Official MS261CM vs 550XP test

[Crusarius]

I have a 20" bar on mine and it has been buried on quite a few walnut trees and some hickory. Still the most powerful best cutting saw I have run.  I find anytime I use the points to pivot I stall the chain but if I let it do its thing it fly's through everything I have let it attack.

I am not sure if what I am cutting is that hard on chains or if the hand filing I am doing is not very good. but it seems the sharp blade does not last very long. Good news is it doesn't take long to do a quick touchup but be nice if it lasted longer

[teakwood]

Willard -

Is that RedLine mix oil designed for air-cooled engines?

Are you sure you want to change to another oil??
i'm no fan of changing oil in my chainsaws, always used stihl oil my whole life and never had a problem with any saw. and i mix them as recomended 1:50

[HolmenTree]

Willard -

Is that RedLine mix oil designed for air-cooled engines?

Are you sure you want to change to another oil??
i'm no fan of changing oil in my chainsaws, always used stihl oil my whole life and never had a problem with any saw. and i mix them as recomended 1:50

teakwood and John,
Yes it is rated for air cooled engines. This Redline oil has the same JASCO FB/FC and API TC rating as the Stihl and Husqvarna pre mixes.
I noticed some varnish on my 261's piston when I did the muffler mod so I may need some extra cleaning and protection with this full synthetic oil.
Varnish can be caused by stale fuel or improper fuel mix ratio. But I always use fresh premium gas and 40:1 over 50:1 shouldn't be a problem with these new high performance Stihl engines rated for 50:1.
But who knows I haven't been able to get full synthetic Stihl Ultra mix for a few years now. My dealer says he will only order a whole case for me as he can't sell it locally for its high price.
By the time (years) that I use up all those bottles some of the solvents will have already leached through the plastic bottles.
The next nearest Stihl dealer is 600 miles away.
I feel confident this RedLine mix oil will be safe at 50:1.

[HolmenTree]

Nothing to report on the MS261CM today as I put my 066Mag-28" to work removing 5 oversize spruce, jack pine and poplar.
The old 066 really impresses me how much power it really does have.
I'm running a 8 tooth rim with a loop of 28" 33RSC chain and it rips with the bar completely sunk in wood.
Amazing thing about the 27 year old 066 is I recently rebuilt it with new OEM bearings, seals and rubber parts but still running the original P/C and rings.
And get this, I never changed the original carb diaphrams!

Got my new 20" Stihl ES Light bar today. Will be running it on the 066 to back up the 562XP-18".
I weighed it and it weighs 2 lbs exact. I weighed a Cannon 20" bar I have and it weighs 4 lbs 1 oz
So the light bar should seem pretty impressive especially on the 066.

As the last pic shows I wasn't too impressed with the surface of the aluminum insert on the left hand side. The right hand side was perfectly flat with no indent lines.
Will see how the bar holds up, hope I don't bend this expensive bar as my normal practice of hammering them straight might seperate the insert.


 

[teakwood]

Nice, i definitely need to buy this bar too for the 361.

there is a person in Great Britain who sells them pretty cheap
EBAY AD REMOVED BY ADMIN, REFER TO POSTING RULES

[HolmenTree]

Must be $95US?
I paid over $180 CDN with tax for mine.

[realzed]

Found out recently why my Stihl dealer won't order Stihl Ultra mix oil anymore,  because he had a hard time selling it .
His past excuse was it's no longer sold in Canada :D
So I'm looking at this full synthetic mix I can buy from a local hardware store. $11 USD for a 16 ounce bottle. It claims a 5% to 10% increase in power and extra protection. I think the 261 and 066 will like it alot

Willard - if you are looking for some Stihl Ultra here is a response I got this AM regarding some Ultra from a dealer close to you.. 
Hope this may help - I'm sure you could get some Bus Expressed to you at any point pretty cheaply or the next time you or a friend passes through there..


