Need a small chain saw......

[TJ1]

Always having issues with my Huskie 435 and it is close to 8 years old. Not going to sink anymore money into it.

Need a saw with a 16 inch bar and weighing roughly 10 pounds, lighter is better. Main use is for bucking small to medium white oak. Already own a Stihl 441 with a 25 inch bar so the big stuff is covered. Been looking at a Stihl 251 Wood Boss but am open to all suggestions.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Always having issues with my Huskie 435 and it is close to 8 years old. Not going to sink anymore money into it.

Need a saw with a 16 inch bar and weighing roughly 10 pounds, lighter is better. Main use is for bucking small to medium white oak. Already own a Stihl 441 with a 25 inch bar so the big stuff is covered. Been looking at a Stihl 251 Wood Boss but am open to all suggestions.

Consider Dolmar PS-421. Small(ish), comes with 16" bar. 10.8 lbs. Yet professional grade and oh so powerful.

 

[Giles]

Always having issues with my Huskie 435 and it is close to 8 years old. Not going to sink anymore money into it.

Need a saw with a 16 inch bar and weighing roughly 10 pounds, lighter is better. Main use is for bucking small to medium white oak. Already own a Stihl 441 with a 25 inch bar so the big stuff is covered. Been looking at a Stihl 251 Wood Boss but am open to all suggestions.

Shoot me a private message--I am in NW Alabama and have a few.

 

[TJ1]

Not interested in traveling to buy a used saw. If you are a dealer selling new stuff then your price has to be worthwhile me driving at least 210 miles round trip. What do you sell?

 

[Tar12]

I would check to see if there is even a Dolmar dealer in your area first as service is important. You can't find them around here or at least I have never seen them. And before you start hollering Dolmar hater...I am sure they are a good saw but I don't want any hassle if I need something for my saw. Stihl dealers are everywhere.

 

[TJ1]

We have a Dolmar dealer within a couple of miles of the Stihl dealer. I will swing by and see what they have and how much less expensive they are compared to a Stihl.

 

[TreePointer]

I'd go for the highest horsepower 50cc saw that's within my budget. There are some at 11 lbs. and just under. Slap a 16" bar and some nice full chisel chain on it, and you'll smile.

 

[velvetfoot]

How are the Echos they sell at Home Depot?

 

[StihlKicking]

261


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[sportbikerider78]

How are the Echos they sell at Home Depot?

I've cut over 8 cord with mine. Zero issues. Typical Japanese reliability. Always starts...fouled a plug once...set me back $2.36.

I have this one.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-18-in-40-2cc-Gas-Chainsaw-CS-400-18/100675470

 

[woodhog73]

Cant go wrong with a Dolmar 421. German made pro saw. 42 cc and about $350 bucks. Your not gonna find another 40cc class saw this good for $350. You could spend $500 on a pro Stihl 241 but it has nothing on a 421.

If you decide to jump to a 50cc check out a Husky 545 or it's sister saw Jonsered 2252. They are great deals in the 50cc pro saw class at about $100 bucks less than a 550, 2253, 261 etc.

Here's mine. 2 days cutting in the rain. I think I need to clean it. I had a Jred 2172 and Sthil 661 with me but never used them. 4 very large oak trees no sweat for this little 50cc. But it's not stock. Ported, polished, pop up piston, muffler mod. Cuts like a 60cc but weighs like a 50cc

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

My 421, one of the best purchases I made.

 

[jeff_t]

261

I was going to buy a new PS-421, but then I ran across a lightly used m-tronic 261 for $400. It's way more saw, with the same advertised powerhead weight. And m-tronic sure is nice.

 

[woodhog73]

I was going to buy a new PS-421, but then I ran across a lightly used m-tronic 261 for $400. It's way more saw, with the same advertised powerhead weight. And m-tronic sure is nice.

The power to weight on the 421 is probably the one main negative to it. It's only 42cc and weighs similar to a 50cc saw. It's got a cat in the muffler that's where the weight is. Remove the cat if doing a muffler mod and it will be lighter than a 50cc saw. But it's a small size saw in your hands which is what you would expect for a 40cc class saw.

