Gear- North VS South

[bigtall]

I know that most of the members of this board are northerners, and as such, rely more on wood burning for home heating than those of us down south. With that, it appears that ya'll have some equipment up yonder that we don't have and don't see down here. For example, down here Stihl chainsaws are the tip-top, with Husqvarnas following closely. (although I might argue for Huskies before they went "commercial.") I have heard of Jonsered saws and have only ever seen one. I had never even heard of, or seen a "Dolmar," until I joined this forum. I still have never seen one in person. When I bought my super splitter, I had to order it from a store up north. I think I may be one of 8 or 10 people in Georgia with one. If you say Fiskars down here, all the ladies talk about their scissors. Just wanted to point out this oddity in our geography.

(I am going to order the Helko Vario 2300G. Another item that I would have never known about without this site.)

 

[thinkxingu]

Interesting points, bigtall--I suppose like any other industry, wood processing gear companies would choose their demographic and according locations carefully. I wonder if there's a trend in stove manufacturers as well.

Of course, another theory is that there are brands that exist in every industry that, unless people are heavily involved, they wouldn't know about. For example, most everyone has heard of Rolex, but how about Audemars Piquet? Or Zenith watches, not televisions?

S

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

LOL, we in the North, we wonder why anyone in the south would have use for firewood. Do you guys have AC units that run on wood?

And don't let the banter on the boards here give you the wrong impression of what happens in the real world.

Most pros use Husq up here. Stihl would be next. There really are no 'other' saws of choice for guys that put food on the table using chain saws.

I have never met anyone that uses a Fiskars. Some people still call splitting mauls 'go-devils' up here. I am amazed at how high a percentage of people up here use an hyd splitter. I don't cause I can still swing a Monster Maul and I don't split much wood anyway. But my observation is that 90% of burners either own an hyd splitter or have gone in on shares with someone else to buy one.

Jimbo

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For sure more folks in the north burn wood than the folks in the south. As for dealers carrying things, if there is not enough market to pay stocking you can't blame them for not carrying things. On the saws, I've not seen a Dolmar in this area yet. Stihl and Husky are the biggies now. Years ago it was Homelite and McCullough. Both of those faded into the sunset years ago. I still have a couple of them though.

Heck, I'm betting you also would have a difficult time finding many snow plows for sale down there. How about snow plows for atvs? What about cant hooks? And do you bury your water lines 42" deep down there? Yes, there can be some big differences. I'll also bet spring comes a whole lot sooner for you. Lots of folks up here wish it would come sooner here, especially when they are still building fires in May and June. Heck, we lost all of our apples this year because it got so cold right as the blossoms opened. It happens quite often.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What are you classifying North and South? Englander Stove Works is based south of the Mason Dixon line. I think Stihl has a plant in the South also.

Matt

 

[Dune]

Well, at least we are talking...

 

[bigtall]

Dune- the war of northern aggression ended over a hundred years ago. Let it go man. Haha!

thinkxingu and Backwoods Savage- Good points. Snow plows dont exist down here, and wood burning is not the "market" that it is up there. That is why I had to order my SS from Denny & Kathys. With that said, education about burning, stoves and inserts vs fireplaces, various wood species, seasoning and aging, are all way behind in the south. I have learned more on this site in the last few years than I did in all the years of trial and error. So a big "Thank You" to all the members of this board. At least we have college football!

 

[Danno77]

Most pros use Husq up here. Stihl would be next. There really are no 'other' saws of choice for guys that put food on the table using chain saws.

I've NEVER seen a pro using anything other than a Stihl in my area. You can get husqvarna's here, and you can apparently get Dolmars, too (had to look up dealers online, cause I've never noticed one before). I love Stihl saws, but I'm not blind to other quality saws of other brands. not sure why Stihl completely dominates the pro market here.

I guess I should clarify that the pros I'm speaking of are tree service guys and not tree harvesting companies. I don't know what they all use. Never see them close up, just trucks hauling the wood away.

 

[Nic36]

I think Husqvarna and Stihl are equally popular here, as is the never ending argument on which is the best. I've even seen Dolmar around here too.

I think I have almost as many toys as some of our northern wood burning neighbors. They just get to utilize them a bit more.

Heck, I've even seen some snow plows and snowmobiles for sale here on the local Craigslist. I guess the Nigerians can't understand it doesn't snow down here.

The biggest difference I have found down here is the lack of wood stove dealers and wood stove supplies. It's weird, Lowe's carries the basic Supervent chimneys and kit year round. Two years ago at some stores, they had a few New Englander stoves for sale. I haven't seen any at their stores since. Home Depot never has anything.

However, with the power of the internet, almost anything out there is obtainable now---the very reason I was able to buy a PE stove. Now I can pretend I'm a northerner too.