New chainsaw

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duramaxman05

Minister of Fire
Aug 17, 2014
739
Perryville, Mo
Well I guess tuesday I get to go pick up my new toy. Dolmar ps421. I had a stihl 211 with 14" bar. I wanted something with a little more power but didnt really want to pay stihl's price on there pro saws. Ms241 is $550. I can the dolmar which is the same size cc saw for $340 with a 16" bar. And the dolmar is a pro saw too. Magnesium case and all the goodies a pro saw has. Now I wander if I should go with a 14" bar or the 16" bar?
 
Depends what size wood you cut. Their website says standard bar is 16", I'd stay with that if it were me. Mag case for that price new sounds like a no brainer, keep us posted. I stick with Stihl because there's 2 dealers within 1/2 hr from me
 
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I would go with the 16". Any red blooded American could use an extra 2" now and then. Besides the cost difference is minimal.
 
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This saw is gonna be my trim saw and cut the smaller wood. I have my stihl 441 for everything else. I have every saw brand locally and there are dealers for all brands within a 30min of me. My brother just bought a house and has a wood stove. So I figured I can make him a good deal on the little 211 and I can upgrade. My father in law cuts timber and he got away from stihl. He uses dolmar and jonsered. He said they hold up as good if not better and are cheaper than stihl. He has a jonsered 2172 that is 2 1/2 yrs old and is still cutting. I thought that was pretty good. Then he just bought a dolmar 6100. Now that is a nice all around saw. Its one of there newer saw that just came out. Its well balanced, starts on the first or second pull, and is a good cutter. I know it cuts better than a 361 stihl and the stihl is no slouch either. I know my family has always been stihl and thats all I have too until I get the little dolmar. Im the one in the family that likes to adventure out a little. So we will see. I will keep everyone posted on the little dolmar
 
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Well I picked up the little dolmar ps421 today. I played around with it when I got home. I had a piece of red oak that was a big knot and had a fork in it. I fired up and started playing. The first thing I wanna say about this saw, it is the best starting saw I have ever been around. Of coarse it new and it should. Even my father in law says the same thing about his dolmars. Pull them no more than twice and they are running. The ps421 is very very easy to pull which is very nice. Im not picking on stihl, but they take a few yanks to get them running. Anyways, I started cutting. All I can say is wow. Its got some a$$. You can be cutting and let off the throttle so the chains stops, then pull the trigger and it takes back off with out bogging. I will say it is a tad on the heavy side, but Im gonna run it till I don't think I will have to take it for warranty then I am gonna gut the muffler. Its hard telling how heavy the muffler is gonna be. That will shed some weight for sure. The saw is very well balanced. You grab the handle and it doesn't tip foreward or backwards. It is perfectly balanced. Now I am ready for the weekend. I am gonna try to cut some wood. I will keep everyone posted how it does on a day of cutting.
 
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Today I got a chance to go out and log a few hours on the saw. I am very impressed. I dont like the factory safety chain so I bought a new one from the dolmar dealer. That chain made it cut even better. I cant wait to get a chisel chain for it. I dont think it will have a problem pulling it. It did give a stihl 029 super a run for its money today. I had to laugh, I told him, here use this one, and he kinda looked at me like, what the hell is that little thing gonna do. So he started sawing with it and just smiled. So the little dolmar is impressing the family that owns nothing but stihl. I did have one problem with it though. I took the air filter cover off and the air filter popped off with the cover. The o-ring on the neck broke. So I looked in the carb and there is a bunch of saw dust in there. I though, oh crap. So now I guess I have to get an o-ring. And I was really hoping to cut wood in the morning since its suppose to be in the upper 50's tonight for a low
 
Well I ran a few tanks through it today. It does an excellent job. I do have to have to say, make sure you keep the chain tight. Mine came loose and popped off. When I looked at the chain, I noticed a few of the drives were chewed up enough that I had to file them down so it would run in the bar track. And one thing is, the cat has to go. It puts off a lot of unwanted heat and I burnt the s#$* out of my finger. Other than that, I am satisfied. Hope this helps everyone
 
Enjoy your PS 421. Thanks for telling about it.
 
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