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Husquvarna still or Ecco

treemuncher

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2006
Messages
733
Location
West TN
Occupation
eatin' trees, poopin' chips
Back in the early 90's, when I was taking the Master Logger Course, I asked the instructor and several of the other students the same question regarding saws. To quote the instructor, "They are both great saws but, if you want something easy to get parts for, get a Stihl. If you want something needing less service and maybe more dependable, get a Husky." It was an opinion. I had never run either saw before that.

I was handed a new Husky 272XP the day we were out in the field practicing the "open face" cut approach. DAMN, I never had anything in my hands that would cut so fast! All I currently had at home was my father's old Shindawa and Poulan. They were slow, had no chain brakes and less than dependable. I NEEDED a real saw for my new business so, on the way home from class, I stopped at Bailey's when they had a store in Jackson and purchased a new 272XP starter kit that included everything I needed except the experience. Bailey's was also the store that furnished the saw for the class to use. Thankfully, saw chaps came with that kit and saved my leg a few years later.

I would still be using that same saw today had it not been stolen from a jobsite. What did I replace it with? A 385 XP. I keep a 20", 28" and 52" bar for the saw. It is the only saw that I own. It is all that I need. I don't cut on a daily basis but when I do, my cuts are fast and efficient. I prefer to spend my time in an air conditioned cab rather than running a saw. But, when I need the saw, this one never fails me.

Since my first 272, I've had a few hours running other people's Stihls. Nice saws, good performance but at the end of the day, I will chose my Husky every time.
 

aighead

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2019
Messages
2,541
Location
Dayton, OH
Yeah, I guess that would do it! That's a giant tree!

Did you mulch that entire tree or did any of it make it to the mill? Your answer may make me cry a little...
 

charles walton

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2012
Messages
554
Location
Etowah Tennessee
We have a great Stihl dealer close to home . Carry allot of parts & product on hand .

My favorite chain saw is the " Farm Boss " with 20" bar . Fairly light & easy to handle . Good all around saw to pack around for tasks .

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/farm-and-ranch-saws/ms271/

Also use a Stihl pole saw . It's sure handy for trimming tree limbs .

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/pole-pruners/professional-pole-pruners/ht250/

As a feller gets older he likes to set in the seat and work the throttle & levers . Favorite tree hacker hands down is a Rome K/G blade .

Hit the tree at about 1,800 RPM . LOL! :DView attachment 183291
what are the tires on that trailer? That's a heck of a load on a tag.
 

davo727

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
165
Location
N of Houston Texas
Occupation
Aircraft mechanic
I have a Stihl MS290 and Ms310. Both bought used and they run great but both currently have inop bar oiling. More stuff to fix, project numbers 155, 156 lol. Maybe Ill go buy a new husky and sell the others.
 

cuttin edge

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
2,690
Location
NB Canada
Occupation
Finish grader operator
Never used an Ecco. Had good luck with Stihl and Husky, however. For a cutoff saw, cutting asphalt or concrete, the Husky will outlast the Stihl. Our company has no small engine maintainence program, and a lot of those saws see no TLC. I cringe when I see guys beating the air filter to death and putting it back in. They run hard. wide open for a full tank of gas, fill up and go again. Some saws only last a season, but the Huskys seem more up to the task.
 

Old Doug

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2013
Messages
4,484
Location
Mo
Buy whatever brand you have good service and parts from, the best saw in the world still needs to be fixed, for me its Stihl, hands down due to the dealer.
I wanted to buy a quick saw and i had a Horse tiller i fixed up to trade in. They to places here sell Husqvarna or Dolmar. The Dolmar dealer has several guys working in the shop and the other place was wanting to down size so i thought if i had a problem Dolmar would be the way to go. The saws coil went bad i took it in and it sat there 6 weeks or longer i finally went and got it ordered a coil from them and fixed it my self. I was mad a stihl dealer opened up here i thought about selling the Dolmar and buying a Stihl but who knows how they would treat me.
 

colson04

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
2,057
Location
Delton, Michigan
I wanted to buy a quick saw and i had a Horse tiller i fixed up to trade in. They to places here sell Husqvarna or Dolmar. The Dolmar dealer has several guys working in the shop and the other place was wanting to down size so i thought if i had a problem Dolmar would be the way to go. The saws coil went bad i took it in and it sat there 6 weeks or longer i finally went and got it ordered a coil from them and fixed it my self. I was mad a stihl dealer opened up here i thought about selling the Dolmar and buying a Stihl but who knows how they would treat me.

I don't rely on the dealer for anything, anymore. I used to think it mattered, but paying attention to how the people around me have been treated by a wide variety of dealers has taught me that learning to fix my own stuff would get me the best service.

