Choice for chainsaws?

[littledenny]

Figure someone here is an expert:

I'm in the market for a decent chainsaw. Have a Poulan "Wildthing" which is good and cheap, at least for the homeowner-type I was when I bought it, but now that I'm in the business of "one man band-land clearing", figure I need to step up to something a bit better. I'm not really turned on with the idea of dropping 5 large on a Stihl, figure there's got to be a good answer in the 250-300 range, that still gives me enough power to run a 20" bar. Thoughts?

 

[will_gurt]

Basically you get what you pay for. I have run Husquvarna, Stihl, Johnsered, Homelite, Poulan and McColuch.

In my opinion the first listed is the best. I liked running the husky as well as the stihl saws. I am not too sure on the prices but if you have a Home Depot store in your area, they generally all handle the Husquvarna saw.

 

[woberlin]

I have a Stihl and love it. It is far above the other chain saws I have used. All my friends who heat with wood have either a a Stihl or Husquvarna and swear by them. If you'll be using it alot, I believe the extra money would be well spent. In this business $150-200 is almost a nominal amount when compared to a trip to the dealer for parts or the shop for repairs.

 

[DKinWA]

Both Husky and Stihl are good saws and you really can't go wrong with either one. To me it's just another ford vs chevy debate and there's nothing wrong with either one. My local saw dealer carries both, but I went with the Stihl because they only keep Stihl parts on hand. If I want Husky parts I either have to drive 30 minutes to their other store or wait a day and they'll have them there the following morning.

As woberlin mentioned, don't try to go cheap. I bought a Stihl MS440 (w/ 32" bar) because my 034 (w/ 20" bar) didn't have the power and bar length to get the job done quick. I'm on the west coast of washington and it's not unusual to be cutting on big fir, cedar and hemlock. I figure I bought and paid for the new saw on one job with the time savings alone. One other bit of advice. Purchase a couple of extra chains when you buy the saw and swap chains rather than spending time sharpening it on the job. When they need sharpening, I just drop them off at the saw shop and pick them up when I go by next time. I'd rather pay someone $4 a chain to sharpen them and spend my time hustling more work.

 

[will_gurt]

All super advice here. I guess it really is a "Ford vs Chevy" type of debate. I have ran both Husky and Stihl the most. Unfortunatly the Stihls were owned by a person that really has no care for any kind of maintenence programs at all. Sloppy bars super dull chains and put used motor oil in for bar oil. All this is a giant NO NO in my book. Get the extra chains I have seven for me 257 husky.

 

[littledenny]

Thanks, Guys - once again, you all have confirmed my suspicions. I've also run Huskys and Stihls. Agree that they're about a horse apiece.

Trees here are pretty well handled with 20'' bars. Also agree with the extra chains, though I was taught chain saw sharpening by the same old timer that taught me to splice rope, shovel without killing yourself, and how to take a two wheel drive truck where most guys couldn't get a 4WD.

 

[DKinWA]

I try to take two extra chains and some files everytime I'm going to be doing some cutting. Sometimes I'll touch up a chain if I need a break, but most of time I just change it. The first time I used my new 440, I was cutting on a 30" spruce and started my third cut. Next thing I know, my chain is gone. I wish I would've taken a picture, but my saw curf went right down the middle of a 16d nail. I took the head off the nail and made it just a little further before the chain broke. A grand total of about 2 minutes on the saw and I broke a brand new chain :cussing I walked into the saw shop and the guy that sold the saw to me looked at me funny and said "you haven't had it long enough to break it yet". What could I say, but "yes I have" :crying At least the other customers got a laugh out of it.

 

[littledenny]

At least the other customers got a laugh out of it.

Don't you just hate it when that happens? Guess I've been on both sides of that equation at one point or another.

 

[donlang]

Years ago when I started in the dirt business, I did quite a bit of clearing for the developers that I worked for. In my opinion, the ONLY saw to have is a Stihl. I had a couple of O41Gs. They were gear driven, and probably don't make anything like it any more. I had the automatic oil pump turned up, so that I always had oil to the bar (probably more than I needed, but it was easier and cheaper than replacing chains and bars quickly). The oil would get filled about twice to a tank of gas.

