Need chainsaw: svc manual, continuous use

[Hog86r]

i am a casual user like yourself. fortunately in 1995 a stihl dealer sold me a commercial saw. it was a model 036 with a 20 inch bar. about 500 bucks at the time. still going strong. 2 years ago my hunting club opted for saw. got a stihl 441 with a 24 inch bar. new they are about a grand. however, if you figure a 15 year life, and your 4 hours a day for 14 days will enable you to keep this saw forever, that's only 70 bucks ayear to own it. you can't keep department store junk running for 70 bucks a year.
the only downside is you will not need a repair manual. they dont break. they are designed to be used all day everyday. just keep the junk gas out of them and do not ever store them with gas in them. if you buy it and hate it you can sell it. get your dealer to let you demo one or have him refer you to a customer that recently bought one. the big ones like this are still made in germany. good stuff.
my 2 cents worth. Hog86r

 

[Fixemall]

Only Stihls I have had to fix were due to bad gas, no oil in gas and fell out of truck at 60 mph.

 

[ruralNearDallas]

Thanks for the info.

The saw would be a second to my Stihl MS210C saw which quit working Friday. I bought a new carb. Friday. All upset with my bad Poulon Pro experience on Saturday, I did manage to install the Stihl carb. and it works fine.

Still I want a second saw.

To answer Arrow. The wood size I guess ranges from 5" to 20", but mostly less. Includes B'Darc (sp?) which means we have spare chains

The MS210C came with 16" bar which was good for me as a newbie, but now I could work with a longer one. Long bars are more dangerous.

The 210c is a homeowner version. Based on my experience, and your comments, I plan to go up to the farmer/rancher level even though they cost more.

??

 

[LD1]

I have to vote for dolmar.

Not that there is anything wrong with stihl and husky saws, but it seems you already had pleanty of recomendations for them and guys saying "their the only way to go":confused2:

But you have to watch out for the NON-pro huskies and stihls. TOO many times I see people buying a stihl because they thought it was a "good pro" saw. And I ask them what they got, and it was just a MS290 (NON_PRO) saw.:confused2: OR too many times I over hear a worker at TSC trying to sell a customer on a 455Rancher, telling them that it is a "pro" saw:confused2:

I think the ONLY pro stihls now are the 260, 360, and then everything larger than the 440/441. And on the husky, anything that has an XP is good.

But IMO, the best bang for the buck in a PRO saw is still with dolmar. But ONLY if you have a dealer nearby that you are comfortable with.

The PS5105 or the PS6400. Either with a 20" bar is what I would be looking at. And dollar for dollar, both will out cut a stihl or husky. IOW, to get a stihl or husky comparable to those, it will cost you more.

 

[DAY]

My Echo CS 400 starts easier than any saw I ever had. Something called the i30 system. At ten pounds, I can carry it up the mountain with one hand, and drag 100 feet of wire rope with the other. I run out of gas before it does:laughing:
When buying a saw-(or mower/tractor/auto)- is the dealer close by? fix things quick? stand behind his products? All those can add a bundle to the sticker price.

 

[ctbigman]

My vote is for the Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss with a 20" bar. Reasonably priced with a history of years of reliable service.

 

[LD1]

My vote is for the Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss with a 20" bar. Reasonably priced with a history of years of reliable service.

My vote is the contrary.

The MS290's that I have been around were ALL overpriced, slow cutting, and overweight for the performance. And it is NOT a PRO saw either.

I am not saying that it is a bad saw, I am just saying that for the same $$$, you can get a MUCH better, faster, and lighter saw:thumbsup:

 

[xyz123]

LD1, everyone that buys the 210 230 250 290 310 390 homeowner saws should be made to work on it themselves. Then they would never buy the crap after seeing how they are built :ashamed: :laughing:

 

[ctbigman]

Sounds like xyz123 has had an issue with Stihl. Remember, the OP is not a professional logger. THe MS290 is an upgrade from the homeowner saws yet not quite the pro level. In this day and age, ethanol is the biggest culprit in saw problems.

 

[Car Doc]

I am also all for the pro saws (not Poulan PRO haha thats a joke) spend the extra money get pro Husky or Stihl you wont be sorry when you get it out year after year it will start and run reliably. :thumbsup:

Those box store/hardware store saws can be a mess even if they do come from one of the name brands they are not even close to the quality and features you will get with a pro saw. btdt

The bad thing about them is they invariably have a bar thats half again too long for the engine. In example that 42cc (assuming thats the one) Poulan had an 18" on it should have had a 13" for the power the engine actually has and it would actually get some work done if it ran long enough. :laughing: my .02