Stihl Flippy Cap solution

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Well I still think Stihl's flip cap desighn is absurd. That said the cap on the video was actually recalled by Stihl sometime after I made that video. The issue was bad plastic was used, so it would swell up when it was in contact with fuel for awhile.The replacement cap has worked well enough ever since, still a little tight, my guess is the tank swells a bit too. Fact is Stihl was trying to reinvent the wheel and failed miserably. Overfill an oil tank just a hair and try and seat one of these caps. The new versions do seem to work much better than the earlier runs. But again why? They still trap dust and dirt like crazy, in no way are they an improvement, it was just an attempt to to prioritize everything and make it harder for aftermarket suppliers to make a cap, which also failed.

This is how it works. We'd still be using axes to cut and buck logs with had people not taken chances along the way and failed a few thousand times...why don't you still use thumb operated oiling systems? 100% steel powerheads that weigh 30+lbs? Float bowl style carbs that require you to turn the bar because the power head couldn't run on it's side? They worked just fine. I'll bet the first auto oiling systems had some problems and a few guys were yelling at the saw engineers about over complicating things. Why can't I just press a plunger!?! It's so damn simple! Now I have to disassemble half the saw to fix it.

Sucks you had problems. Sucks that Stihl had problems producing some of the caps. Quarter turn caps are faster than threaded. They're WAY faster than threaded when you have to use a tool to get them on/off. To say they have no benefits over thread on style caps is simply incorrect. Whether that benefit is worth it to you, well, that's up to you to decide.

If the flippy caps were as bad as you make them out to be, they would have done something different because people would quit buying saws. They're not. Stihl is selling saws just fine to people who can handle operating the flippy caps correctly.

 

[TheTone]

This thread is generating more heat and about as much light as an oil thread.

 

[holeycow]

The most modern caps they make have been deemed unacceptable by regulators (and many workers prior) in a professional work environment that is common for powersaw work. Great idea.

Not to be confused with auto oilers ( from a bunch of years ago that would actually oil a bar) or lighter weight machines, btw.

There's good ideas and bad ones.

You are defending a bad idea.

 

[Andyshine77]

This is how it works. We'd still be using axes to cut and buck logs with had people not taken chances along the way and failed a few thousand times...why don't you still use thumb operated oiling systems? 100% steel powerheads that weigh 30+lbs? Float bowl style carbs that require you to turn the bar because the power head couldn't run on it's side? They worked just fine. I'll bet the first auto oiling systems had some problems and a few guys were yelling at the saw engineers about over complicating things. Why can't I just press a plunger!?! It's so damn simple! Now I have to disassemble half the saw to fix it.

Sucks you had problems. Sucks that Stihl had problems producing some of the caps. Quarter turn caps are faster than threaded. They're WAY faster than threaded when you have to use a tool to get them on/off. To say they have no benefits over thread on style caps is simply incorrect. Whether that benefit is worth it to you, well, that's up to you to decide.

If the flippy caps were as bad as you make them out to be, they would have done something different because people would quit buying saws. They're not. Stihl is selling saws just fine to people who can handle operating the flippy caps correctly.

I don't even know where to start [emoji17]

A true advancement in technology is always widely accepted as being an improvement. The fact that people complain about the flip caps, and the fact that other manufacturers have not adopted them, "at least not as Stihl had designed them" means they're not an advancement and have no real benefit. Even Stihl has dropped them from most of their own equipment, I believe they're now only on saws. Anytime you add a moving part you add a failure point. If something is necessary or without question a true advancement, the possible failure is accepted and outweighed by the benefit. The Stihl flip cap has no known benefit and has not been fully accepted industry wide, and never will be. I believe Stihl will eventually give in and move to the Husqvarna style cap.

You do know the only reason manual oil pumps, or pumps with manual override went away was because of the EPA wanting saws to use less oil. I and most who have used both would welcome manual or auto with manual override pumps.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have a hard time believing that the early flippy caps stuck and the newer ones do not stick when in contact with fuel for extended periods of time. My MS361 is now 11 years old and the flippies still work. The fuel cap on my MS251C that is about two years old stuck tight as a drum while in storage for a year with fuel in the tank. I had to replace it the same way I have done for others. Break it loose with a "crack!" and replace it.

BTW, has anyone found a non-break method to loosen up and remove a stuck cap (literally self-glued on) that does not destroy the flippy?