bcpower@mymts.net
reply
[size={defaultattr}]|  
Today, 12:10 PM



[/size]
HI Randy
Yes we stock all the Stihl products and accessories 200 ml mix oil is $3.00 ea and can be purchased in any quantities.
Thanks
Chris


--

B&C Power Products
86 LaRose Ave
The Pas, MB
Box 1620
Ph: 204-623-5791
Fx: 204-623-7226

[HolmenTree]

Randy, thanks for contacting Chris at B&C in The Pas. But Chris doesn't sell Ultra anymore either. He stopped selling it 5 years ago , a year before I moved out of The Pas. That $3 price is for 200ml of regular Stihl mix.

So I got my 066 Mag/064 Hybrid suited up today with a brand new 20" Stihl ES Light bar. Sure balances the saw nice, got a spare 25" 28" and 36" all .050 gauge and big dog sprocket cover to handle anything else.
Very versatile and nothing this 7.8 h.p. ole girl can't handle


  

[olcowhand]

Willard,
That bar looks downright disproportionate to the saw now, although I bet it is much easier to handle (I have visions of the saw flying upward when you go to pick it up, because you gathered an un- needed bunch of energy to hoist it compared to the old saw/ Bar combo). Much the way I feel when I go to pick up my MS 261 CM after running my MS 461 for a while (maybe I should get one of those bars for the 461).
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.
Ps. If I send you the muffler off my MS 261 with some frog pelts rolled up in it, will you do that mod and send it back (I'll pay the comm to FF.)?

[realzed]

Willard - Chris must not read very well obviously as my question was "do you stock and sell Stihl Ultra premix oil".. I mentioned that I found it hard to find in that area and specifically mentioned 'ULTRA'.. the price did seem a bit less than I expected - as I pay $24 - $25 per 6 pack of Ultra here though..
Sorry - It certainly sounded like I had found you a neighborhood source - when all I guess I found was a neighborhood guy who couldn't or doesn't read well! :D

[HolmenTree]

Willard - Chris must not read very well obviously as my question was "do you stock and sell Stihl Ultra premix oil".. I mentioned that I found it hard to find in that area and specifically mentioned 'ULTRA'.. the price did seem a bit less than I expected - as I pay $24 - $25 per 6 pack of Ultra here though..
Sorry - It certainly sounded like I had found you a neighborhood source - when all I guess I found was a neighborhood guy who couldn't or doesn't read well! :D

Chris has had other problems of late, Arctic Cat pulled the plug on his franchise.
But he does very well with his Mercury outboard motors and Lund boats. He recently bought a gas station, car wash and quick lube  too.

He is a  very loyal Stihl dealer for sure, his day job is a freight train engineer. His wife and grandson plus 2 employees run the dealership.

[HolmenTree]

Willard,
That bar looks downright disproportionate to the saw now, although I bet it is much easier to handle (I have visions of the saw flying upward when you go to pick it up, because you gathered an un- needed bunch of energy to hoist it compared to the old saw/ Bar combo). Much the way I feel when I go to pick up my MS 261 CM after running my MS 461 for a while (maybe I should get one of those bars for the 461).
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.
Ps. If I send you the muffler off my MS 261 with some frog pelts rolled up in it, will you do that mod and send it back (I'll pay the comm to FF.)?

Thanks olcowhand for the offer, I definitely have to do a much better job doing that muffler mod. Pretty rough quick mod I did there so I would never expect anyone to pay for that.HaHa.
The outlet deflector has to be removed to do a proper job enlarging the outlet, then needs to be silver soldered back on. But I'm right out of acetylene  for my torch.
 Matter of fact a whole new larger outlet deflector would need to be installed.
Might be a good winter off season project 

[teakwood]

(maybe I should get one of those bars for the 461).

