Lets talk Chainsaws

[RME]

If anyone wants a deal on a new 362c I've never even put gas in this one because my 5yr old one still just rips and I usually only use it maybe once or twice a month...

Nice pic of riding the ball up! Makes you never want to climb to the top again

 

[longrangelead]

I just supported China and bought a Stihl Clone... aka, its going to be a perfect saw to leave in my truck during spring bear and not worry of someone breaks in and steals it. Be curious to see if the reviews of the saw live up to par.

what model?
I messed with a bunch of Chinese UM clones.
they're ok as far as quality. definitely worth what you pay, but...
do yourself a favor and replace the case, jug and exhaust bolts with Stihl bolts. They WILL break.
if it sucks air, you might burn it up when you really need it.

they actually have a pretty good cylinder. the plating is tough enough and doesn't usually chip or flake when it's cut.
Pistons are pretty good too. I never had and piston issues with all the performance stuff I was trying.
porting them really wakes them up.
the cool thing is all the OEM performance stuff bolts right on.

 

[IDVortex]

what model?
I messed with a bunch of Chinese UM clones.
they're ok as far as quality. definitely worth what you pay, but...
do yourself a favor and replace the case, jug and exhaust bolts with Stihl bolts. They WILL break.
if it sucks air, you might burn it up when you really need it.

they actually have a pretty good cylinder. the plating is tough enough and doesn't usually chip or flake when it's cut.
Pistons are pretty good too. I never had and piston issues with all the performance stuff I was trying.
porting them really wakes them up.
the cool thing is all the OEM performance stuff bolts right on.

Holzffoman g466. Yup, I plan to upgrade a couple of things. I had thought about just spending the money on a stihl or husky, but my use case and not trusting folks to not touch things in my truck is why I bought it. If I get a house with property ill upgrade at that point to a nicer saw.

 

[fsr731]

I live up at 11,000' in the middle of the forest. I have 1 Stihl battery saw, the biggest one, I can't remember the model. And I have a Stihl 361 (360?), 461, and 500i.

My favorites are the 461 and the battery saw. That battery saw kicks butt. And combustion engines at my elevation lose 40% power. I thought the 500i would fix that. Nope. I see almost no difference between the 500i and 461. Sorry I bought the 500i frankly. The battery saw is my go to for anything less than cutting firewood or felling trees over 12". The long bar on big saws are nice for limbing downed trees though, thats for sure.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Have some decent experience with stihl, my farm bosses have worked well! Lately pretty impressed with some of the electric offerings. Depending on where you are and what kind of wood you are cutting those would work fine too I’m guessing

 

[tony]

Follow a guy on YT, a logger.
He answered a question about why he does pretty much all his, felling, cutting and limbing with no less than a 20” bar.
So he doesn’t have to bend over as much and can have some distance when cutting.
Seems to make sense.
Of course I’m no saw guy. I can stsrt one and use it. That’s bout it!
I was thinking of getting a 20 “ bar?

 

[ColeyG]

I live up at 11,000' in the middle of the forest. I have 1 Stihl battery saw, the biggest one, I can't remember the model. And I have a Stihl 361 (360?), 461, and 500i.

My favorites are the 461 and the battery saw. That battery saw kicks butt. And combustion engines at my elevation lose 40% power. I thought the 500i would fix that. Nope. I see almost no difference between the 500i and 461. Sorry I bought the 500i frankly. The battery saw is my go to for anything less than cutting firewood or felling trees over 12". The long bar on big saws are nice for limbing downed trees though, thats for sure.

Have you considered putting a ported muffler on the 500i? Should make quite a difference at your elevation

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I have a 450rancher, ms 212, and a echo 590 timber wolf. Most days I use the echo...its got as much ass as the rancher but weighs less.
On my second dewalt battery saw...let the magic smoke out the 1st one...they don't like green white oak.

 

[Alpine4x4]

I'm just a home owner on 40ac and am learning the basics of felling and such still. I've run a Dewalt 20v electric for years and also have a Stihl MS311 thats getting more work lately. I love the Dewalt for the small stuff as its way lighter.

 

[wowzers]

Holzffoman g466. Yup, I plan to upgrade a couple of things. I had thought about just spending the money on a stihl or husky, but my use case and not trusting folks to not touch things in my truck is why I bought it. If I get a house with property ill upgrade at that point to a nicer saw.

the1chainsawguy

Welcome, let's talk chainsaw type stuff. I like to build them. I bet you would too, and I would like to give you the opportunity to see and share in the experience and see if you might like it as well. I find it an interesting journey and a lot of fun at the end. An interesting aspect is the kits

sites.google.com

This guy has a lot of tips for those saws. Oilers are pretty common to go out.

 

[Joshk358]

I've got the Husqvarna 450 Rancher. It's been a beast. Works great with little care on my part. I am no pro, but we had 5 or 6 huge trees come down in the yard from a tornado a few years ago and had to upgrade to the 450 Rancher. If the blade is sharp, it'll but like absolute butter through some big ole trees.

