New Saw Recommendation

[newbury]

Funny to hear complaints of Stihl's being hard to start. That is the thing I love about my 029. It has sat a year at a time with gas in it and it starts in 3 pulls and first pull every time if I'm using it daily

I think that is why they are labeled "hard to start".
People want them to start on first pull. Not "set fuel to max, set choke if cold, pull 3 times, reset choke, pull"

 

[anomad]

Hero of the day.....the old Stihl 029.
Never used it at all last year. Dumped the gas out, put some fresh mix in, 4 pulls and away it went!
Figured I'd try some cutting. It ate right through it like it was starving. Though I had to cut from both sides.
I'm even more surprised that I sharpened the chain that good, LOL

Maybe I won't have to spend money just yet. Mind you I'm not down the big ends of the logs yet but I'm sure it will do.

I just had to laugh when I saw a Canadian was cutting down and chopping up maple trees - LOL!

 

[4570Man]

I think someone mentioned Makita saws already. I have one and it’s not a bad saw at all. I paid around $600 for the Makita which is much cheaper than the 500i is. I briefly had an Echo 590 that I bought at a clearance store for like $200 and the Makita will blow that saw away. I sold the Echo to a family member for the same $200 I paid.

 

[Runner]

Funny to hear complaints of Stihl's being hard to start. That is the thing I love about my 029. It has sat a year at a time with gas in it and it starts in 3 pulls and first pull every time if I'm using it daily.
Maybe it's the newer ones? My mechanic friend said he hates the new EPA friendly carbs.
What I like about Echo is they are Japanese. So when you're talking about small two stroke engines, it was the Japanese that pretty much dominated motorcycle technology, so they should know how to build and engine.

I had a Stihl O11T top handle saw for 20 years and it always started easy and ran great. Never had a problem with it.....until it was stolen. At that point (2011 or so) I went to my Stihl (John Deere) dealer to look at a new one and by then, they had gone to the "flip top" caps (of which I read many complaints, including on here, I believe).

So I asked the salesman to demonstrate how to use them and he couldn't get the gas cap back on, had to call someone from the service department to do it. I knew that Husky still used "normal" caps, and that they also had a good reputation, so I decided to try a Husky saw.

I know that may sound like a strange reason to change brands, but I hate complicated solutions to simple problems....

 

[4570Man]

I had a Stihl O11T top handle saw for 20 years and it always started easy and ran great. Never had a problem with it.....until it was stolen. At that point (2011 or so) I went to my Stihl (John Deere) dealer to look at a new one and by then, they had gone to the "flip top" caps (of which I read many complaints, including on here, I believe).

So I asked the salesman to demonstrate how to use them and he couldn't get the gas cap back on, had to call someone from the service department to do it. I knew that Husky still used "normal" caps, and that they also had a good reputation, so I decided to try a Husky saw.

I know that may sound like a strange reason to change brands, but I hate complicated solutions to simple problems....

More times than not I have to get pliers or a screwdriver to loosen the screw in caps. I’ve never had a problem with the flip top caps.

 

[Highlandr]

More times than not I have to get pliers or a screwdriver to loosen the screw in caps.

Yep. Hence the screwdriver slot in them.

 

[PeteN]

I probably cut around 8-10 cords of wood a year and have a multitude of different brand saws from top handles to standard saws. The Stihl 029 is a fairly good sized saw so it should pull at least a 20-24 inch bar. I bought an Echo 590 for the bigger stuff since the size was a little larger than I had with a larger 3/8" chain and it kicks *ss, and is a reasonable price. It came with a 20" bar but I bought a 24" for the bigger stuff. I use it for the big stuff but my favorite saw is the Dolmar 5100s which is NLA. If you only have a few trees that are the size you described, a bigger bar may be the answer. If you have more large trees to cut up you probably will need to move up to a 72cc saw with a big *ss bar but they are tiresome to use and it's amazing how much more cumbersome a saw becomes once you get above 24". The level of respect for the tool you are using becomes more apparent when you use the big saws. My dad used to use large McCulloch saws with 30 inch bars but they are heavy as hell, louder than a Harley and more saw than I would want to handle. Shot out chips that hurt as much as pellets. Still have them but only pick them up once in a while to appreciate the weight and performance of the new saws. Back then it was displacement to get horsepower and torque where now it's about hp and chain speed.

 

[edgarrian]

"hard to start"

what's peoples definition of this. IN my mind it would be anything over 6 pulls or more. There is generally something wrong or needs replaced.

Pretty standard for a saw to need three pulls when its cold and then there after one pull.

My dad and grandpa poulan saws years ago when i was a kid. Im 49 now. So long time ago. Anyway one was hard to start and the other easy.

 

[Fields_mj]

So, my small engine mechanic tells me all new saws are garbage with these new EPA emissions. But I have a bunch of maples I just had felled. They are 14 inch at the tops and 26 and 31 inch at the bottoms. I only have an old Stihl 029 and thinking about getting something bigger. What do you all recommend.
I find looking at the saw websites very confusing. You see small saws that are more expensive than big saws?
Figure for what it cost to get them to block it all up, I may as well invest in a bigger saw.

