Replacing Starter Rope on Stihl MS 250 Chainsaw

Last week, I was in the middle of a wood cutting project. I had a tree on the ground. I was cutting right along when I ran out of gas. The saw died, I walked out of the woods into the shed and filled her up with gas. When I went to pull the starter rope – snap. I held the chainsaw in one hand the the starter rope (pull cord) handle in another. It’s times like these people wish they had more starter rope on hand.

I began wondering what type of rope I had laying around that might get me through this troubled time. I remembered that I had dozens of feet of magnificently strong paracord, so I went ahead and replaced the starter rope in the chainsaw with the paracord. I really thought I was onto something. It worked and I continued cutting for another day.

Unfortunately, after about 10 or so pulls with that rope, it began to shred. The outer layer broke and all that was left was the inner strands. Lesson learned – don’t use paracord as starter rope.

A few days later, Laura and I happened to be at the hardware store in Madison. I figured that since I was there, I would pick up four feet of real starter rope. I did and then replaced the paracord with the starter rope. So far, it’s been working great.

Now, I’m not sure how long that rope is going to last. I’m already starting the chainsaw a bit differently in attempt to keep these things from breaking. The original rope lasted almost seven years, so I’m probably not doing anything wrong, but instead of throwing the saw to start it, I’m now resting it on the ground and holding it with one foot and my hand. With the other hand, I’m pulling the rope.

I don’t want to have another occurrence of not having starter rope on hand, so I ordered 100 feet of “True Blue” starter rope from Amazon. It showed up yesterday. I think it’s good stuff. As long as it’s solid and isn’t made with strands in the middle and an outer shell like the paracord, I should be in good shape. Here are a few pictures: