Anyone Running A 20" 3/8 Bar On A Husky 550XP Or Gave it A Try ?

[gsrsol84mm]

Ran the 550xp today with 20" Pro Lite Bar And 3/8 Stihl Yellow RS Full Chisel Chain. It felt very comfortable and I think it's slightly slower in the Elm than the Skip Full Chisel chain. I think the RS would be better for limbing. The 20" bar really chewed through 8"-10" pieces of Elm.
Still have to try the the Semi Chisel RMC chain which is on the way in the 20" bar.
Will try the 18" pro Lite bar next with the different chains and see how she performs. I am very happy with the 20" bar and like the reach a lot. She balances well with the 20" pro lite bar. I am sure there will be a little more cutting power with the 18" Bar but not worth it to me for the loss of reach, just have to try and see.

Here is the link for the video as well as the imbedded clip below Husky 550xp With 20" Pro Lite Bar Stihl RS 72 Link Yellow Chisel Chain - YouTube


[video=youtube_share;OP6wtNFZwMA]http://youtu.be/OP6wtNFZwMA[/video]

 

[Joe Kidd]

Ran the 550xp today with 20" Pro Lite Bar And 3/8 Stihl Yellow RS Full Chisel Chain. It felt very comfortable and I think it's slightly slower in the Elm than the Skip Full Chisel chain. I think the RS would be better for limbing. The 20" bar really chewed through 8"-10" pieces of Elm.
Still have to try the the Semi Chisel RMC chain which is on the way in the 20" bar.
Will try the 18" pro Lite bar next with the different chains and see how she performs. I am very happy with the 20" bar and like the reach a lot. She balances well with the 20" pro lite bar. I am sure there will be a little more cutting power with the 18" Bar but not worth it to me for the loss of reach, just have to try and see.

Here is the link for the video as well as the imbedded clip below Husky 550xp With 20" Pro Lite Bar Stihl RS 72 Link Yellow Chisel Chain - YouTube


[video=youtube_share;OP6wtNFZwMA]http://youtu.be/OP6wtNFZwMA[/video]

Try a loop of 72CL.

 

[SawTroll]

You basically destroy the balance and handling of a light 50cc saw by putting a 20" bar on it - but each to their own!

 

[ShaneLogs]

My dealer has the 550XP with a 20" 3/8 bar and chain that it comes stock with. I have talked to some people that have it around and they said they really like it was the 20" bar

 

[gsrsol84mm]

You basically destroy the balance and handling of a light 50cc saw by putting a 20" bar on it - but each to their own!

Appreciate the positive encouragement, thank you. That is the beauty of trying something yourself, you get to make your own decisions and don't have to rely on someone else.

 

[hoeyrd2110]

personally i won't run .325 period but a 20" 3/8's full comp on that saw should be fine you just can't "muscle" it like you can say a 3400 or Dolmar 540 in big wood. think of the 550 as beefed up 40cc class to 50cc class vs (heavier) mid 50cc saw which is a watered down 60cc class saw. you just don't get any torque out of them little buggers like the slightly heavier and larger mid 50cc class. not that it's bad just made for an intended use. the days of the 50cc bucking saw are gone. you can't run more than a 16" before they all fall flat on their face compared to the older models.

 

[Joe Kidd]

Appreciate the positive encouragement, thank you. That is the beauty of trying something yourself, you get to make your own decisions and don't have to rely on someone else.

You asked me about a 562xp earlier. It'll rip that size wood much faster with a 20" bar. Personally I like 16" on the 550 and 20" on the 562.

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Looking at a 562xp right now. Would like to get it with the 24" husky bar and then pick up a techlite 20" bar. I am sure the 20" on the 562xp will have more guts and handle better in bigger wood. It would be nice to also have a 24" bar for the 562xp on the rare occasion I would need it.

For felling or cutting up big wood I am sure the 20" bar on the 550xp would not be the best choice. For limbing and general cleanup I am sure it's going to work well and I like the reach. Hopefully I will get to test the 18" bar on the 550xp soon and see what it's all about. Maybe someone on AS would be kind enough to let me borrow a 16" 3/8 bar and chain so I could test it on the 550xp.

 

[Philip Wheelock]

You basically destroy the balance and handling of a light 50cc saw by putting a 20" bar on it - but each to their own!

:agree2: A 20" bar handles better and cuts faster on a 562xp. Same story with an MS440:

View attachment 312856

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Looking at a 562xp right now. Would like to get it with the 24" husky bar and then pick up a techlite 20" bar. I am sure the 20" on the 562xp will have more guts and handle better in bigger wood. It would be nice to also have a 24" bar for the 562xp on the rare occasion I would need it.

I've got a muffler modded 562XP with a 28" TechLite pulling skip tooth chain and it gets the job done. I'll be getting a 20" TechLite for my stock 562 at some point.

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Yes Sir, I like it.
Did you do the muffler mod yourself and how much did you take out of the muffler ? any pics ?

Great Picture of the husky,

Appreciate the reply, thank you

I've got a muffler modded 562XP with a 28" TechLite pulling skip tooth chain and it gets the job done. I'll be getting a 20" TechLite for my stock 562 at some point.

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Oh no, I just realized that the 28" bar is basically going to destroy the balance and handling of that light 60cc saw. I think you should immediately remove it and send it down to me along with the chain. :smile2:

 

[a. palmer jr.]

You basically destroy the balance and handling of a light 50cc saw by putting a 20" bar on it - but each to their own!

Husqvarna puts 18" bars on many of their mid size saws and they do seem to handle well..

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Did you do the muffler mod yourself and how much did you take out of the muffler ? any pics ?

I picked the saw up used and it was already modded. It has a second port on the side above the chain and I don't think anything was done internally.

 

[SawTroll]

Appreciate the positive encouragement, thank you. That is the beauty of trying something yourself, you get to make your own decisions and don't have to rely on someone else.

That's what it always comes down to - people are different and react differently! :msp_biggrin:

 

[treesmith]

I've been trying 3/8 .063 18" on a mastermind 261 and it's good so far even in dead gum

 

[gsrsol84mm]

I've been trying 3/8 .063 18" on a mastermind 261 and it's good so far even in dead gum

Hopefully I will run The 550xp this weekend with the 18" pro lite bar with chisel RSF skip chain and non skip RS chain. Will run it in the Elm as well and see how it does.
I would expect the 18" to run even better than the 20" which ran very well. Will post up the vdeo when I run the 18" bar.

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Ran The 550XP today with the 18" Pro Lite 3/8 Bar.
Here is the video of the 3/8 Stihl RSF Full Skip Yellow Chisel Chain. She ran well with the 18" bar but I must say that I prefer the 20" bar. It feels like it handles better for me and feels smoother. I don't see a huge difference in the skip and non skip chisel chain and would probably go with the RS non skip chain as there is probably less kickback when limbing. I am going to get a Pro Lite 16" bar and run it just to see what it's all about.

HUSKY 550XP 18" Pro Lite 3/8 Bar Stihl Full Skip RSF Yellow Chain
[video=youtube_share;Q97hJkGUZQo]http://youtu.be/Q97hJkGUZQo[/video]

 

[gsrsol84mm]

Husky 550Xp With 18" Pro Lite 3/8 Bar, Stihl RS Full Chisel Yellow Chain

[video=youtube_share;9-Ip0cxHPDk]http://youtu.be/9-Ip0cxHPDk[/video]