That bar will be the perfect match for a 461

[Pulphook]

Glad U.S. pricing is not Canada ! You do pay through the nose for those nice govn't "services".
I did muffler mod my old but hot climbing saw Stihl top handle 009. It's the one to pack one for trail work with a 14" bar. But opening the muffler makes the little barker sound like a 440.
Nice posts Holmen.

[HolmenTree]

Found out recently why my Stihl dealer won't order Stihl Ultra mix oil anymore,  because he had a hard time selling it .
His past excuse was it's no longer sold in Canada :D
So I'm looking at this full synthetic mix I can buy from a local hardware store. $11 USD for a 16 ounce bottle. It claims a 5% to 10% increase in power and extra protection. I think the 261 and 066 will like it alot

Willard - if you are looking for some Stihl Ultra here is a response I got this AM regarding some Ultra from a dealer close to you..
Hope this may help - I'm sure you could get some Bus Expressed to you at any point pretty cheaply or the next time you or a friend passes through there..


bcpower@mymts.net


reply
[size={defaultattr}]|  
Today, 12:10 PM



[/size]
HI Randy
Yes we stock all the Stihl products and accessories 200 ml mix oil is $3.00 ea and can be purchased in any quantities.
Thanks
Chris


--

B&C Power Products
86 LaRose Ave
The Pas, MB
Box 1620
Ph: 204-623-5791
Fx: 204-623-7226

Bad news on the weekend, 59 year old Stihl dealer Chris Rushton who is a full time locomotive engineer is in hospital with life threatening injuries. His 38 year old conductor died during a derailment they were in when a bridge collapsed .
They were operating 3 locomotives pulling 27 cars of gasoline and propane. They were trapped in the front locomotive for hours.
It sounds like they saw it coming as one of them while trapped reported to the paramedics "there was no bridge when we came around the curve, you just can't stop this thing like a car."

[realzed]

That's sad to hear for sure - hopefully he makes it.. was the accident on the line up your way or somewhere else?
That line from the Pas used to be crazy rough in the Winter and so bad you had to watch not to crack a tooth or more when drinking in the 'bar car'... ask me how I know! ;D
I've been on lots of roads a lot less bumpy and off camber that that line! Hard to imagine there aren't a lot more derailments and washouts heading towards Thompson, Gillam, and Churchill.. not to mention having to 'back into' that Thompson depot .

[HolmenTree]

Randy, it happened at Ponton between The Pas and Thompson.

It's hard to believe there's 600 tons or more of locomotives lying in that creek.
Plus 27 rail car full of propane and gasoline.hopefully still on the tracks.

Easy to google the news feed of the northern Manitoba train derailment.
Some of the news reports mistakenly says the 2 guys were conductors.

But latest reports says a conductor died and the engineer (Chris) survived. 

[realzed]

Best Wishes to his Family and Friends.. for a good outcome to all of this for him!

[HolmenTree]

My old friend Chris Rushton Stihl dealer owner of B&C Power Products in The Pas, Manitoba passed away this afternoon from his injuries in his train derailment.

I've known Chris for about 30 years and I have never met a more dedicated and loyal Stihl dealer. 
When someone walked through his store's front door he always took the time to talk with every single one of his customers like they were family.

[lxskllr]

Sorry to hear that. Condolences  :'^(

[Hilltop366]

HolmenTree sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.

[realzed]

Willard - My condolences to you and especially to his family.. 
Sounds from your description that he was quite a guy and good friend and also a kind and helpful human being! 
May you Rest In Peace Chris Rushton!

[barbender]

Sorry for your loss, Willard.

[HolmenTree]

Thanks guys.

[HolmenTree]

Well fellas there is quite the turn of events up here in northern Manitoba.
It turns out Chris is still alive and recovering
Last Monday when I posted the news my wife's co- worker who is also a judge and a good friend of Chris, said his wife called from The Pas and said Chris passed away.

So me with my little pea brain says to myself "well I can't find any better source of information then that."

So sorry everyone.... and Chris if you are reading this give Todd and Sharon a poke in the ribs for me. :D