Finally Bought a Stihl

[motownbrowne]

Oh I understood the post. Toys? Really?

I'd say so, a 70cc pro saw will definitely make a 55cc farm boss feel like a toy. Nothing against the farm boss, but it's definitely in a different league.

Edit: on second thought, it'll really depend on the job at hand. If they're both wearing the same bar, say 20" and chain, doing something like limbing small material or bucking mid size softwood, they'll probably seem pretty similar. Bury the bars in oak, though, or try to pull a 24" bar in big wood, and the difference will be astounding.

 

[R_Walter]

I own 4 stihls... 2 ms361s, 1 ms440 and 1 ms460. Last year I cut 35 cords of pinon and cedar and split and sold a bunch of it. I usually only cut 10 - 15 cords a year mostly for my own heating. I don't have big wood to cut like in the PNW. Most of my wood will be 24 inches in diameter or less. My Stihls have never missed a beat.

 

[davesl708]

I'd say so, a 70cc pro saw will definitely make a 55cc farm boss feel like a toy. Nothing against the farm boss, but it's definitely in a different league.

Edit: on second thought, it'll really depend on the job at hand. If they're both wearing the same bar, say 20" and chain, doing something like limbing small material or bucking mid size softwood, they'll probably seem pretty similar. Bury the bars in oak, though, or try to pull a 24" bar in big wood, and the difference will be astounding.

The two saw are more apples to oranges. Like comparing a Kenworth T600 to an F350 or Chevy 3500. Both can pull 40,000lbs just one is made to do it everyday. As you stated with 20" bars they can pretty much do the same. My MS290 with an 18" bar handles 30" oak trees with ease.
Would more cc's be better yes but not necessary. Sharp chain is more important than cc's when the difference is small. Not to mention the saw has to start and keep running to cut wood.

 

[freewookie]

I own 4 stihls... 2 ms361s, 1 ms440 and 1 ms460. Last year I cut 35 cords of pinon and cedar and split and sold a bunch of it. I usually only cut 10 - 15 cords a year mostly for my own heating. I don't have big wood to cut like in the PNW. Most of my wood will be 24 inches in diameter or less. My Stihls have never missed a beat.

You burn cedar? I did last year but mixed it with oak. Guy who installed our stove does and says he sees no difference in creosote.

 

[turnkey4099]

You burn cedar? I did last year but mixed it with oak. Guy who installed our stove does and says he sees no difference in creosote.

I burned my first cedar this year. I removed 3 small ones thtat had grown up into the powerline guy line. I was surprised at how wellit burned. I thought it would burn fast, it doesn't.

Harry K

 

[cat fever]

I'm a Stihl fan. Have been for 40 years or more. The old one died just a year or two ago so I replaced it with another Stihl. No problems.

 

[R_Walter]

You burn cedar? I did last year but mixed it with oak. Guy who installed our stove does and says he sees no difference in creosote.

I'm not picky. I burn whatever I can find to cut. In NM there's Pinon, (Ponderosa) pine, Juniper, Cedar, (Gambel) Oak and a few other less common species. Pinon, Juniper, Cedar and Oak are the most common to find and cut. I like Pinon and Cedar because both burn long and smell nice.

 

[mbohuntr]

Heartily disagree.
Get one for limbing, about 35cc
One for general felling, about 60 to 90CC
And one to cut down big stuff or CSM all day long - 120CC


I've bought several cans of premix, different ratios, 40:1 and 50:1. If I'm doing CSM I prefer 40:1. I refill the cans with ethanol free gas mixed w/ a good oil to the ratio on the can. That way when my son borrows a saw I can hand him a properly mixed can of gas. And if the mixed can gets to old it goes in a gasburner car.

I stand corrected!! Only thing better than a Stihl. is TWO stihls!

 

[turnkey4099]

I stand corrected!! Only thing better than a Stihl. is TWO stihls!

And even better is six! Rather ridiculous number for someone not in commercial business. I use all but one of them regularly and do sell a few cords/yr but only as a way to get rid of my overproduction.

Yes, I do have CAD (Chainsaw Addiction Disease).

 

[clemsonfor]

No ethanol gasoline, use only Stihl oil in everything I have that's two cycle except my outboards. I even use Stihl oil at 50:1 ratio in a 40 year old Homelite that was made to use 32:1. I just got my first Stihl last year.

And, READ that owner's manual! Even the dealer did not know you're not supposed to run it full throttle until after 5 tanks of gasoline has been run. Proper break in.

NO one does that and actually running one hard in wood first thing after a warm up is the best thing to seat the rings not half or 3/4 throttle.

Too many saws out there that run fine that dont ever do the "mauals" procedure to be wrong.

