chainsaw recommendations

lew61 · Oct 12, 2013

I've been reminded once again why I come back to this forum. Thanks to one and all for your input. Much appreciate your time and thoughts.:thumbsup::wave:

nspec · Oct 12, 2013

My bad. I thought my stihl was the 4-mix because it doesn't rev up as fast as my husky. Like I said though, it's deceiving. The power is there, just doesn't seem like it should be, because it sounds like it runs so much slower. It's much more refined feeling than my husky - it 'feels' like a much nicer saw, but man is it heavy. For that reason alone I like my husky better.

dieselcrawler · Oct 12, 2013

I have 2 stihl 025's that have cut countless loads of wood... and a nice light newer ms170. Great saws... my dad had an 031 he bought in '77. Used it for years untill the carb wore out. New carb cost enough that he bought one of the 025's I have now In about 2001. Got 2 stihl weedeaters too...

TomSeller · Oct 12, 2013

I have to admit that I will never own another brand beside Stihl. I do, however, think the Husky and Jonsered brands are very good in general. Like tractors, the dealerships are important.

coobie · Oct 13, 2013

lew61 said:
Here's my dilemma: My Stihl 031 that I bought new in 1978 finally bit the dust after many years of noble service. It was one heck of a rugged saw. So, I'm looking for a replacement and have been perusing websites and a couple of local dealers. What I've found fills me with unease. The current stock seems much less robust - lots of plastic, and I've heard grumbles about poor customer service, specifically regarding Husqvarna. So, what to do?

My choice is Echo saws.I have two that start easy and run well.My stihl saws started to hard and they come with the PIA filler caps.

94BULLITT · Oct 13, 2013

If you are going to use it a lot and want a professional saw like your 031 was I would look at a 261 or 362. Like LD1 said the pro saw are lighter and more powerful. If you are not going to use the saw a lot you could look at a MS290. From what I have heard on arborist site the 290 will last a long time. I think it is Stihls best selling saw. I have heard the occasional use saws are for use a few times a year, the farm and ranch saws are for a few times a month and the pro saws are for everday use.

crazyal · Oct 13, 2013

TomSeller said:
The 4-mix are valved 4stroke engines running an oil/gas mix so they don't need crankcase oil. This saves weight and they are mostly on the Stihl trimmer line. Some of the newer Sthil chainsaws are strato saws and are still 2stroke. The strato technology allows the saw to take a "gulp" of fresh air between the strokes to better separate the exhaust air from the fueled air. Bad explanation, I know.

Strato Animation 460 XTORQ - YouTube

Seams like a backwards way of doing things. What's the point of a 4 stroke if you are burning oil? The small Honda engines use crankcase oil but once the engine starts the oil vaporizes so the engine can run at any angle and still get lubricated. My string trimmer has a Honda 35cc 4 stroke engine and runs great. They even use the Hondas in remote control planes that fly upside down.

94BULLITT · Oct 13, 2013

crazyal said:
Seams like a backwards way of doing things. What's the point of a 4 stroke if you are burning oil? The small Honda engines use crankcase oil but once the engine starts the oil vaporizes so the engine can run at any angle and still get lubricated. My string trimmer has a Honda 35cc 4 stroke engine and runs great. They even use the Hondas in remote control planes that fly upside down.

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.

TomSeller · Oct 13, 2013

crazyal said:
Seams like a backwards way of doing things. What's the point of a 4 stroke if you are burning oil? .

Probably to save the weight of the oil plus the weight of the extra casing to hold the oil. But Still would have to answer this question.

94BULLITT · Oct 13, 2013

I think Stihl wants their customers to be able to use 1 gas can to fill up all of their equipment. Some people would get consfused on what to took gas and what took 2 cycle mix.

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.