20 inch chainsaw recommendation

[akadave]

I've run nearly every make over the years. I'd take Echo over Stihl and Stihl over Husky. Maybe I just got a bad one but I've never been happy with my 24" Husky and never bought another one. The 20" Echo is great though and was quite a bit less than a comparable Stihl when I bought it 10 years ago. I'm not a daily use professional but a heavy user for a homeowner.

 

[kozal01]

My logger has settled on the 562XP as his go-to saw. He really likes it.

I guess the whole 20" bar thing is what made me assume the 261 was 61cc saw. I think a typical bar on a 45cc saw is 16" or 18". I run 18" on mine. 20" I think is pushing it, and is a better fit for perhaps a 50 to 60 cc saw. But it also depends on how much of the time you are actually using all 20" of it. I have an 18" bar on my 346xp for the occasional times I have to cut something that requires the whole bar, but it's really infrequent. It just saves me from breaking our another saw for a cut or two. If I'm regularly cutting something that size I use a 62cc. With my 45cc saw I'm typically limbing or cutting 10-12" longs.

The 261 is a 50cc saw and a good one at that, punches above its cc class but running a 20” in big oaks taxed it and I wanted to be able run a longer bar. Put a 28” light bar on my 562 and it rips. Saves my back too.

 

[KennJ]

It's well worth looking at Echo. They make a great saw, unmatched power and pro saw design at the price of the homeowner models from Stihl and Husky (Rancher.)

I was shopping hard and comparing the big two, and I went to talk to saw repair guy who has been in business here for decades. I asked him which he felt was best, and he is the one who asked me if I had looked at Echo (he doesn't sell saws, only repairs them.) Said they make a great saw and he definitely recommends them, so I looked, and I bought and not an ounce of regret!

He didn't think either Stihl or Husky was "better" than the other; it all depends on the model. Both have some good ones and some not so good ones. He did NOT recommend the homeowner class of Stihl of Husky; lower price but that is because the block and cylinder are all one piece and way less repairable. The pro models will have the full wrap handle.

 

[kozal01]

Something else I haven’t seen mentioned here is don’t get hung up on just CC’s. A 50cc homeowner saw is almost always less powerful and also heavier than a pro saw which gives a better power to weight ratio to the pro saws. For example the Stihl 261 (pro) vs the Stihl 271 (homeowner). Both 50cc saws but the 261 is lighter and considerably more powerful, also the anti vibe is better on the pro saws.

 

[DieselBound]

Should I get a Ford or a Chevy truck?

WHAT kind of wood are you cutting?
WHAT is the diameter of the wood you're cutting?
HOW MUCH wood are you cutting - for what purpose (felling and or for firewood or clearing)?
WHERE are you doing the cutting - trucked in logs (not thinking so) or out in the woods/brush?
Available dealers? (I don't have any in which case I've had to do my own work and such.)

I run Husky 562xp saws (long story why I have three of these but that's what I ended up with) with 18", 24" and 28" bars. I cut mostly Maple, hard wood, with some Hemlock and Alder here and there. I cut for personal firewood: usually downed stuff. Cut about 5 cords per year (my average based on firewood use). I've cut UP IN tree clumps, cut while on top of mostly downed (still slightly elevated off the ground) trunks (scooting on top of and cutting branches), cut on-ground and all sorts of cutting and this saw has been excellent in its power-to-weight performance, and while I'm getting up their in years I can still wield these saws for long periods of time. 18" bar on one of this makes it unstoppable (especially on my ported saw). I don't use my 24" bar much as it was for a job many years ago and I didn't know at the time whether I could pull a longer bar. Discovered that one of these saws could pull a 28" bar and I will use it on Cottonwoods; it's better to have the bar tip sticking out of the wood than totally buried in the wood. Been using a 562xp for nearly 14 years now: early version, mid version and the latest MK II [really nice!].

Tips for success:
- SHARP CHAIN (never cut with a dull chain as this will over-tax the saw; I learned this the hard way)
- Give your saw [and yourself] some break time (I seized one saw by running in very hot weather and running non-stop with a 24" bar buried in wood- up to 48" trunk- I was an animal and could essentially outwork machines!)

 

[17 Oaks]

Husquvarna here. I had a 455 Rancher and used it to cut over 1 million lbs of timber off my ranch. I moved up to a 545 XP and then I added a 372 XP to the line up. Mostly, I used the 545. I use the BRUTUS 372 XP is truly PRO Grade but its is HEAVY! IIRC fueled and oil + chain turn into about 19 lbs or so. It's a saw that comes with a bonus as a Gym Membership.

Starting these Huskys is not easy that I will say. Best to set it in the sun to warm it up because they don't start below about 70 F, they are NOT cold starters for sure.

Way back, I got a Stihl, but it was nothing but problems, and the local dealer just said Do this and do that, don't bring it back. Finally, I did bring it back and demanded my money back. All they gave was lip service, telling me there was nothing wrong, I just was not pulling hard enough other words but they never took it into the shop. It was still in warranty and I forced them to give me my $.

What we need is a chainsaw with a Starter on it...LOL

 

[DieselBound]

What do you think is better about 3/8" chain?

I'm NOT hayden but...

I believe that it depends on what kind of wood you're cutting and its diameter. 3/8" chain is better able to clear itself in bigger stuff and the thicker bars provide a more stable track (smaller chain will tend to roll side-to-side easier).

I recently had a perfect scenario for demonstrating this. I was cutting some holly. Small saw with .325" chain/bar readily clogged up and liked to pinch. My larger saw with the 3/8" chain/bar would go through this wood a lot easier: yes, a lot more power BUT the chain wasn't getting gummed up and the chain/bar wasn't tending to bind up.

 

[newkiotiguy]

I have had a 261 with an 18 inch bar for 6 years now. It's a nice saw. I found a used echo cs-7310p with a 28 inch bar that I don't think had a full tank ran through it for $700. The sthil has been used for trimming since. I love the longer bar. The extra weight doesn't bother me at all compared to bending over all day with the shorter bar.

 

[DieselBound]

Starting these Huskys is not easy that I will say. Best to set it in the sun to warm it up because they don't start below about 70 F, they are NOT cold starters for sure.

I haven't found ambient temps to be the issue with any of my Huskys. The MK II 562xp actually starts extremely well: Husky has made significant improvements in this saw. Early models had a compression release and Husky later dropped it as the saws were experiencing too many problems from them (air leaks). They fall kind of between a small, easy-start saw and a larger compression-release saw so one has to accept that one is going to get a slight workout when first starting them dead cold. I'll note that all of my saws tend to fire off fairly quickly as long as I follow the correct starting procedure (fairly standard across most saws).

 

[Jrasband]

I'm NOT hayden but...

I believe that it depends on what kind of wood you're cutting and its diameter. 3/8" chain is better able to clear itself in bigger stuff and the thicker bars provide a more stable track (smaller chain will tend to roll side-to-side easier).

I recently had a perfect scenario for demonstrating this. I was cutting some holly. Small saw with .325" chain/bar readily clogged up and liked to pinch. My larger saw with the 3/8" chain/bar would go through this wood a lot easier: yes, a lot more power BUT the chain wasn't getting gummed up and the chain/bar wasn't tending to bind up.

Thank you. I do not like how the saw has a tendency to roll the chain off when I am cutting sometimes unless the chain is tight on the bar. Since most of my cutting is limbing I imagine I will be fine with the 3/8" bar/chain.