 

[clemsonfor]

I use the Husky XP oil. It is dyed blue and makes it fool proof to tell if your gas is mixed. The Stihl oil I have seen is not dyed and is harder to tell apart. My Husky 353 will out cut a Stihl farm boss. I don't have a Stihl pro saw to compare my 372 XP, but that saw will make either of the above saws look like toys. If I had it to do over I would buy a small XP like about 40 cc for cutting limbs and light work, and a big XP like about 90 cc for most cutting. I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of the old husky 353. I wouldn't be disappointed if it died on the next use.

stihl oil is lighter colored and harder to see.

I the 441 would be just like the 372 and yes its neck and neck with it. I like stihls but have a 372 and would have to give the slight edge to the 372 though its a nasty saw. Pro saws make all homeowner says look like toys. And the 1127 series saws, thin 290 farm boss the 290/291, 310/311, 390/391 are like boat anchors in their stock form and need to have muffler mods to wake them up. That mod can make them 30-40% faster in the cut.

Any year that would be no wide open no load not no wide open in the cut that is actually bad for any saw as it lugs it down and does not supply the correct ratio of fuel to air to do work and can harm your saw.

 

[clemsonfor]

You burn cedar? I did last year but mixed it with oak. Guy who installed our stove does and says he sees no difference in creosote.

Creosote is caused by wet wood and improper burning techniques.

Creosote comes when a fire and exhaust or flue temps are not hot enough and you have excess moisture in that smoke with all the other things that could not burn from your wet wood. It then condenses in the chimney that is too cold and forms creosote. Oak will do it worse than pine actually as most think pine cause creosote. But any species will, like i said moisture content is what causes it not wood species.

Oak needs three years in most parts of the country to be drying, SPLIT and stacked before its dry enough to burn in a modern wood stove. Any sooner and it will his and bubble out moisture which is not what you want. There are several one year drying species, and when i say dry it has to be split and stacked wood in the round drys out very little. One year species are woods like cherry, elm, ash, pine, maple, popalar and many others . Oak , hickory, and walnut and several others need several years to dry. Trust me i burn wood in modern EPA stoves. Wet wood just does not work. IT burns but too cool to make adequate heat. If You disagree and have a modern stove, keep burning it with less than optimum heat and have to have your air set up higher and burn your wood up quicker. And still make creosote.

 

[R_Walter]

Creosote is caused by wet wood and improper burning techniques.

Trust me i burn wood in modern EPA stoves. Wet wood just does not work.

I trust my Mother. I trust my Father. I trust my wife. I don't trust strangers on the internet. That said, I don't burn wet wood. Just common sense. BTW, oak doesn't need 3 years to dry out here in this country and in most of the west. We don't have near the humidity you have back east.

 

[check]

I did not know that it takes so long to dry Oak. Well you learn something new every day! We burn primarily Maple, and I was always jealous of the people who had Oak, but no longer.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Dont need 3 yrs for oak to dry here. But i havent burned wood for heat for 18 yrs or so. Got some oak in my woodshed thats been there over 20 yrs.

 

[motownbrowne]

Not trying to start a dispute here, but saying "oak takes three years to dry" is a bit broad. Sure, if you are splitting the oak into 65 pound pieces for your OWB and stacking them in a tight three row cord, then three years is probably right. On the other hand, if you're splitting into small splits and drying in a jumble pile or in single rows, 1.5-2 years is plenty. A single row in a sunny place covered from the rain in a location with good wind exposure in a dry year will be ready to burn in 10-12mos.

Yeah, the longer the better, within reason, but shoot if we could get everyone burning wood to season it for a full year, that'd be a huge improvement.

 

[TomSeller]

Not trying to start a dispute here, but saying "oak takes three years to dry" is a bit broad. Sure, if you are splitting the oak into 65 pound pieces for your OWB and stacking them in a tight three row cord, then three years is probably right. On the other hand, if you're splitting into small splits and drying in a jumble pile or in single rows, 1.5-2 years is plenty. A single row in a sunny place covered from the rain in a location with good wind exposure in a dry year will be ready to burn in 10-12mos.

Yeah, the longer the better, within reason, but shoot if we could get everyone burning wood to season it for a full year, that'd be a huge improvement.

I age mine at least 3 years before it gets burned. You just need to get ahead of by a few years and stay with cutting a year's worth every year.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I've always wanted a Stihl but my 30 year old Homelite won't die. It was given to me 17 years ago and I usually only cut down 2 or 3 trees per year. Someday I'll have one, my old saw is heavy and beats the cr@p out of me every time I use it.

Kevin

 

[stuckmotor]

Dont need 3 yrs for oak to dry here. But i havent burned wood for heat for 18 yrs or so. Got some oak in my woodshed thats been there over 20 yrs.

That oak ought to be about ready to burn by now.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have a rental with an CAT BUCK stove...

The tenant asked if they could burn some of the wood behind the shed and I said OK...

On the other side of the shed I had fresh cut Oak and Pine that I split and stacked.

Last spring I was behind the shed and the entire stack of fresh wood was gone... they burned it all.

It was a hot dry summer... but I'm sure 4 month is no where near seasoned... learned my lesson.