Thread: Which brand of chainsaw??

i find that the huskies outboard clutch can be a pita when changing chains.

have a look at shindaiwa have 2- 757 and they are the most reliable saws ive had . including stihl husky echo etc . recomend them , but the 757 are the biggest they make wich is 72cc or 5.5hp so if you need bigger not a lot of choice. safe cutting bob

I have owned at least 30 maybe 40 chainsaws mainly Stihls but some echoes huskies and a few odd bods. I have found the cheap Stihls as 019, 021, 023, 025, are no better than any other cheap saw they just cost more but the good Stihls last really well 010, 026, 044, 066, 084, 088. I ran this lot for many years. I didn't like Huskies up trees because in difficult positions they were hard to start as high compression but on ground great. Stihl have been copying Huskvana design for years they are the same shape now, soon they will have the same air flow system.
Sorry the model numbers are out dated, like me.

The vibration getting to your hands is the most important thing. I had a very cheap Macullic? once and used it every day besides falling to bits a lot I had to uncurl my fingers in the morning + tennis elbow. So make sure it has good AV.

Well to revive an old thread....

I've havn't owned many saws but I've used a few on farms and with the DSE and in my opionion it is the question of which is the best brand of anything to get is no longer the right question to ask.

The reason for this is that modern manufactoring is so fluid. Mercs used to be noted for their superior build quality but a new CEOs cost cutting strategies have shot that to pieces yet the brand is still widely associated with superior quality.

What goes for cars is also true of tools and everything else. The reputation that Stihl and Huskie have for their saws is well earned but when buying one today you need to check out how the last model went. Before rushing out and buying the latest new bute model of anything I'd always let a few others get them and read the reviews of how they went.

When it comes to chainsaws in particular when I bought my first saw two years ago (before that I had only used Stihls) I did a stack of research. The stihls seemed over priced compared to comparable Huskies and I liked the design of the air filtering system. One of the other bragging points of the huskies was their superior power to weight ratio. Which led me to an Echo 5100 which has an even better power to weight ratio but what sold me on it was the 5 year garuntee vs the 2 year huskie one.

Since then I've bought a huskie 575xp and I've found it to be harder to start and generally much less reliable than the Echo. The only time I've had trouble starting my Echo was when I've forgotten to turn it on.

Having said that I would never say the Echo is the best chainsaw brand. The 5100 is an excellent saw in my opinion and from my experience has outperformed other brands of saw I have used in its class but its oldest brother is crap (hence my purchase of the Huskie).

In conclusion if you buy by brand rather than by model you could be paying a premium for the name and be getting a saw that will underperform. At the same time you could miss out on a cheaper and superior alternative.

Power to Weight, ease of starting, overall reliability, and air filtering, are only some aspects of saw purchase.

Even if we can believe what manufacturers say about their power claims, power alone is not the only factor that affects cutting things like iron bark, white mahogony and stringy bark. The high power rating could be in such a narrow band as to be less effective than a lesser powered saw with more torque. Factors like power to weight ratio have to be considered against other things like reliability and longevity. Some users need raw power and don't worry all that much much about weight and vice versa, and some need torque ahead of power.

Overall reliability is a no brainer but becomes more important for professional users and maybe less so for home users where cost becomes a major factor.

Air filtering becomes more of an issue in certain types of wood and prolonged use.

Some other aspects are; vibration, noise, overall longevity of the saw, ease of self service, requirement for special tools for servicing, distance to your nearest service/parts centre, the overall level of service at that service centre, long term availability of spare parts, and if you move around, the geographical distribution of service centres.

Everyone has a different priority list for these and other factors and nobody can experience all of these factors for every saw which is why reviews have to be taken with a few grains of salt and the viewpoints of individual owners will either be limited or have a vested interest and will always have a natural bias.

Having just found and read this thread I'm a little relieved to say the least that Husky is still considered a choice selection. I bought a [something something]XP last year and have had nothing but trouble with the thing since day one, and funnily enough it's currently on its way into town right now to get looked at again.

From the second I got it home it's always been an absolute mongrel to start (and now it won't) and quite often refuses to do more than idle. It's been tuned and is still using the same, correct, fuel mix from that time and yet has become nothing more than another item for dust to settle on in my shed. This is after a little more than 1 hour of work with it.

Here's hoping I just happend to get a dud unit, or worse case scenario, the dealer I got it from and serviced with are maybe not as flash as I originally thought.

you will always be lemons no matter what brand of machine you buy.

Originally Posted by RedShirtGuy

..........It's been tuned and is still using the same, correct, fuel mix from that time................

How old is the fuel mix? Standard unleaded fuel is only good for 28 days from manufacture, it starts to go off after that. The smaller the motor the more this will have a negative effect and I believe it's worse when there's 2 stroke oil mixed in.

