Recommend me a new chainsaw please.

Greetings Neighbor..
I've been down here in Kodiak harvesting and utilizing driftwood since 06'. I started with a Poulan from Walmart. It was a decent saw. I beat it up, kept the chain sharp and used it for about two years. I had some money and decided to get a real saw and purchased a Stihl MS361 pro model. I love it! I have processed many many cords of drift wood trouble free! I use a 20 inch bar and it seems to operate effortlessly. Jackovich supply in Anchorage seems to be pretty good to work with. I am waiting for my smaller saw to arrive, MS 181.. It is going to have ea 14 inch bar and run picco chain, I mainly want it for cutting up smaller stuff.. It however comes stock with a 16 inch bar. You may like it.. Stihl is a trusted name and a quality performer. You can't go wrong with years of trial.. Good luck on your purchase.. Shane

AlaskanRedneck said:

OK, my 16 inch Craftsman chainsaw has finally broke one two many times. I have given up on it. Going to get it fixed at the small engine place and then it will be a back-up saw.

I know I want a Stihl chainsaw. Just don't know which model. I prefer a 16 inch bar. I need to cut about 5 cords a year, sometimes I may cut more, sometimes less. I want one that's not going to give me any crap.

What do you folks recommend. I don't mind spending the money for a good saw. But I don't want one that is more than I need.

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I have a stihl 310 and 390, both saws have been good. I have cut about 50 face cord without any problems.

zap

Go for the Stihl. Had a dealer tell me that sell's both the Husky and Stihl line, 1500 hrs service life Husky, 2500 hrs service life for the Stihls. My MS360 Stihl is going on 9 years, over a 100 cords and still runs like new. Never a problem. Sach Dolmar makes some nice saws too.

Get the farm boss if budget is a concern. ms290 is a good saw. If you have the cash, bigger is better... Heck, 2 saws are ideal! One hog for the big stuff, and a nimbler saw for limbing...

Get the bar that fits you... Meaning while holding the saw what can reach down to cut the limbs when a tree is down. Being bent over a little is ok,bent in half all day sucks!

I bought our present Stihl Farm Boss 290 8 years ago. I put a 16" chain on it as that is all I need. It does a great job and has been trouble free. I've ran many different saws over the years and have to rate Stihl as one of the very best.

+5, I with the 290 crowd! 5 cords a year perfect........250, 270,280 would all be good as well.

Im with the crowd got tired of the rest so I got the best, good luck.

I went with the 270 over the 290 for the anti-vibration and a little less weight. After my initial push to get three years ahead I only need to cut 3 or 4 cords a year so I wasn't to worried about the power difference. Its been a great saw so far.

Are you cutting logs or cutting down trees? Just about anything stihl makes is a huge step up from what you had. I am partial to the go big or go home theory. I buy tools to do specific things, and if they can not take what i do to them, it is a absolute waste to me. I cut about the same as you, and previously used a jred 450 until it gave up for ghost.

Most of my cutting so far has been large trees, last one was a 75' cherry about 28" at the base. But others have been maple and oak ranging from 10" to 30"

That is why i went for a 361. It will handle a 25" bar, but i run a 20. Figure the few rpms i might gain in the 20 or the 25 helps my speed, i never like to run the max bar in hard woods, soft woods it doesn't seem the matter. My father does very light work and has a ms210. great little saw, and doesn't bog down, but it is not very fast either. Side by side on a 12" log, I was 3-4 cuts ahead of him. The 210 is like half the weight of the 361 though, making it better for limbs and small work like my father mainly does.

There are several other benefits to a pro saw as well, better construction, better life expectancy, ect ect, but it comes with a price tag.

where you cut that much wood, I would look to the pro models myself, a 260 pro with a 16" would make a sweet saw, and will take a 20 if needed.

I do about 2 cords a year. I've cut anything from 2" limbs to 24" trunks with the Stihl 250ms I got. I picked it because it was about $50 cheaper than the 290, and it was about 30% lighter. It felt right for me. I was a little dissapointed with it untill I got a full tooth chain for it, and WHOA BABY what a difference. Now its just about perfect. I wouldn't mind a larger saw with a 20" bar while I'm working a downed monster, but I stopped looking for a 2nd larger saw when I switched to the full-chisel chain.

JoeyD said:

I went with the 270 over the 290 for the anti-vibration and a little less weight. After my initial push to get three years ahead I only need to cut 3 or 4 cords a year so I wasn't to worried about the power difference. Its been a great saw so far.

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I bet that is a smooth running saw.

btuser said:

I do about 2 cords a year. I've cut anything from 2" limbs to 24" trunks with the Stihl 250ms I got. I picked it because it was about $50 cheaper than the 290, and it was about 30% lighter. It felt right for me. I was a little dissapointed with it untill I got a full tooth chain for it, and WHOA BABY what a difference. Now its just about perfect. I wouldn't mind a larger saw with a 20" bar while I'm working a downed monster, but I stopped looking for a 2nd larger saw when I switched to the full-chisel chain.

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Not sure what is a full-chisel chain, I just used my new stihl-farm boss 18 in one weekend.???

cptoneleg said:

btuser said:

I do about 2 cords a year. I've cut anything from 2" limbs to 24" trunks with the Stihl 250ms I got. I picked it because it was about $50 cheaper than the 290, and it was about 30% lighter. It felt right for me. I was a little dissapointed with it untill I got a full tooth chain for it, and WHOA BABY what a difference. Now its just about perfect. I wouldn't mind a larger saw with a 20" bar while I'm working a downed monster, but I stopped looking for a 2nd larger saw when I switched to the full-chisel chain.

