# Chain Saw



## dixiejacket (Apr 19, 2011)

Tired of the old cheap Poulan.  Harder to crank and keep cranked than it is to use.  So, I am buying a new saw.  Will be a Stihl, Echo or Husqvarna.  Any recommendations?


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## BamaBart (Apr 19, 2011)

Stihl and use their 2 cycle oil. You'll be happy.


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## Unicoidawg (Apr 19, 2011)

Husky or Stihl....... both are great saws, either will do ya proud.


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## ben300win (Apr 19, 2011)

Another vote for Stihl. I have a 036 pro that I have had for like 15 years now. Great saw and power to weight ratio.


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## sinclair1 (Apr 19, 2011)

Echo weedeaters and stihl chain saws for me


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## FX Jenkins (Apr 20, 2011)

Get one of these and it will still crank long after you won't....and will handle just about anything from occasional use to heavy duty firewood gathering, year after year..

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS290.html


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## Miguel Cervantes (Apr 20, 2011)

Took my stihl to the mountains to help a buddy cut up some trees knocked down by last weeks storm. It's a 20 year old saw, I haven't cranked it or even touched it in over a year. I opened up the case, topped off the oil and gas, hit the chain a few licks with a file and on the second pull she was off and running like a charm, like it always has. You just can't beat a Stihl, period.


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## brokenskeg (Apr 20, 2011)

Husquavarna Rancher 455 .


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## nkbigdog (Apr 20, 2011)

Unicoidawg said:


> Husky or Stihl....... both are great saws, either will do ya proud.



X2 on both I have the Husky 359 with a 24 inch bar and never met a tree it did not eat for lunch.


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## DBM78 (Apr 20, 2011)

I have a Stihl chainsaw now but next one with be an echo. Echo now offers a 5 year warranty on all of their products chainsaw, trimmer, hedgetrimmer, blowers. Its 5 years across the board.

This thread got me thinking about my old chainsaw in the garage. Its a 16" Stihl 011 avt haven't touched it in 5 years. I opened the case add some gas/oil mix it started about the 4th or 5th pull. I made my mind up to show it a little TLC with a tune up.


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## Mauser (Apr 20, 2011)

I'm a husky man,got a 385xp,395xp,and 25 year old 2100 my grandad had when he logged.I have had no problems.


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## deadend (Apr 20, 2011)

rebel yell 1984 said:


> I'm a husky man,got a 385xp,395xp,and 25 year old 2100 my grandad had when he logged.I have had no problems.



The 2100 is likely the best falling saw ever produced.  The 395 is a close second.


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## gacowboy (Apr 20, 2011)

Choose a Husky or a stilh, both are great.


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## stasher1 (Apr 22, 2011)

My old man has been real happy with his Stihl. He has joint problems and had been having a lot of trouble getting his old chainsaw started, so he bought a Stihl with the Easy2Start feature.


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## badger (Apr 23, 2011)

Been very happy with my Echo CS400. In fact, I have "migrated" to Echo for all my yard equipment.


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## Leroys Dakota (Apr 26, 2011)

DBM78 said:


> I have a Stihl chainsaw now but next one with be an echo. Echo now offers a 5 year warranty on all of their products chainsaw, trimmer, hedgetrimmer, blowers. Its 5 years across the board.



yes it is true. Although it does not cover user error.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (May 3, 2011)

dixiejacket said:


> Tired of the old cheap Poulan.  Harder to crank and keep cranked than it is to use.  So, I am buying a new saw.  Will be a Stihl, Echo or Husqvarna.  Any recommendations?



Put a new plug in it if you haven't already.  If you were closer, I could go through the carb and clean the screen inside it in about 20 minutes, and it would run like new.  I've got 3 Poulans and love them.


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## rockwalker (May 4, 2011)

I have both and I like the Stihl for lighter limb work and I ahev 3 of them but when it comes to puttin a big boy on the ground I use a Husky 372XP with either a 24" or 36" bar and use of a skip link chain man they are awesome


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## 00Beau (May 4, 2011)

I have a Stihl and a Husky and the Stihl out performs Husky 10-1 .


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## Mangler (May 4, 2011)

What ever you get, don't put gas with ethanol in it. If you have to, make sure you run it all out before you store it. I pulled mine out of the garage the other day only to find the fuel line a gooey mess. Reminded me of a overcooked maccaroni noodle. It looked like it was in good shape until I touched it. Ended up so frustrated with it I took the new chain off and threw it in the trash.


