Just another junk chainsaw
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The Fred
Veteran Member
Can you or anyone here recommend a good small saw for limbing? I have a couple of older Huskys for the big work but having trouble working them in the brush.
I bought a new Stihl MS-180 a month ago, it barely runs. Dealer did a new carb and at least now I can use it but it runs too lean to be of any use to me.
It is a tough little saw as I've thrown it as far as I could about 5 times now and it hasn't broken.
The dealer DID try to discourage me from buying it but the $200 price tag was intriguing.
My best guess is to buy an older used, less than 3 cubic inch saw that has a good track record.
I should have never gotten rid of my old Jonsereds 621.
Thank-You.
I bought a new Stihl MS-180 a month ago, it barely runs. Dealer did a new carb and at least now I can use it but it runs too lean to be of any use to me.
It is a tough little saw as I've thrown it as far as I could about 5 times now and it hasn't broken.
The dealer DID try to discourage me from buying it but the $200 price tag was intriguing.
My best guess is to buy an older used, less than 3 cubic inch saw that has a good track record.
I should have never gotten rid of my old Jonsereds 621.
Thank-You.
That was my same experience with my 346 which was only 4 years old. The crankshaft bearings were gone and it was more to fix it than my saw was worth. Then I brought my old 254 in to get it tuned up and they said the crankshaft in that was bad also... it was a 20 YO saw and I knew it wasn't worth fixing. I bought a new Echo which was a great saw for about 6 years... too bad that I kept it for 8.
I replaced that with a 545 which never idled right and would constantly stall; not only a pain, but a real safety hazard when limbing a spruce tree on snowshoes and you have to drop start it several times per tree. One day a hemlock log rolled onto it, and I replaced it with another Echo. Someday though I'm going to have a 562.
I"m having good luck with Echos. They are a little more basic than the popular brands and a bit heavier, but seem to run good and are a little lower priced. I had a 170 Stihl for a while which I bought used for too much money... it was nice and light for my use, doing some PCT thinning. I was almost done when the engine blew as I was running it.
Seems silly to me to be replacing chainsaws so often. Are they just so poorly made these days? I bought my Homelite Super EZAO around 1978 and it has cut over 300 cords of firewood and still fires right up and has lots of power. Maybe the types of wood people are cutting makes a difference in saw longevity. Most of my wood is spruce with some cottonwood, popular and willow.
cqaigy2
Super Member
I'm kinda curious if they are just not being used correctly. My stihl is from 1983, don't think i've put 300 cord on it, but it's well used. I did work on the muffler and tuned the carburetor, but other than consumables, that all.
These saws could be a bit safer to use on snowshoes.... Best Battery Powered Chainsaw Brand (Round 2)? Let's find out! - YouTube
I put half of that on my 346 in 3 years. Plus I used it for brushing out property lines.
I don't happen to have a limber laying around though.
Don't underestimate those electric saws. As I've mentioned in the past, chainsaw chaps are less effective if you do happen to lay it across your leg. They have more torque than a gas saw and will go right through into your leg. Considering that I once almost completely cut the lower half of one leg off my first pair of Labonville chaps with a Partner 5000 many years ago...