New Member, New Saw

[mayhem100]

Hi there! New guy here, figured I'd chime in and introduce myself.

Name is Tim, I burn wood for primary heat in the winter, go through about 6-7 corrds a year. Just killed my 12 year old Craftsman 42cc saw and got a smoking deal on a brand new out of the box Husky 359 ($380) from my local dealer. Now I'm like a kid at a candy store waiting to break the sucker on on some trees that have just been teasing me in the side yard. Grabbed a pic of it when I brought it home on Friday, it won't stay that pretty for long. Its a brand new 2011 model so its got all the EPA cat and spark arrestor and other stuff we are all so much happier without. Think I'll run it as is for awhile since its already way more powerful than my old saw. I only hope it lasts as long.

 

[Roanoker494]

The day you buy a brand new saw is always a good day, to bad they can't stay looking that nice forever.

 

[jerrycmorrow]

nice saw. my 30 year old saw still looks decent. the secret? inspect it, wipe it, adjust and sharpen chain after you use it. this keeps you on top of how's it doing. happy cutting. remember this saw is stronger than your old one so be careful.

 

[sunfish]

Hell of a deal! Good saw too.

Replace the muff with a non-cat and enjoy!

 

[Carl Anderson]

Congrats! Nice pic of your new saw, enjoy!

 

[ckelp]

"adjust" the muffler and give it more fuel..:msp_wink:

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Nice!

Congrats Brother!

Welcome to ArboristSite, it does get kinda adictive...If you don't know what "CAD" is, you will...:msp_razz:

Have fun and Saw Safe

 

[sunfish]

got a smoking deal on a brand new out of the box Husky 359 ($380) from my local dealer.

How did you get a deal like that? Last I checked they were well over $500 at my dealer. I don't need one, but for that price...

 

[olyeller]

Welcome to AS, Tim, and congrats on getting your new saw. Your story is much like my own in the early stages, and it sounds like you're already feeling the effects of CAD--Chainsaw Acquisition Disease. But it can be a fun hobby and there is a cure for CAD: More chainsaws!

Stay safe.

Olyeller

 

[SawTroll]

How did you get a deal like that? Last I checked they were well over $500 at my dealer. I don't need one, but for that price...

It is a model that is on its way out of the assortment - some dealers may have cought that point......:msp_smile:

 

[Ronaldo]

Welcome-I have had my new 359 for about a year now and truly enjoy cutting with it. I did get rid of the cat baffle in the muff and had to replace the Walbro carb with a new Zama.Cant really tell you how much difference the muff mod made because it never ran right till I got the new carb and I did the muff at the same time! She is a real cutter now.

 

[Axlerod74]

The husqvarna 359 is my favorite saw and my first choice for cutting larger oaks. It will handle up to a 24" bar well. I mostly run a 20 but have no trouble using a 24 on the bigger trees. Once I start cutting with mine, I can't hardly put it down.

 

[cuttingintime]

Welcome, new saws are a sure way to motivate you enjoy.

 

[Carl Anderson]

Welcome to AS, Tim, and congrats on getting your new saw. Your story is much like my own in the early stages, and it sounds like you're already feeling the effects of CAD--Chainsaw Acquisition Disease. But it can be a fun hobby and there is a cure for CAD: More chainsaws!

Well, I learned something today. I thought CAD stood for Chainsaw Addiction Disorder. Kinda the same thing, just semantics I guess.

 

[MacLaren]

"adjust" the muffler and give it more fuel..:msp_wink:

Whats up ckelp? havent saw ya in a while. Hope all is well. Good to see ya man!

 

[MacLaren]

Nice!

Congrats Brother!

Welcome to ArboristSite, it does get kinda adictive...If you don't know what "CAD" is, you will...:msp_razz:

Have fun and Saw Safe

There is nothing but truth in this man! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[TIM81]

hey Mayhem100

Welcome first off and congrats on a great buy ! whats the dealer name you got that 359 from i just bought a 460 and not happy with it was looking at a 359! i am in central mass west of quabbin.

 

[mayhem100]

How did you get a deal like that? Last I checked they were well over $500 at my dealer. I don't need one, but for that price...

Long story.

One shot deal really. Was at the dealer looking at saws and explained what I've been using, what I need to cut and what I want to own. All the higher end saws (any XP saw, 359, etc were well out of my price range, Stihl was worse from a price point). Guy says he might have a one shot deal for me, walks me into the workshop and there is a nice, shiny new 359 sitting on the shelf with a 20" b&c. Guy hands it to me...I like it...I really like it. He says $400 with a catch. I ask whats the catch, he says out of the box it has a B&C oil leak they couldn't seem to fix, so Huisky says to dump the saw at a discount and they'll reimburse the difference...catch is its sold without a warranty and the oiler issue remains. I got him to throw in a free spare 20" chain and went back the next day at lunch with cash.

Fired it up while I was there...worked great, sounded good, revved fine and left that slight oil slick off the chain when you run it at full throttle for a bit. Figured it was worth taking the minor risk for a great saw at a great price...I've never needed a warranty on any piece of OPE so I'm rolling the dice.

The guy at the checkout was pretty cool. He asked if the other guy explained the problem with the saw and I told him yes and repeated it back (saw does not use oil at an excessive rate while cutting, it just leaks if you put it away with oil in the tank and they tried numberous parts and had help from Husky to fix it to no avail...he said well sort of...you see it will leave an oil spot on the floor if you use it and put it away with oil in the tank, but apparently they never really dug into it at all...techs were too busy and they just opted to get rid of it and clear the shelf of a headache.

Just for kicks I filled the oil tank halfway last night and put the saw on some towels...not a mark on them this morning. My guess is the oiler is probably set too open for the 20" bar or something or its simply accumulating on the bottom of the case during use. My old saw had a tendency to leave an oil spot if you left oil in the tank too, so I was always in the habit of runing it dry before I put it away. Seems pretty simple to me.

Anyone have any suggestions for common causes for this issue? Maybe its repairable? Maybe there's nothing actually wrong wiht it.

Either way, I got a fantastic deal on a brand new $550 saw.

 

[mizzou]

Congratulations on new saw.

 

[mayhem100]

Bought it at Pittsfield Lawn and Tractor. Its a good hour plus due West of Springfield/Northampton region, so probably another 30-45 minutes from the Quabbin region. You could shoot an arrow and hit New York State from the parking lot.

I got a great deal because the saw has some sort of oiler problem from the factory. Sales guy said they tried several times to fix it with Husky's recommended parts and it didn't work so Husky said liquidate the saw and they'll reimburse the difference. Saw is brand new, less than a half tank of gas run through it, but was sold without a warranty. I figure its well worth the gamble for the price...$380 for the saw with a 20" B&C and I got a spare Husky chain for another $20 ($4 off).

The oil leak isn't really so mcuh a leak I think. Sales guy said if I use it I'm fine, won't run out of oil while cutting, but if I put it away with oil in the tank, it'll leave a spot on the floor...which is kind of typical of running a chainsaw I think, isn't it? Next day when I picked it up a different guy was there and he said it was a really good deal, and that the techs NEVER EVEN LOOKED AT IT because they were too busy. So my guess is its probably a relatively simply problem and may be very correctable.

Put a half tank of B&C oil in it last night and let it sit overnight, no oil spots on the floor this morning. I suspect the oiler may simply be set too far open maybe or there is an excess being sprayed on the housing during use. Any thoughts on this from the experts here?