Stihl MS 250
Verified41 reviews
Boat Anchor – Have owned several Stihls over many years and they were great! This MS 250 is by far the worst saw of any that I have ever owned. I would use for a boat anchor but it would probably offend the fish! Show details
Worst Stihl tool I've ever had – From new this has been difficult to restart when warm. We always take our 20 year old Husqvarna as a backup in case it's impossible. The trick to restarting is to put it on half choke and pull about 20 times. Never full choke while warm. When I took it back to the dealership where I bought it they claimed it was not even on the database. Started… Read more
it from cold, said I needed to come in and demonstrate the problem. I think the saw is a dud model and has been dumped on the New Zealand market. I've used it on firewood cutting pine wood, goes ok. But it's actually too small for the big logs and too large for garden trimming. I got it on a special.
Grew up on a farm & have used chain saws all my life. The MS250 Wood Boss was purchased around 2012 for exclusive use in my 4WD & has been one of the best saws I've ever owned. As usual, follow the instructions to the letter & it has never let me down. I also run a larger Stihl machine on the farm. The MS250 has sat idle in between trips, for… Read more
several months at a time without use. Simply empty the stale fuel, put in some fresh, choke on, 1 or 2 pulls & away it goes again & again, every time. With the 16" bar, I would highly recommend them for small to medium green branches or trees up to 14" for the home handyman, 4WD Enthusiast, firewood collection or farmer as a spare/backup machine. Keep in mind they're not really big enough for professional or "hard-core" use though.
In-depth reviews
Horrible, terrible tool – I'll start by saying I have owned numerous Stihl products, three blowers and two trimmers. I've rarely had a problem starting them and keeping them running. This MS250 chainsaw on the other hand has been a total piece of junk. From the first day I purchased it from Taylor's Do It store it was difficult to start. As others have said they flood… Read more
super easily. My saw however has never run longer than 30 minutes before dying. The first time it completely died I installed a new carburetor and it ran great, for 30 minutes. As I was cutting, it slowly bogged down and died. I've since done a complete tune up with all new filters, carburetor, etc. and it won't even try to start. The three times I was able to get it to run the chain blades dulled up lightening fast. With the original purchase of the saw and now all the parts, service and new chains I'm into this thing for close to $500. What an absolute waste of money for a paperweight. I have a neighbor with the same exact saw and he's taken it in for service several times. Each time they've told him it needed a new carburetor and charged him money. He said it still has the same issues. I've never owned any other models of Stihl chainsaws but stay away from this one. Like one reviewer said, he could have bought a Poulan from Tractor Supply for about half the cost. I have another neighbor that bought a Poulan from TS for much less than what I paid for this Stihl and loves it. As far as I'm concerned there should be a class action lawsuit against Stihl because of this flawed product. Loyal customers like me should get a full refund or credit towards the purchase of another product.
A great chainsaw – This is my fourth Stihl in 35 years I think they are a great saw! I have gone from a 084 to a 064 to a 038 now to a MS250 easy start, this is a really great saw! So easy to start even after shoulder surgery! Yes sometimes the sprocket gets jammed in the nose, but mainly when cutting green wood or wood with thick bark like Wandoo! or White gum from… Read more
Western Australia. I was always sharpening chains due to white ants in the centre of the tree bringing sand/clay etc with them, so now I have a "Pico Duro" Tungsten Carbide tipped chain and have cut about 6tons of wood with whiteants in it and have stihl not had to sharpen the chain, I have hit the ground a few times as well and it is stihl as sharp as the day I got it!! I use the synthetic stihl oil as it hardly smokes at all, this saw comes with an 18 inch bar and has plenty of power, I have dropped and cut up some hardwood trees around 800mm in Dia no problem, My Ninety five year old grandmother borrowed this saw last week and loved it! Not really but it sounded good didn't it!
