Recently purchased a 291 saw. Damned.thing is tough to keep started. Second day using it the usual pre checks were.done.to tighten all screws and check chain tension. Cut a three inch tree while.doing some other work and the bar and.chain flew off fortunately forward. New.bar and chain. Have taken back 2x since. Will not start. Managed.to get.it started where I got it from. Last Sunday would not stay started. Thoughts? About ready to return it.

Trade it for a set of golf clubs, they are a lot less likely to hurt you , it obvious that a chainsaw is way over your head !

Make your life much easier.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/battery-saws/msa220cb/

Can’t be much help. Mines 20 years old and never failed. It has even sat a couple years and still runs like new. My weed eater is about 25 years old and same deal. Maybe ya just got a lemon. Ed k

Husqvarna is your friend!

Bluefish,
Is it a new Stihl or used?

If you ever get sued to using one of the new generation battery powered chainsaws, nobody will be able to *give* you a gas powered chainsaw.

No yanking on a starter cord,...no messing with gas/oil mixture,...no gummed up carbs.

Just pick it up and pull the trigger, Set it down when you finish the cut. Pick it back up and pull the trigger when you need it again.

I've been using an Echo 58V cordless chainsaw for three years. I've lost track of the number of trees I've taken down with it. The largest had a 22" diameter trunk.

I don't think I can kill the Echo chainsaw. But if I ever do I'm going to buy a Stihl 220C cordless.

Go to a different shop if ya cant figure it out.
X2 at that shop = go to another shop....

Follow this and she'll start...every time.

They flood very easily. If it floods, it won’t start for at least a couple of hours. Let it sit try it later.

B

Disconnect the kill switch

Mine's a Kobalt from Lowes. 80V. I got it because at the time I needed a saw it was Christmas and that and Dewalt were the only game in town. I sure haven't regretted it. Some friends got a Dewalt at the same time. The saws are almost identical but Dewalt has a slow charger. The Kobalt will recharge a dead battery in 30 min. The Dewalt will take at least double that time, maybe longer.
One thing about the Kobalt is the warranty. It's a store brand so if you need warranty work, just return it to any Lowes store for a refund or a new saw. They don't fix it, they replace it.

Fast chargers are a feature on many of the cordless chainsaws. I thought about getting a spare battery for mine when I first bought it, but I don't need one. One charge lasts longer than I care to work without taking an iced tea break,..and it takes about 40 minutes to put a full charge in the battery

In other words, the battery doesn't hold me back at all. It cuts a *lot* on a full charge and I've never really ran the battery down to nothing. I might deplete it about 60% before I'm ready for a break if I'm feeling particularly motivated. By the time I'm ready to get back at it the battery has another full charge in it.

For use at home, battery saws are great. If you take it to the hills, you need a generator. It all depends on how you use it.

New saw. When it works it works well. I've thought of the flooding issue as well bit it seems strange to flood so easily if that is the case.

An inverter on your truck will recharge it in the hills, too. It's a lot cheaper than buying a generator if you don't have one.

Don't that beat all. A chainsaw for skinny jeans users.

If the cordless chainsaws of today existed 80 years ago, gas powered chainsaws would have never existed.

What I dont comprehend is the bar and chain coming off??
2 bolts on the body of a saw holding it in the blade slots and a tension screw adjustment for the chain/ bar.
Retained in place by the cover and 2 beefy nuts.

Nuts had ta be extremely loose???
Or it sheared the body bolts??? Which have never heard of myself.
Body bolts loose and got play and wobble in em???
Usually if a blade is that loose for some reason
The chain comes off and binds up the drive sprocket.
Unfugg it and retighten tension screws, put plate back on, crank down the nuts and run it.

Unusual........

Is the place you bought it from a true logging type supply dealer that routinely fixes Stihl products? This should be an easy fix if so. Around here, you can buy Stihl at some of the hardware-type chain stores and in those cases you get a 17-year-old assembling your saw.

The dealer I buy through, told me recently about a guy who bought a new Farm Boss from a chain store and brought it in because it wouldn't cut. You guessed it, the chain was on backwards. Not sure who is more at fault with that though? The store that set it up or the owner?

,...and file all the burrs off of the drive links.

Shoulda got an Echo.

MM

It's common. Check out the video above.

A couple batteries and an inverter for the truck. I'm warming up to the idea of "needing" one.

Yep..This right here. I just bought an MS211 and this is what my dealer told me to do as well. It has worked flawlessly every time. Great saws for the money.

