McCulloch 18" Easger Beaver chainsaw, any comments?

[colsmith]

Hello, our local Menards has on sale for the next week a McCulloch 18" Eager Beaver gas chain saw for $129. Says it features a 42cc 2-cycle engine with sprocket tip bar that increases the RPM of the chain and decreases bar wear. I will give it a gander when I am at Menards this afternoon. I was figuring some of you might have some comments on it, good or bad. I was wondering if that was a reasonable machine for non-professionals at a good price. We know we need to get a gas chainsaw sometime. So far we haven't NEEDED one, but we had to pass up a tree on the next street we could have gone after otherwise. The electric one was purchased years ago when we only had a fireplace that we didn't use much. [I bought it myself for our wedding anniversary present.]

Two problems I have with our electric one, besides needing to be within 100 feet of an outlet: 1) the vibration is hard on my hands (carpal tunnel and ulnar nerve problems from my computer years) and 2) to push the oil button I practically have to let go of the trigger button you need to push all the time or it turns off. Am thinking of inventing a Lady Lumberjack line of chainsaws where the buttons are closer together for our delicate fingers. Hubby thus does most of the chainsawing and I am the lovely assistant.

 

[sedanman]

For fifty dollars more you can get a Stihl MS-170, a real chainsaw that you can get parts and service for. McCulloch is NOT the company they once were, they are now a chinese company wringing the last little bit out of the once pround name that was McCulloch. NOW JUNK. You asked for opinions, I gave you mine.

 

[ourhouse]

The eager beaver will probably work fine if you don't cut a lot of wood. Some other saws to look at would be is the Husky 340 or the 350. The Stihl 230 or 250 are some other choices. The problem with the Mcculloch is if you have trouble with it you may not be able to get it fixed. If you buy a Husky or a Stihl from a dealer NOT a big box store and have a problem with it, they can fix it and help you out. Hope this helps
John

 

[Roospike]

Agreed , agreed , agreed.

What happens with cheap tools is as you are thinking you are saving money buying this item for less money and as it breaks down and or needs fixed/upgraded often and ends up just not working any more you just ended up needing a new tool and are now into the tool for more money than the better tool was in the first place.

Now this can and will be different if one is buying as stated a cheaper chainsaw and just using it to clean up a few branches in the yard or cut up a fallen tree but with todays cheaper chainsaw are not made to be yearly fire wood cutting.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Husquevarna or Stihl, period. I personally like the Husquevarna because it's all metric and the local dealer here is awesome. I once shared a home with a guy who did chainsaw carving. He said he's had all the saws and would never own anything but a Stihl now. Hope this helps. 18" bar is a little small in my opinion.

-Kevin

 

[sedanman]

wrenchmonster, Ever heard of Dolmar, or RedMax, or Shindaiwa? All make good great chainsaws. Dolmar power and quality rival Stihl and Husqvarna. When discussing a 42 cc chainsaw an 18" is probably too much. It kills me to see a company sell a chainsaw by advertising the lenght of the bar like a saw that says 18" on the side cover is better than one that says 16" on it, nonsense. I several chainsaws and my 42 cc saw has a 12" bar on it, 50 cc has 16" 60cc has 18" and my 79 cc saw has a 20". I have more bars and chain and all of the saws can and do use longer bars when the conditions call for it but for the most part the shortest bar is more manageable. Generally you can cut wood that is twice the diameter of the length of the bar. How many folks are cutting 36" firewood? For the more advanced with right skills it is possible to fell a tree that is 3 times in diameter as the lenght of the bar. Bar lenght is the least important feature when choosing a saw. Parts, service, power, and quality are more important. All that aside, I do own a Poulan WildThing, it was given to me and I use it to cut new tractors out of the shipping crates. I would never spend more than $10 to fix it and I am a power equipment dealer so I get parts cheap and don't pay for labor.

