Best chainsaw for 10 cord, $1000 budget. 25" diameter hard wood

[Ashful]

I am pretty happy with my tiny Poland pro so far.....but let's say you had a $1000 limit to put into a new saw. Which would you get? Echo? Dolmar? Stihl? Which model?

I'd ditch the current saw and buy exactly what I have now:

30 - 35 cc top handle: Husq. T435 ($400)
60 - 65 cc rear handle: Stihl 036 ($350 - $400, with new ES bar)
Chaps + Helmet: Stihl chaps ($70), Husq. Helmet ($35)
Scabbards, chains, plastic wedges, tools ($100)

There's you're $1000, spent about as well as I can figure it.

 

[bassJAM]

If you're looking between a 50 cc and 60cc I'd highly recommend going with a 60. I was in the same place 2 years ago, and decided on a 50cc Husky 550xp as my only saw. While it is hands down the best saw I've ever run, I don't like getting into larger wood with it. It will do it, but it really shines while limbing. So I picked up a 64cc Makita, and while it's much heavier, as soon as the logs get to be 8-10" in diameter I reach for the Makita. I think the 2 saw plan is about perfect, but if I were going to have only one saw it would be a pro level 60cc. The Stihl or Husky will be lighter than my Makita and better for all-around use.

But if you think you'll end up with 2 saws one day, I think a 50cc and 70cc compliment each other very nicely.

 

[TreePointer]

+1

Of the 8 saws in my current arsenal, there are four saws that get the most use, and the 60cc saw certainly is the jack of all trades.

Husqvarna 346XP (50cc, 16" .325 .050) = The saw I use most. Lightweight, quick throttle response, great balance for limbing, a hungry little bucker.

Stihl 361 (59cc, 20", 3/8 .050) = If it's larger wood, but I don't want all the weight of a Makita 7901 in a long cutting session, this is the saw I pick up. If I take only one saw to a site, this is the one.

Makita 7901 (Makita 6401 w/Dolmar 79cc top end) = If the tree is over 20" and certainly over 25", this is the saw I use. I don't have all the time I'd like to spend outdoors making firewood, so making quick work of larger logs is important. It does well with the 24" and 32" bars I have for it.

Stihl KOMBI with Power Pruner attachment = because sometimes my arms aren't long enough.

 

[Ashful]

Good post, TreePointer, but geez... he only has $1000 to spend!

A two-saw plan is great, but I disagree on the smaller saw being 50 cc. The 50cc saw is great for a homeowner who just wants one saw. A two saw plan should include a 7 - 8 lb. saw for limbing, and that puts you into the 35 cc territory. Mate that with 60 - 70 cc's, and you've got a great plan for 90% of firewood cutters.

I owned two 50 cc saws, and sold them both when I got the 036 Pro... they're just too close in weight to bother switching down from 62.5 cc to 50 cc.

Then... when you get another $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, pick up an 85 - 95 cc saw, for your three-saw plan. Now you're ready to tackle big stuff.

 

[TreePointer]

Good post, TreePointer, but geez... he only has $1000 to spend!

Heehee, I hear ya!

The point I was attempting to make was that even though I use more than one saw, a good 50cc saw gets the most use here, and a good 60cc model is about the best compromise if I could only have one saw. Could I get by without an 80cc saw? Sure, but I don't want to!

The pole saw gets used more often than I thought it would. It handles a lot of storm damage, some thicker hedge pruning, and provides some distance between me and a tree when finishing a dangerous cut (backstrap on leaner, splintered tree trunks, spring poles, etc.).

 

[tsquini]

The shindaiwa has some age on it but it is a good saw...light weight..strong...with compression release. It was 400 and that was 20 years ago.

shindaiwa and echo merged in 1997. In the USA shindaiwa is sold under the Echo brand name.

 

[skfire]

+1

Of the 8 saws in my current arsenal, there are four saws that get the most use, and the 60cc saw certainly is the jack of all trades.

Husqvarna 346XP (50cc, 16" .325 .050) = The saw I use most. Lightweight, quick throttle response, great balance for limbing, a hungry little bucker.

Stihl 361 (59cc, 20", 3/8 .050) = If it's larger wood, but I don't want all the weight of a Makita 7901 in a long cutting session, this is the saw I pick up. If I take only one saw to a site, this is the one.

plus 1 , on the 361....have the exact same set up and it makes my day...all day....my 290 is jealous....she has some miles but I still run her, even though the 361 makes hay.

Scott

 

[Cobra427]

Long day at work so I didn't get a chance to heft some saws but I am leaning towards the Stihl ms 362.

