I may change my mind

Yeah, righto. I put them in a sandwich bag in the freezer overnight and that shrinks them some.

 

My husky 555 caps are very tight and takes lots of effort to loosen them. I honestly dont like husky flippies. Maybe my saw tank or tops are just overly tight? Id rather have old stihl screw caps over any husky top or stihl flippies even though I have not had trouble with stihl flips other than hard to line them up sometime

 

The cool thing with a husky saw that comes with husky flippy caps and you dont like them. You can buy the regular caps to replace them.
Try that with the stihls.

 

Maybe Stihl fuel system engineers are deranged. Here's more evidence: I have an 025 with 1 hose from fuel pickup to carb. Fuel flows to carb just fine even on cold starts. 5 pulls if real cold. On the MS 250 easy start, they keep that one hose and add 6 hoses, a T connector, an external tank vent canister and a purge bulb. Look at all the extra hoses and stuff: 10 - 13 and 17 - 21. I don't have an MS 250 - does this over-engineering make it start in 1 pull cold? I'd bet it's 3.

 

If you dont use ethanol gas the caps dont swell on the poulans I was told. I run ethanol so I cant say on that.

 

Mastermec has a video. I think his cold starts on two

 

a canadian wise guy

 

My 260 starts in 2-4 pulls from cold. If by adding a half dozen parts, they get it down to 2 pulls at the cost of increasing the number of potential failure points, I think I'll pass. I figure if I don't have it in me to pull it 4 times, I should not be operating a chain saw.

I think it just comes down to cuckoo clocks. Germans just love to make things complicated for no obvious reason. A clock needs to tell the time. Germans make one that tells the time by having an entire mechanical village prance about and hit tiny gongs and so forth. For people that think like that, a flippy cap makes perfect sense.

 

Ditto and Double Ditto.

We don't need no stinkin' purges!

 

With all due respect, your response is a mess...

So, to be clear, you think the flippy cap costs less to manufacture than the simple, old school screw caps? You really think they changed them to save manufacturing costs and not because they felt it was an improvement?

As a matter of fact, I think personal experience is quite possibly the best way to draw a conclusion as opposed to simply listening to others. Years of use on many pieces of equipment have left me with a good opinion of flippy-caps. Yes, I know a lot of folks hate them . . . and complain about them . . . and know a better way to design them. However, I have had no personal experience leading me to follow that herd. This reminds me of when I was a kid and my mother said, "if 'everybody' was jumping off of a bridge does that mean you would too?". I responded, "no, that would be stupid."

In addition to my experience, I have many friends and family members who use Stihl equipment and have not had problems with flippy-caps. Frankly, if I weren't involved in forums I would have no idea at all that anyone has issues with them.

Whoa! You mean a random unknown person wrote to one of the most successful small equipment companies in history to critique their design and they didn't respond? The nerve... Any chance you would share a quote of what you wrote to them? I assume it was well-written and professional and not just a blasting criticism of their ignorant flippy-caps...

Do you have any work experience on the design and testing side of a manufacturing operation? Have you been involved with the costing of plastic injection molded parts and assemblies? Maybe you've had the opportunity to work with a large-scale manufacturer on the customer complaint side of QC? You seem to be quick to look down upon my personal-experience based opinion and make it sound like you're quite knowledgeable, so I figured I would ask. Certain regions of the northern states are well known for plastic injection molding operations, so I figure there's a good chance you're in one of them?

 

I think this ^^ is the guy who invented flippy caps right here. Lol

 

Nah, not enough moving parts to be my brainchild . . . . I prefer Rube Goldberg style contraptions!

 

Good morning Mr. New To Stihl,

Here is what I wrote to Bob Meyers of Technical support and Customer service:


Comments: I have owned a Stihl 028 Super chainsaw and Stihl straight
shaft brushcutter for over 20 years.

I have recently bought 2 new chainsaws recently, a Makita 6401 and
Husqvarna 346Xp. I wouldn't even consider a Stihl because I detest the
"flippy caps" so much. In my opinion the flippy caps were a solution to
a problem that wouldn't exist.

Can you make your pro line saws without this worthless feature? As long
as you continue with these caps, I will not consider a Stihl.

Thanks,

BTW, I do have considerable personal experience with "flippy caps" and that is why I do not like them and will not purchase a saw with this feature.

Do you cut any wood and use a saw or are you just a "keyboard warrior".

 

No worries MM . . . so far the name calling has only hit "keyboard warrior" which isn't too bad.

 

Whaaaat about flippy cap inventor?

Fwiw, I haven't had any issues with any of my flippy caps. I'm pretty good about blowing them off and keeping the o ring clean. So far so good.

 

My bad if you mistook that as warrior talk . . . just trying to make sure we all understand each other's points of views and don't partake in goup-think. No face paint or spears over here, I'm just a fan of explanations, detail, and avoiding blanket statements.

To answer your question; I cut a little wood for supplemental heat and during that process I do in fact use chainsaws. I also occasionally help a farmer friend of mine clear dead/dying trees along his fields and collect wood that he sells for firewood in his slow season. I own more chainsaws than I use because the majority of them are tied up in my modest collection. I have owned and used most of popular brands (Stihl, Husqvarna, Echo, Poulan, Mac, etc.), but currently only collect and use Stihl . . . not because I believe them to be superior, but rather because that's what I'm used to and what I'm most efficient at working on. I've pretty much run the range on sizes of saws from the 015 to the 090. I hope this meets your requirements.

In terms of the flippy-cap discussion; as I mentioned above, I also own an operate other, non-chainsaw pieces of Stihl equipment both with flippy-caps and without. I've had no trouble with them and like how they work. It's okay to criticize me for that, but the fact of the matter is that I've used my own experience to determine that "the proof is in the pudding." I hate that you've had a largely opposite experience with flippy-caps, and if that's the case I don't blame you for straying away. I'll personally continue to use them and discuss my positive experiences with them until they give me reason to stop.