HUSQVARNA or Stihl chainsaw poll

[ncnswlogger]

They are both good saws but i think husqvana is better. Dad has been using husqvanas for 25 years and have been excellent. Dad rarely has to service his saws as they keep on going. If it was a stihl he would have to clean The filter a couple of times a day, with the husqvana is is very rare. The husqvana is more user friendly and more comfortable while the stihl may have more power for a comparable model

 

[awful knawful]

My father and I run Huskies and swear by them. The reason we run Huskies is the DEALER. He's great. Both Husky and Stihl are great saws. Go with the best local dealer and buy what he's selling.
Husqvarna, Stihl, Johnsred, Dolmar, Makita (made by Dolmar) and Echo are all good saws.

 

[Vigilant]

During the few years I spent working in the North Carolina woods, or the 'Logwoods' as the locals call it, I used mostly Stihl, along with a couple of Poulan 53s and 70-As here and there. I strongly preferred the Stihls, and particularly the 070. I Have been loyal to Stihl for personal use pretty much my whole life, but I did own a couple of Husky 372XPs for a while. Bought several bars for them, and worked the snot out of 'em out behind the house for a while. Although they do seem a bit smoother to operate and I LOVED the sound of the idle, they never really tripped my trigger. So, I broke out the Stihls again, sold both Huskys, and got ready to post the bars on Arboristsite. I wish I still had the ad. It read something like this:

"Here's one for the ladies of Arboristsite. i know you are frustrated with all the attention the menfolk here lavish on their Stihls, so I decided to offer you a few nice bars for your Husky saws, so you don't feel left out. Here we have for sale three Husky bars, a 20", a 25", and A 32"."

 

[CDNDIESELMONKEY]

I have been cursed with buying a brand new Stihl saw. Its a nightmare as it requires Premium fuel. If I don't use the saw for a week It doesn't start. The dealership and Stihl says that the fuel has gone bad! How can fuel go bad in a week????????? Well the saw is a seven hundred dollar mistake as it never wants to start and if it does it won't stay running! Does anyone know if the New husky saws require premium fuel as well. Anyone else have these problems? What saw can i buy brand new that I can run regular gasoline through? Man I hate the environment!

 

[CRAFT]

Diesel Monkey : ….Sadly they have all had to go that way ….. Especially the saws that have EPA ratings and have carbs that you can't even adjust the H&L jets ….. only the Idle screw ….

Just had this very same conversation with our local Stihl/Husky ect. Saw shop ……. this shop has been in business for over 40 yrs and claim he's fit to be tied over these issues, AND YES Gas can go bad in a week, depending on even which refinery it came from ….. we are buying Premium Purple (some times commonly known as Boat gas or Farm Gas) it's the same price as reg Gas here and YES there is a difference in runability ….. We started seeing it back in the mid '90's our Sleds wouldn't run worth a crap in the higher elevation and saws, generators and outboards would get this weird white build up fouling on the plugs …..

As far as your Saw goes What model is it ??? ….. big saw little one ??? ….. don't put all of the models in the same basket … because the Baby cheapy saws are exactly that …. Let us know what you got to maybe help you out !!!

Cheers ….

 

[075]

Depending on which saw you have you can get a tool that will let you adjust the jets. Its just a funny looking screw driver. Or you can buy a new carb they come fully adjustable on the bigger Stihls and Huskys

 

[CDNDIESELMONKEY]

Diesel Monkey : ….Sadly they have all had to go that way ….. Especially the saws that have EPA ratings and have carbs that you can't even adjust the H&L jets ….. only the Idle screw ….

Just had this very same conversation with our local Stihl/Husky ect. Saw shop ……. this shop has been in business for over 40 yrs and claim he's fit to be tied over these issues, AND YES Gas can go bad in a week, depending on even which refinery it came from ….. we are buying Premium Purple (some times commonly known as Boat gas or Farm Gas) it's the same price as reg Gas here and YES there is a difference in runability ….. We started seeing it back in the mid '90's our Sleds wouldn't run worth a crap in the higher elevation and saws, generators and outboards would get this weird white build up fouling on the plugs …..

As far as your Saw goes What model is it ??? ….. big saw little one ??? ….. don't put all of the models in the same basket … because the Baby cheapy saws are exactly that …. Let us know what you got to maybe help you out !!!

Cheers ….

Thanks for the fast response!
Its a MS 271. I don't do anything too serious with it. Just help out the in laws with their firewood!
When I took the carb apart it too was full of white stuff. Looked like dried tooth paste!

 

[CDNDIESELMONKEY]

I will look into the tool to adjust the jets. Is it a universal tool or model specific? If adjusting it doesn't work I will change the carb. Can I put the carb from an older model on it?

 

[td25c]

Yeah... Both are great saws . As others have mentioned go with the brand with the best dealer support .


