How to: Stihl "Winter Mode" - MS 261 C-M 

Glad to help!

Yes they are......which is why I'm here. The "illustrations" in the manual aren't even oriented correctly.

Good tip! Thank you!

Awesome, thank you!

Thanks for watching!

The more I use it, the more I like it. I'm hopeful that I never have any issues with the m-tronic carb, but I think the risk of potential future trouble is well worth the ease of use now.

We had a Derecho come through here, dealer says most of the Stihl’s wont be back in stock locally (Iowa) until next year

@@jimmybobo That dont sound good. I guess I'll get out my 461

I imagine most models are going to be difficult to find right now across the country. I haven’t been to my local dealer lately, but there hasn’t been much going on in our little area to deplete stock so he probably still has most farm/ranch and pro saws right now.

Tom B. Haven’t played with a 270 so wouldn’t know how to help lol. I could see how mine could easily get lost though, it’s not attached so could be left lying if I were careless.

My ms270 is a 2006 model and the shutter is between the air cleaner cover and the engine cover. Look at the split between these covers and you should see a snowflake and a sunburst. You slide your screwdriver down between and rotate the shutter to snowflake ❄️ or sunburst. Hope this helps.

Make sure you do have it in there, check manual or schematics online. Cutting without it in summer is the same as being in winter mode and your engine can overheat due to less air flowing over the fins.

You're welcome! Thank you, thanks for watching!

I've never run into any issues with the carb icing up, but I actually prefer to cut in colder weather lol. I do cut a bit in the summer months, but I prefer being able to just remove a couple layers to stay comfortable over pouring sweat regardless of how little I'm wearing. Definitely important though to remember to change it back in the warmer months if you do use winter mode!

@@HoosierHomesteaders I also cut in cold weather, However if the carb isn't icing up, then why put it in winter mode? That's what i guess i'm trying to say. If the carb starts to freeze up, You will know. That's when it's a good time to engage winter mode. However you will find that the wood is probably frozen. And so are you! that's no fun either. Like i said, if the saw is running good, why then fool with it? Air cooled engs.consume large volumes of air. Again why then run it hotter? Are you trying to get better fuel economy?

I don't really worry much about fuel economy. I guess I use the winter mode primarily because it's still under warranty and the manual says to. Honestly it shouldn't make any difference leaving it be even when its cold outside, as the newer models like mine have the electronically controlled carb. It will adjust for the change in air density on its own, so tuning isn't even really a concern. I really didn't even know they had the "winter mode" before I bought the 261, as all my other Stihls were bought used and didn't come with the manual. I never would've thought of it. I may do a little testing with it this winter while I'm out cutting anyway and see what, if any, differences I can find running it with or without the warmer air routing.

@@HoosierHomesteaders Seems not to many stihl owners are even aware of the winter mode, but then again neither do the dealers. I took my saw to a dealer because i couldn't figure how to do mine. I asked the parts guy if he could show me, he couldn't figure it either. Got the mechanic and owner involved, they wouldn't let me look over their shoulder to watch. I showed them the manual too, well i got the saw back after a few, with the part separated from the saw. This saw has a plate that flips up. They told me to come back when it got warmer out and they would put it back together. I ended up fixing it myself. I never ran it in winter mode any way, just tried it once. Only one time the carb iced up, and so was the wood. Have you ever cut frozen wood? It's no stroll in the park.By the way, you can down load or view any stihl saw manuals on their website. Good saw, but the non-ethanol gas has done it no good. As well as all my small engs. That's a good subject for you to tackle. A lot of headaches there!

You're not putting in hot air, the air is heated up about 10-20 degrees more, so if its negative a few degrees it's just warm enough so its above freezing. You're not blasting hot air in there, you're overestimating how much heat air takes from the engine fins :P

Has a larger what? I’m a little confused as the 250 is a smaller homeowner saw? I’ve worked on one a few times, though I don’t think I got the camera equipment out for it.

@@HoosierHomesteaders Its a blue shield goes in front of the carb. one side has screen the other not.

@@RhinoRider2006 ahhh that makes sense!

Thanks for watching

Yes! Lol thank you, doing the videos late at night it can be hard to grasp the words I'm looking for.