Bought a new Stihl MS 290 Farm Boss
- Thread starter genesis5521
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Congats on your new saw!!!
I've owned an 029 Super for quite a few years and it's been a heck of a saw for me. It wasn't until I first started lurking around here on AS that I heard terms like "Anchor" and quite a bit of talk about the power to weight ratio.
As a non-pro landowner I just hadn't given that any thought before. (Just didn't know enough to know it was too heavy and to slow I guess...)
I seem to reach for my Echo CS-400 on a more regular basis now for most of the stuff I'm in to, but the 029 Super is as reliable as the sun coming up in the East, and I like knowing I have it - just in case.
You'll like it a lot for what you're doing.
I'd also like to say "Thanks" for your service and to all the Vets here on AS.
I've owned an 029 Super for quite a few years and it's been a heck of a saw for me. It wasn't until I first started lurking around here on AS that I heard terms like "Anchor" and quite a bit of talk about the power to weight ratio.
As a non-pro landowner I just hadn't given that any thought before. (Just didn't know enough to know it was too heavy and to slow I guess...)
I seem to reach for my Echo CS-400 on a more regular basis now for most of the stuff I'm in to, but the 029 Super is as reliable as the sun coming up in the East, and I like knowing I have it - just in case.
You'll like it a lot for what you're doing.
I'd also like to say "Thanks" for your service and to all the Vets here on AS.
Don I am just the opposite.If my PC goes on the blink I am all but lost however, if the equipment has a spark plug and a carburetor then their is a very good chance that I will be able to repair it.Ken
I spent two semesters in a community collage in NY.Best learning experience I have ever had.
indiansprings
Firewood Purveyor
Congratulations! You bought yourself the number one selling firewood saw in America. Even better made right here in the USA, by men and women in Virginia Beach, VA. They are a fantastic saw for the money, most won't ever admit it, but the 290's will cut more wood in day that most people are capable of cutting. I've got a cousin that has used one for years, he cuts cedar trees for a commercial mill with it, he will cut four or five 16' trailer loads of cedar logs a week with it and the saw has done it every week for four of five years. Don't pay any attention to the pro saw snobs, I'd run one any day because they are a good dependable design with millions of them sold and in use all across the world everyday. Everyone had their own opinion, I run my saws with Ultra mixed at 50:1 and have never had an issue. I hope you took advantage of the promo of buying a six pack of ultra and double your warranty to two years promotion.
Enjoy that saw, be safe and go out and make a pile of firewood, no telling how much more your going to get cut stepping up from a 170 to a 290. Your liable to become a firewood monster. New saw rep sent!
Way to support American made products!
Enjoy that saw, be safe and go out and make a pile of firewood, no telling how much more your going to get cut stepping up from a 170 to a 290. Your liable to become a firewood monster. New saw rep sent!
Way to support American made products!
redunshee
Addicted to ArboristSite
You've got it backwards. There is more oil at 40/1 than 50/1. 128oz/40=3.2oz. of oil. 128oz./50=2.56oz. of oil. So with 3.2 oz of oil in every gal. of gas(128oz.) you have a richer mixture than at 50 /1.
Bob
redunshee
Addicted to ArboristSite
Oooh! Rolling thunder!
genesis5521
ArboristSite Operative
I'm the OP.
I made some assumptions and calculations, which could be way off, but here's what I got.
These are just rough calculations and "guesstimates".
Pieces needed for 1 face cord = 275
Pieces needed for 1 full cord = 825
Average diameter of trees I cut = 12 inches
Length of rounds I cut = 16 inches
Pieces per round (4 way split) = 4
Rounds needed for 1 face cord = 275/4=68.75
Rounds needed for 1 full cord = 825/4=206.25
8' logs need for 1 face cord = (68.75 X 16)/96 = 11.45
8' logs needed for 1 full cord = 11.45 X 3 = 34.35
I haven't actually timed this so I arbitrarily used 15 seconds as the trigger time on the saw to cut a 12 inch diameter round.
So using the above formula, it takes roughly 17.2 minutes to cut 1 face cord. (15 x 68.75)/60 = 17.1875 minutes
And 17.875 minutes x 30 face cords (= 10 full cords) = 8.59 hours.
