Chainsaws

I am a echo fan, but my last purchase doesn't fit your criteria. 70 cc's of chip spitting fun. 3 and 4,ft bars. I wore out a very old poulan 3400 countervibe. 2 pistons and finally a carb so worn it want stay adjusted. I am not a fan of any of the newer husky or stihl saws in the box store variety. I intend to buy a commercial smaller sized e big boy works so flawless and cranks easy even with the large cc and no external compression release. The smaller siblings should be a lighter just as smooth chip off the ol block. And echo everything else has lasted for ever in my family.
 
I have a Husky 445, the baby bother to the 455 Rancher. Awesome saw however the oiling system sucks ass. Always had issues with it, and that's really my only major complaint about it. That and the damn thing is cold natured as hell but it could be the fact we haven't run the ethanol free gas in it. If I were to get a new saw I'd probably look for an older Stihl it even an older Husky. As mentioned before the premix gas or ethanol free will keep you from getting pissed off everytime you try to start it.
 
GONOVRIT said:
I have a friend that is big into saws. As in owns over 100 of them. He has a smaller sthil than my 290, can't remember the model, that he had some work done to and it is awesome! A good bit lighter than mine and it seems to rip better than my larger model. Sounds like what you're looking looking for Ron.
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If you're talking about the guy that was over at your house playing chainsaws with me a couple years ago, that was a Stihl MS261 with a ported muffler. I already liked the 026/MS260, and after running his MS261, it made me want one.
 
Another thing to know is how the numbering systems work.
Husqvarna uses the 1st digit basically as a generation identifier, and the 2nd, 3rd (and sometimes 4th) digit is the displacement in CC's
So a 576 is 5th generation, 76cc. A 3120 is a 3rd gen, 120cc, truck saw. Because it is 120cc's and you back your truck up to the tree, cut it, and put the saw back in the truck because its too damn heavy.

Stihl uses cubic inches. Older Stihls will start with zero, and then have the 2nd and 3rd digit for displacement.
046=0.46in^3=~77cc's
Somewhere around the late 90's/early 2000's, they started naming all chainsaws with the prefix MS, and then digits 1 and 2 were the displacement:
MS260=0.26in^3=~49cc's
In the past couple of years, they've been coming out with the latest generation of saws that have improvements in vibration damping, fuel economy, emissions, and power. Some have even had 2 newer generations. A good example of this is:
036>MS360>MS361>MS362, all around 0.36in^3 or 60cc's
Everyone loved the MS361, and now a lot of people are raving over the MS362
 
Remington rodeo. 50 or so cc, good homeowner saw, McCulloch design. Reliable. Also look at Muryama (sp?). Stihl and husky unless bought from a dealer are pure junk, Chinese junk actually. Old Homelite, McCulloch, even Still or Husky are good. One they went to plastic, so did durability. Farm sloths don't impress me. Stay away from ms390, it's a ms290 with a bigger top end and prone to failure. Most new big box store saws will serve you well if you run a half a tank it a tank if fuel thru them and let them cool while you do other work but don't plan to use one to cut your fire wood for the winter. (So yes, I did go against what I said earlier, but "homeowners" saws are just meant to cut up a few limbs and put it up... If you do more than that you void your warranty.)
Just my $.02 from working on small engines for my customers and helping out a friend that owns a small engines shop.

Oh and go buy Klotz 2 stroke racing oil, saws love it. Superb film strength and will make the worst designed saw engine last longer.. Have ran any mix oil in a freed seized saw, instant seize. Run Klotz, no seize. I won't run my saws on anything else. It mixes with alcohol unlike nearly all other oils. And it's usually only $15 a quart. You pay $2 for less than 4 ounces of husky or still oil, do the math.
 
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I've owned Stihl, Husky, Homelite, and McCulloch. My 30+ yr old Homelite still runs. My Husky (dealer bought) was a pain to start and is now dead. My newer Stihls ( one 6 years old and 1 year old) start and run every time.
 
A
Mostly all good advice here. I will add, Stihl professional series, not homeowners saws. Buy from a real dealer who has been around for a while. Spring has a lot of sales so you can get a deal. Use the True Fuel, it has no ethanol, has higher octane and additives to add to shelf life. Get an extra chain or two.
Remember, no ETHANOL WHATSOEVER!!!!!
 
Ron said:
Ive owned probably a half dozen over the years a.....
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If you want to stop doing that then get a Stihl. Hands down the best.

Two of our biggest customers are Stihl and Husqvarna. After dealing with both companies, I'd buy Stihl. They are picky assholes and they're a pain in the ass to deal with. And that kind of attitude carries through to their product.

Husqvarna is good, but Stihl is head and shoulders above.
 
