Chainsaw Recommendations

[Jo D]

Purchasing a chainsaw for my husband. We are not professionals, just homeowners who have some smaller trees to cut down (after the tree guys cut the big ones down) and want something that will last and be useful. Hurricanes come through plenty so we could always fins ourselves cutting something unplanned. It will probably see action a few times a year. We are looking at an 18 inch which is more than we need right now, but want to be prepared if we need bigger. We are looking to spend around 400and the following have come into play. Stihl Farm Boss MS 271 (recommended by my yard guy and what we think we want to go with) and then a Husqvarna 440 rancher by the guy at Tractor supply (which seemed cheap in comparison) or Jonsered CS 2245. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Jo D]

Im looking up the Echo 310 now. I am only finding it with a 14' bar and we were really wanting an 18". We do have several 10" diameter trees that need to come down. Maybe I looking in the wrong places? Do you buy local? Per your profile you arent to far from me. I am impressed by the 5 yr warranty.

 

[jeff9366]

Gas powered chainsaws are dangerous, especially for occasional uses.

Consider a Stihl battery powered chainsaw. Light, no starting issues if batteries charged, less chain momentum when trigger released. No stale gasoline.

T-B-N ARCHIVE: battery electric chainsaw site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[jeff9366]

Im looking up the Echo 310 now. I am only finding it with a 14' bar and we were really wanting an 18".

If the saw engine is not powerful enough a longer bar does little or nothing. The extra chain friction of the longer bar will either slow or stop the chain in the wood. A slow moving chain cuts very inefficiently and potentially bucks the saw. Small saws are very sensitive to bar length.

 

[Jo D]

He specifically doesnt want electric or battery. We have had both before. He knows how to handle a chainsaw, Yes I stated homeowners but not because I was referring to basic office dude homeowner trying something way beyond himself, more so just to state that we dont need something for logging or clearing forests every day 10 hours a day. Looking for something with more power that the Battery operated ones. I imagine chainsaw would be like any other gas powered tool, lawn mower, generator and you empty during periods of extendeded non use or during off season, but im sure my husband would know better then me on the off season stuff.

 

[Jo D]

If the saw engine is not powerful enough a longer bar does little or nothing. The extra chain friction of the longer bar will either slow or stop the chain in the wood. A slow moving chain cuts very inefficiently and potentially bucks the saw. Small saws are very sensitive to bar length.

Thank You for that information. It makes complete sense and is quite logical.

 

[kenmbz]

I love my Echo CS-490 so far, and the 310 sounds like it would fit your needs at much lower cost than the stihl.
Remember to drain gas when not using for a while and use good bar oil and it will last many years.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I have used several brands over my long life. The Husky 440 is a great saw, highly recommend. For small stuff put a 16" bar on it; it will zip through a 4" tree in one second. On small trees the long bars get unwieldy. I once had 5 Huskys when I had a firewood business. Their arm over professional line arborist saw is great for smaller stuff, light weight and handy. Comes with a 14" bar.

Ron

 

[Jo D]

bringing it back around to the original question, we are looking at 3 makes/models right now. Stihl Farm Boss MS 271, Husqvarna 440 rancher or Jonsered CS 2245. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We are leaning towards the Stihl. I dont know if these models are actually comparable to each other or if Im comparing apples to grapes rather than apples to apples

 

[Egon]

The saws will come in different use levels. Husky has four series as I致e seen at a local dealer. The price deffinetly varies as the grade increases.

Longer bars will present more inertia and are more difficult to handle. ( when limbing felled trees the longer bars can reach farther and can hit your lower extremities. When using the longer bars fully engaged with wood you may have to reduce the rate of cutting to keep the saw rpm痴 up. Two bar lengths may be advisable using the long one only when needed. The chains come in different versions too. Some help reduce kickback, others will cut faster and some are made for ripping. They will come in different widths too. At the Dealer ask lots of questions to get it all explained to your satisfaction.

And most Important; keep the chain sharp!! Many will touch up the chain after one or two gas tanks are used.

Also note: The bar length is not fixed by what you see on the saw. Different lengths are usually available for the major brands. What is important is the bar slot width and for the chains matching the saw sprocket to the chain.

 

[Jo D]

I love my Echo CS-490 so far, and the 310 sounds like it would fit your needs at much lower cost than the stihl.
Remember to drain gas when not using for a while and use good bar oil and it will last many years.

