What do you use?

[SilverBlue]

I’ve got a nice complement of Stihls and probably a new one on the way.
I keep hearing about this husky brand but never had my hands on one.
Do they sell them here in Canada?

 

[Ryan Willock]

I currently have the following, stihl ms191T, 021, 036, ms460, 066G and a husky 346xp. I may eventually add a couple of jonsey's to the mix My 460 sees the most use although lately my 066 has seen its share:angel:

 

[johnb]

I like them all! I started buying Stihl and now I've moved on to Husky. I think that most large saws are still pretty well built no matter what the brand. All of my small work is done with a Echo 4400, firewood with my Husky 55 and the big stuff with my 394XPG. I kept a Stihl 31av and a 45av since they were some of my first saws. I am still wanting a 357XP but all in good time. the Hoosier





Sharpen your chain it's a jungle out there!!

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

Well my current arsenal consists of my PP 385XP , 029S , 009 , 064AV needs rebuild , 357XPG which is being borrowed fro the past month ..and some McCollouchs that I dont use just have them sitting on the shelf..I soon will be the proud owner of a PP372,so I think I need to change my screen name here soon to something Husky related

Later Rob.

 

[vsteel]

I started out on Stihl, I had a ms290 and my good friend has a ms440 that I run a lot. The 290 was not what I needed and I had problems with it, Stihl didn't really want to touch the saw until after the warenty had run out. The ms440 had an oiler problem that caused it to burn up the bar and chain. It was still under warenty but it didn't get fixed until after he had to make some calls to the regional manager. I needed a new saw and I bought a Husky 372xp and I love it. No problems with it yet.

The bottom line my local Stihl dealers suck and my Husky ones are cool.

I can't wait to get back into the woods though and do my own personal compaison of my friends 440 and my 372.

 

[NeTree]

I've noticed that the MS-260's don't seem to oil much, even cranked all the way up. Bad design??

 

[bwalker]

I have heard of people have oiler problems with the 026, but my 026 pro oils fine. I have run cannon and stihl bars and oregon, stihl, and carolton chain on it with the same reults.

 

[fun_chopper]

It seems at times my 026 oild too much..maybe a freak of nature!
I run a pile of saws see below.
My Stihl dealer is the one that is the most far from my house, and I must say he works harder. Its a father son operation, dad is a Husky guy, and son runs Stihl, and they fight and argue about the two, its kinda like the show American chopper

 

[jokers]

My 260 Pros oil fine but I wouldn`t want any less. the 026s oil copiously and I like it that way.

Fun_Chopper, good to see you getting with the saw mania program.

Russ

 

[seesaw]

Most Stihl dealers I've been in suck. Most Husky dealers are living in denile as to the state of their product going to the big box stores. Fixed jet carbs suck. Husky may have finally solved their intake boot woes??? Husky's consumer line is about as "plasticy" as a saw can get and living on the Husky pro saw reputation. Echo is for the homeowner or a pro that rather buy an inexpensive tool 2-3 times over buying quality. Some of this is due to abusive employees. I avoid it.

Blind loyalty is foolish, especially if you run a business. There are great saws in every line. Keep an open mind.

Old saws still working: ProMac 1010, Husky 262

New favorite line: Solo
Why: German engineering and a 2 year commercial warranty without lying.

Old line sold off: Stihl 026pro
Why: Solo 651PRO kicks it's butt, 346xp too.

Other favs: Dolmar
Why: Great stuff, poor marketing.

Latest saw retired: ProMac 610

Favorite big saw(recent): Solo 690 and 694, older 066.
Why: Power. 690 (didn't meet emissions). Solo 694 is a Dolmar 9010 and a Makita but $150 cheaper!!! Solo saw $250 cheaper than Stihl or Husky comparable.

Wish list: 372XP. 7900.
Question: Which is stronger?

FYI: Solo and Dolmar are getting together on saws. We will see a 7900 in a Solo Frame b4 the end of the year. Great quality w/a 2year warranty.

 

[treesurgeon]

i have always stuck with stihl. a quality saw that lasts. i never have many problems with the 8 that i own. one thing that is true is that the dealers suck. i have one 2 miles up the road and i drive 50 miles to another one that meets my guide lines. that means just have the stock and i will come. my brother owned a huskey and it only lasted a few months before he sold it. said it was a tough starter, mostly after it ran out of gas. i also have a poulan for a loaner, a total peice of crap. one thing is for sure, if you want your saws to last, never loan them out.

 

[Wolfcsm]

Looks to me that both the small Stihl 024 and the Husky 345 I have work great. Both cut for ever and are light. Funny for a saw 15 plus years old and one less than a year old.

My MS310 is maybe a bit too heavy but it just works well. And my 066 is a real kick to operate.

