I have a Stihl MS 211c and was wondering if I can change from green to yellow chain and also, would I have to change out the bar and or sprocket? I have been running 3636 005 0055 63 PM3 55 green chain and was thinking of going to 3617 005 0055 63 PS 55 yellow chain. I mainly use this saw on brush and small stuff. Would performance be better?
Stihl chain question
- Thread starter johninct
- Start date
Haven't checked the charts, but yes you should be able to run a "yellow" chain.
Just verify pitch and gauge matches and it will be good.
Performance will increase, but be aware the kickback risk. I tossed my safety chain early on, but just put a new Oregon chain and bar on yesterday. Guess what I was running was pretty worn, got educated very quickly about aggressive chains.
Just verify pitch and gauge matches and it will be good.
Performance will increase, but be aware the kickback risk. I tossed my safety chain early on, but just put a new Oregon chain and bar on yesterday. Guess what I was running was pretty worn, got educated very quickly about aggressive chains.
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toolchaser
Well-known member
Yellow chains perform MUCH better especially on a smaller saw. As far as the lack of anti-kickback , just be careful not to tip strike with the revs up. I run the Bailey`s yellows on a Still 390 with a 20" bar & 2 170`s with 16" bars & wouldn'twant to go back to "safety" chains
Trapps
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Another 'yellow' fan here! Very noticeable performance gain.
johninct, your choices involve TWO different characteristics: Safety chain vs. non safety, and chisel vs. semi chisel.
I put green chains on my loaner saws to students for liability reasons. Stihl's safety chain cuts very well and I notice very little difference between it and the yellow. It is a bit more difficult when you have to lower the rakers.
One big difference in your two choices is that the yellow 3636 is Stihl's semi chisel (what I call a chipper chain) that stays sharp longer when confronting dirt. The yellow 3617 you list is Stihl's chisel chain. It cuts faster than the semi chisel, but also dulls a lot faster if you encounter dirt, I.E., you cut stumps very near the ground or stuff that accumulates dirt while lying on the ground. You can get either style (semi chisel, chisel) in safety or non safety.
I cut a lot of dirty stuff and prefer the semi chisel non safety chain. The nomenclature, i.e. "chisel/semi chisel" varies among mfg. https://www.northernarbsupplies.co.uk/blog/full-chisel-semi-chisel-chain/
https://www.baileysonline.com/stihl...-55-drive-links-3617-005-0055-stl-63ps55.html
https://www.baileysonline.com/stihl...55-drive-links-3636-005-0055-stl-63pm355.html
I put green chains on my loaner saws to students for liability reasons. Stihl's safety chain cuts very well and I notice very little difference between it and the yellow. It is a bit more difficult when you have to lower the rakers.
One big difference in your two choices is that the yellow 3636 is Stihl's semi chisel (what I call a chipper chain) that stays sharp longer when confronting dirt. The yellow 3617 you list is Stihl's chisel chain. It cuts faster than the semi chisel, but also dulls a lot faster if you encounter dirt, I.E., you cut stumps very near the ground or stuff that accumulates dirt while lying on the ground. You can get either style (semi chisel, chisel) in safety or non safety.
I cut a lot of dirty stuff and prefer the semi chisel non safety chain. The nomenclature, i.e. "chisel/semi chisel" varies among mfg. https://www.northernarbsupplies.co.uk/blog/full-chisel-semi-chisel-chain/
https://www.baileysonline.com/stihl...-55-drive-links-3617-005-0055-stl-63ps55.html
https://www.baileysonline.com/stihl...55-drive-links-3636-005-0055-stl-63pm355.html
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Den69rs96
Well-known member
I was able to get a yellow chain for my ms250 at the dealer. I think you saw has the PM3 chain. You should be able to upgrade to the RM or RSK chain, but you need to verify pitch and gauge. The chain that comes on the 250, Stihl used to call the RMC safety chain( I think its called RM3 now). It was a bit more durable. What that means is if your cutting dirty wood, it would stay sharper longer than say the RSC(named RSK now?) yellow chain which comes on a lot of the pro model saws. The RSC chain cuts better and faster than the chain that comes on the 211, but it will dull faster cutting crappy wood.
I use yellow on my 211, no changes needed for sprocket, bar. I use that little saw for limbing, and to tell the truth, I have found that the safety chain it came with actually works as well on the branches and limbs. I never use the safety chain on my big saws, but on the 211 it works just fine.