Homeowner chainsaw rec.

[coobie]

I have a friend who is looking for a good homeowner saw. I'm a Stihl guy but I doubt they want to spend that kind of money. Any opinions on a decent "bang for the buck saw in today's market?
Thx

ECHO !!! Second choice Dolmar.

 

[RandyT]

Curiously, what vintage were those saws? Late 90s/early 00s maybe?
I ask because that's roughly when I bought my Echo and it needed the carb replaced (warranty) after very few hours of use. Apparently around that time emissions regulations were being imposed on small engines, and the manufacturers didn't quite have it down yet, and they ran too lean. The replacement carb on mine has been just fine.

Early to mid 2000's. Replaced a lot of fuel lines on the 021-025 and the 029-039 series over the years due to line cracking where it comes out of the top of the tank and makes that hard bend that didn't get cooked. Several more Stihls running too lean around the 2010 era that I had to adjust for people.

 

[EddieWalker]

i'll have to look into those blades. Every Christmas we get a live tree that needs some trimming once it gets home. I've tried the sawzall with demolition blades, but it usually hangs up an inch or two into the tree.

Porter Cable makes the blades. Seems like those are the only blades they make, or at least it's the only blade by them sold at Home Depot and Lowes.

 

[txdon]

I had a tree company come to take down some large oak trees with their booms. They only use Echo now and they have used then all.

 

[MossRoad]

PORTER-CABLE PC76R 9-Inch Pruning Reciprocating Saw Blades, 3-Pack - - Amazon.com

Found 'em. Thanks!

 

[gemutlich]

"...By the way, this young couple bought a property with some big trees on it they will have cut down but then they will process."

Wondering, does this young couple have any experience with chainsaws, let alone felling, limbing, bucking, etc...?

For someone just starting out, there's a whole learning curve and it can end up badly in a real hurry if they're not carefully taught. That said, man I've been running saws of every size and mfgr since 1976 and would have no problem recommending they pick up an 028Super (Stihl) from craigslist. Affordable, and just a rock solid workhorse. Great firewood saw.

Turn 'em onto www.OPEforum.com good actually useful info there and a solid "for sale" subforum that reputable sellers have dependable saws going for reasonable money.

 

[dragoneggs]

I am a mower repair shop that sells Dolmar/Makita, but work on all brands. the saws i work the most on are Stihl. the saws I see the least are Echo and Dolmar, and the Saws that I send to the boneyard the most are Husqvarna and their associated other brands (poulan, mcculloch, husqvarna names)

Not surprising that you see more Stihl's. They are the largest producer of chainsaws in the world. If you factored that in the repair frequency by brand might point you elsewhere.

 

[dragoneggs]

Not really on topic, but if you have a cordless sawzall, there are pruning blades for them that are fantastic!!! When I need to cut off some branches from a tree, that's usually what I grab first. Even better, I'm very comfortable with my wife using it. And of course, she loves it and will create a pile of branches that takes me hours to clean up!!!

I have turned more and more to my Dewalt 20v sawzall, to the point my beloved Milwaukee electric sits in its box full time now. Whether it be indoor demo or outdoor pruning. Same thing pretty much with the rest of my corded tools. I wouldn't be surprised if a cordless chainsaw is in my near future!

 

[EddieWalker]

I have turned more and more to my Dewalt 20v sawzall, to the point my beloved Milwaukee electric sits in its box full time now. Whether it be indoor demo or outdoor pruning. Same thing pretty much with the rest of my corded tools. I wouldn't be surprised if a cordless chainsaw is in my near future!

I was looking at a cordless chainsaw at Lowes the other day and was debating with myself over something like that instead of the sawzall for quick pruning projects. I don't want to spend the money on it right now, but I can see it being more attractive on the future as technology gets better and prices get lower.

 

[RandyT]

Not surprising that you see more Stihl's. They are the largest producer of chainsaws in the world. If you factored that in the repair frequency by brand might point you elsewhere.

I had considered that since Stihl is about 33% of the market, so should amount to about 1 out of every three saws that I work on. In reality I see about 50-60% of my repairs to be Stihl.