Stihl 440/044 vs Husky 372 vs Dolmar 7300

[wendell]

Yea man, sounds like a great plan. the night race is awesome and I've only been once. It has been sold out every year for awhile.
I hope the Roush/Fenway team gets going good toward the end too. Like to see Kenseth bring home another Cup. He made the chase every year except last, as I'm sure you know. I think he was one spot out last year.

Yes, that is a fact I am painfully aware of. They are actually advertising tickets for the night race. This might be the time!!

 

[HEAVY FUEL]

Just search on here for dolmar 7900 and read about it. I think if you took the stickers off of a 7300 and 7900 and with a 24" bar you couldn't tell the difference. The dealer I bought a 7900 from had both. I ran both and ended up buying the 7900 as he give me a killer deal on it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 7300 if it fits your budget and you have a dealer nearby.

+1

Got both 7300 & 7900. Blind folded don't know if I could tell them apart. Maybe with the bars buried I could. My 73 has beat my 79 more than once.

 

[rms61moparman]

Well to get this thread back to the topic,

If you have a Dolmar dealer near you you would be silly to pay as much for a used 044/440 or 372 as a new 7300.
The 7300 will cut with or outcut these saws, has as good or better build quality, great engineering and will come with a WARRANTY!!!
They use the readily available Husky mount bars and "normal" DL count chains and are easy to use maintain and service.
There is no BETTER built saw on the market, and absolutely no better saw value available today!


Mike

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Well to get this thread back to the topic,

If you have a Dolmar dealer near you you would be silly to pay as much for a used 044/440 or 372 as a new 7300.
The 7300 will cut with or outcut these saws, has as good or better build quality, great engineering and will come with a WARRANTY!!!
They use the readily available Husky mount bars and "normal" DL count chains and are easy to use maintain and service.
There is no BETTER built saw on the market, and absolutely no better saw value available today!


Mike

I agree with most of this!
The 7900 is the only one I can speak on. But that sucker will cut!

I stick with Stihl because I have never had one problem with the quality in 15 years. But that don't mean I won't own a Dolmar 7900 one day.

Best value? Yea, I will second that. You can't beat the price on the 7900 or the 7300 for that matter. But for the price difference in the two, it's 7900 for me.

 

[fishercat]

the 7900 is a great saw.

I will have to say since I ported my 372 I use it way more. I have always liked the fit of the 372 slightly better, but that's me. When you factor price and power into the equation the 7900 cannot be beat for value IMO.

I'm just stubborn and I like the way my 372s feel in my hands.Just don't want to get used to something else.Mine are all stock.I have built a couple nasty 372s for others but I hate noise so mine are loud enough stock.

 

[wigglesworth]

So...what's better, the Camaro or the Mustang or the Challenger? The Silverado the Ram or the F150?

The first two saws you mention are true legends. They have fell and bucked millions upon millions of board feet of timber, and cut more firewood than any of us here on AS have the mental capacity to count that high. You cannot go wrong with either of those two choices.

About the Dolmar, are they great saws?....Absolutely. Are they powerful?.... You bet your bippy. Are they smooth?.... Yep. Light?.... Yep.

But IMHO, they don't feel near as good as your first two choices in MY hands. They just feel bulky and plasticy. But, that is just my opinion, and opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one, and some peoples stink more than others.

So in my meager attempt to derail this "7900 lovefest", you better try it before you buy it, you might not like it as much as everybody else does. I dont.

 

[mdavlee]

I like the huskys front handle bar best, then the dolmar, jonsered, and the stihl last. The stihls are good saws as is the dolmars. They just don't feel as good to use when falling and limbing with a big saw and 28" or 32" bar. The angled handle bar works best for the limbing.

 

[wendell]

So...what's better, the Camaro or the Mustang or the Challenger? The Silverado the Ram or the F150?

Mustang and F150! opcorn:

 

[2000ssm6]

Mustang and F150! opcorn:

Camaro and Silverado!!

 

[2000ssm6]

So in my meager attempt to derail this "7900 lovefest", you better try it before you buy it, you might not like it as much as everybody else does. I dont.

I've ran some very fast 7900s but Stihl can't bring my self to like 'em enough to buy one. Just something about them, almost like a red headed step child.

 

[rms61moparman]

Challenger and RAM!!!