Thank You, yes we definitely know to empty gas, and I know he was looking onto the bar oil yesterday

 

[Jo D]

The saws will come in different use levels. Husky has four series as I’ve seen at a local dealer. The price deffinetly varies as the grade increases.

Longer bars will present more inertia and are more difficult to handle. ( when limbing felled trees the longer bars can reach farther and can hit your lower extremities. When using the longer bars fully engaged with wood you may have to reduce the rate of cutting to keep the saw rpm’s up. Two bar lengths may be advisable using the long one only when needed. The chains come in different versions too. Some help reduce kickback, others will cut faster and some are made for ripping. They will come in different widths too. At the Dealer ask lots of questions to get it all explained to your satisfaction.

And most Important; keep the chain sharp!! Many will touch up the chain after one or two gas tanks are used.

Your information is definitely appreciated. I wish I knew of a reputable dealer near me. They all seem to focus on one major brand or the other. Hence my joining here to get recommendations, suggestions and information from experienced users. I do like the idea of 2 bars. I really hadnt thought of that prior

 

[old and tired]

I prefer Stihl but you pay extra for the name. I lived in Raleigh during Fran in 96'... had to cut up 40+ trees that sat under flood waters. Had to change chains 3 times during the day and sharpen the chains at night for the next day. That was with a Stihl 028... bought my wife and "easy start" professional Stihl 193CE; I quit using the 028 (had no reason to pick up a big saw when all I needed was light weight stuff). That is a great little saw...

Fast forward to today, I use EGO 56 volt chainsaw, yes electric but more than capable... I still have the other two saws, after not being able to start them (left gas in them) I replace both carburetors and put them on a shelf, ready if I need them again. Problem was for small tasks, I was using a bow saw or hand saws to cut up the little stuff that you run into weekly. It was not worth gassing up the big saws to do a little bit of cutting. Electric saw are great these days... much better engineered and I have 4 batteries and I would be worn out before the saw ran out of batteries... (I know you are not interested in electric now... pretty sure you will some day).

I cut down a 18" Leyland Cypress and limbed it all up (40 feet) and the neighbor didn't even hear the electric chainsaw.

 

[happysawer]

A really cheap but fairly good for the money chainsaw with 18" bar is the PoulanPro $169 i had one but when it had a problem i did not want to bother fixing, i looked at another brand, i was advised by my dealers service man a good friend of mine to buy a STHIL 211 it's a homeowner type chainsaw and if you watch many online video's it can do a lot even fell pretty large trees.

But there is a lot of small items that moving up to a Farm&Ranch have the 211 don't have, that said i again looked at the Farm&Ranch also i started looking at STHILs Pro. line of saws, and noticed the STHIL MS 261 C and MS 261 C-M it's "almost" the same saw as the Farm&Ranch same 50cc engines but around 4 pounds less weight then the Farm&Ranch it's housing is magnenium the Farm&Ranch housing a non metal material, the downside is it is $300 higher in cost over the Farm&Ranch.

I again went and bought the STHIL MS 261 C-M it has a processor to control with fuel and air Temp. if i had not wanted this i could just bought the MS 261 C, what i have found the MS 261 C-M is a much easer saw to get started even not using it's DeComp device then the 211 and with it's adjustable chain Lub system the 211 does not have this along with two bar locking nuts the 211 has just onei feel both are worth having.

I kept the 211 as a backup saw but am using the MS 261 C-M as my major chainsaw, do i think paying the extra $300 more for it over the Farm&Ranch was a good idea yes i do, but you might disagree,sure nothing wrong with the Farm&Ranch but an extra 4 pounds of weight means something to my old body.

I sure don't want to give you more to read i just don't want you to make the same mistakes i made, and my dealer also sells the Echo's there also top line chain saws they don't sell Husky's also a really top line chainsaw so don't rule them out just do your homework before buying.

 

[Toyboy]

First and foremost is the brand that has the best dealer support in your area. Without that you'll be left scrambling trying to find parts and service when needed.

My first choice of YOUR choices is the Stihl, followed by Echo and Husky. I have 4 Stihl ranging from 015 to 038 Magnum and 2 Husky's , a 51 and 372XP. If it were me, I'd avoid the J-red because I believe they are going away being discontinued.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[Jo D]

I prefer Stihl but you pay extra for the name. I lived in Raleigh during Fran in 96'... had to cut up 40+ trees that sat under flood waters. Had to change chains 3 times during the day and sharpen the chains at night for the next day. That was with a Stihl 028... bought my wife and "easy start" professional Stihl 193CE; I quit using the 028 (had no reason to pick up a big saw when all I needed was light weight stuff). That is a great little saw...

