025 and 029 bar & chain rec's

[sdt008]

I've been reading posts on this site for months and have found them extremely helpful...so thank you for the help and guidance you have already provided me.

A 025 and 029 recently found their way into my garage. Both were so "affordable" I couldn't pass them up. The 025 has a 18" bar on it and the 029 has a 16" bar on it. Both bar and chains appear to be the "standard" green low kickback. The 025 is well used...but not abused and the bar and chain are almost brand new. The 029...well, I'd be hard put to believe it has seen more than 2 or 3 tanks of gas in it. The bar code sticker is still intact and the trigger still has that new saw "click" to it. I was thinking of keeping the 16" bar on the 029, picking up a 20" combo for it, selling the 025 as is, but then I began reading posts about different chains (.325, .350, full chisel, picco, etc.). So i started to second guess myself, kind of got the saw bug (CAD?), and began thinking of different combo's. I also thought I might keep the 025 and try my hand at doing my first "mod"

The saw(s) will be used for firewood. I cut and split about 6-8 face cords a year. Mainly walnut, cheery, oak, ash.... 95%+ could easily be cut with an 18" blade. My father has a mid 70's homelite (sorry not sure which one) with a 26" blade that if I ever really needed a Big Dawg, I could use it (the thing is a tank).

Question 1: wouldn't it make more sense to have the 16" on the 025 and put the 18" on the 029? After all, if an 18" would be adequate for 95% of cutting needs...16" on the 025 make limbing that much easier??? Doesn't make sense for me to switch back and forth between 16" and 20" on the 029..right? Unless of course I do part ways with the 025.

Questions 2: If I keep the 025 for limbing and use the 029 for bucking...got any chain recommendations? This is kind of what I leaning toward at the moment.

Question 3: If I change the chain to something more aggressive (which is what I'd like to do, esp on the 029)...do I need to change the bar? and what about the chain sprocket?

Any suggestions?

And yes, the thought has crossed my mind to dump both the saws on CL or EB, take the profit and put it toward a MS361...or maybe a 441...or maybe a 576xp. They all seem like major over kill for what I'd use them for and...$$ is an issue.
Thanks

 

[synness4]

hi there i read your post and was thinkin i might help i have a 029 with a 20" bar it's my main saw as long as ido my part it works great ive cut 12+ cord in the last few months the 025 i don't have any exp. with or know chain it runs my o29 has 3/8 you could take them in to your local shop and ask if they swap great if not mabe try em as they are or buy 20 for the 029 good luck

 

[windthrown]

Note that the .325 bar and chain on the 025 is not the same size as the .325 that comes on the 029. There is a higher link count on the 029 and the bars are different. So you cannot swap the bars and chains between them.

I have also found that the 025 cuts better with low profile (3/8 picco) bar and chain. That is becasue the kerf on the .325 is real wide, and so the bar tends to wander in the cut. They no longer make narrow kerf .325 for Stihl. I tried and tried to find that stuff. I run 3/8 bars and chains on the 290 and I prefer that to the .325 as well. I swap the bars and chains with the 361's, as they are the same size. I run up to a 20 inch bar on the 290 too.

But you are hosed on the bar swapping on the 025 and the 029. Sorry. As for running more aggressive chains, that is not a problem. You can get a variety of chains with different cutters, green or yellow in all sizes for Stihl. I use RM myself. Semi chisel is and old design and good for rougher and cruddier conditions and it stays sharp longer. Not as fast cutting as full chisel, but you need clean wood for using that stuff in.

As for cutting, I would keep the saws and cut with them and see how you like them. If you do not like them overr time, you can always unload them. I would get rim sprockets for them both though, which is what I have on all my Stihl saws. Rims are better on the chains, and they are easy and cheap to preplace. You can also get different rim counts for longer and shorter bars. On the 025 I run a 16 inch bar with a 7 pin rim (faster revs, less torque). On the 250 I have an 18 inch bar with a 6 pin rim (slower chain speed, but more torque to drag more cutters through the wood).