Stihl MS 271

[Tim Horton]

Being an old guy.... For a good number of years now, I've been using the MS170..

They are often on sale. Light, easy to use, cut a lot more wood than many would imagine.

About the only issue I have is that this model uses the bar and chain that has the 1.1 mm shark fin guide slots on the chain and bars.

Oregon chain is 1.4 mm shark fin chain. I guess the answer is to use an Oregon bar when the original is wore out.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Some of the discount hardware stores sell Stihl’s around here so they must be junk too? Maybe sitting on your throne you don’t know this, but every manufacturer makes many grades of equipment to sell for different markets.

Sat on the throne this morning and Baptized a ''Baby Ruth if that is what you are referring to. Only 'throne' I sit on. I can, if you want,
Christen' the next one (tomorrow morning) in your name.....



I think you'll find, unlike Poolin, Stihl has retail price controls, no matter who the retailer is. (like Kubota sets the lowest pricing). and I don't believe you'll ever see Stihl being sold at Harbor Freight either. Kind of like Husky / Jonsered and TSC. They can only 'discount' them so much and stay an authorized dealer. Far as I know, Stihl only makes 2 'grades' of equipment. The 'professional line' and the homeowner line. Far as I can ascertain, Poolin only males one grade, the Chinese grade.

As an aside, I once had a Poolin years ago. Spent more time yanking the recoil rope than running it. Went in a garage sale, think I got 15 bucks for it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Being an old guy.... For a good number of years now, I've been using the MS170..

They are often on sale. Light, easy to use, cut a lot more wood than many would imagine.

About the only issue I have is that this model uses the bar and chain that has the 1.1 mm shark fin guide slots on the chain and bars.

Oregon chain is 1.4 mm shark fin chain. I guess the answer is to use an Oregon bar when the original is wore out.

Interesting I don't remember ever wearing out a bar and I used to cut a lot of wood, I owned and operated a tree trimming company years ago Always used good (Stihl) bar oil and everythime I filed a chain, I flip the bar over and I always run 2 chain loops and when there is no more tooth to file, I get 2 new loops and a new drive sprocket and start over again. One thing about Stihl I like is how easy it is to change drive sprockets. 1 minute jod. What I don't like is the new cam lock fuel caps or the fuel injection models.

 

[Magicman]

Stihl saws are only sold by Stihl Dealerships which offer three different levels of saws;

Homeowner which are: MSA 120C-BQ to the MS251C-BE
Farm and Ranch which are: MS150 C-E to the MS391
Professional which are: MS 241C-M to the MS880.

The C-M denotes the M-Tronic saws which are "computer controlled".

 

[Magicman]

Tim, no apology for being an "old guy". I'm 76. Even though a use a Professional MS362 for heavy sawing at my sawmill, I will also grab the Homeowner MS170 saw for handy trim work. 8.6 lbs. vs 12.3 lbs. and I can pull the rope with two fingers.

 

[ipz2222]

The poulan is junk?? I must have the only good one ever made then. Had it for 18 years and still running.

 

[Bmyers]

So my take on this post, I can buy either the MS271 or the MS291 and it will meet my weekend needs and work well along with my MS170.

 

[conropl]

I've been using an MS271 for years now, and it has been working great for me. Much better than my old Husky 50cc that I replaced.

I wouldn't mind more HP, but am unwilling to pay for it.

Just a little suggestion... use the Stihl synthetic bar oil. Mine came with an 18" bar, and I have cut a lot of wood with it with no problems with cheaper bar oil. However, when I switch to a 20" bar I burned the first one up real fast. I put a second one on, and it started to overheat right away. I found it was not getting enough oil to the chain. I talked to the dealer because I thought there might be a problem pumping oil. He said to use the Stihl synthetic bar oil... they had seen the same problem several times and this usually fixed it. Seems silly, and any decent bar oil should work; but I tried it, and it worked good. The moral of the story: The saw does not seem to have enough pump to move enough oil on a little larger bar unless you use the Stihl synthetic bar oil. Since I switched over i have not had any issues and the chain does not get dry. In fact, it seems to be well oiled.

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk

 

[Magicman]

Yes Bmyers, the MS271 should serve you depending upon what your "weekend needs" are. Personally speaking since you already have a 30.1 cc MS 170 "small" saw, I would be inclined to skip the 50.2 cc MS271 and make the jump to the 55.5 cc MS291. I say that because I satisfactorily used a 55 cc, MS028AV for many years.

 

[Bmyers]

Yes Bmyers, the MS271 should serve you depending upon what your "weekend needs" are. Personally speaking since you already have a 30.1 cc MS 170 "small" saw, I would be inclined to skip the 50.2 cc MS271 and make the jump to the 55.5 cc MS291. I say that because I satisfactorily used a 55 cc, MS028AV for many years.

Thanks. I figured for the $50 difference the jump would probably be worth it. We have a little 80 acre farm. we have been clearing brush/trees and reclaiming some of the ground back that hasn't been getting farmed. When we got rid of the cattle and pigs, stuff got overgrown over the last 10 years. So we have been slowly reclaiming the ground.

 

[Magicman]

My old 55cc MS028AV along with the 59cc MS310 became my "farm" saws.

The MS310 was my "heavy" sawmill saw but I replaced it with a 59cc MS362 which has a decompression valve and is easier for my "old" hands to crank.

 

[Tornado]

Thought Id throw my 2 cents in here, as my current project as Ive shared in other places on these boards is clearing woods and expanding our backyard. Been clearing about a solid acre of thick woods and trees and converting it to pristine grassed over back yard space. The chainsaw I've been using is a Stihl MS 251C-BE. Its a slightly upgraded version of the good ol' MS 250, which has been around a long time. My saw technically falls into the "homeowner" grade line I suppose, considered a "medium duty" saw. I have downed so many trees with this saw now I couldn't even give you a number. but it is dozens and dozens of trees, some of them big enough the whole bar disappeared. I've not had any issue with this saw in terms of performance. I just replaced the bar on it the other week as the butt of a tree came off the stump on one of my last cuts and dropped straight down on the bar with force, pushing it into the ground. It bent the bar a little. I hammered it back out straight and used it some more but the chain was not gliding smoothly so I replaced the bar. I also went with the more aggressive chain, that has a yellow box on it instead of green. I forget model #. It doesnt have the kick back protection but cuts even faster and more aggressively. Its back to cutting through thick wood like a hot knife through butter.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Any (brand) of chainsaw is only as good as the chain is sharp and the rakers set properly. Even a Poolin.....

 

[KTOY]

You keep poulin and poulin and finally they start.

Dont count out the Husky XP saws. I liked the 262xp I had for 20+ years and liked it better than my new MS362CM.

 

[CapnDean]

Get the 261 its a much better saw. The 271 and the 291 are not commercial saws, the 261 is. Trust me on this.

 

[Magicman]

The MS261 is a Professional series 50.2cc saw weighing only 10.8 lbs.

The Professional series does not offer a 55cc saw but instead jumps to the MS362 which is a 59cc saw weighing 12.3 lbs. and is the saw that I am presently using.