Built to Work – I always found that when I needed a chainsaw it was always to cut a big gum tree up . I would prefer a smaller lighter unit, but every time I use it I realize this is the best chainsaw I have ever owned and it is hopefully the last of the 4 that I have owned .Plastic casing and all the other bits are a 100% after 5 very tough years with storms… Read more
and occasional use by my son with a tree lopper mate , . If any one thinks its not up to the task ,cutting 15-20 mtr high dead gum trees up . never fails to start and never been serviced . What price . I have wasted a lot of money on other inferior chainsaws , had I bought this first I would of been able to by it more than twice . I forgot to mention I bought it second hand from a guy in the suburbs who had it for a year or 2 before me . My version has a mechanical fuel primer which requires 3 pulls and full choke and it never fails to start, but it has quite high compression even after all these years it requires a good strong arm .
Positive reviews
Had mine for six years now never had a problem only Preventive maintenance care was taken – I smoke meat so I use my chainsaw two times a month for at least two hours per session when it is cold I will choke it it will burp put it on run it’ll start right up when it’s warm it’ll start right up no choke needed every single time. maintenance is the most important thing when it comes to long life including your cars your motorcycles your body Show details
Excellent performer – I have owned this saw for over 10 years and have used it very hard (cutting over 300 ironbark fence posts) together with general tree dropping and cleanup. I have never had a problem starting it and it runs exceedingly well. I run good quality 2 stroke oil and no ethanol fuel. I have replaced both the fuel line and primer bulb but still have… Read more
the original spark plug in it. I am on the second bar (18") and third or fourth chain. (Note the bar was OK I just replace these after the second chain as a matter of principle.)
My only complaint is that it has the world's most idiotic lids on the fuel and bar oil tanks and the chain tension adjustment (single bar nut with gearwheel) is hard to get correct - I would prefer the screw style adjustment on other Sthil saws.
Good value for money, efficient and comfortable to use even on extended hours cutting posts.
Best Chainsaw I have owned – I have had 6 chainsaws in various forms including electric, petrol and specialist loppers. McCulloch, Echo, GMC, Dolmar, Black and Decker and Stihl. My 11 year old Stihl MS 250 is the oldest of them all and remains the most reliable and versatile. I keep it serviced and I keep it sharp and it just keeps performing for me. And after all this time… Read more
it also feels pretty safe. I know it and how it goes...we work together like old friends. But whatever you buy I have 2 bits of information. 1. Spending an extra couple of hundred dollars on something that , if it goes wrong, could deliver serious injuries...seems like money well spent and 2. keep it sharp...invest in a tungsten chain if you can...with chainsaws sharpness is actually safety.
Negative reviews
Piece of junk – Impossible to start even following their Byzantine start process different from all other makes, have owned dozens of 2 cycle engines of makes other that Stihl, all worked fine. Poorly engineered. Stay away from Stihl, will stay with Echo or anything other than Stihl. Only the insane would want to tear their arm off trying to start the thing.
Worst chainsaw ever...will not disburse oil to chain – I bought the STIHL Chainsaw 250 for my husband in October. It stays in the shop. It will not oil the bar and chain. They have yet to fix the problem. They tell me its running properly every time I pick it up only for me to find it doing the exact same thing over and over. I am so tired of carrying this POS back to the Ace Hardware store that I… Read more
could literally scream!!!!!!!!! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SAW!!!!!!!!! I will never purchase another STIHL anything!!!!! Their customer service is worthless!!!!
User's recommendation: DO NOT PURCHASE THE STIHL 250 CHAINSAW!!!!
the most awful chainsaw I have ever owned – I purchased the Stihl ms-250 in September at Heretick's in Hopewell. The very first time i pulled on the cord it ripped from my fingers and the handle wacked my hand that was holding the saw. I tried to pull the cord slowly until I felt the compression resistance to reduce the chance of a repeat of the previous pull, it didn't help. This is the… Read more
most awful saw to try to start I have ever owned. I have only been able to use it three times since September more times than not I gave up with sore fingers and did not get it started. I have contacted both Heretick's and Stihl about the problem and received no help with the problem.
