chainsaw recommendations

dirt ditch · Oct 13, 2013

coobie said:
...they come with the PIA filler caps.

Last month I went to a chainsaw / trimmer safety training meeting put on by a Stihl rep. He said the German guys for Stihl say the only complaints about the locking gas caps come from the U.S. market.

You will be happy to know now on all new Stihl chainsaws there are easy to see alignment marks on the cap and saw to start the cap on right. All other new Stihl equipment in the U.S. Market, trimmers blowers etc. now have standard screw-on caps. No more dumping gas down your leg with a trimmer or down your back with a backpack blower.

coobie · Oct 13, 2013

dirt ditch said:
Last month I went to a chainsaw / trimmer safety training meeting put on by a Stihl rep. He said the German guys for Stihl say the only complaints about the locking gas caps come from the U.S. market.

You will be happy to know now on all new Stihl chainsaws there are easy to see alignment marks on the cap and saw to start the cap on right. All other new Stihl equipment in the U.S. Market, trimmers blowers etc. now have standard screw-on caps. No more dumping gas down your leg with a trimmer or down your back with a backpack blower.

That's good news and about time.The local power company I work for has started to buy different chainsaws because of stihl PIA filler caps.

Utopia Texas · Oct 13, 2013

I have three Stihl chainsaws I use constantly in my Pecan orchard. The
oldest one is 26 years old and the newest is 18 years old. What else can I say?

Utopia Texas · Oct 13, 2013

I have three Stihl chainsaws I use constantly in my Pecan orchard. The
oldest one is 26 years old and the newest is 18 years old. What else can I say?

murphy1244 · Oct 13, 2013

I'm with you Coobie, Echo for me also but I don't use my Saw every day.

pinetree10 · Oct 13, 2013

deerseeker001 said:
stihl is a great saw i have a 029 model and have had zero problems.

Same here. I bought my 029 Farm Boss at a contractor equipment store 12 years ago and have used it heavily since then. It was money very well spent and I would replace it with another Stihl if there was a need to.

Ken45101 · Oct 13, 2013

GManBart said:
I have an MS170 with a 16" bar, an MS311 with a 20" bar, and MS 460 with a 28" bar, and am very pleased with all three. I bought the 311 as an all-around saw, and like it for that, but was getting worn out when it got down to limbing, and bucking smaller trees, so I got the 170. The funny thing is, I find I use the 170 probably three times as much as the 311 now.

I have to agree, I'm the same way. The MS170 is a low end lightweight "homeowner" saw that I use the most for limbing and trail clearing. I have "better" saws including an 031 Stihl and a couple of Huskys that I use for serious work but I can buy two of the MS170s for the cost of just about anything else. Did I mention that the lightweight is sooooo nice?

As for plastic and weight, they do make the professional grade saws with magnesium alloys and less plastic for lighter weight but the prices are very high.

As for service, that's kind of what drove me to Husky since the only local Stihl dealer is the local Radio Shack! However, I have found out that the RS does have a decent Stihl tech, it's just that their sales kids are totally clueless about saws.

Dolmar also has a very good reputation if you can find a local dealer with good service and feel that they will be around when you need them. From what I hear, some areas of the country they are well established and preferred by the professional users. In other areas, dealers are far and few. The local farm store dropped them and the next nearest dealer is 100 miles away.

crazyal · Oct 13, 2013

94BULLITT said:
I used a Honda powered trimmer a few times. It had great torque. The down side is they have a timing belt that needs replaced like every 100hrs.

The 4mix technology that Stihl uses goes back to the 30's. They used it in Airplanes. Stihl has refined it more.

The timing belt is good for the life of the engine. The Honda uses 100 mL of oil, not much weight savings. Anyway I just thought it odd that Stihl would use a 2 stroke mix in a 4 stroke. Is the exhaust smell the same as a 2 stroke or does the engine burn the oil better and/ or does it have a catalytic converter in the muffler to help clean up the exhaust?

94BULLITT · Oct 14, 2013

crazyal said:
The timing belt is good for the life of the engine. The Honda uses 100 mL of oil, not much weight savings. Anyway I just thought it odd that Stihl would use a 2 stroke mix in a 4 stroke. Is the exhaust smell the same as a 2 stroke or does the engine burn the oil better and/ or does it have a catalytic converter in the muffler to help clean up the exhaust?

I assembled a MTD trimmer for a guy. It had a Honda engine. I was thinking it had 100hr service interval. I looked at the manual for a GX25 and GX35 and it did not specify when to change it. I did read the timing belt is oil immersed. Maybe I was thinking of the Craftsman 4 stroke trimmer.

I don't notice a exhaust smell with the leaf blower maybe since it is a back pack blower, It does not have a catalytic convertor. I run the Stihl HP ultra oil in it which is full synthetic. I noticed the synthetic oil in the 2 cycle engines changes the smell of them and your clothes dont have the bad odor from the fumes.