I need a chainsaw

[300jk]

If you want a Stihl gas powered saw get a 261. If you want an electric powered saw I cant be if much help although my 80 year old dad bought a Mikita electric. He seems to like it. Ive used it several times and works good. 261 Stihl is an excellent saw. Lots of power in a smaller package.

 

[ratface]

I owned a Stihl MS250C and just hated it. Hard to start in the cold, chains were pricey, and replacement parts cost more than the saw new. Neighbor has a battery Stihl chainsaw which I find on the heavy side. That said carburetors and their troubles are a PITA. For this reason I suggest a smaller battery operated saw in the 14 inch range. I have heard that the professional grade Stihl saws are of good caliber and tend to believe it, but then you don't need professional grade. I have a 40 volt 10 inch saw which is a beast and can cut for several hours. It's a LYNX brand from Harbor freight. The point is that most homeowner brands of saws are comparable and paying for the Stihl name is just going to cost you more in repairs/parts from the STEAL dealer. I have had Poulan, Stihl, and Craftsman apart for various repairs and can't find any difference in the quality of their internals in the homeowner category for gas saws. I can't believe Stihl will change their build philosophy for homeowner battery saws.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Thanks fellas!
Gave me some goood stuff to ponder.
I should have specified this in the parameters above but I am certain I want a gas powered Stihl saw.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Ratface.
Thanks!
I don't wish to hiss you off here - because I know you are in ernest and I know so many guys here like Harbor Freight - and Northern, Menards, Home Depot etc. But I wish that just once we could have a conversation about tools without bringing up those places.
So much of our hardware comes from China that one cannot avoid buying some of it. But tools are another matter. I am happy to purchase tools from Japan, Germany, Canada, Great Britian, Poland, Spain, Australia, Taiwan and other foreign manufacturers. But I simply will not buy TOOLS from a country that considers us their avowed enemy and day by day increases their hegemony around the world.
That is why I said I wanted a Stihl.
I am not a tool snob. I cant afford Snap On or Mac stuff. My tools are a hodge podge of older brands and I'm slowly weeding out the few China tools I do own.
The bolts I buy may come from China - because there are no other any more - but by golly the tools I use to tighten them will not.
I hope you understand.
Jerry

 

[hoghollow]

I have a 028 wood boss that just runs and runs Hate to say how much wood this saw has cut over the years. did update to electronic ignition 10 or so years ago

 

[RESLLS]

I have a 52cc Dolmar. I wanted something a little lighter. I bought a ms250. It's a great saw. A little tricky to start until you learn it. Do it wrong it's better to just walk away for 10 minutes. Let it dry out and start over. It's light with plenty of power for the 18 inch bar. I have cut trees big enough that I had to cut from both sides with no problem. Elm is no fun no matter what saw you use. Stihl makes 2 models of most saws. Pro and home use. Pro has a magnesium case with adjustable oiler. Home is plastic case with adjustable carb. They also make a computer controlled version of a few models. A longtime friend a Stihl dealer told me to stay away from them. If and it about $100 difference, you can afford the Pro model your arms and shoulders will appreciate it. They are lighter with more power for the same cc. Though not mentioned you might want to check out a Husqvarna too. They make a good saw also. They spin a little faster than Stihl. My son has a 455. It runs and cuts great.

 

[DR. EVIL]

I bought a Stihl 025 with 16 bar about 1997, And I surprised myself how much I used it trimming trees & bushes around our place. It started running like it was lean about 2017/'18, tweeking the carb screws didn't help. I bought a new MS250 about 2016 or '17. It doesn't start as well as the 025 did even when the 025 sat for months. I did buy a new Chinese carb for the 025, trying to get SON to install it but he always has an excuse why he can't. Same bar & chain on both my saws.
I cut two Willow trees down that were 20 to 24 at the base with the 025 & 16 bar. I did NOT want a big heavy saw. Keep a sharp chain on the saw and they will cut. The bar on the 025 was wearing, rolling a burr on the edges of the bar on the bottom.

 

[Dean]

The professional model 261 is a very good saw but considerably more expensive than the home/farm 250 model.

 

[JWA]

My 025 is the saw that I use for everything from trimming to felling. I have owned this saw for over twenty years with very few problems.

 

[DR. EVIL]

I've used my 025 for 20 years, if SON would install my new Chinese carb I'd use it instead of my MS250, the 025 started much easier than the new MS250 saw.

I subscribed to CYCLE MAGAZINE for years when I was young, avid motorcycle rider. Gordon Jennings wrote great technical articles about ALL things mechanical, like how piston rings work, or how bearings work, or how to tell if your running the right heat range spark plug, or how to decide if your fuel/air ratio is right, he wrote books on these things! I NEVER threw away a Cycle magazine because his articles were in them, still have them! He explained one time that the oil mixed with gasoline to lubricate 2-stroke engine begins deteriorating as soon as the gas & oil meet. And that old stale gas/oil over a month old should be used to start brush fires, NOT run 2-stroke engines you care about. I have been known to dump stale 2-stroke premix into the '51 Farmall M, it'll burn ANYTHING, even gas that won't burn with a ZIPPO lighter.
Gordon described the gas/oil mix degraded about 50% per month. HALF THE LUBRICITY is gone a month after the gas/oil mix, another half disappears the 2nd month, now you only have 25% of the lubricate, 3rd month about 12-1/2%. How far do you want to press your luck?
I removed the muffler/spark arrested from the 025, checked the cylinder as good as I could, didn't see any score marks, it just seemed like it was running lean. OF course if it was scoring the cylinder it would be above the exhaust port, impossible to see looking into the cylinder thru the port.
Chain saws are a popular topic on lots of websites, the new MS numbered saws do not seem to be as durable & popular as the 3 digit numbered saws.