Mick

Ahh that's an interesting point Mick. At the time the fuel mix was probably only a month or so old, but as you pointed out, it's still the same mix now (months later) so it might be worth dumping and trying again fresh when I get the saw back.

Originally Posted by RedShirtGuy

Ahh that's an interesting point Mick. At the time the fuel mix was probably only a month or so old, but as you pointed out, it's still the same mix now (months later) so it might be worth dumping and trying again fresh when I get the saw back.

DEFINITELY!

This is THE number 1 problem I see with saws.

Not only dump the old mix but also rinse out the fuel tank on the before putting in new mix. Then when you start it, let it warm up and give it a good long run in some wood.

I have heard about this fuel thing but being a chemist I find it hard to believe. If some of the additives broke down it may affect the octane rating. The other thing that could happen is the petrol evaporates and leaves excess free radical scavergers behind which could stop it from burning or make it burn slowly. This happened with a petrol tanker that rolled and caught fire it burnt the top side off the tank and left a trough full of petrol (which could no longer burn) which people put in their cars then got a few hundred meters and stopped.
A friend had outboard motor two stroke mix a year old and asked me what to do with it (a servo wouldn't take it) I said give it to me I mixed it 50:50 with new fuel added 100:1 2 stroke oil at 70:1 and used it in my chainsaws. I was running out of fuel on a job and the owner gave me some 5 year old 2 stroke mix I poured it into my gerry can (which contained some fuel) added a bit more oil and no problems either time.

Originally Posted by glenn k

I have heard about this fuel thing but being a chemist I find it hard to believe. If some of the additives broke down it may affect the octane rating. The other thing that could happen is the petrol evaporates and leaves excess free radical scavergers behind which could stop it from burning or make it burn slowly. This happened with a petrol tanker that rolled and caught fire it burnt the top side off the tank and left a trough full of petrol (which could no longer burn) which people put in their cars then got a few hundred meters and stopped.
A friend had outboard motor two stroke mix a year old and asked me what to do with it (a servo wouldn't take it) I said give it to me I mixed it 50:50 with new fuel added 100:1 2 stroke oil at 70:1 and used it in my chainsaws. I was running out of fuel on a job and the owner gave me some 5 year old 2 stroke mix I poured it into my gerry can (which contained some fuel) added a bit more oil and no problems either time.

The extent of the staleness depends on whole bunch of stuff. The quality of the 2 stroke oil, the additives in the particular 2 stroke oil used, the temperature the mix was held at over that time, and the amount of air above the fuel. Your old fuel was probably stored in a fullish container at a cool temperature and use quality 2 stroke lube.

From the gas FAQ at www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/part3/ just discusses the petrol component

8.6 What is "stale" fuel, and should I use it?
"Stale" fuel is caused by improper storage, and usually smells sour. The gasoline has been allowed to get warm, thus catalysing olefin decomposition reactions, and perhaps also losing volatile material in unsealed containers. Such fuel will tend to rapidly form gums, and will usually have a significant reduction in octane rating. The fuel can be used by blending with twice the volume of new gasoline, but the blended fuel should be used immediately, otherwise teh old fuel will catalyse rapid decomposition of the new, resulting in even larger quantities of stale fuel. Some stale fuels can drop
several octane numbers, so be generous with the dilution.

Note the bit about chucking out the old stuff if it is not used immediately since it catalyses the breakdown of the new stuff quicker than usual.

The problem is compounded with two stroke mix because the 2 stroke lube additives in the oil catalyse the olefin decomp as well as them being broken down down as well and this stuff up clean burning and scavenging etc.

I put unused old mix in my subaru wagon at the petrol station and then top up immediately with fresh fuel.

Originally Posted by BobL

Everyone has a different priority list for these and other factors and nobody can experience all of these factors for every saw which is why reviews have to be taken with a few grains of salt and the viewpoints of individual owners will either be limited or have a vested interest and will always have a natural bias.

Yep which was my greater point. I really like my Echo but it may not be suitable for your need and further to that the echos that are produced this month might not be what they where a year ago. Reviews help but when it comes down to it your the one that needs to make the decision. Anyone who buys a chainsaw on brand alone is displaying the same attitude and gullability as their wife who may particularly buy Prada, Versaci or Pumpkin Patch.

I've always used old two stroke in the four stroke mower, other than a bit of smoke on start up it seems to run cleanly enough. On saws my use is just firewood, had a Husky for years and like an idiot grabbed the wrong can and put in straight unleaded, despite realising when it started to sound funny, it died totally a few uses later. These days its a well used farm boss which cuts like butter and just keeps giving.