Talk me out of a 460 Rancher

[NibbanaFarm]

I have a Husqvarna 445 X-TORQ with 16" and 20" bars. First day I brought it home and used it I left it in the shed overnight. The next morning there was a pool of oil under the saw. Happened a couple more times so I returned it to the dealer. He kept it about 2 months, returned it to me and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. But no more oil leak. According to YT there is a known problem with Husq chainsaws where the oil tube becomes detached and the oil leaks out. There are some good videos on fixing this problem. No big deal but it isn't a quick fix. Besides this problem the saw came from the dealer very lean. It would frequently die when releasing the throttle quickly from under load. After I learned how easy it was to remove the plastic limiters and adjust the mixture properly it has run excellently. Probably been using it for a good 10 years now and love the saw. It doesn't have a lot of power but that doesn't really bother me as I'm not in such a hurry anymore.

I cut up a few blow downs and take down a few trees a year for firewood. I built an Alaskan sawmill last year for fun and sawed some spruce but probably won't do a lot of that as there are local sawmills. So I don't do a lot of chainsaw work and don't need a super high power top of the line saw. My 20" bar is just a little too small for some of the trees I have. (For example I have a dead Ash that I want to take down that is right about 20" BHD. And I had a huge 24"+ American Basswood blow down in a storm a few weeks ago.) Am considering the Husqvarna 460 Rancher with a 24" bar available at TractorSupply for $600.

I'm a little gun shy about the oil leak problem but can fix it if they haven't corrected this. I very much like that the saw is easy to tune. It's not an Autotune model. I don't want to have to take a saw to the shop, wait for weeks and pay hundreds of dollars to get an adjustment or repair because I don't have a lot of knowledge of microelectronics or special training. That would bother me. It wouldn't surprise me if my 445 lasts another 20 years with no trips to a dealer. I also need a compression release and won't buy a saw without one.

Your thoughts? Chime in please.

Nibbana

 

[Hay Dude]

Stihl 391 or 362?

 

[oldnslo]

Can you simply purchase a 24” bar for your current 445? May be a little slow but you stated not in a rush anyway. I have an old rancher 51 that I did this for and it gets the hob done for occasional larger tree.

 

[sea2summit]

I don’t know how many saws I’ve been around in my life, all of them have leaked over time of left in storage with oil. Husky is having some pretty good sales on a lot of their farm/ranch saws right now which is interesting. If you want a 460 this is probably a good time to buy.

If you plan to do any real milling I’d go to a pro grade saw though. Better filters and components for the heat and environment.

 

[Rustyiron]

If you're only on a couple of acres and don't make firewood, a farm and ranch saw will probably do.
I don't think the "reputation" of the big top 2 (stihl & husky) carry too far over into their HD, TSC retail line.
Buying a "pro" saw even tho your not a logger or professional arborist definitely has advantages in terms of longevity, reparability, and dependability.
ECHO has a very good lineup that I think are far superior to these big 2 homeowner offerings. They also have a very good warranty. (that I've never needed)
The worst thing to do is buy a too small (cc's) to begin with. Disregard how long of a bar you can buy to fit it. Displacement matters and for chainsaw milling, even more so. My 2 newest saws are 50 and 60cc's to fill in under my 70cc 044 Stihl. That strangely has gotten heavier in the 20+ years that I've had it.
Both of my new saws are Echo. The cs 490 is light and a great little limbing saw but I discovered that there's a better "pro" option that I was unaware of. I don't recall the number/model. $300 +/-
My 60cc is a cs 620p, this is the pro edition of the 590 Timberwolf. $600 out the door about 2 years ago. It's got some chit with it and even the cs hot rodders both stihl and husky don't have any bad words other than a couple of extra ounces of weight and a few hundred less rpm's.
Check this out on YouTube, that's where I did my homework.

 

[RandyT]

I don’t know how many saws I’ve been around in my life, all of them have leaked over time of left in storage with oil. Husky is having some pretty good sales on a lot of their farm/ranch saws right now which is interesting. If you want a 460 this is probably a good time to buy.

If you plan to do any real milling I’d go to a pro grade saw though. Better filters and components for the heat and environment.

You are correct. They all leak. Poulan, Husqvarna, Stihl, Solo, Dolmar/Makita. Owned them all and after setting in storage for a couple months the oil tanks on all of them will be empty. Husqvarna/Poulan seems to be the worst, but several factors plague all of the saws. It is a combination of were the oil pump stops which can allow oil to bypass the pump and then the heating and cooling cycles of the storage area coupled with the one way vent valve on the oil tank of most saws. Some of the Husqvarna/Poulan saws have a plastic tube that connects behind the bar and then runs up next to the filler cap. Sometimes they can get dislodged and leak if turned on their side, or in some cases the tip of that tube will end up in the bottom of the tank instead of the top and basically siphon the oil out of the tank.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have several Stihl and Husqvarna chainsaws. It might of been because I used the cheapest unleaded gas that I could buy at the gas station and mixed my own fuel, but both of those brands have always given me issues when starting them. I really didn't have any issues with power while using them, but the bigger saws where heavy.