Pay attention to the video Ghostinthemachine posted and you'll never have a problem starting it again.

Exactly how my 30 YO 028 starts....minus engaging chain brake, sweeping leaves, 3' from refilling 'station', foot in handle and alla that protective gear.

Tag

Exactly how I've been doing it. Going to take it to a different store on Saturday who deals with a lot of the professional loggers in the area. Appreciate the help with the exception of two know-it-all buttfuks.

This. I have a Stihl weedeater that is a great machine but it is easy to flood. When it was new I had the same problem as the OP. Could not start it and was about ready to wrap it around a tree. Smelled gas and started looking at things and realized it flooded so bad the air filter was soaked with gas.

Here is how you start it.....

1)pump the plastic bubble until you see gas in it....STOP don't pump anymore....If it already has gas in it DON'T PUMP.

2)put choke on and pull rope. If it sputters AT ALL, DO NOT pull the string again until you take choke off. Mine takes about two pulls.

3)take choke off and pull until it starts......takes another two or three pulls.

Use this as a template as all of em are a little different.

If you don't want to wait on it to clear itself, you can take the spark plug out and pull the rope a few times to clear the combustion chamber. Dry off the plug, reinstall and try again.

Yep. But my next will be an electric.
My wife wanted to buy me a chain saw as a present about 5 years ago. We went to the ranch store and I picked one out. The sales guy got a new one out of the box and went through the startup procedure, gassed it up with the high dollar canned Stihl pre-mix and could not get the saw to start. So manager gets involved. They get another new saw out of the box, carefully go through the start up procedure provided by Stihl on the quick start card and have exactly the same result. At that point I said thanks for the demo and walked. Bought a Husqvarna, starts right up every time.

I'd be interested in what you find out. My buddy had a good chuckle when I flooded my new 390, off the get go.

There is no primer bulb on a 291

Or set it a lil loose and pizz rev it a couple of times and retighten chain.......just sayin.

FWIW the 291 is a lot of saw for occasional work. Mind you, not a 361 or something but a 25 series would probably be more suitable.

Anyway, I have never heard of having to leave any of my Stihl saws for hours upon flooding. Have I flooded them, certainly. Guess I am old school, flood any carb'd engine and you just hold the throttle wide open while turning it over. If I waited for a flooded saw to clear itself the pipes in my house would have frozen years ago.

My Stihl MS250 wouldn't start either. If it floods, I move the lever to the OFF position and pull the cord so the gas clears the cylinder. Then put it in the RUN position and it starts right up.

Not the biggest saw in the world, but it is perfect for my needs for firewood. Only a 16 inch bar, but something I can handle well.

I choke my Stihls for two pulls max. Even if it doesnt "pop", I'll switch the choke to "run" and one or two pulls and they are running. As stated earlier, Stihls are prone to flooding..Never give em a chance to flood! Two pulls max on "choke" no matter what!

Have 3 stihl chainsaws and all will start with 3 pulls, if the chain came off of the bar you let it get to loose. New chains stretch alot with first use. Cold chains stretch some when they get hot even when used. I have NEVER heard of a bar coming off. That would have to be operator failure.

That's the great mystery. All was checked and tightened prior.to use.

Sounds like you just need an axe, unless you don't live close to an Emergency Room. 😁

It's possible that the chain wasn't properly seated in the bar groove or on the sprocket. When it popped back into position, it left a lot of slack.

I hope to get it all straight day after tomorrow.

I've run a chainsaw for 40 years and never once had a bar and chain both pop off..............

And I hope it.never happens again.

You can buy new carbs for them pretty cheap. When mine starts acting up I just go through it and replace the cheap expendable parts and, whamo!, it's back in business. Carb, fuel lines, fuel filter, air filter, oil line, and I'm good for another 5 years. Everything on them comes off with a T27 torx bit.

I had a farm boss 290 and it worked good for many years. One spring after around 10 years I couldn't start it and brought it in for repair and they said the gas line was bad. I had a stihl weed wacker too that had the same problem. Both were bought at the same time probably back in the 2000 time frame. Must have been a bad batch of gas lines. Last year after around 20 years I couldn't start it and they said the carb was shot probably from ethanol gas in the early years. Junked it and bought a cheaper echo at HD and it works really well and starts and runs one pull. The cordless power equipment is getting pretty good. I have a full sized tiller but since I have a decent sized garden I wanted a small tiller that could be easier to get in between the rows. I bought a Mantis cordless and it works really well and beats pulling and pushing a hoe or claw in between the rows. I used it on low power for around a half hour and still had 3/4 of the battery.