 

[Destroked 450]

(quoted from post at 07:36:28 01/04/23) Thanks fellas!
Gave me some goood stuff to ponder.
I should have specified this in the parameters above but I am certain I want a gas powered Stihl saw.

It s not gas but here s my latest saw

I worked in logging and sawmills a good bit over the years but now I may not pick up a saw but once a year
My old Husky 261 hasn t been started in 8 plus years, my little Efco as sit long enough that it ll need a carb to get it going again

I was looking at a Milwaukee 18 volt saw since I have other tools of than brand, but looking and reading about the 56 volt Echo products plus the lower cost and longer warranty I purchased the Echo DCS5000
It comes with a 18 inch bar but I had them exchange it for a 16 inch
Don t need the extra length and a shorter bar will give it extra power
Learned long ago that a bigger saw with a shorter bar will have more power and cut faster than a smaller saw with a longer bar

 

[Blackhole49]

I'm 69 and have 2 electric an 6 gas chain saws. The saw I grab 95% of the time is my 38 year old Shindiawa 500 with an 18 bar that I bought new. It runs and cuts as good today as it did when I bought it. Before I got natural gas, I burned 4 full cord of wood a year and this was the only was I owned back then.

 

[the tractor vet]

Well i have two , one is and OLD Homelite 150 that i have had since 1974 and even today just add fresh gas and9 pulls later your sawing . I also had a husky 455 rancher that i have never used yet , it was a Freebee . One morning as i was walking my dog and still not wide awake as we were walking back to the house i noticed something Orange sticking out from under my big evergreen and like i said i was not wide awake and somewhat fuzzy vision due to the night before and suffern from sever dog bite i first thought it was a basket ball from a distance as i got closer i saw it was a Chain saw stuffed under the evergreen . Well it is not mine it must have fallen out of someones truck and tumbled the 20 feet up the hill and then placed it's self neatly under my tree . I looked to see if one could see where it hit the curb lawn or any place on the bank and not a sign , it was neatly tucked under the base of the tree. . HUMMMM some low life must have stollen it and was running when they saw headlights and dumped it thinking they would come back for it later . So i called the local cops and when they showed up i asked if anyone has reported a stolen chainsaw and i was told no but they would place it in lost and found and if no one claimed it in 30 days i could claim it . so in 30 days i went and picked up my new saw , it has a 20 inch bar on it that has no ware on it .

 

[Dean]

Another thought, UD.

If you buy a 6 pack of Stihl Silver synthetic 2 cycle oil at the same time as you buy your new Stihl saw, the duration of the Stihl manufacturer's warranty is doubled.

 

[sotxbill]

Since I dont use wood for heat.. We do a lot of fence and road clearing at the ranch and trim up here at home. Got an inverter for the 4 mule that runs a tree trimmer and its great for higher up limbs, and reaching into thorny mesquite, huesache??, and huahia??. As we have a few cab tractors now it important to keep the big limbs from breaking the glass and keeping the mirrors and lights on the tractors as we get older... November we recleared around 3 miles of fence so we could repair and patch it.. as we keep moving around the pastures. Also got a dewalt battery chain saw for the bigger stuff but I dont think its more than 14 inches... and it shares batteries with my xr impacts. So between the two, we move fairly fast and by the time the dewalt battery is needing charging, I'm ready to come in for a little recharging myself.. (also be 70 this year) I try to keep the bigger chain saws put up at this point but have them for occasional tree falls. If possible I let the tractors drag the bigger trees out of the way.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I don't know, I have a 14 electric chainsaw that will cut anything the 14 bar will cut. I've had a number of different gas chainsaws including Stihl and have to say the best saw I've ever had is the Craftsman saw I'm currently using.

 

[boler76]

since you already have a good electric saw, do you have a good electric generator?

 

[Russ from MN]

I have not had a problem with mixed gas degrading that quickly, in the spring I will be using some that was mixed some time last fall, and I expect it to burn just fine, as it has in past years. But, maybe we have better gas in MN! We have 91 octane without ethanol available most everywhere, and that's what I buy for mixing.

 

[ASEguy]

I have two Stihls. My go to is my 261C with an S chain. Starts easily and does a great job on larger trees, something a smaller saw will be worked to death doing. It has a 20 bar.

 

[Ultradog MN]

'I have two Stihls.'
Lucky or maybe just smart? Guy!
I live just a few blocks from a big Stihl dealer. Stopped by there and got a pamphlet on their models.
I don't need it till spring. Wondering if I should buy now and get 2022 pricing or wait to see if they have a sale between now and then.
I suppose 2023 will have inevitable price increases so a sale saw would be about the same as 2022 pricing.
Horse apiece maybe...