Just bought my first Stihl

[sawfun]

Put a 16" or 18" bar in .325 non safety chain such as RS or RC and mod the muffler and you will love that saw.

 

[billbillw]

So I'm in the middle of my 026 restore, top to bottom, everything but the crankshaft, oil pump, flywheel, and case is being replaced. A total rebuild. I wish my saw looked as good as yours . It's not bad by any means but that is one clean older saw you have there. One word of advice, when problems arise, just ask me or other members here about fixing them. It's a really easy saw to work on and parts are relatively cheap and plentiful. Plus it will save you all that dealer money on repairs. You'll like that saw, they're real runners when they work right. Feel free to pm me with any questions about this saw and happy cutting. Peace and bar grease!

Thanks, I will keep you in mind if I have any problems.

 

[billbillw]

Without trying starting a big debate, someone said to not use the Stihl orange bottle oil and go Semi-Syn. Is the Echo oil they sell at Home Depot pretty decent stuff? For me cost is probably not a big issue since I will not be going through much of it. Probably just a few small bottles per year I'd guess. I'd rather stick to the small bottles to mix 1-gallon at a time (or possibly even 1/2 gal).

I'd probably try the Stihl Ultra HP, but my nearest dealer doesn't have the most flexible hours.

 

[Deleted member 83629]

echo oil will be fine mix it with 89 octane or higher gas.

 

[Thornton]

Orange is fine just the ultra is better

 

[woodeneye]

Without trying starting a big debate, someone said to not use the Stihl orange bottle oil and go Semi-Syn. Is the Echo oil they sell at Home Depot pretty decent stuff? For me cost is probably not a big issue since I will not be going through much of it. Probably just a few small bottles per year I'd guess. I'd rather stick to the small bottles to mix 1-gallon at a time (or possibly even 1/2 gal).
.
I'd probably try the Stihl Ultra HP, but my nearest dealer doesn't have the most flexible hours.

No need for a big debate, bud. Haha! But you know how these oil threads go if you've been here long enough. Anyway, I highly recommend Stihl Ultra HP, which is a full synthetic. Or at least that's what my bottle says. That being said, I've heard good things from a few about the Echo oil. Personally, I'll probably stick with Ultra HP, though, I'm just impressed with how its really kept things clean in my saws. Just my two pennies, which will fit in a .058 bar slot, btw. Haha!

 

[Thornton]

If you don't use much gas the Next time around your stihl dealer get a couple quarts of Motomix premixed fuel with Synthetic already in it and ethanol free

 

[cgraham1]

I use this, 32:1.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

Nothing at all wrong with that Echo oil. It's availability is appealing. If you want to mix it at say 45:1 or 40:1 for a bit richer mix, simply add 2.6 oz to .95 or .90 gal of 89-91 octane respectively. It's an FD rated synthetic blend. Even at 40:1 it burns very clean. Don't stink too bad either. I won't say it's better than anything else, but it seems to be just fine.

 

[Bluefish]

I am still a big fan of Gary Goo 40/1. Nice grab on that saw, any problems check here first, these guys know what's up. Russ

 

[billbillw]

BTW, Stihl USA responded to my Email already regarding the age. They said closest they can tell was production around ~1990. The seller was way off like I thought. Doesn't change much though.

Yes, I was also considering just buying the cans of premixed fuel. My string trimmer is the only other 2-cycle I have now and I don't think I use even a gallon of mixed fuel a year.

However, I am strongly considering getting a gas blower and a gas hedge trimmer. That would change things quite a bit. Right now, I am struggling to keep up with the 2-acres using corded equipment. 3-cords together and I can't trim all the bushes in the front, let alone blow all the leaves...

I know, don't bother to lecture me about putting multiple power cords in series...

 

[cgraham1]

Put a 16" or 18" bar in .325 non safety chain such as RS or RC and mod the muffler and you will love that saw.

It will pull 3/8 just fine. To swap over from 3/8 to .325 you'll have to change the clutch drum as well as the rim sprocket. And the bar and chain, too. I was going to swap my 026 but it wasn't worth it to me.

The mufflers are much better on the 026s than they are on the MS260s. I've had both. The MS260 has a very small exhaust outlet.

 

[1Alpha1]

If you don't use the saw a whole lot, just buy some canned fuel.

You can get it in 40:1 or 50:1, and it's shelf life is two years or so. No ethanol either.

Lowe's seems to have the best price on the TruFuel canned fuel. If you buy six quarts, you get "contractor pricing". Home Depot won't do that.

 

[billbillw]

If you don't use the saw a whole lot, just buy some canned fuel.

You can get it in 40:1 or 50:1, and it's shelf life is two years or so. No ethanol either.

Lowe's seems t have the best price on the TruFuel canned fuel. If you buy six quarts, you get "contractor pricing". Home depot won't do that.

Hey, thanks for the tip on Lowes. That brings it down to ~$5 qt. I might just go that route until if/when my 2-cycle fleet grows so I don't have to worry about whether its fresh or not.

 

[CTYank]

Nothing at all wrong with that Echo oil. It's availability is appealing. If you want to mix it at say 45:1 or 40:1 for a bit richer mix, simply add 2.6 oz to .95 or .90 gal of 89-91 octane respectively. It's an FD rated synthetic blend. Even at 40:1 it burns very clean. Don't stink too bad either. I won't say it's better than anything else, but it seems to be just fine.

There are plenty of mix oils better than stihl's. It's all about the specs that they meet.
Full synthetic, meeting JASO FC/FD and ISO-L-EGD, and you're covered. All the rest is marketeering hype.
In a 2-stroke, oil doesn't burn, but is exhausted as some nasty pollutants, such as POM (polycyclic organic matter- nasty carcinogens). This is one of those cases where "less is more". Double the oil, double the POM. Just avoid the 100:1 Amsoil bs.

OP's big challenge will be learning how to maintain the chain. Critical to success.

 

[woodeneye]

Yep, keep that chain sharp!

 

[SawTroll]

echo oil will be fine mix it with 89 octane or higher gas.

Just make sure the oil is high quality fully synthetic, and made for use in air cooled two-cycle engines.

Preferably use the same oil every time.

 

[hamish]

I paid for a Stihl once. Great find, I am sure you will enjoy.

 

[Stihl working hard]

Nice saw and welcome aboard

 

[1Alpha1]

Hey, thanks for the tip on Lowes. That brings it down to ~$5 qt. I might just go that route until if/when my 2-cycle fleet grows so I don't have to worry about whether its fresh or not.

$5.00 per qt. is still expensive in my book. But, I'm not cutting all much at times, so I try and justify the price.

I had a good experience with Home Depot and getting TruFuel for free, but some members of this forum felt that I was somehow taking advantage of the poor corporation and that I was evil.