I've been using ethanol gas for every piece of equipment for years and never experienced any issues.

I mean really, engineers not designing the equipment in 2016 to run on ethanol gas without issues would just be ludicrous and a major fault on them as we all know most of us use what is easy and convenient; I assure you the major manufacturer design teams have considered this and have made the equipment to work OK with ethanol gas.

Does your "premium grade gas" only performance engine still work when putting regular in it?? I bet it does without issue ;)

How many non ethanol sources do you find anymore? I have to go to the marina to get mine.
 
rockcity said:
I've been using ethanol gas for every piece of equipment for years and never experienced any issues.

I mean really, engineers not designing the equipment in 2016 to run on ethanol gas without issues would just be ludicrous and a major fault on them as we all know most of us use what is easy and convenient; I assure you the major manufacturer design teams have considered this and have made the equipment to work OK with ethanol gas.

Does your "premium grade gas" only performance engine still work when putting regular in it?? I bet it does without issue ;)

How many non ethanol sources do you find anymore? I have to go to the marina to get mine.
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The owners manual that came w my Stihl said to dump and run the gas out of the saw if the saw is not going to be run for a while. I use non ethanol to not have to do that, though I believe the stihl mix has fuel stabilizer in it I've had problems w ethanol in my outboard using stabilizer and have had none since running only non ethanol in my 4 stroke F90 for the last few years. My carbed outboard also starts and runs better w the non E gas.I have 2 stations that sell the straight gas nearby one is 10 mins. from the house or 5 mins. from the nearest gas.
 
From everything I have read and heard, your best bet is to go with either a Husky or a Stihl. I have never owned a Husky, but I own two Stihl saws. I have an MS192T I bought new from Farmers Feed and Seed in K'ville 11 years ago and an 029 Farmboss (20" bar) that I bought used from Blackvoodoo 10 years ago. I use the MS192T for all the limbing work once I fell the tree. It is super light and won't wear you out while doing all the limbing.

I will mention something I haven't seen anyone else mention yet. Do you have a Husky or Stihl dealer near you? That should maybe play into your decision. It is nice to be able to drive up and get parts that you need. I cracked the oil tank cap once on my 029 from over tightening it. The fuel vent hose also dry rotted and fell out on my 029. Both times I went to FFS in K'ville and they had the parts in stock. Another time many years back, I drove over my MS192T in JT's old S10 cab truck during a late night excursion, lol. I took the busted up saw to FFS, and the guy ordered every part I needed and had them there in a few days.

I have probably cut down and completely cut up about 125-150 trees with my 029 Farmboss. I highly recommend something like that saw. I would not go any smaller, and although I think it would be cool to have a bigger saw just for cool factor, it would probably just wear me out faster and be unnecessary. If mine was stolen today, I would probably buy the same saw used once again. Something like this:Stihl MS 290, great condition, 170psi

I never use ethanol free gas either. It is too hard to find around where I live. I just buy super unleaded and good mix oil. Between my leaf blower, weedeater, and chainsaws (all of them Stihl brand), I use way too much fuel to buy it in those expensive premixed bottles. I mix up 2 gallons at a time.
 
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mommucked said:
The owners manual that came w my Stihl said to dump and run the gas out of the saw if the saw is not going to be run for a while. I use non ethanol to not have to do that, though I believe the stihl mix has fuel stabilizer in it I've had problems w ethanol in my outboard using stabilizer and have had none since running only non ethanol in my 4 stroke F90 for the last few years. My carbed outboard also starts and runs better w the non E gas.I have 2 stations that sell the straight gas nearby one is 10 mins. from the house or 5 mins. from the nearest gas.
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I mean yeah, still need to run the fuel out of the carb for storage regardless of what kind of fuel you use, that's just good practice. If you do that, ethanol gas shouldn't have any issues on NEWER saws. Now a 20 year old Farm Boss, well, it's a hoss and will likely be OK but with ethanol not around when the saw was designed it's hard to say if it would be OK in it or not. But, my 1998 FS85 weed eater gets ethanol gas and keeps on without issue so my guess is that you would be OK with older equipment. Just make sure the fuel hoses are ethanol compatible.
 
I recommend whatever you get to put a 2" shorter bar on it if you want it to last a lifetime. So if you need an 18", buy one that is made for a 20".
I've always stuck with Stihl.
 
mbalbritton said:
If you want to stop doing that then get a Stihl. Hands down the best.
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2 of those 6 were stihls. I guess that is why Im apprehensive.
I've gone the used saw on craigslist route the last 2 times and bought "pro" saw an 026 and a -46 specifically.