Don't know about the Husky ? But found out on a job that a Stihl saw will work damn near submerged in water , just keep the air cleaner at the surface . Sounds like a small motor boat engine .

 

[075]

I will look into the tool to adjust the jets. Is it a universal tool or model specific? If adjusting it doesn't work I will change the carb. Can I put the carb from an older model on it?

The one I have is for Stihls and the older carb should work if it is off the same model of saw.

 

[Randy88]

Anything is only as good as the dealer that stands behind it, services it, and can get you parts, when you need them, in my area there is only one choice for all those listed, and that's stihl, after four new shihl saws over the years, three of which I still have today, I'm sold on them. I've run dolmer saws, homelite, lombards, husqvarna, poulan, johnsrude, and a few others, all worked good, but lacked support at some point in time for me.

 

[CRAFT]

Thanks for the fast response!
Its a MS 271. I don't do anything too serious with it. Just help out the in laws with their firewood!
When I took the carb apart it too was full of white stuff. Looked like dried tooth paste!

"Looks Like Dried ToothPaste ??? " …… WTH !!! …..I can guarantee one thing …."that saw did NOT come from the Factory or Dealer Like That " …..how can one blame the brand of saw ??? ……Deff S**T Gas if you ask Me … that almost sounds like gas that went stale either in the can or in the saw from sitting too long and it lacquered up leaving that residual behind ….

Sorry Pal in any brand of saw that's NOT the saws fault !!! ………… After you get it cleaned up Properly …. maybe for that HUGE extra 10 cent/litre expense of purchasing 2 gal (10 L ) of PREMIUM GAS …. you should also think about going to that saw shop and buying a Fuel Stabilizer as well …… Like the Guy on the Fram Filter commercial said (years ago … LOL) …..You either pay me NOW or pal me LATER !!! ….

Cheers ….

 

[075]

If you just use your saw occasionally you should dump your left over gas out and start it up and run it until it runs out of gas. Today's gas will dry up and leave that white crap in your carb. ( it is because of the alcohol in it) It plugs up all the little holes in your carb and you can rarely get it clean again .

 

[CDNDIESELMONKEY]

"Looks Like Dried ToothPaste ??? " …… WTH !!! …..I can guarantee one thing …."that saw did NOT come from the Factory or Dealer Like That " …..how can one blame the brand of saw ??? ……Deff S**T Gas if you ask Me … that almost sounds like gas that went stale either in the can or in the saw from sitting too long and it lacquered up leaving that residual behind ….

Sorry Pal in any brand of saw that's NOT the saws fault !!! ………… After you get it cleaned up Properly …. maybe for that HUGE extra 10 cent/litre expense of purchasing 2 gal (10 L ) of PREMIUM GAS …. you should also think about going to that saw shop and buying a Fuel Stabilizer as well …… Like the Guy on the Fram Filter commercial said (years ago … LOL) …..You either pay me NOW or pal me LATER !!! ….

Cheers ….

Yup that's how she came from the dealer. I wasn't really disappointed with the saw I was disappointed with the dealer service. It came with that fuel from the dealership since after that tank of fuel ran out I couldn't get it to start and keep running! So I took it back where they claimed to fix it and it still wouldn't keep running.

After I cleaned everything as clean as i could get it. Put the best fuel right from the fuel pump in it and some stabilizer and it finally started the way a stihl should! One pull!

 

[CDNDIESELMONKEY]

My brother in law just bought a Husky 372 and it has the same problems but with much better dealer support. So I guess its like any equipment. Its not just the initial cost but the dealer support with parts and service.

 

[Rodmunch]

Stihl vs Husqvarna

I personally use Husqvarna and Efco saws. I get tons of firewood from the local tree Services. They use both brands on a 50/50 split. I can tell you why I don't use a Stihl. Everything on a Stihl only fits a Stihl, nothing else. I'm talking about bars, chains, etc. The same goes for the mid to big size Echo. Husqvarna, Efco, Dolmar, Johnsered, Red Max all use the same bar mounts, gauges, pitches, drag links. Stihl and Echo are all by themselves. That's why I don't use the two oddballs of the chainsaw world. My two cents worth.

 

[moriboy]

They are both great saws, in the pro grades. No comment on the homeowner versions since I've never owned any. The last few years I have given Stihl more business however since the dealer support is better in my area.

 

[Randy88]

Rodmunch, some of us tend to view it differently, those two saws are the correct one's and the rest are oddballs. LOL

 

[guest]

Recently got used Stihl MS261 put bow on it and cut some red oak Saturday. Cut great little lighter than my 044. Have run Stihl's for 40 years great dealer locally.

 

[hetkind]

I have stihl wood boss (028) and a farm boss MS290 and just got a little MS171 for trail clearing and brush/limping. The nearest store to me is a Stihl dealership with a full time dedicated Stihl mechanic. Most of the local loggers use Stihl, the rest use Husky. I also keep a poulan 290 around for the nasty jobs that I won't use a decent saw on...