chain saw size

[kjsnooks]

Hi everyone. :D

Im looking at buying my first chainsaw (ive always borrowed one for the limited jobs i need to do) and im wondering if a 45cc husqvarna would be big enough to cut 5-8 cords of wood a year with out straining the saw? I currently have an opportunity to pick one up new for around 225-250 but have been told its a little small to routinely cut that much.
Thanks for any help you can offer!

Jacob

 

[Gibbonboy]

A smaller saw will be fine, it will just be slower to cut, generally. A larger saw motor not only allows you to have a longer bar, but also to cut faster with the same size bar. Just remember, if your bar is never too short, it's always too long. I downsized the bar on my 346, it really screams with a 16" bar. It works fine with the 18", but I'm happy with the shorter bar for 90% of my cutting. I also have an old Homelite with a 24" bar and chain in case I get a larger tree, or need a second saw. I cut wood for a couple years with my $199 Husky 141 from Lowes. The saw did fine, still runs perfectly, but it just takes longer. Make sure you get some real safety training as well, even if you're sure you know what you're doing. Look around for Game of Logging or some other logging safety classes, it's well worth the investment to save your own or someone else's life.

 

[MrGriz]

5 - 8 cords of wood per year is a fair amount of cutting. What model Husky are you looking at? Also, what type and size of wood are you primarily cutting? If you're cutting smaller trees and / or soft wood, you're needs are likely different than if you're cutting mostly mature hardwood.

Don't forget to leave some $$ in the budget for PPE (safety equipment). For about $100.00 you should be able to buy a hard hat with ear protection and a face screen, chainsaw chaps or pants and a good pair of gloves.

 

[babalu87]

(broken link removed)

Another buck for Eric.
I think his dad uses something like a 13" bar for much of his cutting.
Keep it in the powerband, a 16" bar will cut a BIG tree

 

[buildingmaint]

I have a STIHL 290 and have had no problems with it. I have two friends who cut way more then me 5- 6 cords a year and they have had no problems with theirs either. One is going on 10 years old now and all he does is routine maintenance. I asked him if he ever did any thing with his spark plug and he said never. Mine has a 16" bar and with a sharp chain it rips. They have 18" bars and I think their saws labor more then mine does.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree. We cut with a Stihl 290 with a 16" bar. It will cut almost anything you wish to tackle unless you are looking at something humongous.

One thought on bar length. While a longer bar will require more power, it also might mean less bending! I have a neighbor who uses a 20" bar just so he won't have to bend so much while cutting up the limbs. Personally, I also hate bending as it causes much pain in the back. We usually cut the limbs and any small stuff into buzz lengths, place them on a sawbuck and then cut...without bending. I leave the bending to the wife

 

[TresK3]

Another concern is weight. A bigger saw weighs more. You'll get tired out sooner. It will be harder to control. Your foot will turn warm and wet and red.

What is "Game of Logging?" Is this something on-line? I'm very safety conscious ("Be safe... or die") and always willing to learn more.

 

[BrotherBart]

You are probably looking at the Husky 345. It should be plenty of saw for the firewood you want to cut. I have two of its little brothers, 142's, and they get the job done just fine with sharp chains. The 345 at ten and a half pound weighs the same as the 142 with a third more power.

Since I got the 142's Old Yaller is getting lonely on the shelf. 23 pounds. Sheesh.

 

[pearsall]

I use a Husky 350 with an 18" bar to cut around 5-6 cords per year. I would not go any smaller than this. A smaller saw is lighter, but if you are using it primarily for firewood you can get something a bit heavier. If you are trimming trees and cutting brush go for something lighter. Remember that most of the cutting you will be doing is into a horizontal log where you won't really be holding the full weight of the saw.

And get some chaps and a helmet . It is well worth the $100.

 

[11 Bravo]

Stihl 310 for me, 18" bar, using chipper chains on it and goes through the oak and maple like a hot knife through butter. Highly recommended for 6 cords a year.

