What Chainsaw do you run?

My cousin (owner/operator of a tree care company) has one in his saw bag, when I was working with him I used it quite a bit and it worked well for me, he typically doesn't sharpen chains as by his calculations it cost him more to sharpen a chain then to replace it. he keeps his used chains and sharpens them when he makes time but he would rather spend his home time with his wife and kids vs sharpening a chain.

 

I run and use 3 diff saws. Only because I inherited 2 from my great father-in law (now passed on). All Stihls: 310 20inch, 021 16inch, and a 170 14 inch. All run great and I would be hard to convince any other brand would be better.
As a note: all seem to have their own starting quirks (not bad), once you know your saw they should always start the same depending on how cold or warm the saw is on initial start-up. I would think this should be the same for any brand of saw as long as you keep the air filter breathing well. Just remember if you are seeing excessive dust in your filter you are probably (trying to) cut with a dull chain. You might as well try to "piss up a rope" and you are wasting time to say nothing of overheating your bar. The overheating of the bar is evident if you see any "bluing" of the steel anywhere on the bar

 

I have a husky 350 that I have had since 2002 and I beat the ever living piss out of it every year, not sure how or why it still works. I also have a stihl 028 that was given to me, that thing is heavy and impossible to start. I need a new saw but not sure what to get, I want something that will run a 24" bar if needed so I can give my 350 a break once in a while. I want a commercial/professional saw but need to do some research, maybe get a used jonsered 2071 or something like that.

 

I've been trying to resurrect a older Stihl 038 AV Super. Hadn't run in hyears, but some gas in the plug hole...ran it out. Gas in the carb throat...ran it out. Starts on the first pull after it's run a bit. Just put a new intake manifold and impulse line on it...same problem. A carb kit is on the way. It's like the diaphram doesn't pull fuel into the carb on start. After it's had a little run it will pull fuel. The diaphram was a little crunchy sounding. If the kit doesn't fix it it's worth an aftermarket carb for such a good saw.

It will make a 4th saw for 2 farms to work with. 1 Echo, Husky 365 SP, new Husky 365 and the Stihl. Only 2 of us cutting at a time.

 

My Dad came up with a method for starting his Stihl, which is also hard to pull/start. Cut yourself a piece of wood on which you can put your weight to trap and stabilize the saw to the ground. Works really well. Sorry, I don't have a pic this evening, but it's a simple concept you could make work many ways.
His is shaped like this (works on either side depending on preference/dominant hand):

 

Stihl MS250 with 18" blade. Doesn't get heavy use, but it's taken down several trees and cleaned up a lot of limbs & debris. I do keep it in the back of my truck during hunting season as there are often downed trees on the forest roads that I frequent. Had a freak snow storm one October that downed a lot of Alders along the edge of the road. I had to slowly cut my way out for about 2 miles.

 

^^I also run a Stihl MS250 with 18" bar. Great for firewood and trees across the road. Nice and light for brushing.

 

I got that Stihl running! Intake manifold, impulse line, carb kit. 2 pulls on full choke (don't wait for a fire) then high idle choke until it fires, then "run" and it goes every time so far.

I learned a bunch I didn't know before. An echo, husky and stihl all with Oregon bars...we'll just put a 24" on the Stihl. No we won't! The slot for mounting to the power head are different from each other. Stihl mounting studs have a shoulder on them, the bar slot is widest. Husky is narrower, Echo is narrowest...no bars are interchangable. I've only ever dealt with one brand of saw at a time in the past (almost 40 years cutting my firewood), so this never came up before.

Now the only problem is the Stihl leaks bar oil when it sits between uses. First world problem, I know. Not much oil in total, but messy. I need to check out videos on oil pump replacement. And need to decide on bar/chain size for the Stihl...24 like the other saws, or stay with the 18? Probably better see how it works before spending more money on it. Total investment so far: $35 parts, $45 shipping parts.

Ralph

 

18" is fine...no need to run a bigger one, might bog it down too much is my only thought. Get a chainsaw case, then any oil just leaks in the case

 

Husqvarna and Stihl. Inherited the Husky and bought the Stihl before the Husky came into my life. Both real fine saws.

 

Stihl 290, 271, 041. Also have a pro grade 026 with the lightweight engine block (magnesium?).

 

The only problem running the 18" bar on the Stihl is most of the son in laws wood is over 20" diameter...up to 30 sometimes.

And that's 2/3rds of the wood I cut in a year.

 

Dad killed his MS170 today, set it on the track of the skid steer and then forgot and moved the skid steer.
He wanted to replace it anyway and will be going to check out a 261 tomorrow.

 

Broke in my new MS 461 today, ran the first four tanks of fuel through her.
Opted to go with the 32” bar.

 

I have a Poulan that I got from my dad. It's probably about 50 years old. I used it last week to cut off some fence posts and cut up some landscape timbers to put in the trash.

 

I've got a little Stihl MS251 w/ a 18" bar that i've given a good workout at our ranch in TX. I don't cut any big trees with it, but it does a great job w/ small oaks and cedar. I keep 3 chains and swap them out as needed. I will say I don't waste my time shappening the chains, as its only a few bucks to have my local shop do it.

This would also be a great saw for the average do it yourself guy, or to throw in the bed of your truck for a trail saw. Compact and lightweight.

 

I have a MS361 that I picked up used back in 2014. Runs great. I wouldn't mind picking up another Stihl in a smaller model to run a 16'' bar.

 

I have an Echo CS400 with an 18" bar, it's been reliable for a number of years. I got a DeWalt cordless chainsaw with a 12" bar during the summer, I've just used it for some trimming but it is way handy.

 

MS271 with a 20" bar. Works great for my needs!

 

STIHL MS360 for felling and sectioning, STIHL MS280 for bucking and limbing.