Dolmar 420 vs. 510

[tallguys]

Hi, I'm a new guy here. I've been all over this site and others as I'm looking for a new good quality homeowner saw (just got rid of a canadian tire power mac). I looked at Husky/Stihl/Echo and think that I like the Dolmar 420 and 510 best (plus I have a dealer not 5 minutes from me). The Dolmar 420 seems to have a good following here. For the same kind of money I was wondering if the 510 might not be the better way to go. Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

 

[stihlboy]

they are both good saws

 

[BC 5100S]

There's no replacement for displacement

Go with the 510. I had the same conundrum when I was looking at a saw. After lurking on this site for quite a while, I ended up going with the 5100s. It is a bit more expensive than the 510, but it is lighter and has more power.

I am sure the 510 would have been adequate for my needs, but I always tend to err on the side of "too much".

 

[mikefunaro]

You kind of have to decide where you want to draw the line. IN the US, at least where I got my ps-510, the price difference between the 420 and the 510 is like $30. At the time i was looking for a midsize firewood saw. If you're really looking to get some larger stuff cut up with this saw, it may be worth getting the 510. If you intend to employ it for mostly limbing and smaller stuff, get the 420. From a cost standpoint, i feel like there's more saw with the 510. You can then say hey, what about the 5100...but that's $100 away...

 

[Andyshine77]

The 420 is a stout little saw, it honestly runs like some 50cc saws. It is a bit heavy for it's cc's, but like I sad it does run like a larger saw. The 510 is a really good saw, but it's way to heavy for it's size and power. I'd look at the 420 or 5100.

 

[tallguys]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Andy... I tend to agree that the saw is a bit on the heavy side and that the 420 would most likely fit my needs.

BC... I believe we think alike as I like the idea of having too much of rather than making do with not enough .

Mike... Mostly the saw will be used for limbing and mid to smaller cutting so that either saw would work. I guess I'm hesitant because my dealer has offered me a 510 for less money than the 420. You know the adage about if something seems too good to be true... I'm just trying to figure out what negatives, if any (other than a little weight) might apply to the 510 as otherwise this would appear to be a no-brainer.

Thanks again for any and all opinions.

 

[Andyshine77]

The only real negative with the 510 is the weight and so so power.

 

[mikefunaro]

My guess is that your dealer may be looking to stop carrying the ps-510, I imagine a lot of his sales go the way of the 5100. He may have also got the 510 on an earlier invoice, before the 420 was out and prices may have since changed. There were a lot of dealers who were selling 510s for under $300...I think taxmantoo a while back said his dealer bought them by the pallet load and advertised them for $295 in the local paper or something...

 

[7sleeper]

I have seen that the 460&510 are seemingly being eliminated from the market. I would take the 510 before the 420 if you got it for less or a slight price incress. It has more cc/hp(50cc/3.3hp compared to 42cc/2.7hp) which is at the end of the day what counts.
You don't sound like you are going to be carrying your saw all to much so the weight problem(4.8kg to 5.5kg) is negatable.
And you will be happy for that "more" in power as slowly but surely larger wood comes along but then again you might decide that you need a larger saw! Welcome to CAD (chainsaw addiction disorder)!

7

 

[SawTroll]

The only real negative with the 510 is the weight and so so power.

:agree2:

 

[WetGunPowder]

The only real negative with the 510 is the weight and so so power.

Everyone bashes the smaller DOLMARS because of their weight-but don't mention that the saws they compare them to are usually plastic crankcased. For what you get for what you pay-The DOLMAR is the best value! No doubt the PS510 is new old stock-So go with the 510.

 

[J.W Younger]

Everyone bashes the smaller DOLMARS because of their weight-but don't mention that the saws they compare them to are usually plastic crankcased. For what you get for what you pay-The DOLMAR is the best value! No doubt the PS510 is new old stock-So go with the 510.

I spent a couple of days deciding so the dealer ordered both the 5100 and the 510 and to be honest it was hard to tell the weight difference with no scale. I guess what sold me was the spur versus rim as stupid as that sounds now that I say it.