My old 029 pro sometimes sits for 3 or 4 months without running. I was told that you put the choke on and pull it over until it pops, then take the choke off and another pull or two gets it running. That's the way I've always done it. Can't remember ever having to change the spark plug, but I might have. I always run my two strokes a little heavy on oil so I don't have to keep different mixes for the old vs newer. Works for me! Ymmv.

Jerry

Bar and chain flew off because you didn't tighten those two nuts.

The new Stihls have a single dial wheel that tightens the chain instead of the old traditional two nut set-up.

A single dial wheel. So you don't use the chain saw tool on it?

I had a Stihl that was prone to flooding. If you pull the spark plug and dry it off, you can get to start without waiting. If you are just doing light homeowner work, get an battery saw. I have a Milwaukee and works great for most work. I have some bigger timber to deal with so I also have a bigger Dolmar gas saw that works great. The Stihl saw I had, had starting and chain oiler problems that the dealer didn't seem to able to fix so I traded in for the Dolmar.

To start a "Cold" Stihl Chain saw you lock the throttle down while moving the run level all the way to the bottom. This bottom position is the choke and you pull the saw at this position until you get a "Burp" then move the run lever to the run position and pull until it starts, most times 2 or 3 pulls max. When the saw starts release the chain brake, if you set it, and press the trigger to disengage the full throttle lock and now manually run the saw power up an down with the trigger until the saw is running smoothly.

If you pull while the saw in the choke position past where the saw gave a slight "burp" you will flood the saw and you will need to remove the spark plug and let the saw sit of a few minutes before reinstalling he plug and going thru the start procedure again.

If the saw is warm you place the saw in the run position and pull the saw to start, do not start a warm saw in the choke position.

If the saw just stops running while you are using the saw that is a whole different issue, take it to the dealer.

I have the same saw. Was getting tired feeling, took it in for it's first service in however long I've had it, over 10 years anyway. For under $100, got a new carb, new plug, cleaned everything up and sharpened it. Runs like a new saw, though she can't compete with my new MS362. I don't remember ever flooding my old saw, but the new one does seem more prone.

If I never left my suburban yard I suppose an cordless saw might be attractive, but outside of that forget it. You'd even have to charge it off the genny in a storm cleanup situation.

A shiny new 362. I dream about that saw at night.

This is why it’s best to spend a little extra money on a pro model saw. Mix Stihl or husky 2 cycle oil in high octane non ethanol fuel. As far as removing burrs on drivers just remount chain loose on bar and crank the throttle a few times. This will remove the burrs and your good to go.

Yes, it has a gear on the back of it that moves the blade in and out. I have a brand new MS 180 that has the new style bkade tensioner on it. Will ppst a pic when I get home tonight.

Treat yourself man, you deserve it. You know it felt right when you held it. Been using the dogshite out of mine.

I have been less than impressed with the newer stihls

My new MS 362 adjusts same as they always have.

Electric chain saws.
I must admit, in April the girlfriend and I jumped on board, and we bought an expensive battery powered lawnmower, and weedeater. They have gotten heavy use and I could not be more impressed. These are wonderful tools. Quiet.

I am interested in a battery powered chain saw. However, I have a 33 year old Stihl 039 that I have used extensively and the damn saw won't die, just cut a 22 inch black walnut up with it this afternoon and it ran like a top.
Also have a pro model Husqvarna that is 6 years old, I paid $618 for it, and, of course, it runs great. Very little maintenance with these saws.
Also have a little bitty Stihl 009 that I use for particular cuts on log cabins.

So I have $1500 in gas powered chain saws I don't think I can justify going electric on the chain saw.

Hes from Bama.. 1 & 2 are big confusing numbers...

Nothings changed... they have the “2” bar retention nuts/bolts, and as always the “1” flat head tensioning bolt between the two bar nuts. The provided tool still does it, nothings changed... his mom is still his lover.

Hey you stupod fuqk, what's this cokksucker?



Say you're sorry, you little bitch.

SimonKenton, never pay attention to Jackoff1234, he don't know sheit.

Was out today cutting about a dozen trees blown over. My dad showed up with his stihl. Newer POS with the plastic crap. He did 3 cuts and threw his chain. I hate that set up.

I like my echo cs400. No problems. I actually had to grab the cs800 36"er for one tree.

