Better Chainsaw

[randywallace]

I have one of each and really cant tell much difference. On both, I pull em on choke till its turns over once. Turn the choke off and pull once.....then its cuttin time!

[tdog]

290 Farm Boss here, never lets me down.

[BeastMaster]

I think the husq runs a lil higher RPM while the stihl has a lil more torq... i hate husq myself.. stihl all the way.. as mentioned above.. once you learn the cranking sequence, cranking will be on the second or third pull EVERY TIME. the only problem you will ever have will be a result of using bad gas.. run some sea foam through it periodically to keep carb clean.

[Jeff]

I like the Stihl also myself. One thing that scares me about Husqvarna is that they are sold in box stores now. The could be making top notch stuff still, however I find once most stuff gets in box stores it gets built "cheaper". May not be the case with Husqvarna, but Stihl has never done me wrong, and I have four of them from 16"-24" bars. They are only sold by independent dealers also so you can support the "little" guy in buying one.

[brake man]

I have been considering buying a chain saw so this thread has been informative. I had already decided that my new chain saw would either be a Stihl or a Husky so it is good minds run in the same channel.

One question, though, is what blade and engine size would folks recommend for me to get? After working with some crews from church to help do some clean-up from tornadoes last year, I am pretty sure that I want at least a 20" saw to be able to handle some larger wood but have not thought I needed anything larger. A local fella showed up with a Stihl (about a 20" or 22" blade) and went to town on some big trees--made us "city slickers" (it was evident that's what he thought we were) look like lightweights when our Poulans, McColloughs (sp?), and other similar saws weren't doing much.

Also, would anyone buy only a new saw, or would you trust buying a used one?

[Deltamud77]

I have been considering buying a chain saw so this thread has been informative. I had already decided that my new chain saw would either be a Stihl or a Husky so it is good minds run in the same channel.

One question, though, is what blade and engine size would folks recommend for me to get? After working with some crews from church to help do some clean-up from tornadoes last year, I am pretty sure that I want at least a 20" saw to be able to handle some larger wood but have not thought I needed anything larger. A local fella showed up with a Stihl (about a 20" or 22" blade) and went to town on some big trees--made us "city slickers" (it was evident that's what he thought we were) look like lightweights when our Poulans, McColloughs (sp?), and other similar saws weren't doing much.

Also, would anyone buy only a new saw, or would you trust buying a used one?

The stihl that I currently use (a city slicker friend of mine's saw) is a farmboss 310 with a 24" bar. I really like the saw and have never really had any of the trouble out of it being described on here as far as flooding is concerned.

The saw that I will buy (and it will be a stihl after this thread) will have a 24" bar as well. Even larger cc saws made today running long bars are light compared to the steel cased saws of yesteryear.

[Jeff]

Something to consider in a saw. The longer bars are very nice as you can cut more stuff with them. However, the bigger engines make for a heavier saw. They also generate a lot more kick when cutting stuff which makes them more dangerous for an occasional user.

I run my saws about once a week on my farm, and I can tell you that I have up to a 24" saw, and I find myself using the 18" more often than any of them. It's very light, and very easy to cut with. Just a thought.....

[kevinw]

We just became a Husky dealer at my office and I bought the 346xp and this saw is freakin bad booty. Cranking it is real easy and this son of a gun is some kinda quick. I got mine with a 16" bar. I did some research on this saw and it is the quickest, talking rpm's or chain turning, saw on the market.

[GordonGekko]

the Husky's before the "big box" deal began are all some REALLY good saws...and the "professional" models are still as good as any on the market.... my 18" bar handles almost all of the stuff I've ever needed without breaking much of a sweat.... I have also "inherited" a Husky 372 with a 24" and while it is sure enough a bad dude...I think it may sit unused for quite a while (my dad ended up with a smaller lighter Stihl)....

[BeastMaster]

depending on what size you intend to use it primarily for... for cutting firewood etc.. i would stick to a 16" or 18"... anything larger and it will whoop you down b/c of the weight.

[teul2]

I ran my Stihl 280 wood boss for 3 days solid after Katrina. I sharpened the chain by hand every night.

I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a 20" bar on it. There were many times I couldn't get all the "bite" i wanted with the 18" bar on my uncle's. The 20 is the way to go.

Side note, we were cutting 200+ year old live oaks, so ya needed a big bar and a sharp chain.

[stevea]

i have both and both are great saws the only problem i have ever had was a bad fuel line on the stihl i use stabil in my gas and dump it out and run the saw out if they are going to set for a while i think either would be good for residential my neighbor is a comercial tree cutter and he swears by the stihl he told me the husquarna just does'nt hold up like the stihl

[h2o_dog]

+1 on the lighter saw for occasional use.
I was trying to decide between Farm Boss and 250 when I was looking to buy a saw 4-5 years ago. I went with the 250 w/18" bar and I've been happy with my decision.

[ajlineman]

We use stihl at work. I use husky at the house. The husky seems to be made better it has a sturdier feel to it. Not to mention it runs higher rpms. I don't dislike the stihl. To each his own. Whatever you get though get the industrial model

[jar0023]

I have a Husky 340 I bought 5 years ago when I bought my current house. I only run it 6-8 times a year but when I need it, it's there. For my needs it's been great. When I was looking it was between Husky and Stihl. For the money and roughly same bar length Husky had more displacement than Stihl. That was the tipping point for me.

J