The 041Gs had 32" bars, and were absolute work horses. I have since retired them, and almost me as well. I bought an O20 a few years back, loanded it to an inlaw, and it came back burned up, Sometimes a person needs to be smarter than the chain brake on the saw. Lesson learned.

My vote is certainly for the Stihl......a little more expensive initially, a lot more cost effective in the long run. Spend the extra money. You'll be glad that you did!

Don

:usa

 

[littledenny]

Normally, I tend to buy good tools from the start, and take care of 'em. That was Dad's advise, and it's served me well over the years.

OK, I'm convinced - got any specific recommendations for a model? Think I'll be plenty happy with a 20" bar, as I've not run into anything yet that a 20" won't handle around here. Or, are they all the same? Local dealer has a whole rack of them, guess I didn't see too much difference among them,other than prices, but I wasn't looking specifically at Stihls when I was last in.

 

[DR RPM]

I will agree with everyone else and put my 2 bits behing Stihl, I have used husky/jonsered saws and prefered the stihl, we now have three from a 028 to a 041. :bash

 

[triaxle]

Chainsaw opinion

There are many limbing chain saws which are in the $250 to $300 range.
You have to decide what you're going to be cutting as your primary target.
If most of the materials you're going to be cutting are limbs and brush then a smaller, cheaper saw might work quite nicely.
If you're cutting saw size timber ( greater than 6"), then a more substantial saw will pay for itself in productivity.
On the Right of Way clearing we do, we use a Sthil 29 and a 36 for limbing. We use a Stihl 44 for logs.

I suggest you pay the bucks and get the brand name. It is sad to see a contractor who can't proceed to the next job and keep his machine assets running because cheap, small saw can't keep up.
Grading contractors constantly encourage their customers to "do it the right way", this advice works well when applied to grading purchases, too.

Logger size saws require a lot of effort to carry. For most residential size clearing operations a good name brand mid-size saw will work best.

 

[Steve Frazier]

You've probably got your saw by now, but I bought the Stihl 390, it's the biggest saw they make before you get into the megabuck saws. It will take a 24" bar, but can be used with a 20' as well. It has enough power for my use and makes short work of fairly large trees. I run the 20" bar.

 

[PSDF350]

like Steve said you probably allready have it. but I would make one suggestion. stay away from the box stores. go to a saw dealer you might spend a few bucks extra but is worth it when it comes time to have it fixed and it will need to be fixed at some point. I have seen saw chains put on backwards at box stores so do you really want some minimum wage flunky setting up your saw, when chances are he dont even know how to put a saw chain on. what is the saw going to be used for will dictate what size saw you what/need. my preferance in saws is husky, but stihl makes good saws also. another way to go is johnsered which is a husky but in red. they are generally cheaper but just as good. plus they usually have a promotional deal where you trade in your old saw and get like 125 bucks of. if you have any direct questions you want answerd I would be more than happy to help.

 

[cowdogteamroper]

Have anyone run an 880? sthil brand

 

[ghitch75]

get a husky 55 it will turn a 20" bar no problem......look on fle-bay...

 

[Kgmz]

Have anyone run an 880? sthil brand

Something a little bigger, a Stihl 090 with a 36" bar.

880 - 121.6cc - 8.6hp
090 - 137cc - 13hp




We own:
Stihl 090 w 36" bar
Stihl 038AV w 24" bar
Stihl 034AV w 20" bar
Stihl MS180C w 14" bar
2 Shindaiwa 300S w 14" bar

 

[boaterri]

Another vote for Stihl. I have an 023 that always starts easily even if it has not been run in a while. Good power and suprisingly quiet.

Rick

 

[roddyo]

$250.00 to $300.00 Saw

Try to pickup a Makita 6401 coming off lease at Home Depot. You can put a big bore kit on it and make it a 7901 if you ever need a Timber Saw. There made by Dolmar.

 

[Stovetop535]

I would also vote for stihl. Nothin but good things to say about ease of use and maintenance.