The Famous Grouse
ArboristSite Lurker
Hi everybody. Long time lurker here, but never really had reason to post until now.
I'm in the market for a new saw. I own a 120 acres of wooded hunting property, mainly brush and small softwoods, so I use a saw quite a bit for trail clearing and general maintenance. I have a couple of small saws for brush clearing, a little Husky 136 and a Stihl 021. These have served me well for years for general use.
I don't use a chainsaw a lot by some standards, but on most years I'll run a 4-5 gallons of gas through a saw.
Now I'm clearing an area for a new cabin and shed and I feel like I need more power. My little saws are just too slow for bucking anything over about 5 inches, and I have a lot of clearing to do. The cabin area is covered with birch, popple, and soft maple from 4 inches to 14 inches. I would estimate I have 4-5 days of cutting to do. I've started with my smaller saws but I feel like these are just too slow when cutting up the larger 50% of the trees.
I'm looking at a Husqvarna 445. The main reason for honing in on this saw is the combination of power and light weight. I REALLY want to keep under 11 pounds because weight is a real killer for me. The reason I have 2 small saws is that I couldn't handle the weight of my old Stihl 028 and I sold it.
Questions:
- What's the word on the 445 generally? Is this a good fit for my needs?
- Have they messed with the carbs on these saws and made them non-adjustable? I've read a lot of equipment has been messed with and made so it can't be adjusted. Is that the way it is now?
- Is an 18 inch bar too much for this saw? Obviously, the machines will run it, but will an 18 really bog it down?
- Is there a difference between the real dealer saws and the same model numbers sold at a big box store?
Many thanks for any advice you can give on this saw.
Grouse
I'm in the market for a new saw. I own a 120 acres of wooded hunting property, mainly brush and small softwoods, so I use a saw quite a bit for trail clearing and general maintenance. I have a couple of small saws for brush clearing, a little Husky 136 and a Stihl 021. These have served me well for years for general use.
I don't use a chainsaw a lot by some standards, but on most years I'll run a 4-5 gallons of gas through a saw.
Now I'm clearing an area for a new cabin and shed and I feel like I need more power. My little saws are just too slow for bucking anything over about 5 inches, and I have a lot of clearing to do. The cabin area is covered with birch, popple, and soft maple from 4 inches to 14 inches. I would estimate I have 4-5 days of cutting to do. I've started with my smaller saws but I feel like these are just too slow when cutting up the larger 50% of the trees.
I'm looking at a Husqvarna 445. The main reason for honing in on this saw is the combination of power and light weight. I REALLY want to keep under 11 pounds because weight is a real killer for me. The reason I have 2 small saws is that I couldn't handle the weight of my old Stihl 028 and I sold it.
Questions:
- What's the word on the 445 generally? Is this a good fit for my needs?
- Have they messed with the carbs on these saws and made them non-adjustable? I've read a lot of equipment has been messed with and made so it can't be adjusted. Is that the way it is now?
- Is an 18 inch bar too much for this saw? Obviously, the machines will run it, but will an 18 really bog it down?
- Is there a difference between the real dealer saws and the same model numbers sold at a big box store?
Many thanks for any advice you can give on this saw.
Grouse