What do you all recommend for this job?

if someone else is taking them down for you and you are just bucking them up then just use what you have. The last saw my dad bought in 1993 with a stihl 028 and he still runs it today. Several years ago he had a large Maple taken out of the backyard that was well over 3 ft across at the stump. He used that 028 with an 18 inch bar to clean it all up. It took a long time to deal with the trunk but he got it done. It is worth noting that way he's with firewood my entire life and that's all did fine. I turned 51 early this year and I heat with firewood as well. I have six different saws of various sizes. For wood that is 26 to 30 in across, a bigger saw is nice to have. I would look at something in the 70cc range. On stihls that's going to be 044,, 046, ms440, ms441, ms460, or ms462. If I were buying it just to deal with those two trees I'd probably buy a Chinese clone of one of those saws and put a 28 inch bar on it. Get it from some place like bluesaws.com and can't talk to them before you buy it. They'll go through it and give it a shake down and make sure that everything on it is good to go so that you don't have a pile oh crap when it gets to you. It cost a little bit more but you'll still be into it for around 500 bucks and that's a third of what you'll pay for a new stihl or Husqvarna. If you're going to get into running big saws frequently, then by all means get a good used or new OEM saw, but I sure wouldn't spend that kind of money to clean up a pair of Maples

 

[oldpilot]

My beloved Stihl died due to a can of pre-mix that apparently didn't have oil in it. I switched to a battery Ego, but I doubt it would would suffice for a 31-inch log....

 

[xyz123]

Hero of the day.....the old Stihl 029.
Never used it at all last year. Dumped the gas out, put some fresh mix in, 4 pulls and away it went!
Figured I'd try some cutting. It ate right through it like it was starving. Though I had to cut from both sides.
I'm even more surprised that I sharpened the chain that good, LOL

Maybe I won't have to spend money just yet. Mind you I'm not down the big ends of the logs yet but I'm sure it will do.

That looks like the older smaller 54cc 029 too. Wasnt till 029S super did they go 56cc. Then 290.

One I take care of for local that uses it for landscaping jobs.

 

[Paystar]

I don't know how big of a bar that 029 will handle? Think I have ran an 18 on it before but went back to 16 just because it feels stronger with the 16.

And per all the comments on starting....unless it has been sitting a year at a time or if tank and carb are run dry, usually when used fairly routinely that 029 will require one pull on choke, click down one to full throttle and it will start and stay running that second pull.

I love that saw compared to fighting with all the old Pioneer's I had when I was young. I could never keep those things going. Granted I got them used so maybe it was a maintenance issue.

 

[Paystar]

I just had to laugh when I saw a Canadian was cutting down and chopping up maple trees - LOL!

Yes, I hate cutting trees, and the one laying down that I was bucking was one of my best sap producers. But I finally found a contractor to come build me a bigger garage. My current one isn't tall enough to fit the Ford L9000 in it.
I've never had a big shop for the class 8 trucks as they all always went to dealership for services, because I was always working out of town with them.

 

[xyz123]

@Paystar I always liked a 16" on them. But one saw guys always 20"

Per stihl with the later 029S they could be run with 24" 325.

I would not want to do that myself or tell someone to even do that.

Now I will tell ya a 30min muffler mod on that series wakes them right the heck up. Seen as much as 18% 23% faster cuts after a no cost muffler mod and retune of carb. 029S 290-390

Only little off of the outer but done under the deflector in center and around the outer of center.

 

[redmt]

Stihl ms391. Don't look for cheap price they are factory set pricing. At 74, I have no trouble starting it . I use exclusively VP 2 cycle 50:1 mix. The fuel lasts for years and so do the spark plugs. I cut 5-6 cords of valley oak every year and it fires up with the 3rd - 4th pull every time, every year. Like others have said, "Buy once, cry once".

 

[Paystar]

@Paystar I always liked a 16" on them. But one saw guys always 20"

Per stihl with the later 029S they could be run with 24" 325.

I would not want to do that myself or tell someone to even do that.

Now I will tell ya a 30min muffler mod on that series wakes them right the heck up. Seen as much as 18% 23% faster cuts after a no cost muffler mod and retune of carb. 029S 290-390

Only little off of the outer but done under the deflector in center and around the outer of center.

View attachment 5473713

Not sure I'd want to modify mine at all. It's probably getting pretty tired by now.
Maybe I'll try a bigger bar again now that I kinda know how to properly sharper a chain now, LOL

 

[xyz123]

Not sure I'd want to modify mine at all. It's probably getting pretty tired by now.
Maybe I'll try a bigger bar again now that I kinda know how to properly sharper a chain now, LOL

Have you ever had to replace your muffler?

Thats when most of them get done here. The insides of those style mufflers rattle apart.

Open that center some or even all. Then add some above etc

So they will get quick mod before putting new on if owners agree.

 

[Paystar]

Stihl ms391. Don't look for cheap price they are factory set pricing. At 74, I have no trouble starting it . I use exclusively VP 2 cycle 50:1 mix. The fuel lasts for years and so do the spark plugs. I cut 5-6 cords of valley oak every year and it fires up with the 3rd - 4th pull every time, every year. Like others have said, "Buy once, cry once".

I've never tried that bottled gas. I am kind of lucky here where I am located so far because I can still get ethanol free gas at one Petro Canada station.

 

[Paystar]

Have you ever had to replace your muffler?

Thats when most of them get done here. The insides of those style mufflers rattle apart.

Open that center some or even all. Then add some above etc

So they will get quick mod before putting new on if owners agree.

View attachment 5473722

No, haven't done anything to it except replace air filter and the studs that hold bar on. It's been absolutely trouble free it's whole life. That's why I liked Stihl but then I hear the new ones aren't as good any more?

 

[xyz123]

Your the first guy from Canada I know that said they can still get Efree.

The others I know from up there say some law took effect that was no more and they cant get it.

If you ever want a easy test I posted in my junk chainsaws thread how to do it.

It makes sure it is Efree. Ole pilots way.

Pic is good test of Efree.

Also make sure single hose pump for Efree.
If one hose does other grades you need to pump close to 1-2 gal to get all Efree. That way ethanol gas is gone.