So with us buying our new house, I will also need to buy a new chainsaw to cut some firewood. What are your suggestions, I will more than likely be buying a stihl unless y'all can change my mind. What size do you recommend?

I have a Stihl 026-Pro w/18" bar I bought almost 20 years ago...cut many a tree....used wood to heat the house for 7 years in NE Ohio...still running strong....

Another fan of Stihl here.

i have a Stihl MS290, my father has a 028-Wood Boss that he has had since the 80's. I strongly recommend Stihl. Husqvarna is also a good brand.

I have used stihl poulan and craftsman saws. I have yet to have one not work that didn't involve operator error.

As far as size, that depends mainly on what size wood you are cutting. If you are going to be cutting small branches and doing minor landscaping, I would recommend an arborist saw (MS 150, MS192, MS193, and MS201). For smaller trees and occasional use I would got with a MS251, MS261, or MS271. If you have a lot of trees to clear or some bigger trees, go for the MS291 or the MS311. I would say 18 inch bars on the larger saws, 14"-16" for the medium saws, and 12" or 14" for the arborist saw.

I have a Stihl 20" and I hate it. It has never quit after 16 years, but it uses bar chain oil like crazy and if you don't remember to crack the vent then it will all leak out after use. I've used a Echo and Husqvarna and have to say the Husqvarna was the best of the 3. Tons of power and very smooth operation

my chainsaw thread

should save some response time

Echo is another good choice along with Stihl. Id choose which ever has a good dealership close to you. BUY FROM A DEALER not a box store. Anyone who handles stihl must work on them I believe but even so id find a tractor or outdoor power shop that handles them

18-20 as far as size. Iv always like 18s

18" Stihl Farm Boss purchased in 2002. Still cranks every time I ask it to and will run literally all day. I've worked it days where I refilled the fuel tank five times and swapped chains three times. The saw just won't quit!

My trimmer, pole saw, and leaf blower are all labeled Stihl as well.

My advice for the thread. The gas we have now is cr@p, if you are going to be using the chainsaw all the time then use the typical method. If you are going to be using the chainsaw once every 3-6 months then buy the premixed 2 cycle fuel, it will not go bad on you like ethanol gas/oil mix will.

+1

I always use Seafoam and marine stabils in all my small engines and have been ok up to a year. That is if I can't swap out the fuel with fresh. Was nice when it was still easy to find clean fuel, even if it was at a marina, but now it is almost impossible to find ethanol free fuel around here. Those cans you can buy of pre-mix can be much cheaper than carb work if you don't make a habit out of treating fuel, or running your equipment regular.

BTW, I have a Husqvaurna 18" 350 and have used it religiously since 2004, always runs. I don't think you can go wrong with Husky ,Sthil, or Echo, if it has the feature you like.

I have a Stihl 036........

We run all stihl in my rental store, the only thing that can gold up.

Walter

I bet they do add to your pile of gold.



I quoted it, so you can't fix it.

Lol yeah about the pile. Meant to say hold, but you knew that. I pile of gold is tractors....

Walter

I'm a Stihl fan. I think I could get by with the MS-180C with 16 inch bar, and we use a lot of firewood each winter. But, every now and then I have to drag out the 029 Farm Boss with the 20 inch bar.

My old buddy Pete said that a man that needs a chainsaw really needs two chainsaws. I have come around to that thinking. One is not enough if you spend a lot of time with using chainsaws.

I had both my huskys stolen and was short on budget so I gave the Poulan pro that Harbor freight sells a shot. Ran like a champ. It's a nice kit too. Comes with a case, extra Chain, bar oil, 2 stroke oil, a nice hand file, and a pair of gloves.
I have not tied tuning the carb or changing the chain teeth sharpening angle because it performs so well out of the box.

Poulan makes a decent chainsaw. After I was dragging that Farm Boss around for a year or so, I decided to get a smaller chainsaw. I got a Poulan with a 14 inch bar. It worked great, and I used it a lot. Over time, however, the saw just didn't hold together like the Farm Boss did. The chain tightener broke on the Poulan and I replaced it with a part from a dead Sears chainsaw (same saw) that was a different color. Not that it matters. But, the Poulan got harder to start and started dying on me when I'd work it hard, and it leaked bar oil badly. Finally one day I was using it and it quit on me one more darn time. There was a guy helping me. I gave him the saw on the spot. Went and bought that little Stihl MS180C. And all the time that old Farm Boss just kept on running. The Poulan came into my life and left, and I guess it lasted 5 years or so. It was a good saw, but not Stihl quality.

My old buddy Pete was in the lumber business. He cut Cedar trees down and milled them into planks. He was a Poulan guy, and he used and killed a bunch of them. He had parts and dead saws all over his barn. He just abused them till they died and he'd get another one. But..one day a son-in-law gave him a big Husky (I can't spell it) and he got introduced to the 'good stuff'. Man, he loved that Husky. But somehow he burned it up. Had to go back to Poulan. I wonder just how many chainsaws he destroyed. Pete's dead now, so I can't ask him.

First Choice - Stihl
Second Choice - Echo

I own all Stihl, but those Echos are tough to beat.

Stihl. Get one bigger than you think you will need. Sooner or later you will need a bigger saw. A larger, more powerful saw will make the work easier and the work being done will be easier on the saw too.

I've worn out 4 or 5 saws over the years. I always bought Stihls or Echos. Then I got a Stihl with the snap caps and wound up pouring a lot of bar oil on my legs. I took it to the dealer who called Stihl. He was told to send it to the "repair center" North of Dallas. That guy told me that I had ruined it by over filling it with oil and should have only filled it about 90%. For some reason I still had the original instructions but had never bothered reading it. So I looked and there was no mention of it. I called Stihl and got no love there. I talked to a local repair guy who told me that Stihl and been having trouble with the snap caps for years and were supposedly going back to screw in ones. That told me that they had been selling a problem product for years that they would not back under warranty. The saw got stolen and I didn't report it to the cops. I was afraid that they might find and return it.

My current saws are both Echos and I've never had a problem. They do some clearing and a couple of cords per year. As you age you'll find that big saws are OK for big wood but a 16 inch bar is just right for 90% of wood cutting.

I have friends that do a lot of saw work and they swear by the Huskys.

Stihl