i use nothing but Husqvarna, all 3 brands are good, and easy to start cold ,but the echo and sthil can be difficult to restart warm,my husky never has been ..i would get a 50CC, anything over that and the weight gets too much with a 20 " bar,anything smaller than 50CC. needs more power and weighs almost the same as a 50CC..Full chisel chain works great only in green wood,dulls quick in hard wood, or dirty wood, i have to cut every thing so i only use semi-chisel chain ,buy in quanity off e-bay or amazon..FYI the husky 350,450,550 ,gets rave reviews online,..
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Lets Talk Chainsaws
- Thread starter jbolt
- Start date
- Joined
- May 10, 2012
- Messages
- 995
As far as I know, the only brands that make profesional grade saws anymore are Husqvarna and Stihl. I recently bought a new Husqvarna 16" saw. It's light, but it's not as powerful as the 16" saws that I grew up with. We used Homelite XL and Super XL saws for loging and woodcutting (these were the old blue, all metal saws, not the newer homeowner saws) and they were much more powerful than the Husqrarna I bought. For what I need it for it will be fine, but If I had it to do over again I would buy a bigger saw. If you want, I have a couple of old McCouloughs and a plastic Homelite you could come and get. You will have to work on them for a few hours every time you want to use them and then wear your arm out cranking them. That's why I bought a new one 
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Messages
- 880
Definitely go with 50+cc as eastokie said - anything less and you're going to be struggling with hardwood.
I'm not a big fan of Husqvarna; I have an 18" and it gives me lots of trouble. Borrowed a neighbor's Stihl to get through a particularly troublesome oak, and was impressed. I'll probably be buying a Stihl next year.
I'm not a big fan of Husqvarna; I have an 18" and it gives me lots of trouble. Borrowed a neighbor's Stihl to get through a particularly troublesome oak, and was impressed. I'll probably be buying a Stihl next year.
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2013
- Messages
- 4,615
This does not apply to the OPs question about large trees but FYI- I recently bought a Stihl ELECTRIC saw for my dad who is older and cannot pull-start a saw. The thing is amazing for small trees. It will easily cut an 8" tree and it is great for smaller firewood stuff. The battery life is excellent, its clean, and there is no problem getting it to start (even when cold!). If you need a small utility saw I would check these out. They are not cheap but there are cheaper brands.
Robert
Robert
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
- Messages
- 539
Last weekend we had a chance to try out the Milwaukee M18 Electric chainsaw at hunting camp. I gotta admit, it handled some pretty large oaks and maples [blow downs] No noise, exhaust, or pull starting, and no cans of oil/gas to carry around. Battery lasted about an hour [cutting time] in 35 degree temps. Thing cut good - I was impressed. Wouldn't rely on it as a main saw, but as a secondary, yup.....$400.00 price tag tho.
My personal brand is Stihl - has been for over 25 years - 3 saws total. I swear by em'!
My personal brand is Stihl - has been for over 25 years - 3 saws total. I swear by em'!
- Joined
- May 4, 2015
- Messages
- 3,583
How often do you use the saw s ,?? I would guess it sits for months or the gas is old for starts , next have they been serviced , fuel lines turn gummy and collapse , diaphragms will get hard or gummy if old . Fuel filters in tank clog , . I would try the Stihl can gas to run it and clean the system it's high octane and cleaners developed by Stihl is amazingly good at its purpose. Without seeing the saws it's the best I can do .
Yes that is what the dealer told me. Non ethanol fuel. Once you do that they start and run. Need to crank every so often and run.
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