 

[Eric Johnson]

"Game of Logging" is a professional training program for loggers, tree service people and others who make their living with a chain saw. It was developed by a Swede named Soren Eriksson, who came over here in the late '80s and basically changed the logging worker safety and productivity landscape forever. There are still landowner-oriented Game of Logging seminars put on around the country. They're usually put on in conjunction with state forest landowner associations, who sometimes offset the (somewhat steep) fees involved. But in any event, it's a small price to pay for life and limb.

Essentially, they teach you safe and productive working skills and then test you on them. There are several skill levels that people work to attain. I think the basic class takes about a day, but you can spend a lot more time than that practicing and perfecting your skills.

Well worth the time and expense, IMO, if you can find one to attend in your area.

 

[DavidV]

I was looking at that saw and a Stihl 290 until my current saw fell into my lap (figuratively thank God.) If you take care of it you will have no problem cutting that much wood. and you will love the saw.

 

[elkimmeg]

Jacob is not a wealthy member here, so his question is to make a wise decision with as little funds as possible

I can tell him about my $600 saw but that s does no god at all If this a fair price for the Husky he is thinking about purchasing..
Will it get the job done abit maybe a bit slower. Personally I don't know the line up or the competition competitors.

Because every dollar not spent Means so much , what about Echo brand?or make a good budget suggestions?

 

[MrGriz]

If the budget is the biggest concern, it's hard to beat the ex Home Depot rental saws. They are good quality saws to begin with and they are usually well maintained. Rental and repair records are available so you can check out the history of the saw. Hard to go wrong for $150.00 and sometimes they even throw in a few extras.

 

[TheFlame]

I own several saws.

Husqvarna 346xp
Echo cs-346
Echo cs-670

If I could only have one saw, and I was cutting 6 cords of decent sized tree wood a year, without a doubt I would take the CS-670.

Sure, it weighs a ton, but it gets the job done fast and easy. Just lay it on the log and hold the throttle down. I've had the 24" bar buried in a log and it just pulls right through. For all around use I'd recommend a 20" bar, since the 24" increases your risk of kickback if you're working around other logs.

I love the other two saws as well, but ever since I bought the CS-670 I find myself barely using the Husky, since the Echo does the same work in much less time. For the lighter work like limbing you can't beat the CS-346. It seems like I'm always cutting some logs that are bigger than 16" anymore which makes the Husky with its 16" bar more work to use.

I really wish I'd of ponied up the extra cash for a Husqvarna 372xp when they were selling them out. The CS-670 is a really great saw for the money though.

 

[kjsnooks]

Thanks for the info guys, as to the wood im cutting it will be pine mostly, I was told by the local shop that the husqvarna 340, and 345 were to small so i thought i would run that by you guys. It sounds like they would work it would just be slower. In the end a friend offere to let me use his husqvarna 460 wich will be wonderful. Hes is even thinking about coming with me(a body attached to that saw! Cant beat that) And my father in law is letting me use his saw. The thing with it is that it is 28 yrs old! Its a Home Lite super xl. A few questions about it. It has a button to pump for the bar oil, do i need to do this continously or only in hard cuts? Also any way to tell the motor size? And lastly oil mixture for it. I asked him all these things when i picked it up today and he cant remember! Dont ask me how he has been mixing his oil or who did it for him. But it sounds like between the good graces of my friend and my pa in law i wont have to buy one this year and next year money wont be so bad so i can get one that will work very well for a long time.
Thanks for all your help im very very impressed with this forum and how quickly you good folks respond.

 

[DavidV]

Jacob you sound like you are in a similar situation that I was a few years back. Cash was very tight. Hurricane was ono the way so I bought the last saw in the store. a $119 14 inch poulan. I cut abouut 8 cords of wood a year wiith it for the next 3 years. Last year I got a new to me Huskvarna and it is quite a beast but I still use that poulan. it runs like a champ. I've put 3 new chains on it and one new bar.
The biggest concern I would have about that old homelite is if it has an inertial brake. Probablly not annd I do not think I would reccomend a new saw user (or any other user) using a saw without an ineretial brake. now that I've said that, let me contradict myself.
I don't even know if my poulan has one. If you decide to use the saw....it's a hefty thing and pretty powerful so you need to read up on some safety and be damned careful. Never do what my brother in law did with my saw. he was cutting wiith one hand. don't know what the hell he was thinking. He didn't kill himself but I almost puked when I saw it.