Nope. As already stated, tightened all before use. Mystery continues.

Is that a MS291 you stupid fug like the thread is about? Put your little toy homo owner saw away... we are talking farm and ranch or pro saws....

The cheaper stihls dont have a 2 nut system. You just tighten down that cheap plastic "nut" and use the small dial to tighten the chain.

Definitely not a good system for serious cutting. Kinda makes stihl look bad in my book.

How many saws would you like to see? I have 6 Stihls. I farm you little bitch. Just say you were wrong cokksucker.

Return it and be done with it before you waste any more time.

I'll spend a little time now to save you lots later.
Learn, because it cost me lots, so you can benefit from my experience.

Stihls got a good reputation, no doubt about it.
That's why I read all kinds of review s forums, personal recommendations from loggers before starting my own business a while back. Bought the recommended Pro saw for commercial work brand new out of the box from the local retailer.

I then asked the owner to show me how to start it because I had jobs lined up and if anyone would know he would. BTW, I've started and used other brands over the years, but this would certify that I was doing things RIGHT WITH HIS SAW, because he was showing me.
He couldn't start it. He had the shop change the plug and fresh fuel etc.. it turned over and eventually ran before stalling. I asked for a replacement and he refused. Said they do that until broken in. It'll improve...blah blah blah.
Suuure... they do....

I worked with it until I was sore and tired. Stacking logs was easier.

Other than no chain throw,
I had the exact same issue as you over and over taking it back for service and the owner would hide.
It never ran right now matter who at his shop serviced it costing umpteen hours waiting... Demanded refund got me nowhere so thought I'd have to get my attorney involved. Didn't go that route yet.
I demanded a new replacement or refund after losing a bunch of jobs that month... thousands of dollars!

I contacted the company to complain about their retailer eventually getting somewhere with upper corporate....long story and too long to go there.

Short is the owner was mad for me getting him in trouble and finally gave back my money. It costs way too much time and trouble and loss Money that I'll never buy a Stihl again.

I got an online price for a better Husquavarna Pro saw....went to Lowe's. The general manager price matched it and I've been a happy camper ever since.
Is husky normally better than Stihl,? No, probably not, but they're on par. Except this one outperformed that other Stihl in every category and starts on the second pull even after setting all winter. No job too big, but some too small.

Even good rep companies have lemons or bad lots/years. I found out that the year of that one was when the California state EPA standards changed to be cleaner than the dope the EPA was smoking. Stihl complied but their engineers messed that system up and didn't care.

Now is the time, while within the 30 day window to get your money back. Most states are 30 days if still the same as I last checked.

PS: next saw, always use FRESH NON ALCOHOL GAS.
That is available in few stations so call around. Small engine failure is usually from the corn alcohol gas these days. It's sometimes called off road vehicle gas. It won't do it as soon as you described though.

Help this helps
☕ 🙂 👍 🌲🌲🌳🌳🌴🌳🌲


This will too
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDEBz25lGdY

Thats a homeowner saw... what the MS180?

I dont give two fugs what you do hahahaha u also fug your mom, what difference does that make. Its not a farm and ranch saw, nor is it a pro saw....

Its a CB-E in the homo owner line, and they make the same saws without the CB-E that still have the same two nuts and the same bar tightening bolt. Im not wrong, your just a dumb backwoods bama retard.

You're to chickensheit to say where you're from. We are not argueing whether it's a small saw or a big saw, you flat out stated that Stihl did not make a saw like that. I proved you wrong.

No dip chit, i said nothings changed, they still have the 2 nuts and the bar retention bolt..

You on the other hand said the new stihls only have the dial... which is wrong...

The new CB-E versions have the dial, the normal, not from Bama harry homo owner that can handle the physics of two fugging nuts and a bolt are still the same....

The created the CB-E line for illiterate goons like you... and its only offered in the teeny pussified home owner line with hardly any power...

I don't know about the chain and bar flying off, like some of the others I've never even heard of a bar coming off a saw. As far as not running, check to see if it's flooding. If not flooding it needs an adequate spark, fuel, air, and compression to run.
Which of them does it not have? It could also be the spark arrestor plugged up and creating too much backpressure. Being a fairly new saw and the fact that it will run sometimes, I'm thinking a bad plug. They are all fairly easy to check.

Chainsaw threads in this group rarely disappoint oh, Jesus

Slumlords Stihl had a specific way to start up when cold when he let me use his a couple times dropping trees in my back yard.
One of the bigger models.
As long as I kept the chain sharp and bar oil and fuel in it .
It ran good.
I was knocking down and sawing up trees from 10 to 24 inches in diameter.