Fast forward to today, I use EGO 56 volt chainsaw, yes electric but more than capable... I still have the other two saws, after not being able to start them (left gas in them) I replace both carburetors and put them on a shelf, ready if I need them again. Problem was for small tasks, I was using a bow saw or hand saws to cut up the little stuff that you run into weekly. It was not worth gassing up the big saws to do a little bit of cutting. Electric saw are great these days... much better engineered and I have 4 batteries and I would be worn out before the saw ran out of batteries... (I know you are not interested in electric now... pretty sure you will some day).

I cut down a 18" Leyland Cypress and limbed it all up (40 feet) and the neighbor didn't even hear the electric chainsaw.

Thank You! I will for sure look up the Stihl you mentioned, and re visit electric with the hubby. just his experience and that of almost everyone we have spoken to they burn up faster. We have a battery saw, not sure on brand, because even from day one, it died so fast, brand new fully charged batteries.

 

[Jo D]

A really cheap but fairly good for the money chainsaw with 18" bar is the PoulanPro $169 i had one but when it had a problem i did not want to bother fixing, i looked at another brand, i was advised by my dealers service man a good friend of mine to buy a STHIL 211 it's a homeowner type chainsaw and if you watch many online video's it can do a lot even fell pretty large trees.

But there is a lot of small items that moving up to a Farm&Ranch have the 211 don't have, that said i again looked at the Farm&Ranch also i started looking at STHILs Pro. line of saws, and noticed the STHIL MS 261 C and MS 261 C-M it's "almost" the same saw as the Farm&Ranch same 50cc engines but around 4 pounds less weight then the Farm&Ranch it's housing is magnenium the Farm&Ranch housing a non metal material, the downside is it is $300 higher in cost over the Farm&Ranch.

I again went and bought the STHIL MS 261 C-M it has a processor to control with fuel and air Temp. if i had not wanted this i could just bought the MS 261 C, what i have found the MS 261 C-M is a much easer saw to get started even not using it's DeComp device then the 211 and with it's adjustable chain Lub system the 211 does not have this along with two bar locking nuts the 211 has just onei feel both are worth having.

I kept the 211 as a backup saw but am using the MS 261 C-M as my major chainsaw, do i think paying the extra $300 more for it over the Farm&Ranch was a good idea yes i do, but you might disagree,sure nothing wrong with the Farm&Ranch but an extra 4 pounds of weight means something to my old body.

I sure don't want to give you more to read i just don't want you to make the same mistakes i made, and my dealer also sells the Echo's there also top line chain saws they don't sell Husky's also a really top line chainsaw so don't rule them out just do your homework before buying.

I seriously appreciate all the info, dont mind the read at all. This is why I am here. For knowledge and experience. I will be researching the ones you mentioned.

 

[Jo D]

First and foremost is the brand that has the best dealer support in your area. Without that you'll be left scrambling trying to find parts and service when needed.

My first choice of YOUR choices is the Stihl, followed by Echo and Husky. I have 4 Stihl ranging from 015 to 038 Magnum and 2 Husky's , a 51 and 372XP. If it were me, I'd avoid the J-red because I believe they are going away being discontinued.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Your thoughts are spot on. Unfortunately from what have seen I dont have a whole lot of dealer support in the area. Locally (under 40 miles) I have Stihl sold by one local Saw and mower shop, he does repairs to the best of my knowledge, and then Tractor Supply. They dont sell Stihl but sell parts and are authorized repair. They push the Husqvarna as the major brand they sell. I can go about an hour away and have ACE hardware that sells Stihl and I believe repair. However to me none of these places makes me think great dealer support. You put in your thoughts of my choices, but Highlighted that they in order of my choices. Is there something you recommend that I havent looked into?

 

[savageactor7]

For a gas powered I've been happy with all of my gas powered Stihls and Huskeys. The only thing I would insist on is a screw on gas cap. NOT a snapfit twist one....what a goat screw they are.

I have one on my stihl pole saw and fight with the gas cap constantly.


...as an aside I was in WM last month and they had a 10" battery powered saw for $59. I grabbed one not expecting too much but I am extremely impressed with battery saws for occasional trimming projects esp in elevated or tight spaces. The simple ON/OFF operation makes these projects so much easier and safer.

As always when using chainsaws remember to let the chain do the cutting and not to horse it and you'll do fine.