 

[kjsnooks]

wow one hand... good thing his gaurdian angel did not go on vacation! As for the saw I probably will use it to cut the logs into 16" blocks here at home. Up in the trees Brian is bringing his saw. He has a husqvarna 460 i believe. And i have talked to him about using his for that to when he gets all his wood in for the year. (his is a large two family affair it takes a cpl weeks) As for your training someone mentioned "games of logging" I cant find it anyone know where i can pick it up? Is it a dvd book or pamphlet? And the answer is unfotunatly no it does not have the chain brake, makes me nervous thats why im just using it to block i have more control over the environment(i can make sure nothing else is in the way, not cutting at odd angles and things such as that) not saying its totally safe but better than falling trees in the hills with it. Glad to hear about the poulons we have them here to but i was unsure about them. You are right they are cheap, i plan on getting two loads this month and may very well pick one up for my next load. David you seem to know about the homelite i have. Do you know by chance the cc's? And also im going to mix the oil 50:1 does that sound right? My father in law had no clue and the local husky shop recomened that but thought i would check what you guys had to say.

 

[JMF1]

I too have a 14" poulan.........not a bad saw for the $$. I've since bought a Husky 455 which seems to do well but is heavier so I regularly use the poulan for smaller stuff. Just keep the chain sharp, don't lean on it much, and take care of it and you'll get your $120 worth and then some. Mine is 5yrs old and still like new!

 

[Gooserider]

I have a Poulan Woodsman, 36cc engine, came with a 16" bar, and never cut all that well. I found elsewhere on this site the recomendation that you should use a bar length that is the same in inches as 1/3 to 1/4 the CC rating of the saw. On my Woodsman, this translated to 12", and I find the saw cuts MUCH better with the shorter bar - it does better burying the 12" bar than the 16" bar did with an 8" round.

Another note is that you can get Retrofit chain brakes for Poulan saws, at least it fit mine, and there were lots of other models listed - I found the part on E-bay, it was around $20, and IMHO is well worth it. The retrofit is a replacement chain cover with the brake mechanism built into it. I had to take the chain tensioner screw out of the old cover and move it over to the new one, and take the old hand guard off, as it is replaced by the manual trip on the brake. Works great in testing, haven't seen if it works "for real" and don't want to - I figure if you trip the brake while cutting you made a mistake...

Game of Logging is a class as I understand it, you have to go there and do the hands on thing, which I think is sort of vital for this kind of learning, books and videos help, but they only go so far. I don't know if there is "official" non-live training stuff available from them, but you can find some info on the techniques - try looking for "Swedish Logging Method" I haven't had any formal training in it, but even the little I've read has really improved my felling ability - I feel much more confident about being able to put a tree down where I want it (w/in limits)

As to your chainsaw, I'd go with the 50:1 ratio, or possibly a 30:1 - the old saws were intended for use with a richer mix than modern saws are, but todays oils are better. What I use, and think is worth the extra expense, is the little "one-shot" bottles that are designed to be mixed w/ a gallon of gas. Easy, reasonably foolproof, and give you about the right amount for casual use where you'll burn it up before it goes bad. I also look for the bottles that are clearly marked "includes fuel preservative" - I think it is vital for any gas that will be sitting for very long given the crap that the oil co's are pumping these days.

For the manual oiler, what I used to do (years back, and not using a saw all that much) was give it one stroke just before starting a cut, and then another stroke every 3-5 seconds while cutting. Until you get used to it, check your oil level often - when you are doing it right, you should have about a teaspoon of oil left in the tank when you run out of gas - just enough so that you know you didn't run out of oil first.

Good luck and work safe...

Gooserider

 

[BrotherBart]

The gospel according to BB says that if you don't know the factory recommended ratio for the fuel mix then use the 32:1 mix that was the norm for years until the saw makers had to start tweaking the saws and mix for emissions regulation.

I have actually seen an ex Husky engineer's conversations online somewhere where they were given the task of coming up with the most watered down mix that would still allow the saw to make it out of warranty before it would crater.