Chainsaw advice.

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Truckmechanic

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I'm looking in to buying a new Chainsaw. Does anyone have advice on brands that has been good? I  don't cut wood to burn so I'm really just looking to trim trees cut small trees and mainly carry in the truck with menduring winter to clear the road home. Any help is appreciated. By the way I was wanting to stay under the $150 if I can.
 
The ONLY way to go for chainsaws, string trimmers, etc. is Stihl. Buy it once, and it'll be the last you buy.
 
I wouldn't say that's the only way to go. Echo makes some fine product as well. If your budget is only $150, you'll have a hard time finding one of the mentioned brands in that price range. If your only going to use it once out twice a year, then there is nothing wrong with just buying a Poulan Wild- thing for around $85. With light use and proper upkeep it will last forever... My old man has three of them, they all run fine and are about seven years old.
 
bassboy1 said:
The ONLY way to go for chainsaws, string trimmers, etc. is Stihl. Buy it once, and it'll be the last you buy.


I agree with the choice for Stihl. My girlfriend wanted a chainsaw she could start by herself and the guy at the small engine shop reccomended a Stihl. It is much easier for her to start and use by herself than any she has ever operated. Now, Stihl is the only brand she will look at if in the market for a small outdoor power equipment purchase. She also has a Stihl string trimmer and edger now. I swear they must be built by Evinrude.
 
They're more money but once you've had a Husky you never look back.I have a 41 & a 51.They have way more power than any of those other brands.
 
This brings back a funny memory. When I bought my house 10 years ago, I bought a "Wild Thing" form HD. As a new homeowner, I had received a 10 or 15% off coupon, and when I bought it, I signed up for their in house credit card and got another 10 or 15% off. So..... I don't remember what I paid for it, but I'm fairly certain it was less than $100. The reason I bought it, was that I had several dead/dying pines on the back of the property I wanted to remove prior to building a shed under them. I ended up dropping 7 or 8 trees and told my brother to come over with his chainsaw and help me cut them into logs for the fire. It just happened that I knew his father in law would want the logs, so the two of them came over with the trailer and the chainsaw. My brother....being the "buy the best" kinda guy he is, showed up with his Stihl 36" (or however big that dang thing is) saw, looking like the one of the kind they use in competitions on TV. We start cutting up the logs, and I'm not paying much attention, but I can see him eyeballing me every so often. After I had cut up about 10 small logs, I accidentally ran the saw in the dirt, and decided to go sharpen the blade again, as I could immediately tell it wasn't cutting as good as it should. So I stop the saw and start walking up to the garage to get the sharpener (which I have as an attachment for my Dremel), and as I'm walking by, my brother stops and asks...."How much did you pay for that thing?", I tell him..... and he starts reconsidering/justifying his purchase of the Stihl. It also didn't help that I had cut more logs up in the same time as him, and that was what he kept eyeballing while I was cutting.

Now, with that said....Do I think the Wild Thing is a better saw than the Stihl? Of course not, but It's a great little saw for me. A couple things about why I think I could cut as fast or faster then my brothers.... 1. The wild thing is much more compact and lighter, which makes using it much easier with less effort. 2. After every use of the saw, I sharpen it, and if it ever starts throwing saw dust (as opposed to pieces of wood), I sharpen it . With the dremel, sharpening is less than 5 minutes of work and has the Wild Thing cutting like a hot knife through butter. I pointed this out to him and showed him how I could tell my saw whas sharper than his. Price per log, (in my life) the Wild Thing is much more valuable. FYI, I haven't used it since that project..... but I assume it still cranks.
 
bassboy1 said:
The ONLY way to go for chainsaws, string trimmers, etc. is Stihl. Buy it once, and it'll be the last you buy.

He also has the Stihl string trimmer, and after leaking gas from it in the trunk of his car.... was cursing it to no end. I got to see the gas cap and that has to be the most over-engineered piece of plastic I have ever seen. Why the heck complicate putting on a gas cap? For those that are unfamiliar, after you screw the cap down tight, there is a locking type mechanical switch on the cap to ensure it doesn't leak, and putting the cap on is like a 2 or 3 step process. I would guess there are around 5 seperate parts to the gas cap. :?:

Sure enough, after finding a replacement one from a tool repair shop here....The business told my brother that it was a known problem with the Stihl and had plenty of replacements in stock.

