Chainsaws

Stihl. You chose wisely. Nicely done.

Buy quality, buy once.

Echo makes some great stuff too.

But Stihl is still my chainsaw of preferrence. A decade or so and Stihl going strong.
 
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05 Blue Unlimited said:
... what everyone has said about stihl and husqv is true, they are very good saws. However, for the "occasional home use" as you describe you might want to consider Poland. It will not be able to complete head to head against them very long but the price dif...again for occasional use" will make up for it.
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Lol, I have a Wild Thing...... A Poulan with a 40 cc engine and 18" bar. It's 14 years old. Still starts & runs fine.
BTW, I run the Stihl premix gas. Already treated & mixed. Stores for a long time without spoiling or screwing up the saw carb.
 
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Johnsred, echo, husky and Poulan are all the same saw with different plastic. 20+ years ago they were different brands but now they have merged to the point that the Johnsred I have has a husky plug. Stil is a excellent saw, we had Partner's when I was cutting pulp as a kid. Partner was the child of McCaullough. Another robust saw that took a man just to lift.
 
Tree blocking the road Sunday. Used my Stihl 170 to limb it and my Husky with a 28" bar to cut the tree.
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I didn't realize that this thread was still going.

The Stihl was a great purchase. Two days after I bought it, Hurricane Irma came through with the eye about 20 miles from my house. I loaded up the Jeep with recovery gear the night before the storm. We woke up the next morning, and luckily had no damage to our house but trees and debris were all over our community.

I know a lot of you trash Facebook, but our community page was very helpful for communicating and getting help to those that needed it. I spent most of the day after the storm going from house to house sawing trees, repairing fences, and moving debris. People were extremely thankful, even offering money for our time (of course we didn't take it). The community really came together, it was nice.

I've purchased a case of the 50:1 premixed fuel that is now stored with the saw. I still have chaps and a helmet with faceguard on my list of items to buy. I would also like to get a travel case for it, so the saw, fuel, and accessories are easier to transport and not bouncing around in the back of the Jeep.
 
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OldButStillJeeping said:
Get the chaps. There's no "oops" with a chain saw.
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Oh, there's still an oops with chainsaws, but they tend to be serious, life changing oops.

On another note, anyone figured out a good way to carry a saw in a case in a TJ? Everything I've tried so far ends up being pretty awkward or takes up a lot of room in the back. 18" Stihl in a woodsman case for reference.
 
Stihl and Husky are both good saws, I have 38 yr old husky that runs like a top but it’s heavy. I bough a small Echo from Home Depot and couldn’t be happier. Starts easy, light weight, it’s great for felling smaller trees and perfect for trimming.
 
My saw wouldn't start, good spark compression and clean arrestor. I dis-assembled the carb, it looked clean, but I sprayed the passages anyway. Whoopee, ignition, but it won't idle or hold a rev. So yesterday I bought a Stihl ms170. Cute little thing, but great for light cleanup.
Then I checked on amazon and a new carb would have cost only $20. I will soon be a 2 chainsaw man.
 
I strongly recommend one learn to hand file your chain. I touch mine up every tank full so I'm never using a dull chain. The chains last longer than having them ground, I don't have to remove them, take them to a shop, and then pay them to do it. Get a box of round files and a few small flat files. Flip your bar on a regular basis, cleaning the bar groove and oil hole and inspecting for wear, burs, etc.
 
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Not sure if any of you have seen these, but a dude at work got one and it's a pretty badass chainsaw for being battery powered. I could see them being a good trail/rig saw as long as you keep a charged battery. Not too heavy and they are not all that large, no fluids to leak, I think you could mount them to a roll bar some where without any worries.

https://www.40volt.com/products/cs300-cordless-chain-saw
 
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S.McArthur said:
Not sure if any of you have seen these, but a dude at work got one and it's a pretty badass chainsaw for being battery powered. I could see them being a good trail/rig saw as long as you keep a charged battery. Not too heavy and they are not all that large, no fluids to leak, I think you could mount them to a roll bar some where without any worries.

https://www.40volt.com/products/cs300-cordless-chain-saw
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Nice find! Might go check that out.
 
STIHL!!!!! Been logging/ tree work for 20 yrs... these are all my saws in pic. If you are going for a home owner saw, stihl MS 290, or a husky 455 rancher. Bar length is dependant on the saws power ( CC ) 18" bar will be best for what i understand your use will be... happy to answer any questions you may have. My advice, buy from a saw shop, not "home depot".... if i comes in a box, no one has checked the saw before purchase.

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Ditto on buying from shop. The stihl manual is very good, but it is much better having a person cover every thing from maintenance, preferred gas including list of non ethanol locations, full tanks of gas and oil, and start up before I left the store.
 
I wouldn’t take another Poulan as a free gift. Or any other of their rebrands (craftsman, etc). Stihl is well worth the money if you want it to run when you need it. If you want a shorter bar you can buy one and use it when needed. A 20” Stihl with at 16” bar is my preferred camping saw. Plenty of power and easy to wield.
 
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