Homeowner chainsaw rec.

[Red Horse]

I have a friend who is looking for a good homeowner saw. I'm a Stihl guy but I doubt they want to spend that kind of money. Any opinions on a decent "bang for the buck saw in today's market?
Thx

 

[nybirdman]

Hard to beat Stihl's home-owner saws,had mine for ten years and has been great.Recently purchased a new chain and bar for mine.Really not that expensive;around $200.What are you options;cheap throw away Poulan?

 

[newbury]

What does he HAVE to cut and what does he WANT to cut.
I got by with a Stihl 021 from 1984 to 2009.
My have too's for that time were big limbs from about 5 big maples.
In 2009 my want too's went to CSM and I graduated to the saws in my sig.

NOW if I just needed my 021 capabilities I'd buy a lithium-ion battery operated, either HF or B&D. No mixing oil, no ethanol problems, instant on.

The 021 is still used when I get to long term work.
/edit meant long term SMALL SIZE work. I'll will pull out a bigger Stihl when I want to use my 16" to 42" bars.

 

[TractorGuy]

Tell them to look at saws in their preferred size and price point then read reviews. My last saw purchase I chose a 18" Craftsman which of course isn't made by Craftsman but it had favorable reviews. They had two or three different models in the same size. The red one had bad reviews and the black one I chose had mostly good reviews. It sits in the case most of the time but whenever I need it I get it out and pull a couple times and it fires up. I keep several chains sharpened and if I dull them all I stop and sharpen chains. Have had it 5+ years and so far so good. I think I paid around $130 for it.

 

[Creamer]

As Nexbury said for rare and short usage a lithium ion battery unit would work just fine. No messing with gas - just plug int he battery and go. I have a Greenworks electric pole saw and I love it for that fairly rare high trimming.

Of course cost wise it would be hard to beat the Stihl 029 I bought used 25 years ago and is still the only regular chainsaw I have. Other than an air filter and chains I have put nothing into it and it still runs great. For going new a Stihl MS170 can be had for under $200 and it is a great little saw. i have a farmer friend who has an MS 361 but bought the MS170 on a sale and says that is the saw he uses the most because it is so light and handy. An equivalent Husquvarna would be good as well.

 

[RNeumann]

It’s hard to buy a cheap/competitive prices small engine. It just ends up costing you down the road. If the budget is tight at least have him buy from a local saw shop and not a box store. Having that relationship established will help when it’s time for parts etc.
I have Stihl big saws and a little Echo top handle that my dealer talked me into- I wanted a Stihl. The Echo has been great- it’s probably about 8 years old now.
Again- buy from a local dealer and repair shop. Some unbranded (repair only) repair shops may also have something used.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have three Stihl chainsaws and one Echo chainsaw. I've had Husqvarna, Poulan and McCullough over the years. The best one is the Echo. It's not even close in how easy they are to start. Once going, HP is HP, so that's not a comparison. Stihl and Echo both last a long time and perform well. But you can get the same HP for less money going with Echo. I would never buy any of the other brands I listed again. I wouldn't buy another Stihl either just because I like Echo better, but there isn't anything wrong with Stihl, but when you have both, the Echo is the one I go to first.

 

[prichard]

I have a Husqvarna from Lowe's, 445 IIRC. It was on sale at a homeowner price and it has been great. I realize most on here wouldn't call it a real saw but for my ;imited use it does what I need.
My wife has a Kobalt 40V lithium that is real handy for little stuff and much lighter. She can limb trees while I cut.

 

[MossRoad]

I've been running a factory reconditioned 18" Poulan Pro (yeah, pro what? :laughing: ) for about 8-9 years now. I cut 6 cords per year as we heat with wood. The saw was about a hundred bucks. I've had two problems with it. One, the fuel line went mushy. That was twenty cents. The coil went bad last year. That was about twenty bucks. For very occasional light duty use, its a fine saw for the price.

For more frequent use, I'd look for some of the saws others have mentioned. But for the occasional downed limbs, clearing small trees from fence lines, trails, a couple/few cords of firewood per years, etc... its hard to beat the price of a beater saw.

And lets face it, if he has a tractor, he's gonna put it in the bucket, forget its there, and dump it in a pile of dirt and/or run it over eventually.

 

[Creamer]

And lets face it, if he has a tractor, he's gonna put it in the bucket, forget its there, and dump it in a pile of dirt and/or run it over eventually.

Can't see into that PowerTrac bucket????

 

[arrow]

As newbury stated, it would be good to know how this saw plans to be utilized. For the occasional downed limb or small tree, go electric or battery. Good ones are going to cost as much or more than a gas chainsaw. If he is cutting up a cord or two of firewood, nothing smaller than a 50cc. Bang for the buck is Dolmar/Makita. I agree with Eddie , Echo is also a top choice and preferable over my first recommendation only because of the difficulty in dealer network availability for Dolmar.

What one has to be careful with with the "occasional" use is oxidation within the combustion chamber. I always squirt some oil into the spark plug hole and pull the starter a few times before I put my saws away til the next cutting season.

 

[4570Man]

My saws don’t go into the tractor bucket or dump truck bed. It’s disaster waiting to happen in either place.

 

[MossRoad]

Can't see into that PowerTrac bucket????

I said he's gonna do it, not me! :laughing: I've done it with my old IH2500b. And I've done it with chains and shovels in the Power Trac, just not the chainsaw.

 

[orangeandgreen]

Another vote for a homeower saw from Stihl. Mine have been very dependable over the years and the cost was less than $200.

 

[RNeumann]

I have a Husqvarna from Lowe's, 445 IIRC. It was on sale at a homeowner price and it has been great. I realize most on here wouldn't call it a real saw but for my ;imited use it does what I need.
My wife has a Kobalt 40V lithium that is real handy for little stuff and much lighter. She can limb trees while I cut.

The electric and or battery powered saws are great! No fuel, starting etc and they can be very competitive with regards to price. If one is just in need of something around the house I’d go that route for sure!

 

[Red Horse]

THX guys for all the responses. I went with my prejudices and told them added plus for Stihl is you buy from a dealer so you have a place to go for service. Plus when you want to sell it, nothing like selling a solid brand.

By the way, this young couple bought a property with some big trees on it they will have cut down but then they will process.

My 036 is over 20 years old -closer to 25 -and still is a bear!

 

[747driver]

Have 2 Stihls and 1 Echo. Both very good saws. Had the Echo ( 16 inch ) 15 years and still going strong ! The Stihls are the farm boss and a pole saw.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I have a Stihl 026 that is around a 1990-1992 era purchase. It still runs like new. It's never had a repair done to it yet. I am not one who cuts cords and cords per year, I would guess a typical year is only a couple gallons of fuel through it. But in 25 years it has always been a champ. It is an older full magnesium saw, no plastic aside from the rear air filter cover. I'm kind of stuck in the mindset that I would only by another Stihl professional level saw. Why change when this product is so dang great!?

 

[forgeblast]

Best advice I got was buy the most chainsaw you can afford.
I have a Husqvarna 353, great lightweight powerful saw. I use it once a week and have had it since 2003.

 

[hslogger]

the Stihl Ms170, for a small under two hundred dollar price is hard to beat. They usually come with instructions how to work and be safe.
It really is a good LITTLE saw.