Tested my new chain saw to see if the chain was getting oil. no sign of it after several minutes operating time. back to the retailer???

Greetings & salutations Steve Parent,

That sounds more like a (quality indictment) statement...
but a good one... Includes Make & model (a rare pleasure)
Great SAW too...

If it is as new as it sounds... I'll skip over my first guess and tell you to take it immediately back to your retailer... and get one that works...

Page 34 of your OWNERS MANUAL (below) says you
should top-up your oil tank EVERY TIME you refuel...!!

More IMPORTANTLY... says if your oil is not going down... check your oiling system... or take it in for SERVICE...

Again... IF IT IS AS NEW as it sounds... TAKE IT BACK...!!

http://www.stihlusa.com/WebContent/CMSFileLibrary/InstructionManuals/STIHL-MS-251-Owners-Instruction-Manual.pdf

I get asked this question a lot , im gonna have to make a video on this subject someday .
but here:
1st ck your oil viscosity/SAE it should be 30 and say bar/chain oil
next dump out entire oil tank and wash out with kerosene (you'd be surprised what I seen come out)
then remove bar and chain , locate oil outlet it's in body of saw near adjustment screw , use a small can of air to blow in this port softly , use a touch more of kero to clean this all out , refill tank with proper oil !!!! and run saw (no need to put bar/chain back on yet ) might take several minutes but oil should start to flow out hole !! stop saw and reinstall bar/chain then run again .. fixed !! if no oil comes out ever your oil pump is gonna need some fixing

for a low cost oil I use filtered used motor oil cut down with a dab of kerosene

Not being able to pull the start cord because of "compression" is usually a sign that the cylinder head is full of fuel and/or oil. Take the spark plug out and try to pull again. look at what is in the cylinder, fuel mix or chain oil. If the engine turns over, pull several time to clear the cylinder. Clean the plug and put it back. Gas/oil in the cylinder means it is leaking into the crankcase. If it is chain oil in the cylinder, there most likely is a crack in the crankcase. If it fuel look for a leak the allows the fuel to get into the crankcase when it is stored.

cellphone

Overheating the chain/bar is usually caused by insufficient oil getting to the chain, but can be caused by the chain being too tight to begin with (you should be able to turn the chain by hand), grit in the chain groove, or a poorly sharpened chain. The saw has an oil volume adjustment screw on the lower part of the case near the chain return area. Turning it CCW should increase oil flow. Oil volume can be judged by running the saw tip at speed near some cardboard for a moment--it should throw off a thin line of oil. Chain sharpening condition can be judged by the sawdust residue coming from the cut--if a powder-like material, the teeth are not sharp or are improperly filed. You should not have to bear down excessively on the saw to make it cut quickly. Hope some of this helps!

too much oil in the fuel, or set screws are not mixing air fuel properly. have the set screws looked at, and listen for a bearing to be gone, there are two un related issues here.

With the saw not running rotate the chain by hand (gloves encouraged). You may have a burr on a drive link or some links that can't rotate. When they meet the sprocket or nose the chain jumps.
You might try a new chain.
If you extend the drive links beyond the cutting side a flat file can be used to remove burrs from the drive links,

Chain adjustment

1. Make sure the chain brake is off (gloves will protest your fingers).
2. If necessary, loosen the nuts that are clamping the guide bar in place (or whatever your saw uses to hold the side plate and bar on with). We don't need these really loose - just finger tight will do.
3. Ease the tension until the chain is obviously loose.
4. Using one hand, hold the nose of the bar up.
5. Now, while holding the nose up, adjust the tension so that the chain just touches the underside of the bar. Then tighten slightly more (1/8 turn on screw).
6. Continue holding the nose of the bar up & tighten up the side plate nuts / bolts / quick-release system.

HTH
Lou

With an electric chainsaw, you only require chainsaw bar oil. There is plenty of brands of chainsaw bar oil available at most hardware or pwer garden tool retailers. Use this oil and not any other generic car oil or anything like that as you will run into problems. Chain bar oil is designed to flow and the higher quality bar oils are better designed to adhere to the chain and tooth components to keep heat on the bar and chain down.

Hi

When the engine get warm and die(I suppose)check the spark at the sparkplug.You can let the saw run until it ran out of gas and you will not distroy the engine.Change the sparkplug.

best regards savumihai71

Sorry to tell you this but you need a new OIL PUMP but it's not a difficult thing to replace.
On the main shaft of the crank shaft under the centrifugal clutch is a spiral wound wire that matches a plastic part that is the oil pump. You can get the part from Poulan parts and it will take about 15 minutes to fix the first time eight minutes the second time.
Glad to be of assistance.