Caution when buying Stihl products

Experience purchasing Stihl battery powered pruner | 7/12/22 | cymbeline

[cymbeline]

“Morgana runs a chain saw”

She’d love one of those battery powered pruners. Downright feminine!

[V_TWIN]

“Wonder if they’d start”

The Homelite would....the craftsman however...might be a different story.

Kinda surprised to find lowes picked up the craftsman brand when sears did a header....never been too impressed except for the hand tool replacement policy.

[SamAdams76]

First rule about Stihl, NEVER buy the products at Home Depot. those are too cheaply made.

That advice applies to a lot of products. A big-box store is all about turning inventory and hitting a price point. Many manufacturers will put their cheapest made products in those stores for that reason.

You are better off finding a family operated hardware store local to your area - one that also does repairs. They have access to the top of the line models and back them up with service. You will pay a little more but you will find that the products will last you many years and that the store will often go out of its way to help you out if you are a regular customer.

[HamiltonJay]

I’m pretty sure they are exclusively dealer distributed products... I don’t know if they require the independent dealers to be exclusive to Stihl or not, but it would not surprise me.

They have a great reputation in the commercial realm, I can’t say how good or bad their non professional/commercial grade stuff is.

Getting good quality anything anymore, is next to impossible sadly....

[logi_cal869]

Off topic somewhat, but in regard to corporations destroying their brand:

I’ve had Makita for about 12 years. My last battery was finally going out (3ah) and I took advantage of a sale about 6 months ago in anticipation of the need for the tools this Spring & Summer.

I had projects the past couple of weeks and was astonished at how fast the new 5ah batteries (18v Lithium LXT) were draining. In fact, I lost count at how many times I was atop the ladder to have a tool quit. As it stands right now, I’m of the opinion that they last half as long as my 3ah batteries which came with my first kit, if not as low as 30%. This was the polar opposite of my expectations.

I’m curious if anyone else has had this experience. I’ll concede that I didn’t do any research, buying solely on my prior experience (I should have known better, AND - on-topic somewhat - I’ll be returning the kit after the next project if my experience is repeated...assuming the store return policy will permit me to return after more than 6 months...and leaving rotten reviews everywhere I can find).

[gundog]

Yeah, I’m probably biased by geography. A couple of hours, round trip to a big box store, but smack-dab in logging country.

One of these outfits and a small to medium sized chainsaw handles most things around the house.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Tractor Supply isn’t bad for a chain. They were always out of horse paste last year, though.

[Alberta's Child]

My first rule of thumb when buying gifts:

Never buy any computers, home electronics or specialized tools for anyone unless you know exactly what the person really needs.

I like to be generous, but there's always a challenge when buying these things because I usually don't know the capabilities or the needs of the people who are receiving these gifts.

Buying a power tool for some people in my life is like buying a motorcycle for Joe Biden.

[Romulus]

Lowe’s and Home Depot will take back unused gas powered tools, but only for a limited period. If you buy something and decide you don’t need it, return it promptly.

[lee martell]

I am impressed, Morganna. So, the chainsaw does not have to be Pink?
I know some pistols are made in that color nowadays. Not sure about shotguns.

[Manic_Episode]

I spent a winter working in the woods 40 years ago. Back then everyone was switching to Husqvarnas which were new at the time. They had higher RPMs and really screamed compared to the rest of that era. I've gone with husky ever since, however I recently purchased 2 electrics, a big and a small, and I am very pleased with their performance.

I watched a youtube of a guy turning an entire tree into firewood on the same battery and I was sold.

[V_TWIN]

Wow kinda weird for HD to give you a hard time like that.

Last time there I did notice looks like they are carrying ryobi trimmers exclusively.

I’ve had good luck with my ryobi. The expand it feature is handy if you need multiple tools.

[Rebelbase]

Stihl was good stuff back in the day. The consumer grade Stihl stuff now is no better than most other brands sold at big box stores.

I paid $150 for 30 year old Stihl chainsaw a couple of years ago that runs like a champ. It was previously owned by a Forest Service fire fighter who took care of it like it was his child.

[V_TWIN]

The ability to change tools on a trimmer head is nice isn’t it?

I’ve got 3 so far and it works out well.

[old-ager]

> local Ace hardware continues to treat you like a rank criminal on returns

A minor paradox is that this is an attribute of a traditionally well-run and conservative company. But we do expect easy returns now. Just bust the idea of a credit card dispute on them as soon as they open their gob.

[gundog]

One if the things that torqued Bloomberg off, years ago, was the proliferation of brightly colored guns.

[Sequoyah101]

It is sad to see Sthil going down in quality but they are. It is a dealer network and won’t go online or big box for the most part. Once upon a time you could take a saw to the hardware store here and get it fixed by a trained tech. They had lots of business and did good work. People didn’t mind paying for that. When the good work and quality went away and down people did mind paying for it.

A friend is a woodsman and has old Sthils that still serve him very well but they are old ones.

I still have some Sthil products but have not bought one in ages. Husqvarna commercial models work well for me. I have a backpack blower that has to be approaching 30 years old. I have never done a thing to it but adjust the throttle linkage that keeps popping ot of the slot. I have not used it since last fall. Bet I can go start it now in just a few pulls.

I also have the largest Sthil backpack blower that has never worked well in spite of everything I can think of to fix it and one Sthil chainsaw in the bottom of the pond where I carried it and threw it one day.

[PIF]

It a dealership like Ford, Chev, Toyota. Go in a Stihl dealership, expect Sthil products. Do your research online before going in cold.

[IYAS9YAS]

I’ve had Makita for about 12 years. My last battery was finally going out (3ah) and I took advantage of a sale about 6 months ago in anticipation of the need for the tools this Spring & Summer.

Makita has really gone down in quality. As an aside, my uncle gave my dad a Makita battery-powered drill-driver probably 35 years ago now. Maybe more. I was a teenager. It was one of the very first models, had the long handle with the long skinny battery pack. Used it all over the place. I think the battery finally wore out about five years ago.

As far as bang for the buck, it's second only to the Amana freezer built in the late 1950s that my parents bought used when they got married in 1965. It was still running when they sold their last house in 2011. It was heavy and they didn't want to move it again. The local power company had a rebate for trading in old appliances for more efficient ones. When the guy got there to pick it up he stripped the insulation piece off the door and hauled it off. It would probably still be running today but for that.

[bigbob]

My Echo backpack blower is more powerful and cost less than neighbors Stihl which broke after a year.