I had an Echo gas weed eater that I loved before my wife gave me a cordless Makita weedeater that I like a lot better. I've had both my Stihl and Husqvarna saws in the repair shops multiple times because they would get to the point that I couldn't get them to start. Stihl has it's own repair shop that doesn't do other brands, and the Husqvarna guy doesn't like Stihl. In my opinion, they are both odd and difficult to deal with, but they always fixed the saws for a fair price. Back in last Spring, they both died again. The Stihl has a 20 inch bar, the Husqvarna has a 24 inch bar. Summer came and it was just too hot to deal with cutting rounds for firewood, so I waited until Fall.

I bought a Echo 590 from Home Depot for $400. I just looked at their website and it's $419 right now. It starts super easy, it's lighter then my other brands by a significant amount, but it feels like it has more power then the other brands. In hind site, I should never of bought Stihl or Husqvarna. Compared to this Echo, they are not in the same league. Having said that, I will admit to buying the $30 a gallon premixed Husqvarna gasoline for it, and that might be the big difference. I've only used the premixed fuel for it. I've also changed to only using Non Ethanol gas for all my small engines with noticeable results.

I highly recommend the Echo 590. I have the other two brands, and they are OK, but they are not what I will buy in the future, or recommend to anybody else.

 

[aesanders]

Echo 590 is a superior saw to the rancher 460. 620p is the step up. Husky and Stihl make better saws, but you will pay for them. If making a living off the saw, then go Stihl or Husky, but around the farm or home, it’s hard to beat the Echo.

 

[xyz123]

IMO dont do any of the plastic cased saws 455 460 or stihl 391.

Look at the Echo 590 or it's hotter cousin in 620.
They are built way better with mag cases and bolt on cylinders etc.
Prob both cheaper then those plastic saws too.

 

[xyz123]

Echo 620 shows decomp in ad. I couldnt remember of they had them. 100 times the saw of 460 391 CS-620P | ECHO-USA.com

 

[xyz123]

Even cheaper echo 590 cousin just hair over 400 has decomp. Still way better saw then the plastic ones. CS-590 Timber Wolf | ECHO-USA.com

 

[Skeletor]

I’m a bit of a chainsaw freak. I have stihl and husqvarna. I have several pro saws and one not pro saw at this point. First off decide what your budget is. If money is no object at all get a ported 500i. I have one and it’s totally insane but I realize that’s not for everyone. If I could only keep one of my other saws it would be the 562xp. That’s a great all around saw it can run a 20” bar pretty well and it’s not heavy. I’ve used lotta saws I started with a 455 rancher. wasn’t a bad saw but I got all into the pro saws. There’s cheaper nice saws but im Not sure your budget.

I like both brands but the one thing that bothers me about stihl is how dirty the air filters get compared to my husky’s.currently i Have194t,200t,543xp,346xpne,262xp,562xp,jonsered 2066, stihl 066 and the ported 500i.

 

[jyoutz]

If you're only on a couple of acres and don't make firewood, a farm and ranch saw will probably do.
I don't think the "reputation" of the big top 2 (stihl & husky) carry too far over into their HD, TSC retail line.
Buying a "pro" saw even tho your not a logger or professional arborist definitely has advantages in terms of longevity, reparability, and dependability.
ECHO has a very good lineup that I think are far superior to these big 2 homeowner offerings. They also have a very good warranty. (that I've never needed)
The worst thing to do is buy a too small (cc's) to begin with. Disregard how long of a bar you can buy to fit it. Displacement matters and for chainsaw milling, even more so. My 2 newest saws are 50 and 60cc's to fill in under my 70cc 044 Stihl. That strangely has gotten heavier in the 20+ years that I've had it.
Both of my new saws are Echo. The cs 490 is light and a great little limbing saw but I discovered that there's a better "pro" option that I was unaware of. I don't recall the number/model. $300 +/-
My 60cc is a cs 620p, this is the pro edition of the 590 Timberwolf. $600 out the door about 2 years ago. It's got some chit with it and even the cs hot rodders both stihl and husky don't have any bad words other than a couple of extra ounces of weight and a few hundred less rpm's.
Check this out on YouTube, that's where I did my homework.

Agree. I’ve had a Stihl 038 pro saw for about 25 years and it still runs great.

 

[arto98607]

If I understood correctly, the OP does not want a chainsaw with "microelectronics", so that pretty well eliminates 500i, "the first ever chainsaw on the worldwide market with electronically controlled fuel injection" - according to Stihl.