It's a lot of saw for $350. Compared to the $350 stihl 251 wood boss it's a large eye opener when looked at side by side. Looks like you got a good deal on a barely used 261. But new prices are a different story. Lots of advertising, marketing , etc built into the price of a new Stihl saw.

I recently bought a new Stihl 661 and agree love the Mtronic. That's another negative to the 421 it's not an auto adjust carb. But some people might prefer that I guess.

To the OP let us know what you decide and if you ended up looking at the 421 as you mentioned in one of your posts

 

[Tar12]

I am running a pair of 260 Pros and 3/8 full chisel...they flat cut some wood

 

[Jazzberry]

The coolest small saw is a Stihl 020 or ms200 in a top handle or rear handle. Nothing else comes near them. They aren't cheap though.

 

[TJ1]

Decided to stay with a max bar size of 16 but a 14 is my first choice. Already own a 18 and a 25. If I buy another saw it needs to be smaller than my 435

 

[Sean McGillicuddy]

I run a 14" or 16" bar on my Husky 142 with out any problems!

 

[jetsam]

How are the Echos they sell at Home Depot?

My little saw is a 35cc Echo, and it has been outstanding so far. Mod the muffler, tune the carb, and it's a zippy little saw. Very light, enough power to cut big oak if you're patient.

My big saw is a Dolmar 64cc, has also been awesome so far. It has a lot more grunt than the echo, but with almost twice the displacement I would expect that!

 

[TJ1]

Life threw me a curve. After thinking all the issues with my 435 were solved it crapped out of me again. I finally solved it by putting it in the back yard and shooting it, putting both me and it out of it's misery.
So now I need the "middle" saw again. My first choice is an Echo CS-490. Great reviews, seems to be a pro built saw with the magnesium case and lighter weight. Should take care of 75% of my cutting duties. Since we just finished cutting up about 40-45 logs to get a 4 year supply of wood I should not be cutting more than 2 cords a year from here on out.

 

[Tar12]

Life threw me a curve. After thinking all the issues with my 435 were solved it crapped out of me again. I finally solved it by putting it in the back yard and shooting it, putting both me and it out of it's misery.
So now I need the "middle" saw again. My first choice is an Echo CS-490. Great reviews, seems to be a pro built saw with the magnesium case and lighter weight. Should take care of 75% of my cutting duties. Since we just finished cutting up about 40-45 logs to get a 4 year supply of wood I should not be cutting more than 2 cords a year from here on out.

I think this saw will serve you well...my part time woodcutting buddy has this same saw and he has no problems running all day with it..I have ran it some and it appears to be a well built saw and very responsive throttle...even more so after we took the limiters off and retuned...the High and Low screws are hiding behind the pull rope handle...combined with the muffler mod I was impressed with it.

 

[woodhog73]

Life threw me a curve. After thinking all the issues with my 435 were solved it crapped out of me again. I finally solved it by putting it in the back yard and shooting it

You should have taken a video of you shooting the saw that would have been awesome to watch.

Don't know anything about echo saws but I've read lots of good stuff on them. Plus their weed whips and blowers get used a lot by lawn care companies because of the quality and performance. So I'm guessing their saws are just as high quality. And that model uses a vertically split magnesium case which will definitely hold up to heavy cutting and abuse better than a plastic clamshell saw like the 251 you were looking at. No doubt about that in my mind.

I would ditch the low kickback safety chain that comes with it though. All saws 55cc and under by law are fitted with low kick back chain. I'm guessing it's fitted with .325 chain ? If it were me I would put a loop of Oregon LPX in .325 on that saw. Some might suggest running 3/8 on it but if your going to be trimming small stuff like buckthorn and what not the .325 is smoother and less grabby. Just my opinion.

 

[TJ1]

Plan is to buy some of that exact chain. Found them for $15 shipped on Ebay. Contacted 3 local Echo dealers here today and none would match Home Depots price after my military discount so its off to HD I go.

 

[jetsam]

You should have taken a video of you shooting the saw that would have been awesome to watch.

Depends. I like watching videos of people shooting engine blocks with .22s since they tend to spang right off in random directions, and of course .50 and up for entertainment value. Anything in between is meh.

 

[D8Chumley]

Video would've been awesome