I started out with a Mac saw over 30 years ago in Oregon. Good saw for something I bought used. Did learn a bit about how to keep it running and sharp from some old woodsmen around home.

Bought another Mac in '97 and it cut well, when I could get it to keep running. Finally broke down and bought the MS310 and the rest is history.

Hal

 

[fun_chopper]

Jokers, I thought mania did not take effect untill the 10 saw ownership level!-Matt

 

[jokers]

Matt,
You may be right about the mania threshold but in case you haven`t noticed, you are 70% there!

SeeSaw,
The Dolmar 7900 is stronger than the 372 but it also goes for around $200 more if Dolmar Dan`s prices are any reflection of the market.

A real distinct weak link that I see that applies to Solo also is the lack of dealer support. Can a person justify the high cost of one of these new saws if they can`t be sure that it will be able to return to service quickly after any type of failure? I won`t dispute the quality of these saws(7900, 651P) because I believe they are as good as just about any, but being machines, they are prone to wearing out and failure. I can`t say too much about Dolmar`s cheaper saws because I`ve only seen a few but Solo`s cheaper saws are no better than a cheap Stihl, Husky, or Echo. I know this from taking them apart. Given the price of the 651P and lack of good dealer support, I would take a 346xp or ms260 with a modified muffler first, any day of the week. Either of these saws will cut with the 651 and be readily repaired if the need arises. Just my two cents, of course you are entitled to your opinion and I realize that dealer support for Solo is better in your area.

Russ

 

[jokers]

treesurgeon,
I have found many Huskies to be tough starters cold or after running out of fuel. The solution seems to be to run the lo screw richer. I don`t have any current Husky that takes more than 7-10 pulls to start after sitting for weeks or more, usually only one short pull when they are warm. The 272 always seemed like a real bear to start after it sat for awhile. My stihls are only slightly better if at all.

Russ

 

[wmthrower]

All Stihl for me. Mostly because my father used them for years and I was brought up on them. The other factor is a great Stihl dealer down the road. I think that Jokers will agree with me that they are real saw men and not arrogant like the others he described.

 

[jokers]

Oh yeah, I`ve also had a theory about the Huskies being harder to start cold because of the initial ignition timing being more advanced than on some other brands. You really need to spin some of them over and of course this is harder on a cold saw. More advance does help get that high rpm power though. Anyone care to comment?

Russ

 

[dozerdan]

seesaw
A Dolmar 7900 will definitely out cut a 372 and I have witnessed it out cut a stock 385.True the 7900 is more money then a 372 .A better comparison would be the 372 and a 7300.Think of a Dolmar as the Mercedes of the chain saw world.
Later
Dan

 

[seesaw]

Jokers & dozerdan

Jokers, You do have a very good point. I'm lucky enough to have plenty of Solo dealers in my area and that makes a big difference. Hopefully, more guys like Dozer will roll the dice and take on these excellent lines so everyone has more choices.

Are you saying that you need to modify the mufflers on both the 346xp and the 026 to keep up w/the Solo 651P? Side by side by side, and fully stock, I have not run against another 3.0ci saw that can hang w/the 651P. Do you think opening up the muffler on my 651P would show significant increases, in your opinion?

As far as, the Solo being more expensive...I paid $399 for my 651P w/an 18" bar. What do the 346xp and 026 go for out by you? I'm guessing more than that. The stock Solo 694-28" (really a Dolmar 9010) goes for $775 out here. What does the original Dolmar version go for? What's the warranty? How does the Makita pricing compare?

The Dolmar 7300 weighs the same as the 7900, doesn't it? If a guy could forgo the extra money, the added HP of the 7900 seems like the logical choice. I think I'll wait untill Solo comes out w/that 7900 in a Solo shell so I can get the warranty. Hell, it may even be a little cheaper!

Thanks for the good input and your help.

 

[Stumper]

Frankly, the dealer support thing almost doesn't matter to me. I say almost because I once lived in a place where I could not get ANY service.-That was terrible.
Around here the Stihl dealer is great.-stocks a lot of parts. Orders things promptly. BUT, if it isn't STIHL and he isn't doing the repair he does'nt want to look up parts-he'll order if you bring him the numbers. Everything is high.$25 for a 20" chain loop.$10 for a scrench.
The saw mechanic who is a (non stocking) dealer for everything else but Stihl is SLOW but he will look up and chase parts for anything. Prices are usually reasonable too. My solution is to buy and try used saws in all sorts of colors. Everything has an equivalent size back-up at this point. If I have to wait a few weeks for the parts I'm still running. I can't argue the wisdom of buying new and then maintaining well but I bought 4 saws this summer for less than the price of one new one. If I want to turn them I can get my money back at pretty much any time.

Having said that I must confess that the thought of a new Dolmar ps7900 makes my heart go pitter-patter.