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Looking for recommendations for light duty, property maintenance and firewood at the cabin. Had a Poulan for over 15 years but have read they are not the company they once were. Thinking about a Stihl.
I've actually got a Poulan I bought on closeout I use for light work. It has surprised me how well it has stood up, but they are light use saws. Stay away from Homelite also they are not what they used to be either.
Stihl, Husquavarna, and Echo are all pretty decent choices now. What echos I have dealt with can be hard to start but cut well once you get them going. All the heat in our house and my parent's house is from wood stoves so I cut a lot of wood every year. My folks are too "wobbly" to trust with a saw anymore so it falls to myself and my siblings to cut wood (and I'm the closest so I do the mostest).
I buy my saws used from a friend who fixes them up as a hobby and I am rough on them. He'll occasionally soup one up for me just to see how it will take the abuse. I have a Stihl and a Huskavarna that I have used for several years now I got from him and except for an occasional tune up, they have worked great. But my favorite is an Efco (that is Efco not Echo), with a 24" bar I got from Marc. You just say sic 'em and that saw goes to work. OK, that is an exaggeration but it has been a great saw the last 2 years.
I own a couple of Huskys. They start after 2 or 3 pulls every time regardless of how long they have sat. I've cut a lot of firewood with them over the years. The oldest is maybe 15 years old. The newest, 10...One is 18" bar, the other a 20" bar....I use the 18 most of the time. Not sure why I even bought the 20" one, but I do like to have backups...8^)
I had a Sachs Dolmar for over 20 years, that was ripped off out of my outbuilding. I put a ton of heavy, hard miles on it, to include big timber falling. Rock solid saw that never failed to start on the second pull.
Makita bought the Company last Year (it's a German Company). I bought another Dolmar, so far, so good.
My Husky has been awesome for my light work with it. That said, it's the tiny one that normally arborists use up in a tree... I just use it for pruning round the yard and hiking into the woods to do trail maintenance... so being light was key.
Have a stihl farm boss for 32 years with 18 inch bar. Still fires right up! I would buy another one if it quits.
I have a stihl as well. Love it!
Stihl ms290 I have had mine 7 yrs and just changed the plug this year. I also have an older (25yrs) stihl and still runs like a champ. I think the 170 is to small. My 290 has cut at least 150 to 200 full cords of wood and absolutely no problems.
I have used Husquavarnas for most of my life. Loggers that work for me use them too. I understand that Stihl is also very good. I won't change from Huskys since they have been so good for me. I had a friend killed a month ago when a tree started spinning and fell on him. My other logging friend said he probably died trying to save a $1,000 saw instead of hugging the tree and walking around it. You don't need on of those big expensive saws.
just do yourself a favor and buy the pro line of equipment. Spend the extra $$. Buy once cry once. no farm boss.....get a good one.
x2 Straight Arrow. Whatever brand you choose steer clear of the homeowner models.
If you are man enough to handle it, this highly rated saw will get the job done.
Whatever you buy, put Stabil in the Gas.
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The last two times I met with either the Hunting Club, or the Archery Club, my cheap old homeowners 16 inch Poulan was the only one still working at the end of the cleanup.
I religiously use Stabil in all my yard stuff, from weedwhackers to mowers to chainsaws.
A buddy of mine even buys Marine Gasoline for his stuff ( doesn't have ethanol )
I buy non ethanol and add Seafoam.
I put Stabil in every drop of gasoline or diesel fuel I buy.
I don’t take good care of my things. Not virtuous, but it makes me a good test-case. Stihl ms250, love it. Maintenance bordering on non-existent, and it runs great.
Thanks all, found a local dealer with sales on Stihl going on so looks like that's what i'll get.
Stihl is an excellent choice.
Several Stihls, no problem. Like others, high octane non ethanol with Seafoam and I do not even bother to run them dry over winter. They don't go too long though without being started. Same ritual for the Stihl blower and trimmer, which I went to because of the dependability of the saws.
Have fun!
I have good luck with Stihls but I have to add that we used a Dewalt cordless 16" at a friends cabin thinning some beetle kill and clearing an ATV trail. That thing cut fantastic, battery lasts longer than most folks want to run a saw and of course starts like a dream. We were doing 12" trees like butter.
Homeowner grade the stihl saws are the best. Echo will give them a run for their money. Professional grade I prefer husky.
One thought from a guy that runs a saw daily. Professional grade is more expensive. But, what is hour time and your back worth to you?
If you cut and bust a load of wood with your home owner saw, you are gonna have several hours in it. Step up to a professional grade saw, you’ll have 2/3rds the time in it. If you are cutting a lot of wood, it doesn’t take long before that higher priced saw has saved you a bunch more time and money.
A load or two a year, I’d get a 455 or a 310 and cut until my hearts content. I never could get the 290’s to run right. However a 270 stihl is a great little saw too.
I cut 6-9 chords of wood/yr and have gone through 3 Huskies now and won't buy another. They're just too damn fickle. I've had much better luck with the Stihl. I like a 20 inch bar because I have bigger wood to cut out west.
Use the pre-canned gas that has the mix and the preservative that Stihl makes. It's more expensive, but it'll make your machine last longer. And don't leave gasoline in the chainsaw when not in use; it's not good for the fuel lines.
Go to your nearby Home Depot and see if they have one of their Makita/Dolmar 64" CC saws for $300.00, a bit heavy in weight but will worth the savings for another $100.00 you can get a new cylinder with piston and you now have a 79cc saw that only weighs 14lbs....:)
I buy 20 yr old McCullough 3818 when I can find them for limbing saw etc..., they are light & always start, even when sitting for a year. The older saws do not have the the smog carbs, run a little rich and I have yet to have a carb problem or any problem besides old fuel lines and primer bulbs, when they start to lose compression from wear I generally donate and find another.
I had an old 1980's version McCullough 1010 with a 20 inch bar and that was a really great saw. I burned it up by mixing the gas wrong once. I replaced it with the lightest pro version Stihl I could get that would a run a 20" bar. It just happened to have the highest power to weight ratio of any saw they sold that year. It was the remake of the old 026 and they called that one the MS260 Pro. Been good saw for me and is MUCH lighter than any homeowner version that will run a 20".
