Pole saw?

[EddieWalker]

I love the Mule. It's the 4010 Transmule. If I was buying again, I'd look at it, but there are so many options out there that just keep getting better every year that I'm not 100% sure what I'd buy.

I had ATV's before the Mule and enjoyed them, but relied on my truck to get stuff around my place. With the Mule, I haul most things in the bed, or for bigger projects, hook up my 16 foot bumper pool trailer. One of my favorite things to do is to go for a walk on my trails. I see things differently when I'm walking. But with the Mule, we drive everywhere with it. To the mail box, to the burn pile, to the pond with fishing gear, or to a vantage point to see if there are hogs out. When friends come over, we change it over to seat four, and take them for a ride. When friends and family stay for a day or two, we hand them the keys and tell them to enjoy themselves. Anybody can drive it.

 

[Sonny580]

I have and use a poulan pro with about a 12 foot reach.---a person that has a good spine wont have any problems with these. thanks; sonny580

 

[RedNeckGeek]

A little late to the party here, but I'll +1 on a few things others have said. Get the lightest pole saw that will still let you reach the branches you need to cut. My land is steeply sloped, so I needed the longest pole saw I could get to get to those high branches on the low side of a tree. I've had real good luck with Stihl, so I ended up with a Stihl HT 131. I think it's the biggest pro saw they make, or it was when I bought it several years ago. I'm good for about an hour using it because of the weight. But in an hour I can cut enough limbs to last me the rest of the day cleaning them all up. Most of my trees are oak, but that little pico chain zips right through branches and limbs like a hot knife through butter. The Stihl chains last a long time, too, so I wait for the 2 for 1 sale in the fall and stock up.

I always wear a hard hat with attached ear muffs and face guard when I'm using a chainsaw, especially the pole saw. I can't count how many times it's saved me a konk on the head, a poke in the eye, or a lacerated scalp. I had one from Stihl first and was actually glad when it got chomped by the 4-in-1 bucket on the tractor. The band that went around my head was hard and inflexible and gave me a headache. Got the one Husky makes and love it.

 

[houser52]

Thanks again for the replies.

After all the helmet recommendations I broke down a got one a few weeks ago. When I get my pole saw I'll be sawing a lot more limbs over my head so I figured a helmet would be a good investment.
While I was at it I also bought some new Labonville chaps to replace my old chainsaw pants that had "shrunk" since I bought them some 25+ years ago. I wore the new chaps this past weekend for about 4 hours while trimming some low hanging limbs with the regular saw. They're still pretty stiff but should soften over time and use.

I still have a couple weeks before I can get the Echo pole saw. That's when my dealer runs his 20% off sale. I've about decided on the Echo PAS266 25.4cc power source with the power pruner attachment. That combination will give me a reach of 8' and if I need the extra reach later, a 3' extension is available. It also breaks down for transport or storage which is a big plus. The Echo 20% discount will also save me $100.

 

[ArlyA]

I think you'll do well with a Echo. Please report back after you put it to use. As reported earlier, we have several units we use here. I'll post a few photo's of them at work. Gee, its still winter here but they sure remind me of summer.

 

[Thall303]

Anyone care to comment on the Stihl HT 56 C-E Pole Saw?

Modest and infrequent use expected.

Pruning Live Oaks and Cedars

Thanks

 

[houser52]

I think you'll do well with a Echo. Please report back after you put it to use. As reported earlier, we have several units we use here. I'll post a few photo's of them at work. Gee, its still winter here but they sure remind me of summer.

Thanks for the pics and report. I'm looking forward to getting it.

 

[houser52]

Pole saw update-

I called my Echo dealer yesterday to see if he would make good on the Echo sale a week early. He said come on down. I brought home a new Echo PAS 266 power unit and the Power Pruner Attachment after the dealer prepped the unit with bar oil, full tank of premixed gas and the remaining contents of the can of gas. He also explained all about the saw.

After getting home I briefly looked over the owner's manual then with a couple yanks of the starter it fired right up. Within an hour and almost a tank of gas I had enough limbs on the ground that took me a couple hours to clean up with the grapple.