Now to be fair I found out after the fact the -46 was a loggers saw in a past life. It was slam wore the fawk out. Chain clipping bar wore out wore out. lol. I spent more in replacement parts than I paid for the saw and it ust never was "right" ended up selling it to the guy who runs the Stihl dealership in town and he ended up parting it out.

The 026 was a good saw when it ran. But it would wear a shoulder out getting it to crank. Adjusted the carb, then replaced the carb and air filter and adjusted some more. Only non E fuel. Used stihl oil, etc. The last few times I used it I carried a can of ether with me all day. Sold t to a guy I hunted with for $100 just to keep my sanity.

FWIW the local dealer is both a stihl and a husky full service dealer
 
Love my huskies, I have two. I use my 435 with a 16" bar for limbing and my 455 with a 20 or 24 inch bar for the big stuff.
I run non-ethanol in all my small engines and hardly ever have a problem with startups. (You already know all that). Recently though my 455 has been giving me troubles with staying running, wants to bog down and die while cutting. I've cleaned the filter and adjusted the carb, I know it's a lack of fuel, so I'm thinking something in the fuel line. Other than that I've had years of great service from them. Always start and run (until recent) after not being used all season. As far as oiling problems, I've never had any issues with mine. Bars always seem to stay good and lubricated, even the 24"..... That thing is a beast lol
 
Hey @Ron do t forget that little Stihl I brought to Windrock when cutting the course. It was a MS 150 saw for lambing. I think it had like a 12" bar and it really surprised me for the size. Carried it for miles through the woods and ran it pretty hard for several days straight.

Oh, and I ran the shit out of it with ethanol gas. ;)

I want to buy one but am waiting on my dad to give it to me. :D
 
Ron said:
2 of those 6 were stihls. I guess that is why Im apprehensive.
I've gone the used saw on craigslist route the last 2 times and bought "pro" saw an 026 and a -46 specifically.

Now to be fair I found out after the fact the -46 was a loggers saw in a past life. It was slam wore the fawk out. Chain clipping bar wore out wore out. lol. I spent more in replacement parts than I paid for the saw and it ust never was "right" ended up selling it to the guy who runs the Stihl dealership in town and he ended up parting it out.

The 026 was a good saw when it ran. But it would wear a shoulder out getting it to crank. Adjusted the carb, then replaced the carb and air filter and adjusted some more. Only non E fuel. Used stihl oil, etc. The last few times I used it I carried a can of ether with me all day. Sold t to a guy I hunted with for $100 just to keep my sanity.
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well damn... were those Stihl new when you bought them, or used? mine is 20+ years old and after sitting for 3 years, it was a 3 pull start. Only thing that's bee replaced are the fuel lines and filter. If you bought them used I'd wonder what abuse they had. From what I understand, if you use Stihl's premix, they warranty the engine for life (check into that for yourself, I haven't yet). and since you would only use the saw occasionally, the fuel price on using their premix it won't break the bank.

FWIW the local dealer is both a stihl and a husky full service dealer
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Ya, I find that funny. We have Husqvarna displays beside Stihl Displays out there.
 
jeepinmatt said:
If you're talking about the guy that was over at your house playing chainsaws with me a couple years ago, that was a Stihl MS261 with a ported muffler. I already liked the 026/MS260, and after running his MS261, it made me want one.
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That's it but I knew he had more than that done to it. I asked him about it this morning and this is his reply, "Base gasket removed to lower cylinder for more compression, cylinder ported and polished, muffler gutted with extra port added for free flow exhaust, and timing advanced about 6 degrees. It's one bad mofo!!!"
 
If you buy a 6 pack of synthetic mix with the saw, Stihl extends the warranty to 5 years I think. A friend of mine is a Stihl dealer, if anyone is near Asheville and wants a saw shoot me a PM.
 
So I stopped by the local Stih dealer a few minutes ago.
Really need to get a couple trees cut up this weekend so I was in impulse buy now mode. Unusual for me.

They had the 251 and the 271 in stock only. Grrrr. was kind of sold on the pro series.

251 was 349 on sale for 299 and came with a free 6 pack of Stihl oil and a 5 year warranty. The 271 was 499 and came with a case.

I saved the $200 and may live to regret it but went with the homeowner saw...we will see how it does this weekend.
 
I've been impressed with my 250 for what I use it for and $


Make sure you use non ethanol fuel or it will blow up as soon as you start it up
 
rockcity said:
Make sure you use non ethanol fuel or it will blow up as soon as you start it up
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LOL
Well believe it or not the store 1/4 mile from the house sells non-e and I always use it.
But if anyone is worried about it Stabil blue is specifically to "fix" ethanol fuels. At one point Evinrude E-Tecs required it for warranty
 
stihl and premix in the metal can for occasional use.
 
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