1. Sell the poulan
2. Buy a MS 362
3. Keep the Shindaiwa as a limber until it blows up

I figure with the lightweight Shindaiwa, I can limb trees pretty fast but if it ever blows up the ms 362 can do both limbing and cutting if I need it to. Going from 42cc to 59cc is going to be a jump. I just hope that the 'electronics' in that Stihl holds up. I will probably set it up with a 18" bar. The 18" shouldn't bog and I'll just do a double pass on any trees that get really big.

I would like to thank you guys for your feedback.

 

[Charles1981]

Well since you are actually harvesting trees the MS 362 sounds like a great choice.

I harvest like 2-3 trees a year on friends property but none of it is easily accessible so I wouldn't even say it factors in to play for myself, because with time, effort, and gas money to haul it all back home it becomes almost as expensive per cord (but not quite) to get it back home as I don't have a hauling trailer and only have a ford ranger. So at the least another 600-700$ investment would be necessary to haul a cord at a time.

You can easily have a 20inch bar for that 362.

As I get about 12 cords delivered a year log length right to my wood pile area I have been humping away at a orange box Echo CS400 (42cc 18inch bar). So far it has chewed up 24 cords and taken down about 9 trees (another 5-7 cords) of varying DBH (easily takes down <20, little bit of work on >26-27 inchers, really big pain on huge trees . It is still going strong after 3 years but I only heavily use it 3-4 days a year and then all the wood has been bucked.

If I were heading out, felling, and bucking trees I would want a big mamma bear and a baby bear with me for sure. And the few trees I have felled I have always wanted more than 18 inches but it isn't that important with the frequency at which I fell a tree.

As long as the echo lasts me another 6-7 years with my intermittent heavy use which is probably more classified as light use I will be satisfied and surprised. But always wishing for more power and bar length in different occasions.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

I currently run Husky 266,350,371xp,372xp all combined less than $1000 used haven't used the 266 or 350 since getting the 371. and I fill both the 371 and 372 and switch them out when they run out of gas. 2 tanks and then rest. mostly cutting on log pile.
I would vote for the 372xp.

 

[Ashful]

I currently run Husky 266,350,371xp,372xp

That is curable, you know. ;-)

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

That is curable, you know. ;-)

What would be the cure? I love cutting and splitting. Just got a splitter last year 30-40 years all by hand. Now I want to cut the wood faster to fire up the splitter.

 

[Ashful]

What would be the cure?

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

View attachment 135227

Yeah! I like stihl but have always had good luck with Husky. I just run the fuel out of them before I put them away. 2-3 pulls and up and running. Cutting side by side with guys with Stihl. I find they don't fuel up as often as I do. But being polished and ported may have something to do with that!-LOL

 

[Cobra427]

The Shindaiwa I now have is the 488. Specs are: 47.9 cc, 10.2 pounds without the bar and puts out around 3.5 HP. This saw has a 16" bar on it now. I have used it and it is a cutting machine and is very light.
So, it would make sense for me to get a saw with around 60cc. That reinforces my decision on the ms 362. I called two dealers today. One said he would have to order it (wanted $735 for it). The other dealer had one in a box (wanted $709 for his). Neither dealer could vouch for the reliability of them. The first guy said that he only sold 2 of them in the past year. The second guy wasn't even sure if he sold 1. I think I will do a little research for a bigger dealer in my area....maybe even one that has a shop out back that works on them.

 

[Cobra427]

Well since you are actually harvesting trees the MS 362 sounds like a great choice.

I harvest like 2-3 trees a year on friends property but none of it is easily accessible so I wouldn't even say it factors in to play for myself, because with time, effort, and gas money to haul it all back home it becomes almost as expensive per cord (but not quite) to get it back home as I don't have a hauling trailer and only have a ford ranger. So at the least another 600-700$ investment would be necessary to haul a cord at a time.

You can easily have a 20inch bar for that 362.

As I get about 12 cords delivered a year log length right to my wood pile area I have been humping away at a orange box Echo CS400 (42cc 18inch bar). So far it has chewed up 24 cords and taken down about 9 trees (another 5-7 cords) of varying DBH (easily takes down <20, little bit of work on >26-27 inchers, really big pain on huge trees . It is still going strong after 3 years but I only heavily use it 3-4 days a year and then all the wood has been bucked.

If I were heading out, felling, and bucking trees I would want a big mamma bear and a baby bear with me for sure. And the few trees I have felled I have always wanted more than 18 inches but it isn't that important with the frequency at which I fell a tree.

As long as the echo lasts me another 6-7 years with my intermittent heavy use which is probably more classified as light use I will be satisfied and surprised. But always wishing for more power and bar length in different occasions.