First impressions were-
Saw is very easy to start
Fairly lightweight but it does get heavy and works a lot of unused muscles.
Cut branches very easy, up to 4"
The 8' length worked good for my purposes
Easy on gas
Breaks apart for storage
5 year homeowner warranty

Note- One thing I did not like was that the bar jumps or chatters when sawing and I'm not sure if that is
normal. Maybe one of you Echo owners can comment on that.

I'm going to try and use it again today if it doesn't rain.

 

[EddieWalker]

Congratulations on your new saw!!!! I can't comment on the bar chatter as I'm not exactly sure what that is, or haven't noticed it on my Echos pole saw. Granted, I haven't used mine yet this year, so my memory isn't all that current. I think you've discovered the biggest challenge when using a pole saw, getting rid of all the branches that you cut down so quickly, and in no time at all, you have hours and hours of work ahead of you cleaning it all up!!!

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Note- One thing I did not like was that the bar jumps or chatters when sawing and I'm not sure if that is
normal. Maybe one of you Echo owners can comment on that.

Jump and chatter are not unique to your Echo, as my Stihl will do the same thing if I'm not paying attention to how much down force is applied to the chain. Too much down force will cause the saw to stall, too little will let it chatter. I suspect that jumping is caused when the chain hits the limb before the spiked bumper on the front of the motor housing is in contact with the limb. I find the saw much harder to control when it's way out there on the pole, and just need to pay more attention to what's going on to get smooth operation. :2cents:

 

[houser52]

Jump and chatter are not unique to your Echo, as my Stihl will do the same thing if I'm not paying attention to how much down force is applied to the chain. Too much down force will cause the saw to stall, too little will let it chatter. I suspect that jumping is caused when the chain hits the limb before the spiked bumper on the front of the motor housing is in contact with the limb. I find the saw much harder to control when it's way out there on the pole, and just need to pay more attention to what's going on to get smooth operation. :2cents:

Thanks for the suggestions.

I wasn't sure what was causing the jumping. I was beginning to think that something was slipping in the gear box or maybe the driveline was slipping where the sections are joined together. I tried a soft touch and a hard touch but didn't seem to make any difference. One thing I didnt do was to make sure the bumper was in contact with the limb before sawing. I'll try that. The motor has enough power that I never had it stall though.
I'm sure my technique will improve the more I use it.

As Eddie said, you can cut up a lot of stuff pretty quick then hours to clean up.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I'm sure my technique will improve the more I use it.

Yes, there is a bit of a touch to it.

After the limbs are on the ground, I'll collapse the shaft on the saw to its shortest length and keep cutting limbs off until they are of a manageable size. I don't have a grapple, so it all gets piled in the bed of the RTV for the trip to the burn pile.

I've also found that limbing and cleaning up one tree at a time gives my pole saw muscles a bit of a rest, and then my bending over to pick stuff up muscles a rest, and I can go a bit longer before I'm worn out entirely.:laughing:

 

[houser52]

One thing I just checked is that my pruner has the .050 chain which might be causing the jumping. The narrower .043 bar and chain may be what it needs.
What width chain are y'all running?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

One thing I just checked is that my pruner has the .050 chain which might be causing the jumping. The narrower .043 bar and chain may be what it needs.
What width chain are y'all running?

My saw uses a Stihl 61 PMMC3 44, a 3/8" pitch 0.043" low kickback chain. In spite of being low kickback, it cuts oak like a knife through butter, and stays sharp a LONG time. Very happy with this chain.

 

[houser52]

My little Stihl MS170 has the .043 chain and it cuts really good too.

 

[ArlyA]

We occasionally get the "jumping" as well but I've never been able to identify as to why it happens, or not. Our chains are the .043 variety but I thought that was just the cog part width with no connection to anything else on the remainder of the chain. We actuality started out with .043 chains but by accident by the outfit we buy our chains from, switched to the .050 width after the bar had worn in some. That made no difference.

 

[houser52]

ArlyA - Thanks for the info. It maybe perfectly normal for a pole saw due to the flexible drive shaft but it does seem a little odd.

 

[kathy50]

Greenworks is a good brand and easy to use. Tightening the chain or even replacing it is very easy and tool-less. Keep an eye on your chain oil as it gets used up pretty quickly. I have about 4 acres of trees and went around cutting off dead limbs and just carried a quart of chain oil with me. The battery lasted longer than I did.