NOTE:  The town of Wadesboro, NC use to come around and trim back the overhanging limbs, but have not done so in probably a decade or more.  I check with one of the towns employees and he stated their equipment for such was broken down.

I went to a dealer that handled Stihl chain saws and purchased a MS 251 chainsaw early the morning of 08-13-2026 and when I got home,  I wasn't able to get it to started.  I immediately took it back to the dealer and had the sales person give it a try.  It took him at least twenty (20) pulls of the starter cord before it ever fired.  I then went home and got it cranked up and used it off an on for about two (2) hours. The last time I cranked it, it would bog down when throttle applied and then cut off.

I had to make a trip to the dealer to purchase parts for an FS70-RC weed trimmer blade attachment and asked him if he had any Stihl saws that would be easier to start and he said (NO.)

I have run into similar products such as a PSE cam archery bow which was their flagship bow with a lifetime warrant, 800 bucks at the time of purchase and decades later vented my frustration and anger from shoddy repairs made at the factory in Arizona by taking my Milwaukee PortaBand saw and sawing it into thirteen (13) pieces.

I tried for the next couple days to crank the Stihl MS 251 Chainsaw without success risking cardiac arrest.  Sweat droplets were dropping off my face like a small rain storm had just hit and without an umbrella.  I decided to dismantle and cut the chainsaw up and place the chainsaw in the landfill.  I believe that 419.99 plus sales tax was well worth reducing the chance of a heat stroke and/or cardiac arrest. The dealer had given good service over the decades and didn't want the hassle of returning the saw for a refund or exchange since he said none of the other Stihl chainsaws would crank any easier.

I plan to order a Husqvarna Rancher 460 asap and hopefully the dealer will be able to repair my Husqvarna 55 chainsaw.

BEFORE DESTROYING THE CHAINSAW

DESTROYED CHAINSAW

This chainsaw is destined for the landfill.  I did keep all the screws removed from the chainsaw.

I realize such drastic action is not the best, wisest or prudent action to take and waste that amount of money, but it is what it is.  It must be a DNA fault, because this is not my first similar action taken on a products, regardless of price as noted in a few paragraphs above with a hyperlink titled Murphy's Law.

I returned to the dealership on 08-19-2026 to pick up my Husqvarna model 55 chainsaw that was repaired/adjusted carburetor and the sales person asked how the Stihl chainsaw was doing and I replied something like it was doing good and I fixed it.  He replied that is what we like to hear and showed him the pix of the destroyed chainsaw, of which I believe he was totally speechless. 

On a positive note, whereby being really, really optimistic,  that was probably a cheap psychological therapy treatment allowing myself to vent my anger and total frustration trying to crank that demon chainsaw! 

In CONCLUSION, I have owned two other brands of chainsaws being a Homelite since the late 1970s/early 1980s during our camping days on Blewett Falls Lake, Anson County, North Carolina and a Husqvarna model 55 since 1999 and must say, this is the WORST chainsaw I have ever owned; if only for four (4) days!  I know plenty of folks have had good luck over the decades using their Stihl chainsaws, but one professional recently stated "the Stihl quality has diminished over the years."

Web page created on 08-17-2026 and updated on 08-20-2026 by Bill aka Mickey Porter.