New Stihl MS362 20" or 25"
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valley ranch
Feeling the Heat
Greetings, A 24" bar doesn't add any weight to a saw. If the country you live in, the trees are that small in Dia. yes stay with 18" or 20" bars. But if you are around some real trees and your saw will pull an aggressive chain, it's nice to just set the bar on the tree and let it cut without putting any pressure on the saw, you know how it just melts its way through and all you have to do is watch so the bar doesn't drop in the dirt when the round falls off.
C'mon out east and play StihlHead. I got some trunks your long-bar'd 361's are gonna love. (snicker snicker)
Yah, right. Do you even have any forests left back east? Here in Oregon, Washington and Northern California we have the worlds tallest and largest trees. Come out west and fall some large DBH trees and see how great those shrimpy bars are. (snicker snicker)
Yah, right. Do you even have any forests left back east? Here in Oregon, Washington and Northern California we have the worlds tallest and largest trees. Come out west and fall some large DBH trees and see how great those shrimpy bars are. (snicker snicker)
Got some giant yardbird Oaks that'll take the spunk right outta a 361 wearing a 24" bar. I would love to saddle up and shred some giant softwoods. And learn some real felling technique.
Oaks? My ex has some 300 year old old growth oaks on her property (Oregon White and California Black) that are upward of 5 feet DBH and 120 feet tall. I used a 361 with a 25" bar to drop several from 2-3 feet across... madrone is a lot harder... only grows out here in the west, and California live oaks are about as hard as they get. Then there are the eucs I cut in central California... also using a 361/25 combination. Then there were the soft tall redwoods I dropped for my friends in Mendocino, really tall trees though, from 2-3 feet DBH. Over the years I have developed a liking to use the lightest saw possible to do the job, and longer bars are easier to use on the trees we have here.
Its a PNW thing... long bars and skip-tooth chains... most Stihl dealers here sold 361s with 28 inch bars, yah know, eh? The stock 361 oilers do not work on that long a bar, but it did not stop them from doing that. I put a 460 oil pump in one of my 361s, and I have run it with a 28 inch bar and skip and it does a good job in Doug fir. Doug fir is the money tree here. I do not recommend that everyone run a 28 inch bar on a 361, but a stock 361 will drive a 25 inch bar with no problem in my experience (full comp or skip chain). I also have a 3/4 wrap, large side cover and a roller/big dawg kit on that saw. Its my go to saw.
Its a PNW thing... long bars and skip-tooth chains... most Stihl dealers here sold 361s with 28 inch bars, yah know, eh? The stock 361 oilers do not work on that long a bar, but it did not stop them from doing that. I put a 460 oil pump in one of my 361s, and I have run it with a 28 inch bar and skip and it does a good job in Doug fir. Doug fir is the money tree here. I do not recommend that everyone run a 28 inch bar on a 361, but a stock 361 will drive a 25 inch bar with no problem in my experience (full comp or skip chain). I also have a 3/4 wrap, large side cover and a roller/big dawg kit on that saw. Its my go to saw.
valley ranch
Feeling the Heat
Hi, I didn't mean to sound condescending, the other day, my big saw became more than I wanted to handle on the mountain, so I used my limbing saw [MS200 T] to buck up the smaller trees I had downed.
My daughter wants to learn the use of a chainsaw. I'll start her on the Echo we have at the Nevada ranch, it has a smaller bar maybe 14-18". I try not to take out more saw than I need.
We have one we downed next to the mountain house that is 4' across. It was taken down with a 42" but I bucked some of it up with an Husqvarna: 24" bar, cutting from both sides, I prefer a single cut but the bigger saws do get heavy as the day goes on.
I was going to take a picture, with my girl on the downed logs holding the MS200, as if she had dropped the tree with the limbing saw.
Buy the saw you need, It is very nice to have a choice, if you know you'll be cutting a lot of wood.
My daughter wants to learn the use of a chainsaw. I'll start her on the Echo we have at the Nevada ranch, it has a smaller bar maybe 14-18". I try not to take out more saw than I need.
We have one we downed next to the mountain house that is 4' across. It was taken down with a 42" but I bucked some of it up with an Husqvarna: 24" bar, cutting from both sides, I prefer a single cut but the bigger saws do get heavy as the day goes on.
I was going to take a picture, with my girl on the downed logs holding the MS200, as if she had dropped the tree with the limbing saw.
Buy the saw you need, It is very nice to have a choice, if you know you'll be cutting a lot of wood.
valley ranch
Feeling the Heat
TreePointer
Minister of Fire
Just testing!
Just testing can still give you a bad trip, man. No shrooms before sawing.
Lumberjack
Member
i have a stihl 362. its probably just getting broken in now. I run it with a 16" and 20" bar with 3/8 chisel chain. Best thing you can do for your saw is research doing a muffler mod to it and then readjust the carb (richen the H jet). It really woke my saw up. Lots more power now. Get some good ear protection though, def louder!
The 362 will pull full chisel chain on a 20" bar buried in oak. I agree with previous posts that yes it will pull a 25" but it will be slow going.
Pick up an 8 pin rim sprocket for use with your shorter bars.
Rule of thumb for bar length verses engine displacement in hardwood:
50cc - 16"
60cc - 20"
70cc - 24"
80cc - 28"
ect
The 362 will pull full chisel chain on a 20" bar buried in oak. I agree with previous posts that yes it will pull a 25" but it will be slow going.
Pick up an 8 pin rim sprocket for use with your shorter bars.
Rule of thumb for bar length verses engine displacement in hardwood:
50cc - 16"
60cc - 20"
70cc - 24"
80cc - 28"
ect
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