As for saws, I own Stihl, Echo, Holzfarma (chinese), old Homelite and Husqvarna. They all cut wood, they all have their benefits. The Stihl (MS362) I bought new in 2012 has been an absolute runner of a saw for its class and extremely dependable. The Echo (CS-355T), I've had for 2 years and has had an issue with kill switch and recoil. I repaired both issues fairly quickly, but ended up with downtime on a job. The Homelites (410 and 540) are getting hard to get repair parts for as they're orphans and haven't been made for 25+ years. The Chinese saw is a 92cc powerhouse, but very new yet. I already have an issue with oil pump and chain tensioner. The Husqvarna 350 is a runner, but the fuel line keeps cracking inside the tank. I replace with genuine Husqvarna part, and a couple years later, it happens again. When it runs, the Husky is a screamer for a 50cc homeowner saw.

I run a variety of bars from 14" up to 32", depending on task at hand. Chain varies with project as well, though the bigger saws mostly run skip tooth, full chisel.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Bought a feller buncher back in 2018 and pretty much retired all the chainsaws for now, as they say, sitting in the seat pulling levers and using hydraulics is definitely the way to get things done, should have done that 30 years ago and the upside to that is, everyone wants to run it, add a firewood processor into the mix and now we can cut and process 50 plus cords of firewood a year in a few weekends and nobody has to pickup a chainsaw, next on the list of must have's is a top loading furnace so we can fill it with a skid steer and then handling and heating with wood might not be so bad for a few more years.
 

ianjoub

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
1,437
Location
Homosassa, FL USA
next on the list of must have's is a top loading furnace so we can fill it with a skid steer and then handling and heating with wood might not be so bad for a few more years.
There is no guarantee we will be ALLOWED to heat with wood in a few years. They don't need wood fire heat in DC after all.
 

Randy88

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
2,149
Location
iowa
Most towns and quite a few townships have already outlawed any wood burning furnaces, quite a few insurance companies will also void your insurance if the wood burner is inside or even those outside need to be x number of feet away from any building or they'll cancel you as well. My insurance company has gone as far as to determine how far away from the outside of the outdoor boiler the firewood can be stored.............................yet I can make any kind of waste oil burner I want to put in my shop and there are absolutely no regulations what so ever as to its construction or use and they'll cover that no questions asked.............I had to get that in writing because i didn't believe it being told to me by the local agent. So according to my insurance company burning wood is bad, waste oil is great and ironically there is no law against burning waste oil anywhere near me as long as its done inside something and not in the open, go figure. To add to the insanity, several insurance companies have already banned large scale new oil storage in a shop setting, no longer will 30 or 55 gallon drums or bulk oil storage be allowed to be stored in the shop or even on the property, yet you can have as many 5 gallon pails of new oil you want, as in thousands of gallons of new oil in 5 gallon pails, then if that's not bad enough, waste oil isn't considered a fire hazard, yes read that last sentence again, so thus you can have as much waste oil as I want in my shop at any one time, in any form of storage I want, 5 gallon pails, open buckets, 500 gallon tanks or even several thousand gallon tanks to be burned in any kind of waste oil burner I want to build or buy, to burn the waste oil, that the insurance company deems isn't flammable, yes thats right, read that again, I had to request that in writing as well because it made no sense to me when told to me by my local agent.

Wood might be renewable, but that has nothing to do with being able to actually heat with it, you also need to remember every single tree hugger out there lives in a house build out of wood, but yet logging is a bad thing and should be banned forever in order to save all the tree's?? except of course those that they need to build their own houses out of so they have a home to actually live in..............right?? or better yet all those that flock to the save the planet protests, all show up in their vehicles to protest how bad fossil fuels are for the environment. When you guys get that all figured out, maybe explain it to me so it somehow makes sense to anyone.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
It would suck to live in Iowa. Most every house here has a fire place. Lots of wood fired plant heaters. You can find wood stored in most any neighborhood you drive through. Worked with and for insurance companies and adjusters for years and never heard of a clause limiting residential wood heat.
 

ianjoub

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
1,437
Location
Homosassa, FL USA
It would suck to live in Iowa. Most every house here has a fire place. Lots of wood fired plant heaters. You can find wood stored in most any neighborhood you drive through. Worked with and for insurance companies and adjusters for years and never heard of a clause limiting residential wood heat.
Wait until the EPA decides it is too much pollution. It will end with the stroke of a pen and many people will be LITERALLY left out in the cold.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Not going to lose sleep over something that may happen. More than likely it may not.
 

Coaldust

Senior Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
3,286
Location
North of the 60
Occupation
Cargo Tanks, ULSD, RUG, Methanol, LPG
Scoff at the Echo stuff, but I’m growing attached to my Japanese CS-590. Bought it for a job last summer and was hoping to get one season from it. It’s awesome. I was able to remove the anti-tamper screws and adjust the carb properly. Muffler was easy to modify. Stihl and their silly electronic carburetors. That’s fine if there is a Stihl dealer within reasonable distance. I can buy Echo parts on Amazon.
 
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