 

[Akexis972]

I work in landscaping and I run a Stihl MS 261, as well as a small top-handle saw for lighter work.
Both work great, especially as long as you’re not cutting big wood.
In my experience, battery-powered saws are also very convenient, but the downside is the extra weight from the battery, which can make the saw feel heavier.
Just my opinion.

 

[Flat Range]

Husqvarna 440. Light. Durable. No issues in the 5 years or so I've had it. Works for me.

 

[3325]

I don’t have any experience with the specific saws the OP mentioned, but I’m predisposed to pick a Stihl.

I’ve used both Stihl and Husky. In addition to farm and ranch labor and personal fire wood cutting, I climbed professionally for about three years. Arborist was the preferred high falutin’ term for this but before that we were called tree surgeons. I used both an 020 Stihl and a 335 Husky as climbing saws. I like Husky but I prefer Stihl.

 

[makinmeat]

I own 25 acres in MN and cut wood for supplemental heat in the winter (usually a full cord or two). I have a stihl that runs great and is very easy to work on, but I'd like to buy a Husk rancher to compare side by side. A sharp chain is really the only thing you need to worry about.

 

[abilliott]

I have a Stihl MS362 and it’s been a favorite. It’s plenty powerful to do almost anything without feeling like it’s overkill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Steve300xcw]

I was thinking of getting a 20 “ bar?

isnt that what most the smaller saws come with?

24" seems to be the sweet spot for reach yet still able to stash the thing, just about anywhere. Last bar I bought was a 28" and thats notta bad size either.

 

[JoeK]

20" bars suck. 24-28" make things easier to reach and there is less bending over.

I do not understand the 50-60cc saws. Either get a dinky lil thing or a 70cc.

I'm not a fan of the husky's though lotta folks like them. I also wouldnt overlook the echo's. I have a 40cc echo and that lil pos just works

Follow a guy on YT, a logger.
He answered a question about why he does pretty much all his, felling, cutting and limbing with no less than a 20” bar.
So he doesn’t have to bend over as much and can have some distance when cutting.
Seems to make sense.
Of course I’m no saw guy. I can stsrt one and use it. That’s bout it!
I was thinking of getting a 20 “ bar?

There's a use case for each size of saw and bar. I find 20" to be a very capable and versatile size for general use. But my idea of "general use" might be quite different than yours.

If your felling, limbing, and bucking long straight trees like Buckin Billy Ray (I love his channel too) then it absolutely makes sense why to choose the longer bar. He's also had gnarly back injuries IIRC car wrecks or tree accidents or maybe both. There's definitely an ergonomic case to be made for a long bar and the "stand up and buck" motto. Especially true if your cutting logs day after day.

I have more pain in my shoulder, elbow, or wrist than my back and generally prefer to tote a lighter weight saw around my jobsites (CS-400) with an 18" bar for limbing, and definitely for low height trimming. I do WAY more low height mesquite trimming than I do falling limbing and bucking logs. Heck for all the saws I own no question i run the pole saws (HT-131) way more than any other saw. hence the pain in my left arm joints. Most of the time I don't have enough space to fell the tree so i have to piece it down hanging from a rope, maybe rigging pieces down. So I usually have a log limbed before it's ever on the ground. I more often find myself with a collection of 6-8" limbs to "buck" into firewood after the brush has been chipped off and there's lots of bending and one handed wood manipulation no matter what size of saw I'm holding.
So I like to hold a little saw for that. bigger than 8" wood or so and that little echo is just too slow for productivity. 50cc at 20" fills that gap for me before I need to step up to a big bucker around 15" Diameter.

If I was a logger or cutting firewood off a woodlot It'd be totally different. Running a 24, 28 maybe even a 32" bar and a heavier saw with more horsepower gets through big buckin much faster. In fact I do run 24" most when I do get to fell a tree with the limbs on. my 28" saw (MS460) is heavy enough I only want to pick it up to buck logs. the 362C pulls 24" like a hoss.

Generally if your using more than 3/4 of your available bar you'd be much more productive stepping up to a bigger saw with more power, and usually that means a bigger bar, but it doesn't have to. It definitely means more weight in your hands. for some 50cc and a 20" bar is no man's land, for others it's the go to do all.

 

[fsr731]

Have you considered putting a ported muffler on the 500i? Should make quite a difference at your elevation

Interesting. Never thought about it. Looked it up after you mentioned it. I think I’m going to call west coast saw and talk to them about it. They have a “bark box” for $80 but say it only adds 6-10% power. IDK, maybe at my elev I’d get more. That would be great. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ColeyG]

Interesting. Never thought about it. Looked it up after you mentioned it. I think I’m going to call west coast saw and talk to them about it. They have a “bark box” for $80 but say it only adds 6-10% power. IDK, maybe at my elev I’d get more. That would be great. Thanks for the suggestion.

The folks at West Coast are great. Everyone I've spoken with there has been super knowledgeable and helpful. I have a couple of their Bark boxes and universal exhaust ports installed. If they offer an air filter upgrade kit for your saw that can help add some power and performance as well.

Several companies will port the cylinders on your 500i as well, which, at normal elevations, turns it into a fire breathing dragon. I would go with Ripsaw to get that done. Quite a bit more expensive than a ported muffler though.

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