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Not sure what is a full-chisel chain, I just used my new stihl-farm boss 18 in one weekend.???

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Its a type of chain its more aggressive and you want to have a good understanding of your saw before using one!

Just finishing up my first year back in the firewood game. Got our insert last December. Grew up on a farm cutting wood for ourselves and clean up. "Stihl" have my 031 AV that is now over 30 years old (got her as a teenager) so I agree the Stihl is tough to beat. Wanted to have a chain-brake so I found a Dolmar 420 on CL for a good price. The Dolmar is a heck of a saw, I have both a 16 and 18 inch bar works great for me cutting firewood. I put it right up with the Stihl. As I see so many times on this forum your local dealer/service should be a factor in what you go with. My local repair shop/dealer raves about the Dolmar. Now I have the itch for a 510.

smokinjay said:

cptoneleg said:

btuser said:

I do about 2 cords a year. I've cut anything from 2" limbs to 24" trunks with the Stihl 250ms I got. I picked it because it was about $50 cheaper than the 290, and it was about 30% lighter. It felt right for me. I was a little dissapointed with it untill I got a full tooth chain for it, and WHOA BABY what a difference. Now its just about perfect. I wouldn't mind a larger saw with a 20" bar while I'm working a downed monster, but I stopped looking for a 2nd larger saw when I switched to the full-chisel chain.

Click to expand...

Not sure what is a full-chisel chain, I just used my new stihl-farm boss 18 in one weekend.???

Click to expand...

Its a type of chain its more aggressive and you want to have a good understanding of your saw before using one!

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Jay, you are so correct with your comment above. And I'll go a step further to elaborate on your post. I run a MS362, 18" bar with full-chisel and I'm here to tell you all.....my "good understanding" of the saw equals this---it will cut through ANY of my body parts way faster than I can react, feel the pain, or even bleed. At the same time, when it's used smartly and safely, it will buck some serious logs.

My recommendation to the OP would be buy the best saw you can afford, sleep with it in your bed for a week, read the manual until you know it in-and-out....then fire it up and spend some quality time cutting with a green chain.

I am running a 250 and 360 pro. Love the saws.

btuser said:

I do about 2 cords a year. I've cut anything from 2" limbs to 24" trunks with the Stihl 250ms I got. I picked it because it was about $50 cheaper than the 290, and it was about 30% lighter. It felt right for me. I was a little dissapointed with it untill I got a full tooth chain for it, and WHOA BABY what a difference. Now its just about perfect. I wouldn't mind a larger saw with a 20" bar while I'm working a downed monster, but I stopped looking for a 2nd larger saw when I switched to the full-chisel chain.

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I had the dealer swap the green for a yellow when I bought my MS250. I really like the saw. It zips though wood really nicely. Granted, I'm not cutting a ton of wood. I like the weight of the saw too. I'm not Paul Bunyan, so the lightness helps.

I guess the Stihl brand speaks for its self. My Stihl is a MS360, going on 9 years. Cut over 100 cords of wood. Has seen nothing but Amsoil and Seafoam fuel additive. Still runs like new. Never an ethanol problem, all the carb parts are all original. Chains, rim sprockets , bars, an air cleaner and a spark plug, have been the only replacement parts. It's been a great saw !! A dealer who sells both Husky and Stihl's told me this about expected service life. Husky-1500hrs. Stihl-2500hrs. I think pro saws have a much better power to weight ratio. They're not cheap. My saw was mid 500's when I bought it, just went to the dealer, saw that replaced my model is in the 700 dollar range now. Yikes!

5 cord a year- a mid sized Stihl will last about forever. 260 pro, 270, 290 would all fit the bill with a 16"-18" bar.

Thanks
I will check it out when I get back home. I will try to get an understanding, have been burning and using chainsaw 25+ years, just tired of cheap saws, have ashed full of them going to the dump. One more thing when sharpining this chain seemed some tee th were smaller than others. I thought I may just be having a flashback or something.


I just want to add 1 more thing, I understand any chain saw more than a computer, they didnt even have electric typwriters when I went to school.

Again Thanks fo help

Cp

I own both Husky's and Stihls and both are good saws but I find the Husky saws tend to have a little more balance and I like the starting system on the saws better than the Stihls.

I'd also keep a close eye on Craigslist as all my Stihls were purchased almost new on CL by just keeping an eye out for good deals.

I picked up the MS440 for $400 the 056 for $100 and the 036 for $200. All had been well treated and all had less than 20 hours each on them. The 056 needed a carb kit but worked fine other than that.

TMonter said:

I own both Husky's and Stihls and both are good saws but I find the Husky saws tend to have a little more balance and I like the starting system on the saws better than the Stihls.

I'd also keep a close eye on Craigslist as all my Stihls were purchased almost new on CL by just keeping an eye out for good deals.

I picked up the MS440 for $400 the 056 for $100 and the 036 for $200. All had been well treated and all had less than 20 hours each on them. The 056 needed a carb kit but worked fine other than that.

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No one has sai d anything about those HHUUSZaaaaavannneeeeessss I didnt buy One because I caint say I t.

Lots Of Luck

Cpt