Stihl 270

[HappyHack]

Does anyone on this forum run one of these?

Have any Stihl Techs on this site tore one down? Are considered they Pro Saws or homeowner saws?

Are they a good saw in general for home owner use. 5-6 cords a year of Hardwood. I was wondering if there were any problems with them because they were new to Stihl's line-up.

I only want to buy a Stihl, so I'm not interested in Husky. Granted they make good saws too.

Any feed-back would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Orange Wedge]

You must be extra happy "Happy" to have posted that twice.

Were gonna get wet Saterday!

Can ya smell the ash chips yet?

Bro

Jeff

 

[JimL]

ive done a teardown on them.
av mounts are the only thing I dont like, they are kinda a pain to get back in cause they are so soft. they work very well though once in

 

[SasquatchMan]

Is that the new improved 270 Stihl is touting? (Didn't they offer a new 270 and 280 recently?)

 

[HappyHack]

Thank-you. Does anyone else have an feed back on this Saw? I plan on buying an 250 or 270 this weekend. Any help would be appreciated. I have found a dealer I like and it's close to my home.

 

[buckwheat]

You're not going to get a lot of feedback on the 270 simply because its relatively new and not tested by time. As for the 250, I think the consensus is that its a good all around saw and pleasantly surprising as a home owner model.

I think that for the amount of cutting you have planned, a 250 with a 16"/.325 setup is a good choice. The 270 could be just as good if not better, but it just doesn't have a track record yet to give you any worthwhile advice. For what its worth, I thought it was a bit bulky when I looked at one, but I have not had the opportunity to run one.

 

[jokers]

HappyHack,

Why not spend the extra money and get an MS260 which has proven itself to be a fantastic small saw? The 270/280 and the 260 are in different leagues.

Russ

 

[buckwheat]

well...... whadya get?

 

[ohio hunter]

jokers, please explain what you mean by differtent leagues

 

[SasquatchMan]

Ohio, the 260 is a "professional" saw, and the 270 is listed as a "mid-grade" saw. The other midgrade saws, like the 290/310/390 series are made more cheaply, with plastic chassis instead of alloy etc. However, it was my understanding that the new 270 had all that good stuff too, so in my mind (and in the price list at Stihl, if I remember correctly) the 270 and the 260 should both be top-enders, difference being track record for the 260.

In fact, I went in to Stihl looking at a 270, and it was like 200 bucks (CDN) more than the 290 I wound up with (which seems to work fine, to the shock and dismay of some).


Russ or the Fish may be able to answer exactly what the diff is.

 

[jokers]

Sasquatch,

I`m hardly dismayed that your 029 is working out for you, and considering it`s newness, not shocked either. I`m glad the 029 is working out, my only dismay is related to Stihl trying to pass that model off as being as good as any other model, which they have been doing since it hit the market. The 029 is Stihl`s most popular model due to some crafty marketing, not any superior characteristic. I suppose that "mid-grade" is an apt description of the 250/270/280/290/310/390 because they are not as good as their Pro models, but much better than their smaller saws with the exception of the 200T.

Several factors determine if one saw is better than another. Some of these factors would be overall weight, power/weight, output power, durability or longevity, and price, which can be related to value. The 260 will run 400-600 hours before it needs rings, and then it`s a simple and cheap affair to refresh because of it`s engine design and construction making it viable for a rebuild. The integral crankcase/cylinder of the midgrades makes this a more labor intense thus costly repair, and probably not worth doing. The bottom end of the "pro" will still be sound enough to make it worth while, where as it`s doubtful with the midgrade saws, if they even make it this far which doesn`t seem to happen all that often.

So in the long run you get a better value in buying the pro saw because it will have better performance over a much longer life for about 20-25% more initial investment, and then the pro saw will still have a decent residual value. I guess it`s a personal choice in what is a better saw.

Russ

 

[JimL]

for as many 029's as we have sold, i junked the 6th one a week or so ago. victem of straight gas.

We don't get many problems out of them.
Fuel hose probably the biggest of them all. New hose is around 6 bux

 

[jokers]

I`ll bet that most guys who buy an 029 or something similar don`t cut more than 5 cord per year. A Wildthing could handle that without failure. Fuel lines rot out sitting on the shelf with old gas in them.

I truly don`t mean to insult anyone who has bought one of the midrange Stihls, and I don`t want to make anyone feel bad for their choice, but the 029 type Stihls aren`t your daddy`s Stihl.

Russ

 

[SasquatchMan]

Jokers - no one says they are - I bought mine as you know because I wanted better than Poulan yet still falloutofthetruckable.

The question isn't what's the diff between a 290 and a 260 - that's clear. But what of the 270?

 

[JimL]

Originally posted by jokers
I`ll bet that most guys who buy an 029 or something similar don`t cut more than 5 cord per year. A Wildthing could handle that without failure. Fuel lines rot out sitting on the shelf with old gas in them.

I truly don`t mean to insult anyone who has bought one of the midrange Stihls, and I don`t want to make anyone feel bad for their choice, but the 029 type Stihls aren`t your daddy`s Stihl.

Russ

we have sold them to guys that make a living with a saw and they are still going.

several places buy them for maintance use, getting used a few times a week ect..

 

[stihltech]

270

Jim, they will never believe us because they just don't want to.

The 270 is a better saw than a 290 in its construction. There is a magnesium bottom end. The cylinder will be easier to remove than a 290. As for the rings, I see no problem with them in a 290, just have to keep the filter clean, just like in a 260.
The difference come in the amount of machining that has to be done in the manufacture. More of the the parts are "as cast" on the 290, much more machining on the 260.

I agree with ya Jim, the tree guys bought because of the price, and I have yet to see one acually worn out. I still only have one upstairs for parts, straight gas.

 

[jokers]

The 270 is built in the same way that the 290 is, horizontally split crankcase. Unfortunately that feature puts it in the "throw it away when it needs a rebuild" category because labor costs will be too high on a comparative basis.

Russ

 

[Pontius]

I have a 029 that I bought in 94 if I remember right and it has worked great. I replaced the fuel line and rebuilt the carb for the first time this winter. It gets run from late fall till early spring about every day for a few hours. I cut a lot of timber and fire wood with it alot more then 5 cords a year. I still have the orignal bar for it though I don't use it to much any more. From all the stuff I read on here it should be dead about five times now because when I am done for the year I chuck it in the corner of the shed and forget about it till next fall with gas in the tank. If the 270 is as good as my 029 I would buy one. You may not impress anyone on here with it but they are not the ones shelling out the bones.
Jake

 

[stihltech]

270

Take another look, the cylinder comes off much easier on a 270.

 

[jokers]

Re: 270

Originally posted by stihltech
Take another look, the cylinder comes off much easier on a 270.

Well, that would be a good thing Stihltech and maybe it`s too early to draw a verdict based on similarities. BTW, I wasn`t talking about ring wear, I was talking about the crank bearings which aren`t up to par with the pro saws.

Pontius,

I sincerely don`t want to offend you, but if you are still running the same bar 10 years later, how much use could your saw have actually seen. This is a rhetorical question, no answer is required or expected but feel free if you are compelled to reply.