Recent reviews
Worse than made in China or Tiwain – I've bought numerous Stihl products (6 chainsaws) (2 blowers) and (4 weedeaters) and the MS 250 saw was the smallest I've purchased, This saw has not been ran enough to be broke in Much less have a galded piston!!!!! Cutting and it starts to lose power so I stopped cutting and tried to keep it running, no load in case it wasn't getting enough… Read more
air-cooling, it went on down and failed to recrank. I disassembled and found the piston badly scared down the side and it's just toast!!!! TERRIBLE Product for the money!!!!!
Find out how Stihl MS 250 compares to other Petrol Chainsaws
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Stihl MS 250 , my last Stihl Chainsaw – I have owned Stihl saws for the last 11 years. The 20/24" Farm Boss and the little MS 180 . Both saws have given me good service. I sold the Farm Boss because of the weight some time back so I went online to see what people thought about the MS250 before I bought one. Strangely enough just looking for the reviews of the 250 seem to bring good… Read more
reviews so I bought one and have been disappointed by the saw, the dealer and Stihl . This saw began to fail during the first tank of gas and has only gotten worse. I took it back after the first day and was told that I was cutting too hard of wood for that saw ?!???!! When I purchased the saw they told me that Stihl had a 7 day no questions asked return policy but when I tried to return it the dealer refused the return ! I contacted Stihl and they said that it was up to the dealer whether or not to honor the promise of return , he did not . So both Stihl and the Dealer at Red Bluff Power in Red Bluff California stabbed me in the back and stole 300.00 bucks plus tax from me and left me with a sissy chainsaw that can't cut dry oak . By the third day of attempted use the saw acts like it is flooding out and has no power . It is unusable . To be fair , Stihl has now had me take the saw to a different dealer as the one who sold the saw to me pretended that he worked on the saw and that there was nothing wrong with it but once again, when I got it to the job site it just choked out and smoked when i started it then died and would not start . Unusable , but nothing wrong with it according to the selling dealer. The second dealer is now looking into why it's a piece of dung . He is saying that the air filter ( the second one in less than SIX HOURS USE ) looks like it was plugged. I have to add that I thought the same thing at first and is why i began to clean the filter each tank of fuel but the saw would begin to crap out in less than 1/2 tank use. This is a sad little saw and has a terminal flaw in it's design . Nothing that I did caused this problem but as of now it appears that this is going to be the stance of the dealers and Stihl. I am on a fixed income and this 300 dollars that they have stolen really put me in a bind. NEVER BY A STIHL. THEIR DEALER HAS BEEN DISHONEST AND STIHL AS WELL. Try a different brand . The thought occurred to me that I could have bought a Poulan a little bigger sized for half the money and gotten a few years of use out of it before it quit the way this Stihl has. Hope this helps someone make up their minds about buying a Stihl Saw.