This is just the actual trigger time on the saw to cut the rounds.
It doesn't include any time to cut the trees down, or limbing them out, or idle time on the saw.
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Richard Dupp
ArboristSite Member
Actually, that is a leaner mixture of fuel to air, because there is ever so slightly less gas in the same volume of mix, but at these differences, I don't think it matters. I actually run 44:1 mix. Put a 2.6 oz bottle of oil and .9 gal (115 oz) of gas.
Chris J.
Addicted to ArboristSite
Education & new saw rep sent, I should've included veteran :msp_thumbup: rep as well.
Ignore the 290 maligners, you bought a proven workhorse. Take good care of it (it sounds like you're a proper maintenance kind of guy) and it'll keep you in wood for many years.
mtfallsmikey
Addicted to ArboristSite
I agree. Sure, there are other saws that are lighter, faster in the same range as the 290, but mine is my go-to workhorse, in it's 4th year. Expect to replace the fuel pickup line after the first year.
StihlyinEly
Addicted to ArboristSite
I ran a 290 for several years as a firewood and light felling saw, and it's one of the best values for the money bought new in the U.S., IMO.
Some points of information. A muffler mod involves drilling or cutting out larger openings in the muffler so more air can move faster through the saw. This increases power enough to notice. There have been a number of threads here over the last few years showing how. It's the work of about half an hour. You also have to richen the H and L screws to compensate for the increased airflow so you don't run the saw too lean. In order to do that, you have to physically pull off plastic limiter caps on each screw (they are plastic), file or cut off a small plastic tab that keeps them from being tuned richer than what the EPA wants (richer mix = more pollution), and put the limiter caps back on the H and L screws. Then, with the muff mod done, you tune the mix by ear (which isn't that hard to do, either, and there are threads here with what a properly tuned saw sounds like.)
So, doing these things will void the warranty, which in your case lasts 2 years. I'd not do it during the warranty period in your case because, even if you want to dig into your saw and do the MM and mixture screw readjustments, at your level you're probably more concerned with getting serviced on warranty if issues crop up than you are with power increases.
You've already gotten good info on the difference between the safety and non safety chains. You've done enough cutting so you should know your way around kickback situations, and should understand the tension/torsion on a felled tree and whether to make your cuts from above or below when bucking.
You will notice a difference in cutting speed between the yellow and green chain. Going carefully and getting used to a new saw is important. I'd say once you have a few tanks through it and are used to it, that's plenty of time to pick up a couple loops of yellow chain and work carefully with that for awhile.
You got a great saw for the money. You'll see the saws in my sig are pro saws, but I got every single one of them used, and I do some wrenchin on my own saws, so that makes it a bit easier to get into the pro saw stuff. Well maintained and properly used, your 290 will do everything you need it to do, and probably more, for many, many years.
Good purchase! :msp_biggrin:
Some points of information. A muffler mod involves drilling or cutting out larger openings in the muffler so more air can move faster through the saw. This increases power enough to notice. There have been a number of threads here over the last few years showing how. It's the work of about half an hour. You also have to richen the H and L screws to compensate for the increased airflow so you don't run the saw too lean. In order to do that, you have to physically pull off plastic limiter caps on each screw (they are plastic), file or cut off a small plastic tab that keeps them from being tuned richer than what the EPA wants (richer mix = more pollution), and put the limiter caps back on the H and L screws. Then, with the muff mod done, you tune the mix by ear (which isn't that hard to do, either, and there are threads here with what a properly tuned saw sounds like.)
So, doing these things will void the warranty, which in your case lasts 2 years. I'd not do it during the warranty period in your case because, even if you want to dig into your saw and do the MM and mixture screw readjustments, at your level you're probably more concerned with getting serviced on warranty if issues crop up than you are with power increases.
You've already gotten good info on the difference between the safety and non safety chains. You've done enough cutting so you should know your way around kickback situations, and should understand the tension/torsion on a felled tree and whether to make your cuts from above or below when bucking.