 

[roncoinc]

I have two PS510's ,, one with a 20 in bar with FC chain on it..
this week with a 22 in oak at the base the fuel pump in my 70cc saw finally gave up so only on it's second tank of gas i used the 510 to do the stump and the base of the tree..wasnt the most impressive with a 20 in bar buried but it did the job admirably for what it is..i am expecting as it breaks in more it will "wake up " some and with a minor muffler mod should be respectable.
at $300 compared to my 357XP for more than TWICE the price that the only wood it gets to see is from the front seat of the truck because it is to heavy to lug around for me i think the PS510 is a great deal..

 

[Andyshine77]

I have two PS510's ,, one with a 20 in bar with FC chain on it..
this week with a 22 in oak at the base the fuel pump in my 70cc saw finally gave up so only on it's second tank of gas i used the 510 to do the stump and the base of the tree..wasnt the most impressive with a 20 in bar buried but it did the job admirably for what it is..i am expecting as it breaks in more it will "wake up " some and with a minor muffler mod should be respectable.
at $300 compared to my 357XP for more than TWICE the price that the only wood it gets to see is from the front seat of the truck because it is to heavy to lug around for me i think the PS510 is a great deal..

I can't agree with you more, I think the 510 is an awesome saw for the money, much better than the plastic Stihl's/Husky saws. However they do have some extra weight.

 

[tallguys]

Thanks to all for your good advice, I knew this was the place to be. I'm thinking that the 510 is definitely the clear choice here. My dealer suggested that I grab it with the 18" b/c but I've been thinking to go with a 16" .325 setup. My last saw was only a 15" anyway and only once was it not a large enough size for what I was cutting. From what I've read on this forum it would appear that a 50cc would be happier and run better with a 16". Any thoughts?

 

[Andyshine77]

Run 3/8" chain and don't look back.

 

[J.W Younger]

Thanks to all for your good advice, I knew this was the place to be. I'm thinking that the 510 is definitely the clear choice here. My dealer suggested that I grab it with the 18" b/c but I've been thinking to go with a 16" .325 setup. My last saw was only a 15" anyway and only once was it not a large enough size for what I was cutting. From what I've read on this forum it would appear that a 50cc would be happier and run better with a 16". Any thoughts?

my 5100 came with the 18 3/8 it measures 16 from the spike and has 64 d/l
balance is good and it pulls it o.k. The d/l count is going to be a pita cause baileys don't have premade loops and will cost a couple of bucks per chain more but unless I run across a good deal I,m gonna run it till its wore out.

 

[mikefunaro]

If your dealer is supplying dolmar branded oregon bars instead of oregon pro lites or whatever, get the dolmar 18" it's like the previous post said, about 16" or so exposed with the bucking dogs. The 510 handles it pretty well with 3/8, though i will say that it is possible to really bog it if you're totally buried and lean too hard.

 

[roncoinc]

I can't agree with you more, I think the 510 is an awesome saw for the money, much better than the plastic Stihl's/Husky saws. However they do have some extra weight.

plastic ? like the way husky mounts the carb with self tapping wood screws into plastic ?? messing with a bad carb i had to replace that part,came with holes but NO threads,shop said push on the screwdriver untill they self thread ! LOL !!!! the dolmar uses a nut and bolt setup..
plastic ?? like the snap over platic catches molded from the case to hold the top cover on ?? what do you do when it's cold out and want to clean or check the air filter ? bring it inside and let it warm up so the cold plastic dont break ?? the dolmar uses metal there.. i could go on but just those two examples is enough for me..
a little heaver but hardly noticable for a small wood/home owner/occasional user.

 

[04ultra]

Husky/Jred

Stihl

Plastic as in Husky/Jred lower crankcase on some models .........Stihl uses an all metal crankcase and mounts it in a plastic shell/case.......





Dolmar 420

Dolmar 420 is all Alum and or mag crankcase ...........Ads weight and much stronger built.............................





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