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## Washington95 (May 5, 2011)

Years ago when I wanted a really good saw I checked with local loggers.  I bought a new Husky 65 with a bow.  About $400 then; still have it.  Saw program last night on big timber loggers cutting huge (up to 25 ft cicumfrence) trees; they used Husquavarnas.
To me that says it all.


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## Washington95 (May 5, 2011)

And like Mangler said, find/use ethanol free gas.  You probably won't use an awful lot, so a five gallon can should last a while.
I use it in all my mowers/cars/boats, etc.  Luckily I have dealer couple miles away.  There's a web site that lists stations still supplying it, might look under "ethanol free gas"?


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## a-mc (May 5, 2011)

Husqvarna is hard to beat I have one that was my grandfathers well over 25 years old, no chain stop, 50 something cc motor, model numbers worn off, but it is getting a little hard to crank. My cousin bought a new stihl last year think im going to upgrade to one of those when this one gives up on me it is crazy how easy that stihl is to pull. Being as it is so old and still runs great I cant say a bad thing about the husky.


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## Nastytater (May 5, 2011)

I bought me a new Husqvarna last year and already cut up 3 large oaks and a Hickory tree,and it hasn't slowed down yet...All of these trees were just cut with the 3/4 throttle breakin squeeze...Neither of the trees choked it down...Hard to beat a Husqvarna...Plus,I'm tired of working on saws!


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## Bamafan4life (May 5, 2011)

Well I got all stihl stuff mainly because there great stuff all the landscapers use them and that ace will service them. I've spent many of hours fixing weed eaters and chainsaws for just 20 minutes of work.


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## Wes (May 5, 2011)

Husky!  I have had one for about 5 years and don't use it professionally, just around the yard and stuff. I use it, it sits, I use, it sits, and surprisingly it starts every time.  It will hog through some wood too!


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## HALOJmpr (May 5, 2011)

I went with a Stihl after hurricane Charley came through.  Then went through Jean , Frances and Ivan.  Moved to N FL and cleaned up after Fay too.  Best saw I've ever purchased.  I think mine's a MS260?  18" and it starts easy and runs strong.  I sold Husky's for almost 4 years too ..... very rare to have one come back with any issue other than ESO.  Either one will be a fine saw!


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## Ossahatchee (May 6, 2011)

Stihl or Husquavarnas are both great saws,and if taken care of will last forever.


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## joedublin (Aug 19, 2011)

Question for EVERYONE...why do we have to worry about which saw to buy NOW...used to be that ALL of them were made in USA and they ALL worked like they were supposed to!!!!! What is wrong ....or WHO is wrong   that we have to get our stuff from someone overseas who couldn't care less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Twenty five ought six (Aug 20, 2011)

joedublin said:


> Question for EVERYONE...why do we have to worry about which saw to buy NOW...used to be that ALL of them were made in USA and they ALL worked like they were supposed to!!!!! What is wrong ....or WHO is wrong   that we have to get our stuff from someone overseas who couldn't care less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Saying this as the former proud owner of a Poulan, but Stihl and Husky have never been made in the US.

You got it exactly backwards.  The people who make those two saws care a lot, and the people who make the "domestic" brands could care less.  Poulans now are basically toys, and they used to be the pulpwooder's best friend.


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## Michael F. Gray (Aug 20, 2011)

I've had 4 Poulins sold under the Craftsman brand. Small saws and I purchased them for the warranty work that Sears provides. We heated with wood for years, and I'd get a new say about every 2 years. I purchased a Stihl for $1.00 at a yard sale. New plug, bar & chain, and my son is still using it five years afterward. Best saw I ever had was bought new. A "Jonsared". Not certain I spelled it correctly. I cut up 45 cords of Red Oak, White Oak, and Hickory and Ash before selling it. I was convinced that saw woud work me to death. It was heavy, but it would cut wood. I sold it to a pulp wooder who tells me he still uses it everytime I see him. I determined I was not man enough for that saw.