 

[kevinmoelk]

wrenchmonster, Ever heard of Dolmar, or RedMax, or Shindaiwa? All make good great chainsaws. Dolmar power and quality rival Stihl and Husqvarna. When discussing a 42 cc chainsaw an 18" is probably too much. It kills me to see a company sell a chainsaw by advertising the lenght of the bar like a saw that says 18" on the side cover is better than one that says 16" on it, nonsense. I several chainsaws and my 42 cc saw has a 12" bar on it, 50 cc has 16" 60cc has 18" and my 79 cc saw has a 20". I have more bars and chain and all of the saws can and do use longer bars when the conditions call for it but for the most part the shortest bar is more manageable. Generally you can cut wood that is twice the diameter of the length of the bar. How many folks are cutting 36" firewood? For the more advanced with right skills it is possible to fell a tree that is 3 times in diameter as the lenght of the bar. Bar lenght is the least important feature when choosing a saw. Parts, service, power, and quality are more important. All that aside, I do own a Poulan WildThing, it was given to me and I use it to cut new tractors out of the shipping crates. I would never spend more than $10 to fix it and I am a power equipment dealer so I get parts cheap and don't pay for labor.

No I have not heard of any of those makers, so I can neither confirm or dispute your comments on those saws. I am aware that you can change bars on saws, but the fact is most people don't. Sometimes you are not in a position to rotate around a log all the way, so I personally find a little longer bar beneficial. Merely my preference, you can choose to take it or leave it.

Parts and service are very important. And at least in my town I don't see any Dolmar, RedMax, or Shindaiwa dealers in the phone book.

-Kevin

 

[sedanman]

Keep in mind, I am not trying to pick a fight with anyone, I just wanted to point out that there is more out there than Stihl and Husqvarna. Having a good local dealer is important. You seem to agree on this, which supports the arguement to stay away from the disposeable saws, McCulloch, Homelite, and Poulan. Note: there is a Poulan Pro line that isn't entirely terrible and there actually are servicing dealers out there for the line. On the more abscure brands, there's Solo, Effco and Oleo-Mac formerly Olympic. If you had a local dealer for these brands thay would be good choices.

 

[ourhouse]

There are other saws then HUSKY and STIHL??

 

[johnsopi]

I had craftman before I had a need to cut wood. It worked for trimming. When I cleared my lot it wore out fast and now is at the dump. I wish I had just gotten a good saw smaller to begin with. I now have ms310 which is great, but I could have had a good big one and a good small one.

 

[colsmith]

I knew you guys would have helpful opinions, thanks! And not much in the way of conflicting opinions, which helps even more. See, I recognized the McCulloch name myself, and hubby said they were a good brand. But he is probably remembering something from long ago. We didn't know they had turned Chinese. Yes, we expect to cut wood for many years, so would want one that could be repaired as needed. The funny thing is I first heard of Husqvarna as a maker of sewing machines, so that is what I often think of when I see that name.

Re: the comment that a 42cc shouldn't have an 18" bar, they have another version of the Eager Beaver that was also an 18" with a 35cc engine! We have a 14" Craftsman electric chainsaw now, haven't had any trouble with it yet. Have run it for maybe 20-25 hours total in its lifetime. We did manage to cut some huge trunk parts of a storm downed tree with it last year by doing cuts from various sides. We eventually had to stop cutting up that tree since the pieces were so big we eventually couldn't pick them up to take them home, and it didn't split wet at all. But the diameter was so huge we didn't want to cut really short pieces, or we would have been there a few more days. So I guess our chainsaw hasn't been too small yet. Just scored big on craigslist with firewood from 6 moderate sized trees, in a city yard, so the gas chainsaw not urgent yet. Some heavy kind of maple trees, a locust, and dare I say, one elm. But could cut that into rounds if need be. Will focus on the other trees first.

What is this with "wood heats you twice", seems to be at least 4 times. Loading the truck, unloading the truck, cutting and splitting, then burning.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Don't waste your money on a Mac. It's day has come and gone and now it's just consumer, price-point junk.

Hard to go wrong with a Husqvarna, Stihl or Jonsereds, especially if you buy one from a servicing dealer. The other brands mentioned are good as well, particularly if you know what you're looking for.

A chain saw is a specialized, dangerous tool and IMO it pays to pay a little more for a machine that you're basically going to be trusting life and limb to.

 

[babalu87]

If your not using a Jonsereds your a fool.

