help on new chain saw purchase

[RICHARDG]

Well now,,let me tell you the reason,,cause I can afford 4 or 500 dollars for a new top notch chain saw,,,,But,,can't afford 16,000 dollars for a non paying tractor,[would have to be making money off it,to spend that much],even though it be top notch too,will settle for what I can afford in other words,,got over 300 hrs of work in just a little over 2 years ,on my 254 nortrac now,,ain't had anything go wrong with it in those two years,,use a 5ft hog,5 ft tiller,6 ft blade,,with power to spare,,it will climb a mountain backwards,,,it cost me 8,000 dollars with two year parts and labor warrenty,,still the same price,,,sorry you asked right? Go over on the chinese board section here,,maybe we can sell you on one too,,no need spending more than you need to,,,heck I hear john deere has started putting chinese motors in some of theirs? Probably true,,john deere generally knows which way the wind is blowing and the chinese do make good motors,,,thingy

 

[eee]

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1 point for RichardG !!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[RICHARDG]

roughly cut,,,will have to put one of them in my hands,,,the ms 361[036],seems like a dandy,,will have to check price,,etc,,,the one under the 036,is a 310,,its got same power as 036,but says it weighs 1 more pound,,which wouldn't bother me much,,have to see what they feel like and price,,,,,,,still going to check those echos out to,,namly the cs-520 and the cs-670,,will let you all know what I get,,but you all helped a good bit,and keep that advise coming ,thats why I asked,thanks again,,thingy

 

[SimS]

Try one of these out.
BigBoySaws

 

[eee]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> still going to check those echos out to,,namly the cs-520 and the cs-670,,will let you all know what I get, </font> )</font>

Thats the right thing to do.....do your homework...I never said an Echo was a bad saw.

 

[RICHARDG]

O.K.,,Havn't put my hands on one of the models yet but this is what I know,,,,of the three brands,,husky,stihl,and echo,,and of the simular model in each,and under 400 dollars,,echo,[which doesn't have this pro/nonpro stuff],model number cs-520,50.1 cc,18 inch bar,weighs 10.8 lbs,two year warrenty,about $380,local place sells them and works on them,,,,,,,,stihl,,model number,ms-310,,59cc,,20 inch bar,,weighs 13.2 lbs,,,1 year warrenty,,about $390,local place sells them and works on them,,,,husky,,rancher 55,53cc,18 inch bar,,don't know how much it weighs,,but bet its more than the echo,,2 year warrenty,[says limited],$363 out of northern tool cataloge,,local places sell them,but don't work on them,got to go to a small engine type shop,ain't had much luck with them kinda places in past.
So,the echo wins in all catagorys but cc,,and since I'm not cutting timber,,that really is not a concern for me,,also,like I said,bought an echo trimmer this spring and its top notch,,,,but I will add,either one of the other two,I am pretty sure???,,would fill the bill as well,,,thanks for all the advise,,,thingy

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have been working on a Stihl 024 and an 029 for a friend this week and while I was at the local stihl shop today I looked at a MS361 and a MS310. The 361 is a pro saw and it was about the mid $500 range and the 310 was about the mid $300 range. The 310 is a small step above the MS 290 (which is the new name for the old 029's), the 029 are hard to beat for value, durability and for teh work they will do. If I think to omuch longer I may be the proud new owner of a MS361 by the end of the week, I should really stay away from the Coors Lights this weekend.

 

[RICHARDG]

Yeah,,I have been hearing that the stihl ms 361 "pro" model is a good one,,,but its 200 more or so,it probably is a better saw than its brother the 310,,,,say again,,don't like this pro non pro way of making and selling stuff,,they should all be the same if made by same manufactor,except of course power and size differences,,,its like saying we got this stihl saw with 59cc and 20 inch bar for 350 dollars to sell PLUS,,we have this saw thats got 59cc and 20 inch bar for over 500 dollars,,now do you want a good one or what?? The only difference I could see from their web page was the 361 weighed a pound less than the 310,,sure there are other differences but just don't like the concept...
Echo doesn't do that,,shindowa don't either as near as I can tell,,,and according to the line of huskys in northern tools catalog,,they do it,but,,just on the real big ones and a real light one.
Of course different brands will have different quality standards than other brands,,thats why I'm wanting a higher quality brand other than buying another poloun,,,but you shouldn't have different quality standards in same brand,,,if for no other reason than getting those good parts mixed up with the cheap parts in the factory. thingy

 

[Varmintmist]

What you buy for the $$ is a better quality saw that is made to be used a lot. Double ring pistons, less vibration, lighter for the size......

That said, at a guess, 95% of people buying a saw have no need for a pro saw. Most are just cutting a few cords of wood, or the want a saw to do some clean up. If the saw isnt going to make me money, then I dont need a pro. If the saw doesnt need to start and run every day then I dont need a pro.

You actually have about 4 classes of saws. Trimming, homeowner, farm/aborist, and pro. Now I heat with wood and have a crop that stands 60 feet high, so I needed one saw that was pretty good, so I went with the high end of farm, low end of pro. Then I bought another smaller homeowner one to back up and assist the big one.

 

[rback33]

I kind of glanced through all the posts real quick as I made my way through the thread, and I want to back up what some others have said. The Stihl MS290 (used to be 029) cannot be beat for value in my book. I used to cut with an 18 in craftsman as it was all I could afford at the time. I cut a lot of wood with it and it lasted about 3 years. I told myself from the beginning when the crafsman died I was goin to by a "real" saw. I could not be happier with the Farm boss. It is like night and day. Keep in mind I kept away from the anti-kick chains as I want to CUT would not cut it. I got it, the case, 20in bar and an extra chain for about $385. I am just itching to get it fired up again soon. Been stowed away in my shed too long. In some respects, it sounds like an awefully big saw for what you want to do, but I can assuure you, it will do it well. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif