I don't own one but I keep thinking about getting a MS170 just because it's so lightweight. But I don't want to have to use the low kickback chain, really. My dealer said that was all that I get for that saw, but I really think he meant that's all he can sell, as a Stihl dealer, because it considered a homeowner saw for people with little experience. I see on Bailey's that there looks like several options are available. What do you think is the best choice, with a 16" bar for this saw?
I was talking about this with Barcroftb when I won an MS170 at Backwoods Savage ’s 1st GTG (saw graciously donated by Gary_602z )…. Brad’s suggestion for running full chisel - swap out to an adjustable carb and do a muffler mod, or the little thing wouldn’t pull very well at all. I haven’t had any need to do this swap and mod, mostly b/c of recurring lower back problems, but that little saw does fine with stock safety chain for me.
I have the 180 and have not had a problem with the chain. Not sure what it would with a full chisel but it is a bit bigger than the 170.
The PMMN chain that comes on the saw is cheap and cheerful. It’ll cheerfully cut logs up to the bar length (and perform well) no problem. And when it doesn’t, and you can’t sharpen it anymore, it’s cheap to replace. For upgrade options, you would have to replace the bar as well. Stihl makes both semi-chisel (63PM3) and chisel (63PS and 63PS3) chains which are .050” gauge and the stock bar is usually .043” gauge. With Stihl chain especially, just because it’s a green label chain doesn’t mean it’s a poor performer. The old RM2 safety chains were pretty slow but it’s been awhile since those were offered and there are some other options out there that are similarly slow. But an RS3/RM3/PM3/PS3 series chain is pretty much on par with their yellow label versions. They slow down a bit when the nose of the bar is buried or if you need to bore in with the nose. Neither is a situation most MS170s see very often. Also, they are a couple bucks more, but if you can find a plain (non-Easy2Start) MS180, they are pretty much the same size/weight with a side chain tension adjuster and a wee bit of extra HP. Adjustable carbs were standard but it’s been a minute since I’ve seen a new one.
My 180, next size up from 170, takes .050" chain. I use chisel and semi chisel chain with no safety bumps. It's 3/8" picco chain and all I have are Stihl chain for it. I'm sure Oregon has a chain that fits too. I don't know if you can change a 170 over to .050 3/8 picco or not.
Same here. I won an ms170 donated by Gary_602z at Backwoods Savage GTG this past May. It cuts pretty darn well even with the stock safety chain. I had the bar buried in ash the other day. It started to get a bit bogged down in ash that big, but I have zero complaints. This saw has about 7 tanks of gas though it, 100% stock. Drinking beers with Scotty Overkill he mentioned there's a few mods to do to them, but I forget the site he mentioned. I can only imagine a muffler mod alone will wake these up pretty well.
a muffler mod does these little guys wonders, but you need to install a fully adjustable carb. The stock carb has a fixed high jet. You can usually find an 017 or 018 carb that will do the trick.
