looking to buy a 50 cc firewood saw, either husky pro 50cc sthil 261 or dolmar 5105

[dave mclennan]

If just one saw for firewood, I would want the Dolmar. I had a 16" 3/8 on my 5100s and it screamed. My dad runs a 20" 3/8 on his 5105. Plenty of grunt to pull that as well. You mentioned good dealer support. It's a no brainer. I've yet to see a side by side vid of a 5105 and v2 261 with a 20" bar and there's a reason for that.

I agree its rare in bc to have a good dolmar dealer and we have a GREAT ONE, really intelligent mechanic to, ive tried ALL the pro 50cc saws except jonsred, and shindaiwa. but I heard shindaiwa is echo now, and the domar 5105 has more jam, than the rest to my mind, and the price is better to up here anyway, and because the dolmar dealer here is so good theres lots of dolmars around especially the ps6100 model, people seem to keep them a long time, they last, that's for sure, I ran husky for years but in the pro 50cc models I think theres better saws right now

 

[dave mclennan]

Hi, don't put synthetic oil in a new saw, use ordinary high quality oil in your mix so the cylinder
and piston ring get bedded in, using synthetic can interfere with this process, polish the barrel
and cause the piston ring and barrel not to seal properly, after a few gallons of fuel goes through
your saw, then experiment with the fancy stuff.
And still on the oil fuel front, mix the first few gallons at 40:1 or even the first one at 35:1,
let your saw warm up before cutting, and then let her have it so she get hot and beds in,
no wide open throttle out of the cut though, not good for any engine.

I am also looking at a new saw, and have narrowed it down to the Echo CS-501, or MS 260.
I have a Makita 7900, I like it, but I wont be buying another Makita unless the money is good.

You ask if the Stihl 261 is a better saw than the Makita, Grab the Stihl is my answer.
I am not aginst the Makita, I just can't understand why they only use one piston ring,
where Echo and Stihl use two, I think in the long run I will find out.

I would also buy the saw that has good local support for parts, and also keep in mind
how long Stihl have been in business, they will most likely be there when others are not.
I bought a Shindaiwa in January past, and have to get an air filter from the USA, nice backup there,
and am in Ireland, it costs more to post than the parts are.

 

[dave mclennan]

yes your right, good point

 

[dave mclennan]

Mate the 261cm is the hottest 50cc saw on the market. Well sorted

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have you tried the new echo 501 its keeps right with the 261, more money here in bc though

 

[dave mclennan]

Do you have any other saws? For 25-30 cords/year, I think I'd want more like a 70cc saw as my main saw and keep the 51 or a newer 50cc for light duty stuff. Of those ones, though, I have run the 550 and the 261. I like the 261 that I have. It's got heated handles, which might be a nice addition up in your area. Good luck shopping, and let us know what you end up with.

I have access to a dolmar 6100 61 cc but I find with professional model 50cc saws with a really good sharp chain I wont have a problem, I'm getting older and appreciate a lighter saw to, my brother bought the echo 501 new model and I used it one Saturday, and I tried it with some big birch trees we have on our land, never bogged down 1 time, I was thinking of maybe going to 6o ccs but I'm not goin to need it

 

[Greenerpastures]

Hi, I just saw cylinders getting polished and not sealing correctly with synthetic,
so its from experience, after seeing this I would rather not take the chance,
there could have been other things like weak ring or overly loose bore that
contributed, but I was assured the parts were OE, so it bothers me since.

 

[Lowhog]

no I don't need a bigger saw at all,, my best friend sells firewood and has a sthil ms 261 and cuts some good size larch here in bc he keeps a dolmar 6100 in his truck but says he seldom uses it, why use a heavy saw when you don't need 1, keep the chain sharp and 50 cc professional saws rock, the dolmar 5105 has 3.9 hp to, its 1.1 lb heavier than the sthil 261 and that weighing on my choice of my new 50cc professional grade saw purchase, but I like the extra power the 51cc dolmar 5105 offers, and id save about $125 also and get a 2 yr warranty.

I don't see where the 5105 has more hp at 3.9 when the Stihl 261c has 4 hp.

 

[blsnelling]

IMHO, the MS261C version II is the best 50cc saw on the market.

 

[sunfish]

Ported 346xp, it's good to have a few of these!

 

[Little Al]

Hi, I just saw cylinders getting polished and not sealing correctly with synthetic,
so its from experience, after seeing this I would rather not take the chance,
there could have been other things like weak ring or overly loose bore that
contributed, but I was assured the parts were OE, so it bothers me since.

Thanks for your reply I have just had a word with our company' oil suppliers " blender geek" we do commercial pro logging & I service the kit & he assures me that the cause of the cylinder polishing would not be down to the use or otherwise of synth oil the reason I asked is we run saws from new on the same mix ratio till we trade them in; & Ive not come across any problems of pistons/cylinders not bedding in etc. We get our oil from a company that blends & supplies oil to all classes of racing/rally cars & GP bikes , we run a blended full synth oil at 32/1 for the whole life (with us of the saw ) we have 10 saws of which at any time 8 or more are serviceable & every 2 years the 2 saws with the most hrs are traded for new some get parted to local folk & are running good 5 or more years since we sold them he thinks a possibility is the saws were left to Iidle for a longer time than normal when new & I can only say that ours have the bo***cks worked off "em from the word go , with no problems piston or cyl wise & after strip down of several at around 1000 hrs showed less wear than a 1000hr saw we kept & ran on a ratio of 50/1 hence the present ratio, seems strange that the big 2 saw boys extend the private user warranty if you use their oil which is semi synth at worst & full synth more often. You could be right, but I have a feeling there is more to the problem than being a synth oil mix as we have never had an oil related problem for at least the last 15 years I know this because that's the time period I've been doing the servicing.But you can learn something every hr of every day that was the reason for asking As an aside how many saws had this problem & what brand /model

 

[cuinrearview]

Oh oh

 

[Greenerpastures]

Hi, ggod to hear the synthetic is working as expected, the two saws were Stihls, five or six years ago,
same owner, don't remember the model as it had nothing to do with me, I was just passing through and
asked what was wrong, they were being dismantled, don't know either if they were put back in service.
32/1 should certainly protect.

