031av vs. 455 rancher

[cuttin-4-heat]

i have the 31 buddy has the 455. my 31 i got from my exgirlfriends granddad he said it was junk. i brought it home and cleaned it up and got it runnin but still dont seem right. my buddy got the 455 brand new w 20 in bar my 31 has 16in bar came that way. i know it should be able to pull a 20 but know it wont right now. i need to make my 31 at least be comparable am i nuts or something it should be able to hold up to his mac daddy of saw accordin to him here folks not me. i dont really like his rancher. what are yalls thoughts as to a head to head battle 031 vs his husky??

 

[husky455rancher]

455 is ok but its far from the "mac daddy" lol. you cold do a muffler mod too and gain more ground ther also.i will say after running some others the 455 does an incredable amount of cutting per gallon lol.

 

[jeeptj19992001]

i have both, 455 blows the 031 away, they both have their place. the 031 is old tech, while the 455 is new tech, but i still use my 031 more then the 455.

 

[Outlaw5.0]

I can only comment on the 031AV. The one I have is very strong, has been well cared for, pulls a 18" bar with good Stihl classic full chisel chain with no problems. Its not the fastest saw, but gets the job done.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

I would think the 041 and surely the 051 would eat him alive, but not the 031 sorry man.

 

[Ske-bum]

i have the 31 buddy has the 455. my 31 i got from my exgirlfriends granddad he said it was junk. i brought it home and cleaned it up and got it runnin but still dont seem right. my buddy got the 455 brand new w 20 in bar my 31 has 16in bar came that way. i know it should be able to pull a 20 but know it wont right now. i need to make my 31 at least be comparable am i nuts or something it should be able to hold up to his mac daddy of saw accordin to him here folks not me. i dont really like his rancher. what are yalls thoughts as to a head to head battle 031 vs his husky??

I have a 455 and it is far from a Mac daddy. Go buy a 372 and then go head to head.

 

[ciscoguy01]

Huh??

WTH are you talking about. I've run 031's for years. I got a 455 rancher for a day and couldn't get that friggin thing to cut an 18" ash to save it's life. What a POS! Any 031 I've ever run was 10x's the saw the 455 has ever been. It's not faster by any means. But bury the bar in some hardwood and lean on it and you'll see what I'm talking about. That little plastic thing will stall and smoke and die and that little 31 will keep throwin' the chips. Different technology. The 455 was design for small cutting homeowners, the 31 is a much heavier torqueier saw by far. That's what you gotta love about the old Stihls. If yours is doggy, I'd check compression and your rings and piston and cylinder. That's a 70's model saw, I'm sure its seen some pretty serious wear through the years even if it's in good shape. Your carb and speed should be adjusted also, maybe rebuild carb, if it's been sitting a while it probably has dried seals and whatnot... Get it checked out. I'm sure you'll be surprised with that old saws performance...

eh?

 

[jeeptj19992001]

WTH are you talking about. I've run 031's for years. I got a 455 rancher for a day and couldn't get that friggin thing to cut an 18" ash to save it's life. What a POS! Any 031 I've ever run was 10x's the saw the 455 has ever been. It's not faster by any means. But bury the bar in some hardwood and lean on it and you'll see what I'm talking about. That little plastic thing will stall and smoke and die and that little 31 will keep throwin' the chips. Different technology. The 455 was design for small cutting homeowners, the 31 is a much heavier torqueier saw by far. That's what you gotta love about the old Stihls. If yours is doggy, I'd check compression and your rings and piston and cylinder. That's a 70's model saw, I'm sure its seen some pretty serious wear through the years even if it's in good shape. Your carb and speed should be adjusted also, maybe rebuild carb, if it's been sitting a while it probably has dried seals and whatnot... Get it checked out. I'm sure you'll be surprised with that old saws performance...

eh?

try putting a chain on it next time

 

[SawTroll]

try putting a chain on it next time

Good idea!

