the less vibration free , but you must give it what it has going for it being a low cost homeowner saw . I think most saws are good , good if used for the purpouse they where built for.
 There are a lot of people out there that just dont have the 600$/800$ or more to buy a prosaw, they need to be able to fall back on the less expensive owner saws , now if all we do is jab them as POS how in the world will they be able to make a sound decision on what to get .
   I aint saying that the 025/250 is the end of the line for small inexpensive saws ... It has being around long enough to have some proof of reliability to some extent .

   Oh ... sometimes opinions are expressed from emotions too ...

+1 great post. This sight dont need that BIASED crap that ruined the other place.

I like the old stihl caps myself. Had a 361 with the new caps and they just feel chinsey and like they would break at any moment.

[Jeff]

isawlogs, I agree. Great post.

[MartyParsons]

We realy like the Easy Start. My father is in his upper 70's and he has a choice of a MS 361 20", 036 16". He uses the Big saws for felling trees but sawing fire wood and slab cutting he is always using the MS 250. He told me yesterday he would trade he 036 for the MS 250 because he liked the easy start. I guess when you get up there in age it is hard to get that extra pull to start the chain saws. He would start the saw like a yoyo give the saw a pitch grab the starter handle as it went by and grabed the running saw when it came back. I am sure you have seen this before. Saftey First? 
M

[Engineer]

Safety never.     Although, I am not one to speak out against drop starting - that's all I do.  One hand on the handle, one hand on the starter cord.   I have tried the "approved" methods of starting a saw, and I have to say, neither works for me.  The one that required you to put your boot on the saw and pull up is a pain in the back, and if the ground is covered in mud or snow, I don't want to put my saw down in it.  Also a really good chance of driving the bar tip into the ground if your foot slips. 

The other one, which requires you to hold the saw handle between your legs while the bar sticks straight out away from you, Well, let's just say that one slip with that was one time too many.

I had no problem drop starting my Stihl 066 when I had it, of course that had a compression release too.  I find it's much easier to start my MS390 than my 025.  Must be something about that little saw that makes them a really hard starter.  Once they're warm though - one pull, every time.

[isawlogs]

 Engineer
 Have you tried putting an the Stihl elastostart handle on the saws that have an extra quick in um when you start them . I have a few saws with them on and what a difference it makes.

[beenthere]

Marcel
I'd not heard of the elastostart before. Thanks, and will be checking into it.
But so far, I'm able to drop start the saw, no problem. But sometimes the handle rips outta the fingers, and this elastostart might ease that a bit.

[isawlogs]

 I have one on the 046, 036 and one on one of the 034's .. there is a big difference in the starting of the saws . Well on the hand holding the starter handle anyways . 

 The elastostart .. I aint sure of the speling here ( as usual )  ... the handle has like a bungie cord effect when starting , any kick back is absorbed through the bungy

[beenthere]

Marcel
Your spelling is right. It pops up on the Stihl site. I'll be checking into it. Thanks!!

[Rocky_J]

Stihl has a couple different models of the elastostart, the biggest difference is the rope diameter. So just pick the one that matches up to approximately the same size saw.

[SawTroll]

Stihl has a couple different models of the elastostart, the biggest difference is the rope diameter. So just pick the one that matches up to approximately the same size saw.

Yes, my FS200 one have a much smaller handle and thinner rope than my MS361 one.   

[isawlogs]

 Beenthere ,
   You wont regret getting one ,    I dont know what they sell for , but I do know I love them on the saws that I have them on . I really dont know why I dont have it on all of my saws . 

[rocksnstumps]

My thoughts on the MS-250. I do like the size and weight, isn't bad for cutting stuff under 16". Mines a little finicky to start when it's cold out. I take it off full choke if I have to do more than 3-4 pulls otherwise it seems like it floods. Once it starts for the first time that day, it's fine. Get rid of the "green" safety chain and ask for the standard version "yellow" link. Not a fan of the new gas caps. I've busted a gas cap once and last time out had to start using the scrench to make sure the bottom half of oil cap turned far enough since the part with the flip up handle turned ok but than the cap fell out when flipping saw back upright. The cost of replacement caps are pretty reasonable anyway. Like $6-7 from dealer. I rarely run saws when it's warm out, cutting wood is a cold weather endeavor for me, so maybe that's why it's not the best to start. It does bog down some when getting into bigger oak or what I consider medium sized ironwood - 12" or so. For that I get out the old 041-AV. But that sucker is heavy to do much limbing with.

[pwa]

I have a 025 for about 8 years now. I like it for small stuff and cut well with really sharp chain. But standing there bending to cut big stuff is really doing a number on my back after awhile. I 'm keeping this saw but still get something that I dont have to stand there bending so long, maybe a 310,390. The 360 i$ way up there. any thoughts anyone.

[routestep]

I like the MS250. Its pretty light and does a good job around the place. I think the biggest tree I've taken down was 18 inches or so. I have an 18 inch bar. I've sawn up some bigger windthrown, but tend to get a curving cut if the chain is dull. It is hard to start in cold weather so I keep it inside and feed it 92 or 93 octane.

The pull chord broke on a Friday afternoon recently when I was going to do some cutting. Changing the chord was a bit harder than I thought it would be because of that coiled spring in there. The directions in the booklet were pretty minimal. I ended up making a spring holder-winder out of some bits of plywood and things. I've never had to work on the saw before in the six years that I've had it.

[nmurph]

my brother has a 025 that has had the dog-sqeezins run out of it. he finally had to rebuild the carb last summer. other than that, it's been gas-n-go. it's not the most powerfull, but it does a nice job and is as reliable as gravity. as for the hard-to-start comments, it has always started well. i have many, many hours on it. it's fairly typical of stihls when it is cold: several pulls on choke, until it pops and then move it to fast idle for a pull or two. maybe our idea of cold-weather (20 degs is cooooooollllllllDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!) is a little different than some of you who have this for daytime highs.

[Ax- man]

I might as well get in on this thread. Since I have four of them . They are good little saws that are reliable to start and run good.  The 025's do all of our dirty work like ditch work and brush clearing. They take alot of abuse and hold up good for being a so called homeowner saw.

What I like about them is the parts interchangeability. I pick them up at saw shops that have taken them in for trades. There are usually two things wrong with them. The piston is toast or the saw was run with the chain brake engaged and the case is  melted around the clutch.  Just tear them down and find donor parts from other saws and you have yourself an 025 that runs which is how I got most of mine.

Larry

[weimedog]

Interesting enough if "ebay" resale prices on used MS250's are an indication of their reliability and value..they must be a good saw.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 I have had my MS210 for around 4 years. It's a nice little saw, I had to get used to using such a small saw.  I use it to cut up slabs and take it with me into the woods to clear blowdowns. It does it's job well. I did have to replace the handle bushing on one side of the engine, it got oily and the cap poped off, it's just a pop in place thing, should have been secured with a screw.

Jon