Lets talk chainsaws.... I am looking for something that will not break after 2 months... probably 18in bar or so... suggestions?

10/28/2010 1:31:20 PM

Are you looking for professional grade, or a high quality homeowner type setup?

I have a husqvarna 445, which i guess you could say is a medium to higher end homeowner model. It has plenty of power and is never too hard to start. I paid somewhere south of $300 for it, cant remember exactly.



[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 1:37 PM. Reason : forgot to mention, mine has an 18" bar.]

10/28/2010 1:35:50 PM

^The Husqvarna 445 is a nice saw.

Joel...get you a Husqvarna, or a Stihl, or one of my personal favorites: Echo. Get you a CS-400.

Poulan is a hunk of shit. Their engines are actually pretty good, but the rest of the saw is garbage.

I got you the saw you need: a 30yr old Stihl 031AV. The whole housing is diecast aluminum. Motherfucker is strong. The muffler baffles rattled loose, so it's also a little LOUD. Like oldtimey Homelite Super Blue loud. And the motherfucker currently has a chisel chain running on an old 16" bar WITH NO SPROCKET TIP. Pure-T sets the bar oil to smoking.

10/28/2010 3:39:53 PM

I had a STIHL backpack blower, weed trimmer, and chainsaw, all professional grade. They were pretty angry when they were actually running, but after a couple years after the purchase starting them up became way too difficult. I was doing the sparkplug changes etc pretty religiously. They were both two stroke, so there was not much maintanance i could have missed. I also had a cheap ass lowes brand (I think) trimmerthat i had over the years that always started the second pull.

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 4:25 PM. Reason : chainsaw fell off the back of the truck on US54 when i left the gate down, in case someone found ]

10/28/2010 4:24:03 PM

I have an 034 with some plastic on it, a really good saw. Buy it from a dealer, not a box store and dont get that pansy ass low-kickback chain. Take it off and throw it away if you have to.

10/28/2010 8:43:17 PM

^What he said.

10/28/2010 10:28:47 PM

joel, do as you wish but this is what you need and you know i'm the man who knows. no offense, dan, but echo is now garbage. old stuff was decent but those days are gone for echo. husky is okay but finicky. poulan is a throw-away. notice you can't buy stihl at any big box store. there's a reason for that. big box stores sell garbage.

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS250.html

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 10:35 PM. Reason : -]

10/28/2010 10:33:29 PM

10/29/2010 7:36:01 PM

another vote for stihl. I've had an 036 for 12 years now, its been a great machine. Only problem i had was it getting very hard to start and losing power about 2 years back. The root of the problem was the fuel line going into the tank was cracking and allowing a tiny bit of air to enter. Fixed that and its back to like new.

10/29/2010 8:23:42 PM

My dad bought a cheap Poulan a few years ago for cutting firewood and other occasional use around the house (he's cheap) and it has been having problems lately with the fuel cap not threading in. It appears that it is swelling slightly, I'm guessing from ethanol in the fuel. Other than that, he has had no problems.

He also has a McCulloch that is older than me (26) and it still runs like a champ but is quite heavy.

My brother has Stihl (probably around 17 years old) that has had a lot of use and has quite a number of issues over the years but was pretty light and ran strong when it was newer.

[Edited on October 29, 2010 at 8:47 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2010 8:41:07 PM

i would have to say 95% of problems with stihl equipment is due to lack of maintenance e.g. no fuel stabilizer, lack of use, lack of cleaning, etc. i will say one problem that i have had with my stihl equipment is the new "quick lock" fuel caps. more over-engineered german shit. those caps started to aggrevate the living shit out of me and sometimes would take up to 5 minutes just to get it on. however, i sent stihl usa an email about the problem. i got a response within 2 hours on a weekend explaining how sorry they are blah, blah, blah, and said replacement caps were in the mail. 4 days later i had 4 of the "new style" caps in the mail. good customer service!

10/29/2010 8:52:40 PM

Can't really go wrong with Stihl or Husky. I've always had luck with Echo, but I see someone shooting it down, and I have heard of reliability issues in the last 5 years

I'd also check out Shindaiwa. Don't know much specifically about their chain saws, but thier lawn equipment/blowers/other 2 stroke motors are great

Also, I'll second the "BUY IT FROM A DEALER" comment. Even the same model number from somewhere like the Home Depot always seems to be crappier, plus a dealer will service it for you and generally be more open to satisfying you if you have any problems with it, etc.


[Edited on October 30, 2010 at 1:15 AM. Reason : ]

10/30/2010 1:11:44 AM

stihl 066>*

10/30/2010 9:38:36 AM

My 2c are on a Jonsered, Stihl, or Husqvarna.

For what it's worth we have a Stihl and a Jonsered in regular use (home heated with wood for about 3 months of the year) and both have been work horses. The Jonsered is a higher-end model, with the spin acceleration thingy for easier starting, but the Stihl is light as a feather (good and bad depending on application.)

If you get a reliable brand (any mentioned in this thread) and put a little cash to step above the once-per-year user line you'll be very pleased. Also do yourself a favor and get it at a local garden tool shop. Most of them have in-house repair and regular maintenance (like sharpening chains) - and they offer discounts or priority service for people who buy their stuff. We get 1/2 price chain sharpening and priority repair from our local shop.

[Edited on October 31, 2010 at 10:28 PM. Reason : ^^And Shindiawa makes the baddest backpack blowers on the planet. Shin+Redmax is 80% of our shed.]

10/31/2010 10:25:50 PM

I've got a Craftsman that I bought about 4 years ago when a tree fell on one of my buildings. I don't know much about chainsaws, but it's always worked fine for me. I run it a couple of times a year on my own property or helping out friends and that seems to keep her going just fine so far.

I'm going to try to take down 4-5 more trees the next time I stay in Raleigh for a weekend. I bet that fucker won't crank now.

I'm going to have to get a tree service in here one day to take down some of the huge trees, but in the meantime I'm trying to take down every one I can (in the back yard) on my own. I use a "come-along" winch and my truck's tow strap to winch the trees in the direction I need them to fall. I still cut a pie cut, but with three buildings on the property and neighbor's fences to worry about I feel a lot better with a winch and strap on it.

If I'm really pushing my luck trying to pull a tree in the complete opposite direction that it wants to fall I'll winch it, cut my pie cut, winch it again until the pie cut nearly closes up, and then cut the tree down. They'll jump off the stump pretty quick under that kind of load though so you have to be a little more careful while running the saw.

[Edited on November 1, 2010 at 12:25 AM. Reason : l]

11/1/2010 12:24:28 AM

I forgot about Jonsered. Awesome Swedish saw. Bork! Bork! Bork!

Another great saw... DOLMAR. I'd own one in a heartbeat. They make big 'uns.

11/1/2010 11:04:09 AM

Hell yeah for dolmar, pops has a 120super from the early 90s, It has a 20'' bar but will carry one over 36". Light and strong, others pale in comparison to it. I had a small makita/dolmar(it was teal) that was a good limbing saw.

11/1/2010 8:58:54 PM

I think a guy I know has a dolmar bow saw he found at the dump.



I am about ready to pull the trigger on a Stihl... really need to get some wood cut.

11/19/2010 9:33:03 AM

I like chainsaws.

11/19/2010 9:44:26 AM

stihls run best on 50:1

11/19/2010 9:12:02 PM