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## Mako22 (Aug 20, 2011)

joedublin said:


> Question for EVERYONE...why do we have to worry about which saw to buy NOW...used to be that ALL of them were made in USA and they ALL worked like they were supposed to!!!!! What is wrong ....or WHO is wrong   that we have to get our stuff from someone overseas who couldn't care less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Joe truth is that the great American work ethic is a myth at this point in time.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 20, 2011)

From someone who has spent a large chunk of their life ahold of a chainsaw, get a Husky or Stihl. Both are good as chainsaws get. The Husky is a little faster cutting, the Stihl is a little longer lasting. Both are tough as nails and will get the job done and then some. Echo used to be a really good saw, but their newer ones are pure junk. I wouldn't trade a Poulan for a new Echo.


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## Gaducker (Aug 21, 2011)

I got an old poulan from my pa in law and its all steel, from back when poulan was a real saw.  Its got a big honkin bow on it.  This saw sat in his basement for I know fifteen years before he gave it to me, no tellin how long before that.  I cleaned it up changed the fuel lines in the tank and put a new filter in the tank. It runs like a top now.  This thing sounds like a big still or husky and it will blow through some wood.


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## treeman101 (Aug 21, 2011)

I run stihls every day.  They crank run and cut great no matter the weather or how hard you run them.  One of them is over 30 years old and still runs perfectly.


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## HEFTY (Aug 22, 2011)

Stihl or Husky you cant go wrong. I have the stihl farm boss it awesome!


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## leoparddog (Aug 22, 2011)

I have a Poulan (Sears Craftsman) from 1992, in 19 years its had 1 new plug and been in the shop one time, just this year.  I heated my house with wood that I cut with that saw and sold firewood on the weekends.  Poulan doesn't make them like they used to. A fact that was reinforced by the old man who worked on it.  Echo is about the same now.

Now that my Poulan is fixed, it should last me another 10 years I hope.  When I replace it, it will be with a Stihl.


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## LongBow01 (Aug 23, 2011)

I just bought a stihl weedeater and the man said he would double my warranty from 2 years to 4 years if I bought a 6 pack of stihl synthetic 2 cycle oil so of course i did. I am very pleased with the weedeater and will be replacing my poulan saw with a stihl very soon. I have used both husky and stihl saws there both good. as others have said use stihl oil and if you do use gas with ethanol make sure you run it out every use do not let it sit with gas in the carb or tank you will be sorry!! I dont know where you might find gas without ethonal so you may not have a choice on that also my stihl owners manual says to run atleast mid grade gas not low grade I have heard it said you should run high test gas in all 2 cylce engines from several small engine shops. as far as  echo goes I bought an echo weedeater and it only lasted 2 years and now needs piston crank and rod so I cant reccommend em Maybe I got a bad one but the fact that it was shot just after the warranty was up did  it for me its stihl from here on out!!!!


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## bnew17 (Aug 24, 2011)

Gaducker said:


> I got an old poulan from my pa in law and its all steel, from back when poulan was a real saw.  Its got a big honkin bow on it.  This saw sat in his basement for I know fifteen years before he gave it to me, no tellin how long before that.  I cleaned it up changed the fuel lines in the tank and put a new filter in the tank. It runs like a top now.  This thing sounds like a big still or husky and it will blow through some wood.



i got an old poulan too. sounds like the one you got. works like a charm. Also got an old Sears saw of my grand dads. 35+ years old. Works great as well.


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## Backlasher82 (Aug 25, 2011)

LongBow01 said:


> I dont know where you might find gas without ethonal



http://pure-gas.org/ has a list of ethanol-free gas stations but it isn't complete, there are some stations that sell it but aren't listed. 

There is a list of ethanol free stations in a sticky at the top of the fishing forum page too.

Most marinas carry ethanol-free so it's worth a few calls to them if you can't find it anywhere else.


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## duckman18 (Sep 17, 2011)

Stihl all the way, doesnt matter if ECHO does have a 5 year warranty on theirs, that must mean that something is gonna tear up within 5 years. Have had my 029 for 11 years and have NEVER had any problems out of it


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## patterstdeer (Sep 22, 2011)

Husky or Stihl hands down. Have had both currently using a Husky 455 20" bar. Purs like a kitten even if it sits for 6 months.


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## Ready 2 Hunt (Oct 2, 2011)

have a stihl 029 farm boss that sits a whole lot, gets cranked a couple times a year, but never have to pull it more than 10 times and runs like a champ, I burn premium in all my 2 cycle stuff, uses very little gas so cost is not a big issue, I just think premium dosen't break down as fast


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## ultra mag man (Oct 2, 2011)

stihl is only way to go lasts forever cant buy professional grade at lowes or home depot


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