Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire stihl chainsaw

I bought one brand new and spent 2 days trying to get it started---followed the manual and watched a U tube video--finally returned it-- the store couldn't get it started either--pulled the plug--said it was flooded--threw my back out trying to start it.Should I try a different store?Did I just get a dud?
One other store had an employee tell me they were "sensitive"--WTF who needs a sensitive chain saw? plus the staring procedure this guy said I should have used is completely different from the manual or the video.

I have two, a blower, and a weed eater, they fire right up. It has trash in carb.

I ran Stihls for many years. They are a great saw, but were always hard to start.

Then I switched to Husky. Never hard to start. Usually 3 pulls does it. Even warm, it's easy. After it's warm it starts on one pull.

Tain't worth all the cussin' to have saw that won't start. No matter what brand.

I'd return it.

Echo 590 , lot of saw for the money

I have a Stihl gasser, too. It cuts like a mother but my shoulders are too shot to pull the string anymore. I think I’ll have a14” model 200 battery powered stihl in a few days. When the battery quits I’ll probably be ready to quit for the day too

Used to run Stihl saws for years.Then they have the funky gas/oil caps and hard to start.Went with echo saws about 5 years ago they start with 2-3 pulls.

Were you having trouble with a soft start model?

Dealer-friend has lots of problems with people failing to do it the easy way...

Stihl saw usually starts 2 pulls or less.

Had one Stihl - that was one too many. Spent more time trying to start it than I did cutting. Or seemed like it anyway. sold it off pretty cheap and never looked back.

Echo or Jonsered now.

Got three Stihl chainsaws up to the bad ass 362, string trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer, and one edger. All will start on the second pull. Love em.

My stihl was hard to start at first. Then after a couple of tanks of gas cutting firewood---it starts right up now, real easy. They are a fire wood cutting SOB. Glad I got it.

Mine starts and runs great but chain is constantly popping off. Tighten it then two or three minutes later pop
Tighten and repeat. Haven't needed to use it in a while so I'll figure it out when I need it again. Worked like magic First year I got it, used it alot.

My Stihl starts hard, my Echo, one to three pulls.

Unless you're a lumberjack, a high quality electric chainsaw is the way to go and they're getting better all the time.
The only downside is, the good ones are pricey.

Got half a dozen Stihls, great saws. The new fuel injected models start easier than any saw Ive ever used. I always buy the professional grade tho. Ran Huskies years back when I was logging. They are great saws too.

Might be a worn out bar.

Those Jonsered's are Husky's.

I have one of each. Only difference I can see is the color. One's red the other's orange.

Mine was a problem too. Someone showed my how to clear it by pulling on the cord a couple of times WITHOUT any gas feeding it. Starts on the first couple of pulls now. Good Luck!

All my stihl saw are a little ornery to get started. I consider 5-7 pulls as 'ornery'



Maybe you got a lemon or youre flooding it. You can't pussyfoot it when yanking that pull cord. Give it good solid yank and spin that reel like a boss.

Have two. A 290 Farm Boss and a big 461 beast. The 290 starts all the time within 3 pulls (more if it's been siting six months), one if warm. It's on it's 3rd bar and has cut over 40 cords of wood. The 461 is a new one last year to do the heavy job of bucking the logs. It was a bitch to start when new, especially if I used the "easy" start button - which is some sort of compression release. It's starts just like the other one now, no more than three pulls cold and one if warm...if I don't use the compression release.