 

[dave mclennan]

Like my ms261c at 4 hp. running a 18inch .325 pitch. Scrounging poplar firewood for spring and fall today the saw cuts it like butter.

the brochure I have says the sthil 261 has 3.75 hp no matter in my

I don't see where the 5105 has more hp at 3.9 when the Stihl 261c has 4 hp.

the brochure I have says the sthil 261 has 3.75 hp maybe its a Canadian thing??? in my hands the dolmar 5105 feels more powerful but I admit a little heavier but a lot less expensive.

 

[Highdesignfool]

any opinions guys? my old husky 51 is worn out and I want to buy a professional 50cc saw, I tried the echo 501 new model, wow light and fast, but expensive, here in british Columbia Canada anyway. but I liked it,so the husky 550, it was fast, but to me It felt bulky, the echo 501 felt better and seemed faster to, I liked the sthil 261 ALOT was the lightest of the bunch (I think) and felt great to, was pricey like the husky but it just felt good in my hands, I tried the dolmar 5105 WOW does this saw cut, has the most power of the group of pro 50cc saws 3.9 hp, felt great to, I cut firewood for 4 homes, in our family, probably 25 - 30 cords a year, and 5 or 6 more for our big workshop, so I need a solid saw and it will work hard, very hard it comes down to the sthil 261 or the dolmar 5105, the dolmar has the best price, parts are easy, we have a dealer here, I asked the dealer about the lean carb setting problem but he believed it was the dolmar 5100, that had that problem, but ill watch it anyway and ill use synthetic oil to,if I buy it. anyone out there think the sthil 261 is a better saw, its $126.00 cdn, more than the dolmar 5105, thanks guys

Buy once Cry once. Get the 261

 

[Lowhog]

the brochure I have says the sthil 261 has 3.75 hp no matter in my

the brochure I have says the sthil 261 has 3.75 hp maybe its a Canadian thing??? in my hands the dolmar 5105 feels more powerful but I admit a little heavier but a lot less expensive.

The new cm is rated at 4 hp here in the states.

 

[dave mclennan]

After doing a ton of cutting with both an MS251 wich is 45cc and an Echo CS500P I can say the smaller saws can keep up with firewood. There are many who say the Husky 350 was the best firewood saw ever and I have to at least agree that a 50cc saw is probably exactly what you want for firewood cutting. I was bucking 25-30 in logs with what I would call relative ease with that little 251. My dad has an MS250 and cuts around 10 cords a year.

My vote goes to the 261. They have a pretty good power to weight ratio. I have a 261 on the way and I plan on putting a Sugihara bar on it and I have the feeling that it will be a joy to use.

I would not worry too much about using synthetic oil or the fact that a saw has one piston ring versus two. Huskys have one. That should be evidence enough that it does not matter.

my son has sthil ms 250, 46 cc saw with 18 in bar, and it blows my mind how strong that little saw is, he use to cut about 5 to 7 cords yearly with it, he lives in new Brunswick Canada and he cuts a lot of maple down there, and some oak to, sthil saws are so TUFF!!

 

[dave mclennan]

Buy once Cry once. Get the 261

WELL I wont be crying if I buy the dolmar 5105 and I know that because I KNOW 3 Other folks in our area who have this exact saw, no doubt having a ace dealer and mechanic is one of the reasons, dolmars are tuff, no one will ever convince me other wise, we have cold winters here in bc and our saws get worked hard very hard, I do think the echo 501 and the ms 261 are a bit lighter, but not more powerful, saving $125.00 and have a good dealer matter to, I actually like the echo 501 better than the ms 261, but echo are pricey here and never seem to go on sale, they did once last year and I know 2 guys who bought the cs590 timberwolf for 500$ cdn { appx $400 us] , I asked 1 guy if he liked the timberwolf saw and he said lots of jam but heavy but cheap, but he got a 5 year warranty,, don't know if that's bs or not

 

[Iceboy]

I would recommend the MS261. I have tried also other 50cc saws but that's the one liked most. I used for 5 years and never let me down.

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[Cope1024]

my son has sthil ms 250, 46 cc saw with 18 in bar, and it blows my mind how strong that little saw is, he use to cut about 5 to 7 cords yearly with it, he lives in new Brunswick Canada and he cuts a lot of maple down there, and some oak to, sthil saws are so TUFF!!

I have the 025 with a 16" bar, and am constantly amazed how well it cuts. That homeowner saw is better than it's supposed to be. The only people who knock it are those who've never run one.

 

[727sunset]

Echo saws do come with a 5 year warranty.
Echo currently has their National Sales Event running till November 30 with savings on saws of all sizes.
And the CS-590 TimberWolf is available at $499.95 CDN.