 

[shadow745]

WTH are you talking about. I've run 031's for years. I got a 455 rancher for a day and couldn't get that friggin thing to cut an 18" ash to save it's life. What a POS! Any 031 I've ever run was 10x's the saw the 455 has ever been. It's not faster by any means. But bury the bar in some hardwood and lean on it and you'll see what I'm talking about. That little plastic thing will stall and smoke and die and that little 31 will keep throwin' the chips. Different technology. The 455 was design for small cutting homeowners, the 31 is a much heavier torqueier saw by far. That's what you gotta love about the old Stihls. If yours is doggy, I'd check compression and your rings and piston and cylinder. That's a 70's model saw, I'm sure its seen some pretty serious wear through the years even if it's in good shape. Your carb and speed should be adjusted also, maybe rebuild carb, if it's been sitting a while it probably has dried seals and whatnot... Get it checked out. I'm sure you'll be surprised with that old saws performance...

eh?

A 031 having more torque than the 455??? Doubt it. I will say that I haven't used the 031, but do occasionally use my 455 and that thing has a buttload of low end torque. With the 3/8 pitch it really digs in and usually rips the logs toward me. Yeah I'm sure it'd be better suited with .325 chain, but that's (3/8) what it came with and it does just fine. It may not be a "Pro" saw, but for the price it's hard to beat. I've used it to cut down maybe 25-30 trees that we were paying $100+/per tree in the past to have cut down, so it has saved me alot of money and has cut well from day one.

One another note, alot of people here like the older 026. Well I recently has the "pleasure" of holding one and firing it up. My dad paid $50 for it years ago. It needs some work (cleaning, chain sharpening, etc.) but that little thing didn't impress me one bit. Feels very weak and the air cleaner design is hideous..... Later!

 

[peter399]

But bury the bar in some hardwood and lean on it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

How hard can it be to understand: Do NOT lean on a saw. Do NOT (November Omega Tango) lean on the friggin saw.

Use sharp chains and let the saws do the job instead of stalling it with a dull chain !

 

[ciscoguy01]

ohhhhhh yea...

try putting a chain on it next time

I know. Your right. I forgot that those husky's are infamous for their power. Out of the box the chains are dull all the time. I didn't even think of that... Very insightful. Thanks

And here after 20yrs of cutting wood I coulda just put another chain on it. Come on. Myself a 3 others standing right there trying it out said the same thing. Probably 100yrs between us of wood cutting experience and none of us thought of a chain. Next time I'll go to wal-mart and buy a poulan instead. Same thing as the 455...

 

[boomboy110]

I personally haven't used a 031av. But, I do own a 455, and my dad owns a 029super, and I would say the two of them are very compareable. The big difference is that I have the 20" bar, and his only has a 16". So I imagine that if he were to put a 20" bar on his also, there would be a drastic loss in power. I gotta say though, the 455 has all the torque I could ask for. With a good sharp chain, I cut log after log with little to no effort:greenchainsaw: , it is actually a pleasure to cut with the saw.

 

[superfire]

wtf iz up

a 031 = lower speed and high toque
a 455 = high speed and low toque

 

[harrygrey382]

Do NOT (November Omega Tango) lean on the friggin saw.

you mean oscar yeah?
Love leaning on saws
opcorn:

 

[harrygrey382]

maybe if you really wanna beat him get (borrow) an 056 and put the 031 tag on it

 

[flyboy]

I have directly compared these saws. The 455 is quite pathetic in comparison to the 031av. I am able to cut about twice as fast with the 031. Also the 455 has really really bad balance. It is much lighter than the 031 yet I get much more tired much quicker when operating the 455. I would not recommend the 455 to anyone.

 

[mattmc2003]

Why not lean on a saw? You don't have to kill yourself or nothin, but some pressure don't hurt. If the chain is sharp, and throwin good chips, and you can bear down on it and it won't stall out, thats good power to me?

 

[superfire]

leanin on a saw= premature wear

leanin on a saw will strain the av system and the clutch system also the crank shaft bearings.

 

[mattmc2003]

Im not talkin about boggin the piss out of it. I mean not just holdin it and lettin it pull. A little down pressure don't hurt. The av springs are pretty stout. You'd have to be pretty mean to them to break them. How would it affect crank bearings?