Mike

 

[wigglesworth]

Im totally an "old model" Camaro and Silverado guy. I cant stand the new Camaro. They went too modern on it. They should have took a page out of the Ford book and made it more retro looking. A friend of mine bought a rolling chassis 67 Camaro, and we built a strong big journal 327/350 hybrid, a 400 turbo trans and a narrowed 12 bolt with 4:11 gears. It would only run about 110 MPH, but my god would it get there fast.


Oh yea.....HOORAY 044!!!

 

[rms61moparman]

Im totally an "old model" Camaro and Silverado guy. I cant stand the new Camaro. They went too modern on it. They should have took a page out of the Ford book and made it more retro looking. A friend of mine bought a rolling chassis 67 Camaro, and we built a strong big journal 327/350 hybrid, a 400 turbo trans and a narrowed 12 bolt with 4:11 gears. It would only run about 110 MPH, but my god would it get there fast.


Oh yea.....HOORAY 044!!!

I agree!

Ford and Chrysler did a much better job on their "retros" than Chevrolet did.
I would SOOO love to get my hands on one of those new Challengers!!!
Unfortunately, they are "Toys for rich boys" just like the originals were!


Mike

 

[2000ssm6]

I agree!

Ford and Chrysler did a much better job on their "retros" than Chevrolet did.
I would SOOO love to get my hands on one of those new Challengers!!!
Unfortunately, they are "Toys for rich boys" just like the originals were!


Mike

I think the new body(05+) Mustang looks like crap. Mopar did the Challenger right though. All it needs is a diet and a GM powertrain.

I really like the 93-02 style F bodys, the newer ones look ok but I think they could have went more retro.

 

[SawTroll]

Well to get this thread back to the topic,

If you have a Dolmar dealer near you you would be silly to pay as much for a used 044/440 or 372 as a new 7300.
The 7300 will cut with or outcut these saws, has as good or better build quality, great engineering and will come with a WARRANTY!!!
They use the readily available Husky mount bars and "normal" DL count chains and are easy to use maintain and service.
There is no BETTER built saw on the market, and absolutely no better saw value available today!


Mike

It looks like you are a bit optimistic regarding the build quality and engineering of Dolmar saws. They made mistakes that they really didn't have to make in 2002 or so - and a couple of them still is there. There has been a lot of complaints about the air filtration and chain tensioner, even though I don't think they are a real problem for most users.......

The 372xp also suffer from a less than perfect chain tensioner (but it works surpricingly well) - and the MS440 suffer from out-dated air filtration, AV and cylinder transfers.

No saw design is perfect!

 

[mdavlee]

I like the tensioner in the cover personally. The air filter needed improvement on the Dolmar. Other than that the're right there with the others in the other categories.

 

[rms61moparman]

There has been a lot of complaints about the air filtration and chain tensioner, even though I don't think the are a real problem for most users.......

Actually there has been a lot of talk about a FEW overblown complaints.
I ran a 3400 Poulan for 20 years. Without doubt one of the worst air filtration systems ever on a saw, and I had absolutely zero problem with it.
The Dolmar system is LIGHT YEARS ahead of that so I don't expect to ever have a problem with it either. There might be a problem if you were milling with the saw everyday for hours on end, but I've seen some 7900s that have done a bunch of milling without so much as a hiccup.

I don't care for ANY side tensioning system but don't see the Dolmar as any better or worse that the rest.

Maybe I'm just too easy to please!!!
Shame on me for not being more diligent in my search for something to b!+ch about!
I'll go stand in the corner now.


Mike

 

[mdavlee]

:agree2: I can't fault the dolmars or the stihls because the handle doesn't feel right for me to use for long periods of time. If stihls av was better than a pioneer then I might like to run them more.

 

[MCW]

Actually there has been a lot of talk about a FEW overblown complaints.

Mike

As far as the filtration goes it does depend a lot on the conditions you cut in. The standard, non-oiled 7900 filter is crap in my conditions, but the HD filter is top notch and one of the best (if not the best?) on the market.
But then I've got two 390XP's with the high top kits and their filters need to be oiled to keep wood dust out...

 

[rms61moparman]

As far as the filtration goes it does depend a lot on the conditions you cut in. The standard, non-oiled 7900 filter is crap in my conditions, but the HD filter is top notch and one of the best (if not the best?) on the market.
But then I've got two 390XP's with the high top kits and their filters need to be oiled to keep wood dust out...

What stock filter isn't crap with that petrified stuff youall cut down there???
Anything that is good for your conditions would be overkill in 99% of the rest of the world.

I'd like to know just how many Dolmars have been toasted by sawdust getting past the filter.
I'd venture to say that it has been very few.


Mike