In the meantime, I told him he could borrow my Ryobi which was going on 10 years old :LOL2:
 
I too have a Stihl, and agree it's one of the best. However....like others have said...buy for what you need. Doesn't sound like you need to spend the money on a Stihl. I have an old Homelite that still does a great job. I've had to do more maintenance on it over the years though....but it still runs and cuts great. That was a cheap saw compared to my Stihl.
 
I do tree work for a job. All we use is STIHL and Husqvarna, both are great and we never have problems.

But if your looking to buy something that would be used every once in awhile, i would just go to Sears/home depot ect. and buy a cheap one for 80 bucks or so, and it will last you a long time.
 
MARINE0341 said:
I do tree work for a job. All we use is STIHL and Husqvarna, both are great and we never have problems.

But if your looking to buy something that would be used every once in awhile, i would just go to Sears/home depot ect. and buy a cheap one for 80 bucks or so, and it will last you a long time.
X2
i use a stihl at work and it is a great product Husquvarna is another great product
 
some really good sugestions have been given.....If you have any major repair center close to you. like Sears, they usually have reconditioned tools at very reasonable prices...If you don't have a place like that check your local pawn shops or small engine repair places for one they would like to sell well worth the money.
good luck
 
I'd say that you'd be very happy with either a Stihl or Husquvarna.

I have Husquvarna 345 which is a pretty basic model, a few up from the bottom, and it's virtually bullet proof. (I use mine probably 5-6 times a year...so a little more than you intend to...but it's mostly just for trimming, cleaning, and the occasional firewood cutting).

If you have a repair shop or lawn/garden equipment specialty store near you, I'd see if you could pick up a well-maintained used model (Craigslist is always an option too). You'll end up with a better saw, and keep you on/near your budget...I'd just hate to see you p/u one of these cheap saws that a few people have suggested and end wasting money due to breakage/repairs or, god forbid, get hurt because of poorly-built equipment. Buy it once, take good care of it, and it will still be worth something when you're done using it.

Good luck!
 
As Brine said, it's all in the chain and it's ability to cut and evacuate the wood from the cut. For the OP's use I would find a decent '80's Homelite Xl with the 14" bar. Textron made around 75 million of them and they are dead nuts simple and reliable. With a narrow kerf bar and chain they cut fast enough without burning down the engine. In fact I won't buy a newer than 2000 saw because the emmisions limits and higher speeds set them up to run lean and melt the piston.

The early Stihls and Huskie's with the antivibe are great. The Echos weigh a ton but are industrial tough. The Poulan and Craftsman / Homelite's are use twice and throw away saws for the most part. Each had fuel problems and I still have a craftsman torn apart to show customers just how piss poor the oiler is built (you can't remove it without splitting the crank apart)

Jamie
 
Ranchero50 said:
For the OP's use I would find a decent '80's Homelite Xl with the 14" bar. Textron made around 75 million of them and they are dead nuts simple and reliable. With a narrow kerf bar and chain they cut fast enough without burning down the engine.


That is what I had that finally gave up. I talked to a shop about getting it repaired and they basiacally said to go buy a new saw because I was going to be sinking a lot of money in a old one. Man that saw was a good one...
 
Its a pita you dont live in ky, I would give ya a xl. I do tree work on the side and home owners are always giving me their old unwanted saws. I have a heap of part saws and a few complete xl's, Neat little saws but no chain brake or anti vab or power but atleast there light. 26cc max bar lenth is 8 inches according to the manual but they were only sold with 10-16's on them.
 
Truckmechanic said:
Ranchero50 said:
For the OP's use I would find a decent '80's Homelite Xl with the 14" bar. Textron made around 75 million of them and they are dead nuts simple and reliable. With a narrow kerf bar and chain they cut fast enough without burning down the engine.


That is what I had that finally gave up. I talked to a shop about getting it repaired and they basiacally said to go buy a new saw because I was going to be sinking a lot of money in a old one. Man that saw was a good one...


Really, if you drop the saw holding it by the pull cord and it doesn't drop to the floor it's still good and repairable. Heck, if it has spark too then it's prettu easy. Of course a saw shop doesn't want to take the time to fix a $40 saw... As Pruitt said, they are everywhere and darned near free for the asking. I have a couple hanging on the wall, loan them out instead of the Stihls I try to keep nice. Make great little limb saws, something for the kids to clean up the tops while I work on the trunk and limbs.

Jamie
 

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