346 Options

I know a dealer who stock piled a few 346XP, 346XPGs so I'm going to pull the trigger and pick one up. My question(s) are what's the best set up for the chain/bar being that I'm a firewood guy. Here's the options I was considering:
1. .325, 0.058
2. 3/8, 0.050
I have a 350 that is going to someone I know and it's setup with .325, 0.058 and it rips. It's a nice saw and I'm looking forward to the upgrade to the 346. My point is, I have extra chains, files, etc for this setup so it would be easy to go that route.
I also have a 555 which I use, but is setup with a 3/8 0.050. I'm pretty sure that the 555, 346 and 350 are all small bar mounts.....so everything works with everything (I think). I even have a 20" 0.050 bar for the 555. So I could just get the 346 setup that way and have 3/8, 0.050 for everything. I would end up having 18" and 20" bars for both saws even though I really only run the 18".
I guess my ultimate question is how will a 346 deal with a 3/8 set up. Keep in mind I'm a firewood guy and I do get into some big stuff......and who knows I may just get rid of the 555 and become a 1 saw guy. I'm just really curious on performance on a 50cc (3.7hp) 346 saw with a 3/8 chain. I've never run that before. I know there's a ton of opinions on this, but I hear stuff like 'the 346 is a high revving saw so you need to keep the chain moving....0.325 is better for that. I don't really know. What's a good option.
I'm going to set it up with a 18" bar, but wondering if it will be a dog with a 3/8 chain. Keep in mind, I think my 350 is good.

MasterMech said:

If you already have a a 555, and a 350, why on earth would you want to spend on a new 346XP? Maybe trade it all for a 550XP? Or keep what you've got and pick up something much bigger/smaller?

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It's easy. The 555 is used for bigger jobs. It easily handles a bigger bar than 18" and the difference between it and the pro version (562xp) is not worth the price difference. Even if I used it everyday for 8hrs, I would have a hard time dropping the extra coin on the 562XP. The numbers are better....I think 0.4HP better, but the differences between the pro and non pro saws for Husky have gotten close. I know the 555 is a detuned 562XP, but all metal crankcase, etc is par for the course now. Not sure where the 562XP gets the extra price hike. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the saw rips and does a bit better than the 555.

On to the 350. My 350 is great, I generally always pick up the lightweight 50cc saw 1st. My 350 is a little on the old side and has some problems the last few yrs.....oil pump, etc. Everything is going autotune and I'm a little bit of a 'late adopter'. Yeah, yeah...I know the autotune technology has been around for awhile. We'll it hasn't been on any dealers shelf very much......so it's really new technology to the consumer actually. It needs some time to prove itself. As a result, I need to replace my 350 with a good light 50cc saw. And a 'old school' non epa saw might just do the tirck. My 350 will get sold or traded just so i dont have to throw more money at it.

MarkinNC said:

I run a 16 inch bar .325 0.50. It has good speed in the cut. It would pull more but I have a bigger saw for that. I find myself using my 346 the majority of the time.

FWIW, I disagree with you on the consumer saws being detuned pro saws. Consumer saw lack the same level of engineering from many stand points (IMO which doesn't mean anything). It is more than the crank case. You will see what I mean when you start running the 346.

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Maybe I was a bit to black/white in my comments. I agree there is a world of difference, but I was referring more to a landowner vs pro saw (i.e 555 vs 562). Now if one was to compare 350 vs 346.....IMO there's a bigger difference. The 350 is more homeowner like, the 346 is pro (magnes crank, rim, exhaust mount, etc. Back to the 555, 562....since this is more of a semi-pro vs pro comparison, most of the options are the same aside from some tweaks to the exhaust, detuning etc. They both have magne cranks, rims, etc. I know I'm leaving a lot out here, but my point is the differences between landowner grade (semi-pro) vs pro has gotten a lot closer.

SIERRADMAX said:

Anyone see the recent negative comment on the 555's recall problem and recent 550xp consumer complaints?

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Still haven't gotten the saw back. I'll have a load of details in a bit, and Husqvarna is going out of there way to resolve this. Apparently, my 555 is a 2011 and most of these problems were resolved after that. I've never had problems like this, but the part dept at Husqvarna is having issues with supplying the parts and the full kits if part # contains mulitiple parts. It's quite a headache. All I can say, is I'm glad I have some non-EPA pro saws. My 346 is as realiable and predictable as my 350.......and it's stronger of course. I'm going to end up being the poster child of the 555 recall issue once this is all over! I've mentioned before I'm a little bit of a late adopter with new technology.....this puts me over the edge. Never will I buy a new model of anything. In the end, this saw might work out great, but it's used up it's 'one strike'.....so look for an update from me with a list of parts/issues that had to be resolved on this 555.

mikefrommaine said:

Tell them at this point the only way to make it right in your mind is a new 550xp. Of course you could always cave and except a refurbished 550

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There is no way I would want a 550XP. I have a 346.....no need for a 550. And to boot, the 550 is an autotune. I might be walking into the same situation. The only way to fix this is to fix the 555. It's a hell of a saw (when it's running)....can handle a bigger bar with ease as well. I've only had the one major issue with it.......and hopefully this alll goes away after the parts arrive and get installed. The last thing I would want to do is have a bunch of new autotune saws. My older stuff will get run for many years before I'm forced to go that route. Stihl is doing it too, I'll just hold out as long as I possibly can.

mikefrommaine said:

^^^ I thought the 555 was auto tune as well.

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My point is I don't want multiple AT saws at this point (or ever if I can avoid it...if this one doesn't win me over). I'm not sure if I can rename the thread or not, but I may copy some of this info over and actually call this a 555 thread. Either way, no update yet.......should no more by this Friday. Good times.