STIHL CHAINSAW'S Dirty Little Secret

Protect your round files in drinking straws so they aren't dulling one another in the plastic bag.

i've owned stihl's for years and have never had any problem with them other than regular maintenance things. one of the best chainsaws made in my opinion

The whole vapor lock deal is dumb, the videos that I've seen, where the saws do this, the saw has been left in the sun thus causing gas vapor to build up. The videos show the person going to open the tank and they do it super fast which lets out all the pressure at once, which in turn sprays them. I did 4 years of non active fire, fire mitigation with a local company, and the main thing they told us about the Sthil saws was not to leave them in the sun. With some of the extreme heat we were working in (115 degrees+), plus leaving your saw in the hot sun, after running straight for an hour could cause low level fuel boiling. Which in turn, if the gas cap was open fast with out venting the pressure first, could spray in your face, with the potential to melt your skin (Yikes). If you flip up the handle and turn the cap 1/4 turn it will vent, then you can open it fully to fuel or do whatever you need to do. I got sprayed once, when a coworker used my saw. I had left mine in the shade, as co-boss of the crew, I had to step away to help someone who had hurt their ankle, and while i was gone from the site (2+ hrs), a fellow crew member had used my saw. They had left it in the sun after that, then stuck it in the shade just minutes before I returned to it. When I picked it up I realized that is was light like it needed to be refueled. So I carried it to the fueling area (near our vehicles on a tarp) and set it down across from our crew boss. I quickly opened the cap, not knowing that it had been left in the sun, and got a face full of what little gas remained in the tank. It was sure hot, but not quite face melting hot yet. My crew boss scrabbled over to me, to see if I needed to be medevac-ed to the hospital, I had pretty bad burns on my lower face (thank god for eye protection), but nothing that required a medevac, via helicopter. Any ways I have rambled quite enough, just let the tank vent first before popping it open! Oh one more thing, heres a video of some of the work we did. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4HfvTZ9Zbg

Stihl MS290 user here. I cut 10 to 15 cd wood per year, and have NEVER had any sort of problem such as fuel splashing out of the saw, or so on. No mysteries, no faults....this saw has been 100% dependable in all conditions for 5+ years. Choke it, 3 pulls to first start...flip to 'run', and first pull - every time, hot or cold out. Original spark plug. This is one hell of a piece of machinery, from my point of view.

I've always heard the still spiked on the chainsaw are called "Dogs"

Stihl is at the mercy of the EPA, the clean air gurus don't want chainsaws to vent any hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, so this is why one way check valves are used in tank vents creating a huge fire safety issue. It's not just Stihl though. Safety gas cans also a huge problem, no vent cap. When your 2 gal. can becomes a 3 gal. can while sitting in the sun, yep huge problem.

I asked grand dad "grand dad, why did you buy an aluminum wedge?" And grand dad said "SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!!"

I call BS we use stihls all day everyday commercially and we have absolutely no issues with vapor locking and we are at 10,000 ft above sea level.

I live in London, I don't know why I'm watching a video about chain saws... but I'm glad I am.

Love it....every time I get my camera out the wind starts howling! And my rooster starts crowing!!

Dad was a hotshot for 20 years, a jumper for two seasons. When he taught my how to run a saw, it was his 044 magnum. My current boss, another forest service vet, his favorite saws are his pair of 044 magnums. Just a very balanced saw, can run it all day, have enough power you need for 95% of trees in my area, and it doesn't seem to vibrate as much as the newer 461s (another great saw btw).