Stihl ms 250 – Easy to start cold just slide the lever all the way down pull trigger to make sure it’s all the way down pull rope 2 or 3 times pull trigger lever comes up in the middle or slide it up pul once or twice and it starts perfectly , my only complaint is the oil worm that turns once for every seven turns of the chain sprocket to oil the chain is cheap… Read more
, I have had mine 3 times to shop under warranty to repair , tip keep the hole on the bar that oil comes threw cleaned out when changing bar or chain , another tip to do not allow the saw to idle more than a minute or so because the clutch will burn out when sitting idle on the ground running for no more than a couple minutes , but always allow any 3 cycle motor to run for minute before ever using cold , always use gas without ethanol , love the saw with a Sharp chain will cut like a hot knife threw butter
Worst saw ever – As others have stated this is terrible to start. Floods incredibly easy. Then runs like crap when it’s going. Plastic chain catcher built in to cover is laughable. Broke the spark plug wire after ten hours of use. This is my third stihl saw, it will be my last. Complete and utter garbage. Expected more from this. Stay away. Show details
Aggravating!!!! – The chances of it getting it started is like hitting big in lottery, it sounds week and restricted it cuts slow on big logs and small you will notice that the stihl ms250's will stay looking new for several years (buyers of used stihl ms250's beware) the stihl company's reputation took a big negative hit on this one, they should be ashamed of themselves. Show details
MS 250 lemon? – Nothing but problems. Most of the times it will not start. Have had new carburetor only to have that fail too eventually. Very disappointed and frustrating since I cut about 5 cords a year for fire wood. Yuk Is this model a lemon? Who else is having this problem? Even when it runs it's erratic Show details
20 hours of use need new carburetor – I purchased a Stihl MS250 around 2 years ago just needed it for small jobs. I assume I have maybe 20 hours in total on it but suddenly it wouldn't start again. Used always the Stihl fuel to run it, anyway after having it at a Stihl dealership for getting it back running they told me I need a new carburetor and it will cost 300.00 CAD plus work. I… Read more
just shaking my head and said NO. I guess I better invest the 300.00 CAD towards a Husqvarna chain saw and give this brand a try. And by the way I have a Poulan chain saw for 9 years by now (back up) bought it for 99.00 at the time, still running, always needs a little bit more time to start it up but hey 99.00 over 9 years and still running I appreciate this little guy even more now after my experience with Stihl chain saws. Hope my just new purchased Stihl FS 460C-EM clearing saw holds up a little bit longer!
Wore out arm – I own 3 stihl saws and by far the MS250 is a piece of junk. 99 percent of the time it will not start. You are better off saving your money and buy yourself an Ax. Use an Ax or jerk a cord either way your butt is dragging. Waste of time and money Show details
One and done – Garbage....bought the ms 250 this year. Used it 3 times and only started easy once. By the time I get it running I'm too tired to cut wood. My Husky starts without fail first time every time...don’t buy this chain saw. Stilhl will lose market share because of this saw..I have 2 other friends who bought the same style and they are having the same problems. Show details
Good saw when it runs, just never will – This is the most problematic, temperamental starting saw I have EVER owned. It seems like the farther you get from home, the less likely it is to start. Had it in to the dealer 3 months ago to get it started, read all the tips I could online since then, but after sitting (with e-free, high quality gas) for 30 days, will not start again. Runs… Read more
well when it will start, but can't be trusted and but will never own this brand again. 3 years old and will sell for $10 to the first caller.
Find out how Stihl MS 250 compares to other Petrol Chainsaws
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Stihl MS 250- 8 year owner – I've had this saw for 8 years.. I bought it new and Its been returned for service due to not starting, no spark, bogging down, loss of power, bar replacement due to wear and front sprocket, broken/stripped bar studs, oil cap is junk. Not to mention very fuel temperamental. When it runs, it runs ok. Use ONLY non-ethanol fuel in this saw and all… Read more
other Stihl saws. It starts in 6 pulls when it starts. 3 choked, 3 half choked. Never one pull unless its warmed up. Mine has an 18 in bar on it that has been replaced already. The saw does bog down when used in larger diameter hardwood. My biggest issue is the times I need it for emergencies are the times it is unreliable and wont start. I've paid double what the saw costs in repairs in the last 8 years.
I want to like this saw, but not off to a good start – I bought my ms250 on a Saturday. Dealer i bought it from fueled it up. Ran it sunday for 3 mins. Shut it off. Moved the branches i cut to start on the log, and it ran terrible. Boggy acting and wouldn't run past half throttle. I did nothing to it and took it straight back. They gave me a brand new saw and so far so good but not a good feeling… Read more
when it craps on you in 5 mins. I also own a ts420 concrete saw, 3 stihl hedge trimmers, 2 stihl backpack blowers , and a stihl auger. Ive had excellent luck with stihl and have had NO issues but for some reason this saw bummed me out. I really hope it was just the dealers gas.
