What Chainsaw do you run?

My in laws had an old McCullogh, from the 50's maybe. It'd sat for many years when I went and started it...wrong saw, should have used the 20 year old Pioneer. It ran. No muffler, just an exhaust port LOUD! And a real heavyweight. I'll take my Husqvarna any day of the week. But for it to start after decades not used says a lot for their engineering and pre ethanol gas!

In those days chain break meant that the chain break-ed

 

Two Husqvarna 455’s is what I have now for felling/bucking and a 543XP for limbing and trail work.

 

Joined the Stihl Pro family this week..

 

You'll never look back.

 

Echo.
Make a poll. Lol

 

I have an Echo 620PW. But my favorite is my Dad’s 98cc Pioneer P61 with 36” bar that he bought in 1980. He used it when he was a firefighter in the Forest Service and also to get firewood.

 

I'll share my shameful secret. Year 2000 model Walmart 2150 Poulan Predator. Ran like crap right out of the box and I used it until it quit running. Last year was the come to Jesus moment for it when I decided it was gonna get a little TLC and run or get chucked in the trash. Didn't want to spend a bunch of $$ on a POS saw so I bought a Chinese hose/filter/sparkplug kit off Amazon and changed the ethanol-eaten lines to "supposed" ethanol-resistant lines.

It ran fair but I stupidly let ethanol gas with Stabil sit in it for ~ 2mths and it destroyed the Chinese lines again. I had some fuel line left over and replaced them AGAIN!! and bought non-ethanol gas, pulled the carb screen out and cleaned the gelled fuel out of it, tuned the high/low idles after watching a few YT vids and away we went. After filing my drags down a good bit it runs and cuts better than it ever did. No more ethanol fuel in my OPE--EVER!

Ashamed I am at using this green and red POS. It's like "the herp"--can't get rid of it and ashamed to talk about it. *Hangs head*

 

Husqvarna 450 Rancher

 

if it does the job, run it! herps be damned!

 

STIHL for me since the beginning:

MS290 - Purchased new 2005
MS362 - Purchased new 2013
MS440 - Purchased used 2015

They're amazing saws. I've put nearly 200 tanks through my 290 and have had to replace 1 sprocket. The 362 can do nearly everything the 440 can but the larger saw can handle 28"-32" bars and those trees much more easily.

I'm going to go cut a tree down right now just because of this thread.

 

Stihl MS250 here. Using it this weekend to get rid of half a dozen small trees.

 

Same here, MS250, Stihl canned ethanol-free high octane gas, Stihl 2 in 1 sharpener, no Coronavirus out here in the boonies. Life is good.

 

Stihl (is there anything else??) 026 Pro

 

Rhetorical question or are you looking for a reliable alternative?

 

I use the Stihl 2-in-1 sharpener, as well. I get ethanol free gas from a local station and mix my own.

 

I had a Pioneer P51 30 years ago or so. It was usable in my 20's and 30's but the thing was a brute! It weighed damn near 2x what my first Husky did (16 years). Second Husky 10 years, still in the stable. Newest Husky is sweet. Both Husky's work alongside an Echo (bleh) and an 038 Stihl (sweet too). Latest addition is a 12 inch Stihl electric for marking lengths and over sized week work (prickly ash).

 

I had someone talk up Echo pretty highly. What issues do have with yours?

 

Son in law's first echo...the oil pump quit. It also lubricated the main crank(?), so it was $100 less than a new saw for repair. The new saw lost it's chain catcher (if chain runs off the bar), but the one from the old saw fit. Just not as taken with them as the Husky and Stihl. When bucking a lot of wood it's nice to just grab a sharp saw, unless you need a break...then you can sharpen for 5 minutes.