I've been cutting with chain saws for over 40 years and have owned many brands. My very first saw was a Stihl 041G with a large bow on it. Bows were used for short wood pulpwood harvesting. That "G" on the "041G" stands for a gear saw. There was a gearbox built onto the side of the saw which reduced the chain speed but increased torque dramatically. You could lay the bow on a log at idle and give it the gas and the chain would start cutting immediately. It wouldn't hang up and bog the engine down as a non-gear. Despite being a great saw it vibrated quite a bit and would often back out screws which held the saw together. It was a constant maintenance task. To attest to the toughness of Stihl chain saws, the previous owner of the G saw had run straight gas in it and it locked up. The repair shop wanted hundreds of dollars to fix it. I bought it for $25 from the individual, took it apart, replaced the piston ring, fired it up, and began cutting. I ran it for 15 years thereafter. That saw has since been retired and I currently run two other Stihl's: a 72cc 038 Magnum and a 026. Obviously there are the Husqvarna users who tout their brand but I've always stuck with Stihls. I used to work at a distribution center for a major tool sales company. While walking by the docks one day I saw container after container of Husqvarna saws being off loaded from China. I also observed all of the Husqvarna's in the Returns department. I'll never buy a consumer grade Husqvarna simply for those observations.

Those spikes are called “dogs”

Hello Cody, I agree with everything you have said but I would recommend a stump vise. It is a fancy thing I know I don’t need but it really does make sharpening in the field a lot more enjoyable. Keep up the good work

Just bought my 1st chainsaw, I am glad I ran into your videos. I have learned a lot and I am fortunate not to have started cutting until I watch what's needed before cutting. There is much more to this then I ever thought. Thank you.

Of all the brands of chainsaws I've used, I found Stihl to be the best.

Great video! I carry about the same thing, other things I like to have are a thin file to clean up the bar just in case the chain way gets a bur in it, a small tube of grease to apply to the roller bearing at the end of the day, some fuel tank sealant in case of a tank crack, and a torx screw driver to be able to remove any screws on the saw. I love my Stihl 660.

Stihl's little secret? Not hardly. The Forestry Service in letter 7100 March 21, 2018 concerning "geysering" like you mentioned are in error. For a number of years the Wildfire S-212 course which is required for all Forest Service firefighters operating chainsaws specifically addressed the issue of fuel spraying and how to very easily avoid it. Firefighters were instructed to allow the saw to cool before refueling, as with virtually all manufacturers of gas engines made today, Never fill a hot engine. For unknown reasons which no one has commented on, that part of the training in the S-212 course was dropped in 2012 and has only been re-introduced just lately. Stihl chainsaws are very well designed and compliant with ANSI chainsaw standards. ALL Stihl saws are equipped with a venting system that allows fuel to flow into the carburetor preventing leakage. Some manufacturers use two-way vents which allow the risk of uncontrolled fuel leakage. The Forest Service has relied on Stihl equipment for decades and has an approximate 7,500 chainsaws. Buy Stihl. There is no "Dirty Little Secret", just a lack of proper training and common sense.

I just started checking out your videos. I like them, I laugh sometimes when you say things like a real man. My Grandpa who taught me to fall trees and work in the woods. Responsible foresting trees for lumber and pulp for the paper mills. He would always say when I would ask him about using the safety things out there for cutting, real men don't need those things. Later on in life I noticed these real men would be half death, missing toes or other things would be wrong. I'm glad to see you are actually using the proper gear. It took me going in the army to see safety gear is a good thing. I also like how your teaching your boy and you showing it here helps me to see how I can teach my boys. Good job thanks for the videos.

Log Teeth or pivoting claws Thank you for covering how the western firefighter is decked out and trained. I appreciate you. From my teens I'm up into my 30's, i spent 21 years as a volunteer Rescue/Firefighter. I was raised visiting a fire-station; after school every day, so it was in my blood! I was a journeyman Machinist/Tool & Die Maker and switched professions when we wrte forced to share trade secrets abroad, and I went to Electrician, and I spent the next 30 years patching circuits. My true love, though, was fighting fire and Rescuing the helpless! I, very much, appreciate the Professional Firefighters. I never got paid for firefighting, and when my town changed-over to paid, from privately owned, they asked me to come on and I declined. Is told them I HAD A JOB...I couldn't come in just anytime because of that, but mainly, I did the Fire ans Rescue because I Loved It! I could MAKE A DIFFERRNCE, and it not been be a MONEY THING. I've missed it, a long time! I still give the thumbs-up as they sirene by! I'm too old, now...anyway. I'm close to 70. Thanks again, for all you do!