Rubbish Don't buy – WARNING!!! My Stihl MS250c which has had very little use over the 8 years [only domestic use too] that I have had it, still on original chain and bar was sent for service account stopped while cutting and I've been told that $700 for after market parts or over $1000 for genuine parts to be repaired. This MS250c cost $700 new but more disturbing is… Read more
this saw was well looked after and maintained and yet Stihl the best you can buy, I don't think so just terrible. Stihl should be ashamed of the rubbish I was told couldn't be beaten. Extremely disappointed customer! It would appear that a cheap Bunnings chainsaw would have lasted longer.
Update bought a $30 barrel and piston from China on ebay, The chainsaw starts and runs better than… Read more
best saw i have ever owned – have had this saw since new and love it! a lot better than my old craftsman! easy start, and tool less chain and bar adjust, what's not to love! don't see how it got any bad reviews. i trim and cut with it for year's now , and no problem's at all to report! Show details
A Pleasure To Use – Has been a great saw since the day I bought it. Never had a problem starting it and has done a power of work. We own a 4.1ha lifestyle block with 2 acres of bush and more than a smattering of 'Old man Pines'. There's always something to cut and the Stihl Wood Boss is up to the task. The only real problem has been pinching the bar but that's hardly the saws fault! Show details
Disappointed – Bought this a year ago. Normally have owned Poulans and thought I'd upgrade. Big mistake! For twice the price I have a saw that won't start. Been to dealer who finally showed me the trick but if its cold you might as well forget it. Won't start and the plastic housing is too close to the pull cord handle so I keep busting my thumb knuckle. … Read more
Right now I've a big limb down in my yard and will have to use a hand saw to break it up.
Hate this piece of crap.
Great saw – I've had my MS250 for about 10 years. It's always done the job for me - never let me down. The easy start system works well for me. Only thing I don't like about it is the chain tensioner, which needs tightening the chain too often (at least a couple of times per tank of fuel). Show details
MS 250 Piece of junk – I have had my MS 250 for about 3 years. The easy start is fictional. In my 3 years I have never started this chainsaw is less than 20 minutes. By the time I start it I am too tired to do any work. There is no primer bulb to help get the fuel in the carb. I have had chainsaws in the past that I bought from HD that start immediately. I thought I would try Stihl. Mistake.
Good As – Bought the Stihl MS250 about 6 years ago for general work around the house. We live on an acre so it's a good size for felling large gums, tree maintenance and firewood. I've had no dramas with it. It's well looked after, used and stored properly as per the instructional DVD that came with it. I love it.
easy start recoil is junk – Great saw but the Easy start system is junk.. Have had the recoil repaired 4 times in 4 years at an average cost of 100.00 each time. I would have converted to a conventional recoil but would require too many extra parts and cost to make it work. So having spent 400.00 on this saw and its broken again I'm at a loss. Stihl's response is operator error not defective design.
Runs well but the spool at the end of the bar stops turning – Used my ms250 3 times and each time the chain stopped turning because wood chips would get jammed into the spindle at the end of the bar. The chain would stop after less than 5 cuts through oak and popular wood. I'm not happy about the performance considering what I paid for it. I also noticed on the bottom of the saw, some of the parts are not… Read more
made in the USA. Next time I'll buy a echo saw, pay a lot less for it and it will probably work better....
Good saw - overpriced – Great saw but overpriced in Australia. I bought mine in the USA for $299 not the $699 rip off Australian price. They cannot blame it on shipping or even the exchange rate, it doesn't balance out. Chains are also overpriced. $25 in USA for genuine. It is way better than the McCullough I replaced it with. Cuts well Ozzie price
This saw known to flood – Many say ms250 is unable to live up to the brand. Saw is known to not burp on choke giving way to flooding and an unhappy civilian Show details
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Purchased 9/2018, Mostly use my Stihl 440 Magnum and Homelite saws and this one destroyed piston and cylinder with minimum use!!!!!