Lets talk chainsaws

Well fathers day is rolling around and the wife and baby have decided to get me a new stihl chainsaw... that I get to pick out. So the question is which one?

I would be using it to cut firewood for the wood stove that I hope to be the primary source of heat next winter with the furnace acting as a back up.

With that useage in mind I would like something with an 18" bar other than that Im not sure which models to look at and which to avoid. Any experience would be great. The budget is around $500

 

we have a stihl and like it. only thing is we wish we would have got a bigger one.

so IMHO get the next size up from what you really think you need.

 

Tough choice because they make a bunch of saws that would work just fine for ya. In my opinion though, by the best one you can afford and take care of it, and you will get many many years out of it. My father is still running an old Stihl 039 he bought over 20 years ago. He has looked at new ones, but just can't bring himself to get one because his still runs great and he likes it.

Myself, I switched over to Husqvarna. I run a 372 in the woods, and a 359 around the house. I like Stihl, but the Husqvarna's have a nicer feel to me and just scream. All personal preference though really...

Good luck!

 

get the stihl 044 or 036. it will be a firewood eating beast.

 

stihl or husqvarna

 

Looking at this one MS 290
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS290.html

 

YukonLT might be my son. I too have a Stihl 039 and have been beating it to hell for about 20 years. I have an MS 170 too and they both kick ass.

 

So im leaning towards the MS 290... that gives me options with an 16-20" bar and it still leaves some money for a case and a spare chain or two.

 

I have the MS 361 20"bar (now the ms 362). I have an outdoor woodburner and burn 8-9 chords a year. All of it cut with that saw. Zero problems with it. It's a beast

 

Hard to go wrong. I don't recall exactly what I have but it has a 16" bar and can go up to an 18" bar. I have cut some pretty large stuff with it. Starts every time. One thing to keep in mind is to not go too big if you don't really need it. The weight will really fatigue you through the course of a day. If you only need the extra from time to time, a smaller saw can get the job done. I would recommend getting files and touching up the chain every time you use it. Keeping it sharp is much easier than getting it sharp, and it's life will be greatly extended. I have had my saw for about 6 years and just put a new chain on it last year. I must have run at least 15 gallons of gas through it first. And I took the old chain, had it sharpened on the local dealers auto sharpener, and moved it to the older saw my brother uses.
The oilmatic bars are great and I would also recommend the tool-less chain adjuster.

 

Stihl hands down. It is the only saw sold only by dealers all though the others have good saws most are sold through a big box store and are built to a price. If you buy a Husky for example from a dealer it will be a better saw then a Husky from the big box if you don't believe me ask your Husqvarna dealer. Stihls are all good no cheap stuff out there they have a reputation to uphold.

 

I am definately going for a tooless chain adjuster its is a pain to do it any other way. I was thinking 18" bar which I have run before and seems like a good compromise but I want to have the option of going to a 20" bar if I find that I need that size more often. I plan on getting a smaller 12" saw eventually for dealing with limbs and small stuff once the tree is on the ground however that is probably about a year off.

 

Well went and picked the saw out yesterday. This was a nice combination of size and power. I got it with the 20" bar.

 

Good choice. I got the 290 for felling and big stuff and use the ms 250 to tote around the property for limbing. Love both. If I only had one, I'd pick the 290.

 

Also own the Stihl MS250. however, feel compelled to mention the difficulty in starting it after the first year. called my dealer (not a big box store) and spoke with service. He stated due to new governmental guidelines regarding emissions, changes were made internally to the engine, and the initial pulls should be done with the choke set at the midway level (versus full choke, which the manual recommends). this made a HUGE difference. may not apply to your new farmboss model, but something to consider

 

There is truth to this. I buy my Husky's from a local Husqvarna dealer, who happens to be a buddy of mine, and will only buy from a dealer. Lots of companies will build "lesser" machines for stores like Lowe's and Home Depot. The only one I know for a fact that doesn't, is John Deere. You get the same tractor no matter where you buy it.

 

I liked the stihl reputation and I like buying from local dealers because I always have somewhere to take it if therre is an issue. Its still new but it is the easiest to start saw I have used. I thought about the 250 but they only had the 250 C-BE and the price difference was only $30 more for the 290 I just couldnt resist the bigger saw.

 

sthil ms 200t

Its a top handle saw used by professional arborist. Always wanted one they are super lightweight and can be used with one hand.

 

Local JD dealer told me he didn't even stock parts for the "lawn" tractors that box stores carried.

 

The professional models are great but the price tag isnt. I stayed away from those because I will use mine a good deal but just not enought to pay the price tag for the pro models