I have a ford heritage base model with only the 4.2 V6. Any kind of a load and it bogs down BUT it gets the job done. I paid 7,000 for it. I can't justify new trucks at 50k or more. Heck, there are guys who pay more for their 4 wheelers than I paid for my truck. It has an 8ft bed with good tires. I have a two axle flat bed that I tow a car with. If I was strong enough to put 4 foot logs on it, I would but as is it is useless for hauling wood unless someone loads it for me with a machine.

 

[Jon1270]

That reinforces my decision on the ms 362.

I think you'll be very happy with that decision. I've never tried a 362, but I have used several older models in the same line, i.e. the 036, MS360 and MS361, and they were all excellent machines. Keep in mind that not every 362 has the self-tuning electronics, just the 362C-M. The M at the end of the model number stands for "M-Tronic." Models without that designation have more conventional carburetors. The one that the dealer had in a box could easily be the older, non-M-Tronic version.

Since I took up fixing older saws as a hobby, I've gotten to try a lot of different models from 35 to 85cc. If I had to pare down to just two saws it would probably be a 60ish CC bucking saw and a 35ish cc lightweight limbing saw. The 70+cc models I've had (MS 460, DCS7901, 064) are great fun but they're just overkill for my needs. I burn maybe two or two and a half cords a year, all hand-split, and my wood hauler is a station wagon. The longest bar I've ever run is 24", and that cuts rounds of wood bigger than I usually care to handle or split.

 

[Ashful]

A 70cc saw would be a much better mate to that 48cc saw you have. The 36x line is a great all-around saw (I own the 036, which is the less heavy but equal hp predecessor to the 36x), but there's not so much hp difference between that and 48cc , to make it worth owning & maintaining both. Buy a 44x, if you want to keep the 48cc unit.

 

[Jon1270]

A 70cc saw would be a much better mate to that 48cc saw you have. The 36x line is a great all-around saw (I own the 036, which is the less heavy but equal hp predecessor to the 36x), but there's not so much hp difference between that and 48cc , to make it worth owning & maintaining both. Buy a 44x, if you want to keep the 48cc unit.

Wouldn't hurt to look at an MS441, or maybe a Husky 365.

 

[Ashful]

BTW... I speak from experience on this, I used to own a 49.2 cc saw when I bought my 036. I found I NEVER used that 49.2 cc saw again, after I acquired the 036 (too similar to bother swapping), so I sold it. Now I run 35cc, 63cc, 85cc. That's a nice line-up, that will handle anything under 60" diameter.

 

[bassJAM]

I can see a 50 and 60cc being very similar. There was a short time after I got my 550xp that I regretted not getting a MS360 instead, but now I'm glad. My original plan was to own just one saw, and had I got the 360 that might have happened. But now I have the excuse to pick up a 64cc Makita, and an excuse to turn that Makita into a 79cc beast!

 

[jeffesonm]

I liked all of Joful's posts to indicate my agreement, but I will copy and paste this one again anyway:

Now I run 35cc, 63cc, 85cc. That's a nice line-up, that will handle anything under 60" diameter.

I have roughly the same lineup and I think it's perfect.

The 63cc 036 w/20" bar (or 362 you're looking at) is both light enough to use without tiring quickly and powerful enough to cut through most everything you'll run into. It's nice to have a smaller saw for limbing and a bigger one to cut big trunks from one side, but the 036/20" will keep you a happy camper.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Wouldn't hurt to look at an MS441, or maybe a Husky 365.

I replaced a 290 with a 440. I probably should have gone with a 361 as they were still available at the time and I just needed enough saw to run a 25" bar. Most of the cutting I do is bucking logs and there's no better saw than the legendary MS440 for that, but when I fall a bushy Alder or Bigleaf Maple and have to wade through the mess limbing, the 440 gets very heavy.

 

[toddnic]

I know there are many recommendations on here but here is my suggestion after cutting a lot of wood.

1. Husqvarna 372xp ($800 estimate)
2. 24" bar (can go larger if needed but that gives you 48" of cutting
3. Stihl Rapid Super chain (yellow) ($40 estimate)

That setup will most likely handle anything that you will ever need to cut and you would have a little money left over for protective gear. After using both Husqvarna and Stihl saws, I really like the combination of the two. Best of both worlds!

 

[maple1]

I would also highly recommend a 2 saw setup.

40cc or so for limbing & small stuff, 60-70cc or so for the big stuff.

Sure it feels good to go all Rambo on big wood with a big saw, but it gets to be a drag pretty quick if you get into some small stuff, or a bunch of limbing. Or it does with me at least. Nice to grab a small saw & go & not tire yourself out so much.