 

[Bwildered]

Were you looking at the hand tools?

there were blowers, small chainsaws, trimmers etc

 

[Andyshine77]

I have a hard time believing that the early flippy caps stuck and the newer ones do not stick when in contact with fuel for extended periods of time. My MS361 is now 11 years old and the flippies still work. The fuel cap on my MS251C that is about two years old stuck tight as a drum while in storage for a year with fuel in the tank. I had to replace it the same way I have done for others. Break it loose with a "crack!" and replace it.

BTW, has anyone found a non-break method to loosen up and remove a stuck cap (literally self-glued on) that does not destroy the flippy?

Well don't know what to tell you, the first cap on my fs-110 started getting hard to use within a few weeks, the replacement has been fine since it was replaced in 09. The recall notice I received said that the plastic used was reacting to certain aromatics in certain fuels. If I recall many were having the same issue at the time and with many different models. I also believe the tanks are part of the problem, it's hard to small plastic that accurately and it's hard for plastic to keep it's shape. [emoji111]

 

[Andyshine77]

there were blowers, small chainsaws, trimmers etc

[emoji106] they've removed them from most models. Only on saws as far as I can tell.

 

[TheTone]

BTW, has anyone found a non-break method to loosen up and remove a stuck cap (literally self-glued on) that does not destroy the flippy?

 

[Wood Doctor]

View attachment 766772

OK, so you use the pipe wrench to go all the way around the base of the cap and forget using the flip up lever. Somehow I never thought of that idea. Vice grip might work also. Not sure which one would be less destructive.

 

[TheTone]

OK, so you use the pipe wrench to go all the way around the base of the cap and forget using the flip up lever. Somehow I never thought of that idea. Vice grip might work also. Not sure which one would be less destructive.

Ah say, ah say boy, that's a joke, son. . . .but I think you might be onto something with the vice grips!

 

[Andyshine77]

This was the recall I received in 09 or 2010.

https://m.stihlusa.com/information/recalls/toolless-fuel-cap/

 

[Wood Doctor]

View attachment 766830
Ah say, ah say boy, that's a joke, son. . . .but I think you might be onto something with the vice grips!

Or perhaps channel lock pliers. They still may have a place in my tool arsenal. Liquid Wrench might even help.

 

[CR888]

Flippies seem pretty good 'until' one decides to give you ongoing grief, like it'll work most of the time. I don't mind the Husky flippy, no tools needed and pretty simple.

 

[holeycow]

Yet it's still an answer to a question almost nobody asked..

 

[rocketnorton]

This was the recall I received in 09 or 2010.

https://m.stihlusa.com/information/recalls/toolless-fuel-cap/

never heard them referred to as "toolless" til now.
kinda answers the "why" part.
for the record, 7 stihl saws hear, none are flippy.
did have 460 for a while. no probs, but have d dave screw replacements just in case.

 

[LegDeLimber]

How about we embed a non-removable Lithium cell into the caps?
Think like if Apple built them!

Behold...The i-Flippy !!

Okie-dokie. After an appropriate customary wait in a line outside an authorized Stihl Dealers shop, of 4 day & nights minimum.
(It's in your user agreement)
You may now purchase your i-Flippys (limit of two per customer)

Now we can download the cloud based app to all of your Apple phones.
This will allow the IoT (internet of things) cloud based iPhone app
(only $2.99 per month, through Apple Pay of course)
to alert you when the i-flippy is loose or needs recharging.
Heated handle option package required for charging feature to be active.

Caution failure to maintain an active service agreement may mean loss of the li-po cell condition status updates.

Warning: Failure to maintain an active i-Flippy account may present a risk of thermal failure and possible damage to saw unit due to fuel tank contents entering into an accelerated oxidation status.

Caution the i-Flippy is not to used as a hearing protector, or for keeping sawdust out of your sphincter
Nor is i-Flippy recommended or materially compatible for blocking diarrhea after consuming too many non-skim lattes during your, required, four day wait outside of the Stihl dealership.

 

[rocketnorton]

eye sold a 038s today. took a ms250 in part trade, so there's a flippy saw lurkin hear now.
knot givin any probs.
yet...

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Can someone please explain exactly what causes the fuel geysering to occur? I’d have always thought there was negative pressure when the saw was cutting?

 

[buttercup]

Heat.