You will notice a difference in cutting speed between the yellow and green chain. Going carefully and getting used to a new saw is important. I'd say once you have a few tanks through it and are used to it, that's plenty of time to pick up a couple loops of yellow chain and work carefully with that for awhile.
You got a great saw for the money. You'll see the saws in my sig are pro saws, but I got every single one of them used, and I do some wrenchin on my own saws, so that makes it a bit easier to get into the pro saw stuff. Well maintained and properly used, your 290 will do everything you need it to do, and probably more, for many, many years.
Good purchase! :msp_biggrin:
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My brother's 029 has been cutting firewood for over 15 years! I did a simple MM on it and it runs great! Also has the 16" bar.
zogger
Tree Freak
Think about how the chain cutters cut. Except for bore cuts at the tip of the bar, there ain't much difference. You got little wiggly scoops that reach up and scoop and rock back down as they zing along the bar. You have cutters and depth gauge bumps on both, with an additional "safety" ramp that inhibits cutting straight in at the nose. This is to eliminate "kickback" which for sure can happen.
You sharpen and take down the depth gauges the same, so that's a wash.
I have both and sharpened correctly, I don't see any major diff, chips look identical.
Perhaps the professional guys who cut 100 times as much wood and have to like drop 60 inch diameter or larger trees all the time see the difference, but outside of bore cutting I have never seen it. Heck, almost all I use is *used* safety chain I get for free or a buck or two, I just sharpen them. Not all my loops, I have some that are normal as in pre safety chain design chains, but for what I cut, and most likely you cut..not seeing any serious profound difference. You can milk a regular chain out further sharpening it with less hassle, because there are no additional safety ramps to file or grind down.
Most likely there is a *marginal* power advantage with a regular chain, less moving doo dads to create friction and less weight on the chain, but it might fall into the "statistical noise" level as well if it was to be accurately measured.
I think you did fine with your purchase and being meticulous, you will learn more and come out ahead in the long run, especially once you are on your own past warranty period and do all your own repairs.
I wouldn't worry about the chains at all, just learn to sharpen correctly and take care of them.
StihlyinEly
Addicted to ArboristSite
I see a difference between the two grades of chain. Enough for me to know there is a difference. I took down some trees for a handyman/maintenance client at his lake home this summer and taught him chainsawing while we were doing it. He had a new 290 w/ .325 green chain. I recommended he keep his current setup. If you're cutting a cord or two a year, it makes very little difference. If you are cutting a lot, small increases in speed/efficiency add up over time.
Tim Carroll
Firewood Hack
Your 290 should do everything you need it to do. My old 029 gave me many years (10) of reliable service. I did do a muffler mod to mine and it did give better throttle response and pulled the chain a little better in the cut. My 029 seemed to like the .325 setup with the green chain better but I was running a 20" bar on mine. Until I needed bigger production my old 029 was good for me cutting about 3 full cord a year. When I needed more production I moved to faster saws and more aggresive chain. I think you will be happy with it for years to come. Good luck and happy cutting.
I agree. on the mod. I bought a new Ms290 1 month ago. 4 tanks gas later, did the muffler mod and adj carb....WAY fast cuts! Love it now... The Muffler opening is a joke...If the saw breaks within the warranty it is a junk saw period...Running at 100:1 using Amsoil saber. Same as my backpacks etc...
I open up my weedeaters and leafblowers mufflers and the opening is huge. This saw 1/10.
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Yeah, but more oil means less gasoline for a given amount of mix. So 40:1 has less gasoline in a gallon of mix than 50:1 (not much less, but definitely less). Therefore a carb tuned at 50:1 is going to run leaner with 40:1 since less gasoline will be present. Make sense? It's a minor difference to be sure, but when you increase the amount of oil in a mix, less pure gasoline flows through the carb.
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sefh3
Addicted to ArboristSite
You done good on the purchase. Don't let the pro boys ruin your new purchase. Those saws are built to do what you do. That is why they are the #1 chain saw sold. I own a MS290, 029Super, and a 310. I run them all hard and no problems (well only one problem a few years ago of getting straight gased). That is what lead me to this forum. I run 16"-20" bars on mine. The 18" seems to fit it just right. Stick to .325 instead of 3/8. For me it pulls the .325 better.
