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Chainsaw recommendations


chrisjpainter
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I'm looking to get my own chainsaw and wondered what the PW collective are using. At work we use the Stihl 260s, which cut brilliantly but have their irritating foibles and we're allowed to use our own kit, if it's work suitable. This will be used for felling on a reasonably regular basis, so needs to have a decent engine behind the blade. The bar length doesn't have to be huge (14-18"), as we have a couple of big'uns to do anything beyond that, should the need arise.

Thoughts?

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Either Stihl or Husqvarna, anything above the 'hobby saw' range.

I run several Stihl and Husqvarna saws but also have couple of Jonsereds, which were made by Husqvarna. I have a lovely big Partner which I don't use very often. I still reckon the best saws were made by Sachs Dolmar though.

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31 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

I have a makita double  battery  chain saw .It's very quiet and easy to use. 

What I love about it is I can use it in my back garden at 7 am or last thing at night and not disturb anybody .its quieter than my impact driver 

I'm not convinced about electric for felling yet. Fine for domestic use, but for a whole day of dropping trees, I just don't think they're there - yet. 

 

1 hour ago, 39TDS said:

550XP

Love mine, 14"

Have Stihls as well, no brand snobbery.

That's the one that has caught my eye. 

Anyone used an Echo saw? Some of the figures look pretty good on their saws, and my assessor for my exam used one, but it's not a brand i've come across much

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I have an old stihl 024 with a 15" bar for cutting firewood, I love that old saw, still as smooth and tight as the day it was made and only ever needed a light service every now and then and new chains. I also have a stihl ms390 with a 20" bar for felling and logging, a good strong saw, but not so heavy that it tires you out.

 

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It depends on your budget too. Husky 550xp is a great saw as is the stihl ms261. Don’t run any longer than a 15” bar on the 550 or 16” it is on the stihl. I run a 13” bar on my ones and they are light to use and very fast cutting. These will be around the £500 mark new and if you need more power and a longer bar then consider the husky 560 or the stihl 362. These will cope with an 18” or 20” bar. Then it’s the stihl 461 and then the 661. The mistake a lot of occasional users make is putting too long a bar on too small a saw. 

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4 hours ago, Ricko said:

Either Stihl or Husqvarna, anything above the 'hobby saw' range.

I run several Stihl and Husqvarna saws but also have couple of Jonsereds, which were made by Husqvarna. I have a lovely big Partner which I don't use very often. I still reckon the best saws were made by Sachs Dolmar though.

I've got a jonsereds 70e my father bought it new in 1982 and its still going strong. Its a little heavy by modern standard but its got serious power.

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As said above - if it's for work, Stihl or Husqvarna. 

 

I have a 445 as a hobby/home user, and it's great in terms of cutting speed, weight and vibration. Might lack a bit of poke for really big stuff, but it runs an 18" bar just fine on softwood, and handles oak and beech with a 15".

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Re the echos, know a lot of guys that use the top handles for tree work and love them. Seem to be able to run all day and are half the price stihl/husky, but I dont know much about their bigger saws.

I prefer Husky's but thats just my personal preference, 550xp is a fantastic saw. Will you just be using it for firewood and in the garden use? Might be a bit of over kill as its a real yob of a saw but at least you'll have some peace of mind regard it's reliability and cutting ability compared to cheaper alternatives.

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, DannyS said:

Re the echos, know a lot of guys that use the top handles for tree work and love them. Seem to be able to run all day and are half the price stihl/husky, but I dont know much about their bigger saws.

I prefer Husky's but thats just my personal preference, 550xp is a fantastic saw. Will you just be using it for firewood and in the garden use? Might be a bit of over kill as its a real yob of a saw but at least you'll have some peace of mind regard it's reliability and cutting ability compared to cheaper alternatives.

 

 

 

No, this'll be an all round saw and a reasonable amount of felling will be involved. I work on a wildlife reserve which has a good deal of woodland. as I said, we have a couple of big saws (Stihl MS 461's) for the big stuff, but i'm looking for my own equivalent of the MS 260's, which are 50cc engines @ 2.6kw

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1 hour ago, chrisjpainter said:

The Husky 550 is the favourite at the moment. I guess no one's used the Echo range then? 

Yes we also have the Echo 420ES and for smaller work its a cracking little saw.

The 550xp is a real screamer of a saw with the electronics but will die quicker than the same saw with lower revs,whatever model that would be. My saw is the 365 XTorque the detuned version of the 372XP the 550's bigger brother.

 

Have a look on the Arbtalk forum some members on here are are on there too,some good and bad reviews of all the chainsaws by folk who use them for a living.

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1 hour ago, chrisjpainter said:

No, this'll be an all round saw and a reasonable amount of felling will be involved. I work on a wildlife reserve which has a good deal of woodland. as I said, we have a couple of big saws (Stihl MS 461's) for the big stuff, but i'm looking for my own equivalent of the MS 260's, which are 50cc engines @ 2.6kw

Personally, as an all round saw I dont think u can go far wrong with the 550xp. Light and manoeuvrable so if your in the woods all day its not killing ur back. I did hear once that the saw doesnt seem to like bars bigger than 16" so a 14"-16" should be fine if uve got access to a bigger saw.

Sorry, u clearly say in ur original post it will be for work use and felling....dont know what i was reading :beer:

 

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Echo or Dolmar (Makita) for me - Husky and Stihl are not what they were...

My personal choice would be best in class Dolmar PS 6100 (Makita EA6100) 61cc, or the new out Makita EA5600 55.7cc. Both are absolute bargain when priced against the Husky or Stihl equivalent - the 6100 will give less bother, too.

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22 minutes ago, figgy said:

The Army use Makita Chainsaws. From reading online before we bought the echo have more steel content in the alloy so are harder wearing than others but take a little more warming up when started.

They certainly do, because the Dolmar/Makita are more robust.

Dolmar use more metal in their pro saws in general. Dolmar also have kept away from the likes of 'auto tune' - which can give problems if not using the saw full time - choosing to keep their saws mechanical and reliable.

Stihl may outsell Dolmar worldwide, but Dolmar are the #1 selling saw in Germany ?

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