There I said it and now feel better because of it.

Oh, if you have a woodstove that isnt named Morso the same applies

Wrenchmonster, you've never heard of Jonsered?????????
18" bar small?
Erics dad makes a living cutting trees down (and on those YOOOGE book royalties) , what size bar is it again Eric?

 

[Eric Johnson]

13 inches.

My last royalty check (the second one this year) was $33. Thanks babs!

 

[babalu87]

AWESOME!

I did cut down an oak that will hold about a cord of wood yesterday and I was wishing I had about a 24" bar.
Man those things can scuff up a chain quick.

 

[Roospike]

"Currently the Jonsered and Husqvarna saws are almost identicle, model for model. The only differences are top and side covers and of course the colors. Internal parts are not only the same, they actually have the same part numbers. The only other notable difference is the angle of the top handles. Also, you do notice a difference when picking up a 372 and a 2171. The 2171 tank has a slightly thicker and rounder rear handle which is more comfortable.

This wasn't always the case. Saws such as the 2054 and 2083, along with some others, were actually Partner designs and there were no Husky versions of those models. As time passed however, and each new family of saws came out, they were shared by both Jonsered and Husky. So far there are no Jonsered versions of the 455/460 or 570/575 saws. The Jonsered version of the 346xp, the 2147, is not imported to the US.

Is one better quality than the other? Not really. The Jonsered side cover has more air openings, and they sit up higher. Theoretically, it should be drawing in cleaner air but the difference is too small to be important. "Turbo" and "Air Injection" are just different names for the same thing.

Pricing, costs on Jonsered are usually about $10 to $15 higher than Husky.

Take a close look at the Husqvarna 353/2152, they are closer to the 2054, and a better design - the Husqvarna 353 is probably the cheapest pro quality saw out there.....

The Husky 55 and Partner 540 are basically the same saws as the 2054."

 

[Eric Johnson]

My favorite dealer is switching from Husqvarna to Jonsereds because he feels betrayed by Husky's decision to market some of its saws through the big box outlets. He did say, as per Roo, that the only saw that Husky has in its lineup that Jonsereds doesn't is the 346xp.

 

[suematteva]

I knew you guys would have helpful opinions, thanks! And not much in the way of conflicting opinions, which helps even more. See, I recognized the McCulloch name myself, and hubby said they were a good brand. But he is probably remembering something from long ago. We didn't know they had turned Chinese. Yes, we expect to cut wood for many years, so would want one that could be repaired as needed. The funny thing is I first heard of Husqvarna as a maker of sewing machines, so that is what I often think of when I see that name.

Re: the comment that a 42cc shouldn't have an 18" bar, they have another version of the Eager Beaver that was also an 18" with a 35cc engine! We have a 14" Craftsman electric chainsaw now, haven't had any trouble with it yet. Have run it for maybe 20-25 hours total in its lifetime. We did manage to cut some huge trunk parts of a storm downed tree with it last year by doing cuts from various sides. We eventually had to stop cutting up that tree since the pieces were so big we eventually couldn't pick them up to take them home, and it didn't split wet at all. But the diameter was so huge we didn't want to cut really short pieces, or we would have been there a few more days. So I guess our chainsaw hasn't been too small yet. Just scored big on craigslist with firewood from 6 moderate sized trees, in a city yard, so the gas chainsaw not urgent yet. Some heavy kind of maple trees, a locust, and dare I say, one elm. But could cut that into rounds if need be. Will focus on the other trees first.

What is this with "wood heats you twice", seems to be at least 4 times. Loading the truck, unloading the truck, cutting and splitting, then burning.

At one time they were the same company...the Husky sewing machines are quality units...Didn't they change the name?

 

[Sandor]

I certainly do like Eager Beavers, but not the saws!

Sorry. Could not resist.

 

[ourhouse]

My favorite dealer is switching from Husqvarna to Jonsereds because he feels betrayed by Husky's decision to market some of its saws through the big box outlets. He did say, as per Roo, that the only saw that Husky has in its lineup that Jonsereds doesn't is the 346xp.

I had 2 before and had a lot of trouble with them.