chain saws

[newbury]

<snip>
But if you cut any amount of firewood at all, I would want something a little bigger for a 1 saw plan.

if you cut any amount of firewood at all

you need a 3 saw plan if your firewood gets over 18" in diameter.
One man one wife - ok
One man one saw - not ok.

It's dang handy to have a little 35cc limbing saw, especially when you are in the cut with another saw and a sudden wind twists the tree and pinches your bar. It feels good to walk out with a muff modded, ported 660 and a 42" bar to cut the big ones.

If all you do is limb an occasional tree or be ready for an emergency one saw is ok. For most of it's existence my Stihl 021 was used to cut up dead fallen limbs on my little 1/4 acre lot, and an occasional neighbors tree after a storm. It replaced my $10 buck saw. The 021 probably had less than 20 hrs use over 10 years. In the last 3 years it's probably seen 100 hours of use. And it's the smallest, oldest saw.

But since I started pretending to be a sawyer I knew even 2 saws won't do for me.

The OP should get a 60cc size pro saw from someone who can support him locally and at his leisure find out how to fix the Husky.

One reason I went with Stihl is that I've had several instances of strong wind damage (trees down, lots of old limbs fallen) and it's not the situation where I would want to wait for mail order maintenance or spare parts. If my saw breaks I want to be able to walk into the local shop and get it fixed and get back to the problem.

 

[s219]

A note to let you know that yesterday evening I went to my local sthil dealer.
He was out of stock on all of his 50 to 60 cc range sthil saws. Then showed me a echo 500p. It is as I was told a 50 cc professional quality saw with a 5 year warrentee. He also told me that he has been dealing the echo brand for over 5 years now and has not one been brought back in for warrentee work.
I hope that this will be a saw that I can depend on for years to come:thumbsup:

The 500P is a nice saw -- very lightweight compared to other saws in this size range. I think you'll like it. It's got a real solid case/chassis design.

This is the first new saw Echo has put out after they bought Shindaiwa. It was supposed to come out as a Shindaiwa model, but after the merger Echo rebadged it and put it in the lineup to replace the older 530P. I think they realized it was better than anything they had in the lineup.

 

[JimP]

I have had much luck with Stihl equipment. My father has a 20 + year old Stihl that still works but is retired in favor of a smaller Stihl saw. My 260 pro (50 cc) is 5+ years old and I have only changed chains, bar and a plug. With a 16 inch bar it rips through 8-10 inch wood with the non-safety RSK chain. It starts to struggle over 14 inches. I just picked up a 441C (70 cc) with a 25 inch bar. This thing RIPS!! I also use a Stihl TS cut off saw, 600 blower and Kombi unit. No bad experiences, although I drain the tanks and run dry when I am done due to the c****y gas nowadays. I don't want to turn this into a Stihl v. Husky argument but I had a bad experience with Husky that soured me on their equipment.

 

[g0rd0]

this morning I junked 1 &1/2 cord with the new 500p, of hardwood (maple) any where from 4" to 20". The 500p went through it with out a problem :thumbsup:.
I bielive that I will be happy with it many years.

 

[LD1]

this morning I junked 1 &1/2 cord with the new 500p, of hardwood (maple) any where from 4" to 20". The 500p went through it with out a problem :thumbsup:.
I bielive that I will be happy with it many years.

Why did you "JUNK" it. Sounds like perfectally good wood to me:laughing::laughing:

 

[g0rd0]

by the time I am finished with the fire wood pile it looks more like a pile of junk:laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

by the time I am finished with the fire wood pile it looks more like a pile of junk:laughing:

Maybe so, but it sure won't FEEL like a pile of junk when it's 0'F out, the wind's howling, and the power lines are down.

 

[20 20]

Well,
for the past 7 years I have been babysitting a husky rancher 55.
right from the start it has been a thorn in my side

Your post is exactly why I would not buy a husky. I have a couple of neighbors that have owned them, nothing but trouble. I'm not knocking the saw just writting what I witnessed, bought a stihl and never looked back.