What Do The Letters On Stihl Lawn Care Tools Mean?

Among outdoor power tool brands, Stihl is well known for creating different lines of tools that can handle almost any job you have across your property. Whether you're using a Stihl trimmer to knock weeds out of your lawn or a Stihl chainsaw to clean up dead trees or broken branches, you may rely heavily on multiple outdoor tools from Stihl.

When trying to choose the right chainsaw for yard work or other outdoor power tools, you may find the generic model numbers Stihl uses to identify its various outdoor power tools difficult to decipher. The model numbers, like MSA 220 C-B for a chainsaw or FS 70 R for a string trimmer, don't seem to provide clues about the tool.

The truth is that Stihl's numbering and naming system actually has a method to the madness. The company uses certain combinations of characters to signify items about each product. Unfortunately, understanding Stihl's model number labeling system isn't going to help you figure out how to start a Stihl weed eater that's not running right. However, it may help you make a decision on which tool to purchase. Not every letter and number that's part of the model names is easy to decipher, but we know some of the coding that the company uses. 

The first two letters in the Stihl naming system signify the type of outdoor power tool you're using. The letters refer to the German language name for each tool, which is understandable because Stihl is a German company. A tool with an MS model name is a chainsaw called motorsäge in German. The MS comes from motorsäge. An FS Stihl model is a line trimmer, which is called a freischneider in German. Leaf blowers from Stihl start with either a BG or BR model name. BG refers to blasgerät in German, which is a handheld leaf blower, while BR refers to blasgerät rückentragbar in German, which is a backpack leaf blower. TS refers to trennschleifer in German, which translates to a cut-off machine or cutting grinder from Stihl. 

Additional letters at the start of the model name indicate features of the tool. For chainsaws, a B after the MS indicates a machine with a quick-chain adjuster. An R after the MS would be a chainsaw with a wrap handle. A model with a C after the MS has what Stihl calls comfort features, which could include a strong power-to-weight ratio. The model numbers also provide some clues to the size of the machine. With chainsaws, the first digit in the model number indicates the expected engine power. A model with a 1 as the first digit will typically have far less engine power than a model with a 6 or 8 as the first digit.