New Stihl MS362 20" or 25"

I stopped at my local Stihl dealer today to buy some bar oil and walked out with a brand new ms362 !

I currently have a ms270 with a 16" bar and I bought the ms362 with a 20" bar . So I am wondering if I should have gone for the 25" bar ? it is only $10.00 difference . Is the 25" bar pushing it for the 362 ?

I mostly cut storm damaged trees from neighbors and friends , the largest tree being a hickory that fell from Sandy I think it was 34" at the base .

I also happened to buy a new FS70 weed wacker while I was in there . My 10 year old fs45 is getting tired .

Thanks for the tips on bar length

to funny but I posted a thread in the "Wood Shed" on a topic very similar;

http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/backup-chainsaw-suggestions.95419/

If it was me (and from the looks of it I think it will be) I would go for the 25 inch (if you are going to keep the 270). I want a back up saw with more grunt and longer reach - the 361 (and your 362) fit that - go longer I dont think you will regret it.

The 25 inch bar is pushing it for me with a 60cc saw. I would use the 20 inch and maybe the 25 inch if needed sparingly. For me over 20 inches is 70cc saw territory.

20 is just right for my 361.

You prob won't find yourself picking up that 270 much anymore....

Ha great minds think alike ! Is that a kubota in your avatar ? I have a b7500 . I like the Idea of the 25" bar but I don't want to over do it either , just wondering if I should just rent a 70cc with a large bar if I need it . Holding a ms441 in the dealer today with a 25" bar I felt like I needed a tripod

It crossed my mind to sell it , but only for a split second . 2 saws is better than 1 , right ?

Yep - its a B2920. I moved that 125 foot Red Oak in pieces all this weekend wich had to add up to ~20.000# worth - the B's are a great size tractor (power / weight / lift capacity / foot print etc).

I did push my 18 inch 270 a lot cutting through 30 ~ 40 inch cookies - thats why i think for the larger hard stuff a 361/362 would be a nice addition let alone is a nice fall back in case my 270 wants to take the day off on any given Sunday when my dealer is closed!

here is the evidence and the fs70 next to my old fs45 . Oh and I got the new calendar

note to self - get to my dealer and get the 2013 Stihl Calender

Yeah it is a good one .

You can always have both. Five minute job to swap.

I'd get the 20. The 361 or 362 can handle the 25 but its pushing it in hard wood. With a 20 you can cut 40 inch diameter trees.

Thanks for the tips I am sticking with the 20"

I have a 20", 24", 25", 28" bars/chains that will fit my 031AV, 440, 460 saws. What I use most is the 20" on the 031 & 440, and the 24" on the 460. Used the 28" once to try and make some table tops from a big stump. Go for the 20", shorter is better regardless what she says.

I'd unload the MS270, use the cash to buy a MS211 or similar and put what's leftover into some spare chains or PPE gear. The MS270 is a great saw but it's too heavy to be a "small saw", pretty close to the 362 weight-wise actually, and has nothing approching the MS362's power. Flipping it for the lighter, smaller, MS211 would actually be fun.

I have had a 360 and many 361s, similar in size and power to the 362, and I can run a 25 inch bar all day long on my 361s and never think twice about it. Falling and bucking with that size bar (and full comp chain) works just fine. Of course, I am a PNW looooong bar kind of guy. 25 is the sweet spot for a 360/1/2, though I would like to try a 22 inch bar on my 361s. They are out there. A lot of them are sold in the PNW with a 28 inch bar... but they do not have the oil capacity to keep the chain lubed on that size bar. One of my current 361s came with a 28 inch bar, and there were obvious burn marks on the bar from not being oiled enough. You can run that length bar on a 360/1/2 (with full skip chain) if you upgrade the oiler with some 460 oil pump parts.

I also use a 20 inch bar on my 361s, but that is rare. Even rarer, if I use an 18 inch bar on a 361 in some tough smaller diameter wood I switch to an 8 slot rim as to not waste the torque and gain chain speed. The great advantage to an inboard clutch; changing rims takes a few minutes with just a scrench.

And yes, it may take a tad longer to cut with a 361 than say, a 440. I have a modified 044 and I run a 28 inch on that most of the time, but I also have a 32 inch bar for it. It cuts faster than th 361, but I get a lot more tired using it (more vibration, more weight, more torque to contend with). I do not get very tired running my 361s.

Bottom line? I would shop for a 25 inch bar for that there 362. It has a tad more power than a 361, and you will like running a 25 inch bar.

Yes you should have

and

No, it's not, at least not according to Stihl.

Don't listen to those PNW'ers with thier long bar "issues."

You're in Deleware, so keep the 20 incher on that 362.

Yeah I am sticking with the 20" bar later down the line if the big one comes down I will buy the 25" bar . Thanks for everyones help and comments

Won't find much the 20" won't handle.
Like you, I'd let the 25" bar & skip chain hang on the Stihl dealers wall & if ever needed, know it's there

Issues? I do not have any long bar issues. I use proper length bars as recommneded by the engineers that designed these saws.

Its actually the other way around, see? Do not listen to anyone with Shrimpy Bar Disease. For anyone with SBD running anything longer than an 18 inch bar on a 70cc saw is a waste. Break free of the east coast paradigm! Step out of the cave of ignorance and into the enlightenment of longer bars.

PNW, the land of the long bars... as they should be:

That's one old scene where Newman did NOT have a "Failure to communicate!"

C'mon out east and play StihlHead. I got some trunks your long-bar'd 361's are gonna love. (snicker snicker)