I agree with OP, no autotune or computerized chainsaws for me ever, and will stick with ones where I can manually tune L & H jets.

 

[sea2summit]

I have several Stihl and Husqvarna chainsaws. It might of been because I used the cheapest unleaded gas that I could buy at the gas station and mixed my own fuel, but both of those brands have always given me issues when starting them. I really didn't have any issues with power while using them, but the bigger saws where heavy.

I’m sorry but this is completely unhelpful. There are many grades and sizes of saw with those two brands. You’re basically saying “I had cars and I didn’t like them so I got a Honda civic.”

 

[sea2summit]

If I understood correctly, the OP does not want a chainsaw with "microelectronics", so that pretty well eliminates 500i, "the first ever chainsaw on the worldwide market with electronically controlled fuel injection" - according to Stihl.

I agree with him, no autotune or computerized chainsaws for me ever, and will stick with ones where I can manually tune L & H jets.

500i is starting to see a lot of issues. Not with the “i” but with how light they went on other components to try and keep it competitive in weight/power ratio with the 46x I think. Lot of broken handles due to thin metal and other breakages not common in their other pro grade saws.

 

[NibbanaFarm]

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify a couple things. All chainsaws may or may not leak oil. None of them should be dumping a tank of oil overnight. I've had a number of saws and none of them leaked very much oil if any except that for new 445, which after spending a couple months at the dealer now doesn't leak any.

AFAIK, the longest bar for the 445 is 20". It looks like the lesser Echo recommended has 2 different specs for the bars. One includes a 24" and the other doesn't so I'm not sure about this.

I want a 24" or longer bar. That's why I'm buying a new saw. The saw must have a compression release. I don't want a saw with any type of electronic fuel management. I don't have the knowledge or training to work on these engines. If I can't repair and tune my own saw then I don't want it. I don't want to be at the mercy of these dealer's stratospheric hourly rates and long wait times.

One thing I don't so much like about the Stihl (or Echo presumably). And I don't know if this is true for all of them. I have a Echo trimmer that had a gummed up carb. I cleaned it out but needed to tune it because it wouldn't idle well. There is a plastic plug over the low speed mixture screw that prevents access. I watched a YT video and there is a special Stihl tool to remove this plug. So I can only assume that these are the same carbs as on Stihl chainsaws. I went to the local Stihl dealer and he refused to sell me the removal tool. Said they don't want people fooling with them. (And I understand that he wants people to pay him to tune their saws.) Anyway, I could have ordered it online but I ended up drilling the plug out in order to adjust the mixture which was no big deal. What I particularly didn't like was that this mixture screw took a microscopically small straight blade screwdriver to adjust it. Very hard to adjust when the trimmer is running. The Husqvarna mixture screws are very easy to adjust with the special tool which is available for cheap online.

I cut mainly firewood and general cleanup. I did rip some lumber just for fun but really don't plan on doing this often if ever. I have a very small Jotul 602 that I use to heat the living room above the normal house hydroponic heat which I set at 55F. Usually just burn the stove in the evening. The amount of firewood I cut is limited to the amount that this 61 year old can hand split. So not a whole lot.

Nibbana

 

[Skeletor]

500i isn’t for everyone. Most people won’t spend that much on a chainsaw. I’ve had mine a couple years and it’s been nothing but perfect. I can’t say how a stock one runs as I had mine ported before I even put gas in it. It totally walks my 066. Imo a great all around firewood saw size is in the 60cc range. Of if you wanna carry more weight a 70cc. Personally I’d everyday a 60cc over a 70 for the weight savings. Antivibe is to be considered too.

 

[Skeletor]

My dad is 69 and I let him borrow my 562 and he totally loved it. I thought the weight might have bothered him but he said it was fine. I never ran a 550 but I’ve heard nothing but good things.

 

[Hay Dude]

500i isn’t for everyone. Most people won’t spend that much on a chainsaw. I’ve had mine a couple years and it’s been nothing but perfect. I can’t say how a stock one runs as I had mine ported before I even put gas in it. It totally walks my 066. Imo a great all around firewood saw size is in the 60cc range. Of if you wanna carry more weight a 70cc. Personally I’d everyday a 60cc over a 70 for the weight savings. Antivibe is to be considered too.

I love my bone stock 500i, but way too early to tell.
Actually REALLY like my 261C, too and have ran a lot of tanks through it. A real nice saw.

I haven’t detected that my 500i was weak from a structural view. I am more skeptical about the electronics. I wouldn’t want to handle more than a 500i with a 25” bar more than a few hours at this stage in life anyway.

I hope they both work out because they feel right and I want to ride off into the sun with them-maybe add a small climber this year.