Suggestions on 20” pro saw

[kyryder]

Richest guy I know around me has 1000+ acre cattle farm, several hemp fields, tons of irons in the fire everywhere. Runs his cattle operation with a 7.3 powerstroke pickup a 7.3 powerstroke flatbed and a 6.0 powerstroke pickup, 2 Belarus tractors and a old Kubota. I told him a few weeks ago I need to buy a trailer. He was like... You don't need to buy a trailer, you need to borrow mine. Respect the heck out of that guy.

You forgot to mention what kind of chainsaw he prefers.

 

[McCann]

Just purchased another husky 460 at the local fleet farm. Husky priced at 479 promotional.
I have a 20” bar on my other although it came with a 24”. Plenty of power and the 24 is also handy for cleaning up felled trees as it has good reach and balance. Seems the bigger 60 cc motor starts easierthan the little motors on the smaller saws. Less finicky.
24 is also good for getting low on stumps as the root flair tends to be wide. Not a “pro” saw but works great.

 

[marhar]

Looking at adding a 20” saw to the fleet and have been looking at a new Stihl 261C.

Without a brand warfare eruption, is there any reason I should look at another comparable brand?

I like Stihl because my neighborhood dealer is very good and I like Stihl‘s business model. That might overwhelm the temptation to buy another brand that is only slightly better.

Little hesitating on the non adjustable carb, but that’s my only perceived drawback.

This is a saw I intend to use weekly as a general purpose small to medium size grab & go saw.

Constructive, non brand warfare thoughts appreciated.

I am a Stihl man. If two brands were exactly the same in price, quality, customer service, etc. I would go with a Stihl because that is already what I have. The fuel mix is the same across the different pieces of equipment and some pieces use the same air filter and spark plug. I know it is a small advantage but I keep it as simple as I can for myself.

 

[LittleBill21]

I own multiple echo's, easiest starting machines I own. I plan to buy their chainsaw next.

 

[FERLING]

 

[ttouring]

Looking at adding a 20” saw to the fleet and have been looking at a new Stihl 261C.

Without a brand warfare eruption, is there any reason I should look at another comparable brand?

I like Stihl because my neighborhood dealer is very good and I like Stihl‘s business model. That might overwhelm the temptation to buy another brand that is only slightly better.

Little hesitating on the non adjustable carb, but that’s my only perceived drawback.

This is a saw I intend to use weekly as a general purpose small to medium size grab & go saw.

Constructive, non brand warfare thoughts appreciated.

I had a Stihl for 21 years and swore by it , purchased a new Stihl and I swear at it. My old one starts right up after sitting for 6 months the new one sometimes takes me that long to get it started.

 

[Mudfarmer]

Looking at adding a 20” saw to the fleet and have been looking at a new Stihl 261C.

Without a brand warfare eruption, is there any reason I should look at another comparable brand?

I like Stihl because my neighborhood dealer is very good and I like Stihl‘s business model. That might overwhelm the temptation to buy another brand that is only slightly better.

Little hesitating on the non adjustable carb, but that’s my only perceived drawback.

This is a saw I intend to use weekly as a general purpose small to medium size grab & go saw.

Constructive, non brand warfare thoughts appreciated.

I am on my fourth Stihl 261 over the last five or ten years. The last two have been 261C. Every time I have one fail, I have sworn not to buy another, but end up doing so anyway probably because I have a backup of spare chains that fit that model. Using it about how you describe I have had two engines seize up at about two years and one drive shaft break (admittedly under my abuse) at two years. The current iteration (six months old) won't run after about an hour into use during 80-degree days. Not the best Stihl model in my estimation. When this one fails I will replace it with a 250 size since the 16 or 18-inch blade on that is sufficient for me going forward. Those also last about two years (I've also had about four of them), but they cost about 1/3 of what the 261 does and mine have never stopped working on hot days. I do agree that unless you are a good small engine mechanic you need the backup of a dealer shop - Stihl dealers are abundant.

 

[mmranch]

I have a Stihl MS361 and a Stihl MS362C both with 20" bars. I love both saws. I'm at 9500' elevation.

When I first got the 362, I was skeptical about the M-Tronic. The first day, I wore grooves in the plastic case from pulling the starter cord so many times trying to get it started right. Then I paid attention and read the manual for the proper altitude tuning procedure (which is very simple). Once set for the altitude, the saw is the easiest starting saw I've had. That was 3 or 4 years ago and I haven't done anything more than fuel, oil or chain on it since.

In recent months, I've been really slacking and haven't touched the saws (other big projects) so I was really dreading going to use them as I knew I was slacking and the gas was very stale in the tank. The 362 started on the 4th pull (normally on the 1st or 2nd pull) and ran fine.

Also have Stihl brushcutter trimmer. I love my Stihl tools.

 

[Indiana haymaker]

Looking at adding a 20” saw to the fleet and have been looking at a new Stihl 261C.

Without a brand warfare eruption, is there any reason I should look at another comparable brand?

I like Stihl because my neighborhood dealer is very good and I like Stihl‘s business model. That might overwhelm the temptation to buy another brand that is only slightly better.

Little hesitating on the non adjustable carb, but that’s my only perceived drawback.

This is a saw I intend to use weekly as a general purpose small to medium size grab & go saw.

Constructive, non brand warfare thoughts appreciated.

I have several saws, 3-4 older craftsman from the 70's nice saws 60 cc heavy and appear detuned because they turn slower, but run forever
I also have a couple Jonsereds 95 cc, and a Husquavarna 72 cc, I run 24 inch bars on everything except the little Craftsman limbing saw, and I also have a Stihl MS250 with 18 inch bar. All run and cut, it just a matter of how fast you want the job done. For my 2 cents, I would recommend staying away from the newer Stihl and shop around for something older. A lot of people buy a saw for a couple little jobs, then end up with it sitting in their garage until they sell it. You can pick up a low usage saw for a fraction of the new cost. Bar length is not a measure of a saws power, engine size, RPM and weight are the deciding factors. I went to a 24 inch bar mostly for consistency, but also so I dont have to bend over so far as Im getting older. The Stihl I believe only runs a 16-18 bar and if i remember correctly, its an odd bar, but its a recent purchase so I really have not checked to see if someone else makes a bigger bar for it. Check FB market place or Craigslist, I found a local guy who buys old Stihl/Husq/Jonsereds and goes thru them, handy place to shop

 

[TugHillDog]

I have the MS261 and run a 18" bar on it. The previous Stihl I had was the 029 Super in the AV Farm Boss model. Interestingly, the two engines have exactly the same output horsepower but the MS261 is significantly lighter. I have run this machine in all seasons [northern NYS - no where near THAT City] and found it easy to start, keep running and it operates flawlessly each time. A bigger saw would have a little more power on cutting through larger tree diameters, but this one has surprising "snap" for a smaller saw.

As the smallest pro series saw Stihl makes, I think this is a definite buy-again. However, like another poster on this section, I have heard some amazing things about the Echo brand and that they are actually Stihl designs that have been copied now that original copyright protections have expired. NOTE: that last line is hearsay and I have no evidence for or against its validity.

Good luck with your purchase and I hope you will give us all a follow-up report!