I got that saw because we had a little wind here at the condo and blew down a little 3” tree limb on my japanese maple. It was terrible. Those chainsaw things are scary.

Downed trees make good dog runs.
Espeically for nitwit coon hounds that have been spolied by women.
Lol!!!






Brady was ticked off when I got around to sawing up.his "climbing"
tree a couple of days later.
Lol!!!

My bar on my Echo 58V is a .043 gauge and it was bad about throwing the chain. I went to Tractor Supply and bought a .050 gauge chain, same length, same number of drive links, same pitch, but .050 gauge.

It was a snug fit in the bar groove but it went on. The bar smoked for a few seconds when I started running it, but after a few seconds of running time the drive links and the bar wore until they fit each other. I'm on my third .050 gauge chain on that .043 bar now and the groove in the bar has opened up enough that the .050 chain fits. It's not prone to throwing chains any longer.

Renegade that is a nice black walnut tree your dog is standing on. My brother and I were lugging around a black walnut just yesterday.

Nice walnut Renegade. Shoulda sold it.

I had plenty of people over the years willing to let me pay them to haul it the fugg away.
Knowing they would sell it.

Offered some Cut it down and its yours.

Nope they all wanna make money on both sides.

Fughing sawed it up and brought it all to slumlord for his big ole outdoor stove to burn

Back yard originally had 16 fugging trees in it when I bought the home in 2006

Down to 4 now which I can live with

Previous owners were morons.

Chinese persimmons
Huge hackberry tree growing right next to the drive way with big ole limbs going over the drive way.
Couple of shallow spread out root water maples.
All this schit growing around the perimeter of a in ground pool
Morons....
No wonder it went too schitt and the thing cracked all over the place.

That is what that big ole plateau is in the back yard.
A demolished and buried in pool as a result of roots ruining it.

The mills dont buy yard trees.... replacing one of their bands is way more than the veneer is worth. They dont really buy too many wild ones anymore either, and certainly dont pay what people think they are worth.

The bottom of the trunk was grained really well.
I had 3 sections each about 14 15 foot long
Bottom was very similar in size to the one in your pic.

Don't get me started.

Already burned up all that walnut.

What????
That was 2 and half cords back in march.

Holy fugg!!!!

Yup

Now you understand.


I told you I freezin all the time.

I make all the sweathogs turn the air conditioner off when I go anywhere with them. 😃

Dude I had like 350 ft of chain link fence vine wall.
I spent 2 springs and summers making it look like chain link fence again.
You think any of the co adjoining neighbors lifted one finger to help
Fugg no....
Fugging pulling and hand snippering woody vine brush sucked...

I had a 10 ft band of 12ft tall brush growing around the slope of that buried pool, slope from top to bottom is 12 ft tall in places. Literally 45 to 60 degree angled.
What a Pita that was. Cutting it down
Hauling it off
Killing off all them roots system.

Its all grass now.
Sucks to mow it , but at least it aint brush.
Gravity Push mower up the bottom half.
Gravity push mower down the upper half.
Looks good when cut.
Sometimes I just poison the slope and say fugg it.
It grows back after 2 or 3 months anyways.
Those kill for 6 8 12 month claims are bullschitt.

Previous owner never did anything but the easy mowing and didnt use brush killer on the fence line ever .
Just let schit grow.....

I gotta mow the back yard this weekend
Wife/ khan dropped the A bomb on me last night about it .
Fugg.......

I know.
Your sense of temp is totally fugged from all them meds.

It's july and your cold....

LOL!!!

So, I see the resident expert on every fuqking thing has stopped by to give us his wisdom on the lumber bidness. Sumbitch won't even tell anybody where he lives either, probably lives in the desert and runs his logging company there. 😁

Cut 2 60', 3'+ diameter....one Locust and a Black walnut that my buddies tree company dropped for me last week into firewood sized pieces the past 2 afternoons. Used a Stihl 261cm with an 18" bar and 462cm with a 28. Other then swapping and sharpening chains and adding fuel and oil had no issues. These Stihl bashers on here need to try the pro level saws before the run their pie holes! HUGE difference from the homeowner and farm/ranch saws!

By way of update, i used the saw all weekend with no problems. Checked it before each use.for tight bolts, etc., it started with no problems, and performed as.one.would expect. Strange, indeed but.glad.its working.