arb 08 211 review

[blue924.9]

Hey srb08, as promised here the review of the stihl ms 211 I bought. The easy start is freaking amazing, my grandma can start it with ease. Antivibe is awesome, has spring loaded mounts, similar to a car or truck motor mount, looks tacky that the saw moves independently of the handle but is worth it that you can feel your hands after a few hours.

Pulls the 16 inch bar with authority but is a higher revving engine. If you can keep the rpm up she rips through a full bars worth of oak. Doesn't lug as much as our 290 But doesn't have as much cubes to work with either. Given it hasn't been broken in and I haven't revved it up all the way yet either so that might change for the better.

If you are not used to antivibe it's hard to cut straight because the bar and handle move differently so it throws you off but you get used to it.

Stihl is doing the double warranty with the 6 pack of oil deal I mentioned in my other threads as well.

Since the engine is strato charged engine it hardly smokes when cold, and takes alot longer to warm up than normal, otherwise it bogs when you give it gas.

Overall I give it a 9 out of 10 because the plugs in the muffler seem unneeded and the flippy caps lol

 

[svk]

Rev it up good before putting it into the wood and it will keep up with any sub 50 cc saw out there. And yes, flippys suck.

 

[blue924.9]

That's the thing since it's not broken in yet I can't rev it past 3/4 throttle unless I'm in the wood with a load on, so I'm not using it to its full potential quite yet

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

That's the thing since it's not broken in yet I can't rev it past 3/4 throttle unless I'm in the wood with a load on, so I'm not using it to its full potential quite yet

What is special about the 211 that it won't hit WOT until it's broken in?

 

[svk]

What is special about the 211 that it won't hit WOT until it's broken in?

Not sure?

I've heard that it takes 10 tanks to break in a saw. But run it like you stole it from tank one.

 

[blue924.9]

It advises against full throttle unloaded for first 3 tanks in the owners manual, and full power is achieved at 5 to 15 tanks. After tank 3 is when you beat em according to the manual

 

[svk]

It advises against full throttle unloaded for first 3 tanks in the owners manual, and full power is achieved at 5 to 15 tanks. After tank 3 is when you beat em according to the manual

Rubbish....full bore from tank one.

 

[srb08]

Hey srb08, as promised here the review of the stihl ms 211 I bought. The easy start is freaking amazing, my grandma can start it with ease. Antivibe is awesome, has spring loaded mounts, similar to a car or truck motor mount, looks tacky that the saw moves independently of the handle but is worth it that you can feel your hands after a few hours.

Pulls the 16 inch bar with authority but is a higher revving engine. If you can keep the rpm up she rips through a full bars worth of oak. Doesn't lug as much as our 290 But doesn't have as much cubes to work with either. Given it hasn't been broken in and I haven't revved it up all the way yet either so that might change for the better.

If you are not used to antivibe it's hard to cut straight because the bar and handle move differently so it throws you off but you get used to it.

Stihl is doing the double warranty with the 6 pack of oil deal I mentioned in my other threads as well.

Since the engine is strato charged engine it hardly smokes when cold, and takes alot longer to warm up than normal, otherwise it bogs when you give it gas.

Overall I give it a 9 out of 10 because the plugs in the muffler seem unneeded and the flippy caps lol

Thanks Blue, I appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts.
I'm really glad to hear you like your 211, because I bought one yesterday. The Stihl dealer by my office had one of the plain 211's on the shelf. I found plenty of the C's but the plain version was a challenge.
They were running some kind of sale and gave me a case and extra chain. The case will never get used but an extra chain is nice.
I have a few blow downs that I need to limb and hope to get a little time tomorrow to try out the 211.
Monday, I plan on ordering a few loops of Oregon 91vxl chain from the guys at LCS. At $10+ a loop, it's hard to pass up.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Never heard that one before, though only owners manual for a chainsaw ive read was one for a 3-25 mac, published in the 40s... Mostly because it was interesting.

3-25 I think the first model of 1 man Mac?

What company is LCS? At $10 a loop I'll order a few hundred!

 

[blue924.9]

I do in the cut but not out of it. Feel free to post up your review on here as well

 

[srb08]

Never heard that one before, though only owners manual for a chainsaw ive read was one for a 3-25 mac, published in the 40s... Mostly because it was interesting.

3-25 I think the first model of 1 man Mac?

What company is LCS? At $10 a loop I'll order a few hundred!

Left Coast Supply. They're a sponsor here.

 

[srb08]

I do in the cut but not out of it. Feel free to post up your review on here as well

Will do.

 

[srb08]

I had a couple of hours today to do some limbing with the 211.
At first I was disappointed. I'm used to limbing with a Stihl261 or Husq 562.
I was leaning on the 211 too hard and kept bogging it down.
After I stopped being so ham handed and just let the saw feed itself, it did fine. I didn't run it in anything larger than 10" but feel that it could adequately handle slightly larger wood.
The chain tensioner is a little touchy but I don't see it as being a serious issue.
The saw is well balanced, at least for me, and I think I'll be grabbing it for more than just limbing.
It doesn't have the cheap flimsy feel that some homeowner grade saws have. I have a neighbor who has a Poulan 5020 and a Husq 435. I've run both of those saws and both feel flimsy and delicate, compared to the 211.
The 211 doesn't sound like a typical small cc, homeowner saw either. It doesn't growl like my 460 but it doesn't have that "chain rubbing on something, gear reduction sound of the new Poulans."
I've only run this saw for a couple of hours but so far, I think I'll be very happy with it. It's light and easily maneuverable, just what I wanted.
After I get used to working with a reduced HP saw, we'll get along just fine.

 

[blue924.9]

did your dealer mention anything about the double warranty offer? the thing i like about this saw over the 180c it replaced is the adjustable carb, meaning i can mod the muffler to get a power bump and add more fuel to go with it. only crappy part is now i have to wait 2 years instead of 1 for the warranty to expire

also one thing i noted but didnt post was the exhaust note was different.

trust me i was leaning pretty hard on the 211 when i was cutting some 20 inch pine, given pine isnt the hardest thing in the world but i had to push as about as hard as i could to get it to stop the chain and release the clutch, and that was with the bar burried in to the bumper spikes full throttle, am curious to see how much power there is when it gets broken in good, i only ran about a half a tank through mine the other day. still got to get used to antivibe and seeing handle move and NOT moving the bar trying to cut "straight" and end up crooked lol but hopefully i will learn pretty soon

 

[srb08]

I got the two year warranty as well.
I was running mine in wet Oak, when I bogged it down. I'm just too used to limbing with the Husq 562, that thing is like a light saber, albeit a heavy one.
I never noticed the AV issue.
I'm glad Stihl brought the non C version of the 211 back. I didn't want the extra weight of the C/BE. I did try one with Easy Start at the dealer. Amazing how little effort is required to start the saw.
Let me know how things progress with you.

 

[blue924.9]

will do

I got the c but not the c-be version, meaning I don't have the easy carb just the pull rope

 

[CR888]

The 211 is the pick of the bunch IMO of stihls homeowner saws. lt actually has a pretty good power to weight. I understand what the op means about not 'free revving' the saw out of wood. He is using full throttle in wood but out of wood keeping it below wot. You can still get a proper hard break in this way but with a little sensible safety. It's funny though that upon delivery of a new saw a stihl tech will start and pretty much straight away hold your saw at WOT unloaded while he reads his tach to make sure the saw is properly tuned.lol. l now ask that l get unturned saws as l cringe when they do that to a cold saw.