Any info out there on the Husqvarna 50?

[tallguys]

I've come across a few of these in the last few months and was wondering if anybody's got some thoughts on these?

Both times they've been sitting around with old gas in them. Are they worth tinkering with or just not enough redeeming quality to bother with?

Just brainstorming only because I've seen a few of them recently and can't seem to find much out there on them.

 

[tallguys]

Wow, talk about a tough crowd. :msp_confused: Or maybe I've just answered my own question about whether or not these are any good.

 

[2006PSDSD]

Maybe you can get one cheap, and see how it runs. I would bet it runs well after some cleanup, and would make a great saw for you or someone else. They're 50cc :cool2:

The chainsaw guy shop talk Husqvarna 50 chainsaw 2 17 - YouTube

The chainsaw guy log testing Husqvarna 50 chainsaw 9 5 - YouTube

 

[nmurph]

I had one in the shop a couple of months ago for a gummed-up carb. They are very similar, not suprising, to a 55, and are easy enough to work on. I never could get the carb to work, even with significant USC time and a kit. SG sent me a carb and it fired right off. They are nice enough to make a nice truck-saw or I suppose you could MM and use it for a limber.

 

[fearofpavement]

Wow, talk about a tough crowd. :msp_confused: Or maybe I've just answered my own question about whether or not these are any good.

Well ya know? The time of day you posted may have something to do with the dearth of answers. Many of the people on this site have lives beyond chainsaws and have to sleep sometime. The site gets very active in the evening and up until about 1:00am.

Regarding the Husqvarna 50, it is a very common saw as a lot of them were made. It is several saw generations old so a lot of them have been recycled by now. They are worth fixing up if you get them cheap enough. Used parts are plentiful and if you acquire one cheap and it is seriously ill, parting it out is always an option. If it is a saw you want to operate, pick up a few and make a couple runners out of them and be your own spare parts source.

A search on eBay for parts or saws is often an indicator as to how much activity there is with a particular model saw. You can also do google searches for specifics such as "piston Husqvarna 50" and so forth to get an idea of what is available.

There is a huge network on this site so no matter how obsolete parts are new, they can usually be found used.

 

[tallguys]

Well ya know? Many of the people on this site have lives beyond chainsaws and have to sleep sometime.

Lives beyond chainsaws??? Sleep??? This site is like crack and we are all addicts...

 

[cheeves]

I've got one, or at least had one. Lent it out to a guy and haven't heard from him. Figure if he needs it that bad good luck. I had to replace the carb on mine. Got it from a friend who had it sitting in his basement for quite awhile. Also replaced the fuel lines. Not a bad saw. Good for what they are. But I've seen a few that were ported and MM'd that were impressive.

 

[Roanoker494]

The first model 50 came around in the early 80's branded as a "Rancher" and had a white top cover. Somewhere around 85-86 they dropped the Rancher, changed the top cover to grey and redesigned the chain brake assembly a little. Along about 87-88 the top cover was changed to black and the series ended in 89 with the 50 Special. In 1990 the 50 special received a redesigned top cover, intake/choke system and was renamed as the model 51. The 51 later spawned the model 55, 55 Rancher and 55epa. The biggest difference between the 50, 51 and 55 was the bore size and the intake/choke change.

Early 50 had a 44mm bore, both open and closed port version existed, with a choke slider on the top cover.
The mid-late 50 had a open port 44mm bore with the same choke as before.
The 50 special had a 45mm bore with the same choke.
The 51 had a open port 45mm bore with the new choke.
The 55 and 55 Rancher had a open port 46mm bore with the new choke.
The 55epa had a closed port 45mm bore with the new choke.

EDIT:
Forgot to mention that somewhere in the early to mid 90's they added the air injection system.

 

[Axlerod74]

I rebuilt one for my Dad a couple years ago and as some here have said, easy to work on and a good reliable saw. Dad's was well over 20 years old before needing over haul and it got used a bunch. Here is my rebuild thread.

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/159968.htm

 

[tallguys]

Thanks for all the help, I knew there had to be a few Husqvarna fans around here.

Quick question, how does one decipher the serial # on an old Husky, in particular the year of manufacture?

 

[fatboy1941]

I have had one for 28 years

I have had a Rancher 50 for 28 years. I was always a Stihl man, but then I found this 1984 50 rancher stuck in a tree. My sons and I got it out, and I notified the fellow who had stuck it, and he never wanted to see it again, so I have been using it ever since. I hardly ever start up my 031 any more, always grab the Husky. I have been looking to get a couple more for parts, but they are getting more for parts saws than I want to spend. I have used a 455 rancher some lately, and its nice, but I cannot get used to the idea of plastic cases. All this saw ever needed was the handle mount rubbers, and bars and chains. Never have touched the carb or oil pump. In my opinion, one of the best ever. Lighter than my Stihls and VERY dependable as long as I keep it cleaned out and dont use ethanol in it.

 

[barneyrb]

Worst designed intake system ever put on a saw of any brand..........

 

[Axlerod74]

Thanks for all the help, I knew there had to be a few Husqvarna fans around here.

Quick question, how does one decipher the serial # on an old Husky, in particular the year of manufacture?

Many older silver tag models were from the 80s decade and the first number was the year. In the 90's they went to black serial tags and followed suit however, later 90's had the full 4 digit year (ie 1997). Anything after and including Y2K has been black tag and reads the full 4 digit or '06.....'07......'08.....ect. just ahead of the serial number.

Clear as mud??? Someone here can probably explain it better than me. If you have a specific serial #..................post it here and someone will help.

 

[lmalterna]

I bought one slighlty used but have not put time on it yet. Going to run it with a 16" .325

How do they compare to the old Stihl 028? I ran one of those for a few years.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[Bob95065]

A friend gave me one in a lot of 4 saws last weekend. It had gas that smelled like bad moonshine in the tank so I assume the carb is gummed up. I'll get into it this weekend to see if I can get it started.

It seems like a nice saw. I am rebuilding a 1998 51 for a friend. The two are almost identical. I am looking forward to getting the 50 running. I think it woudl be a nice saw with a 20' bar on it.

 

[lfnh]

Worst designed intake system ever put on a saw of any brand..........

yup. and pulling the oiler gear to change the seal is on the level as listening to Rap.

once all the seals are replaced and carb straightened out they aren't a bad small saw. There are worse ones.

 

[Axlerod74]

IMO a 20" bar would be a load on these saws. A 16-18 seems to do well.

 

[TK]

I like em. I like the 51 version better when that came out, but the 50's weren't bad. I don't think the intake was a bad setup really, but I didn't care for the air filter and choke setup. The rest of the intake from the A/F mount to the cylinder was fine....
And I'll second the oiler gear, don't care for a gear puller to get it off there but deal with it. At least it's made of metal.

 

[dsell]

The 50 is an excellent saw. I traded a Homelite SXL in on a new one around 87 for dad. My brother has the saw now and it still runs great and the cylinder has never been off the case. I have brought 3 back from the dead since then and find them very easy to work on. Parts are plentiful. The 55 has a different choke, carb, throttle, filter set up that makes it a pain just to change the fuel line. Don't strip the carb mounting threads and you should probably replace the impulse line and intake boot between the carb plate and cylinder. I like this series of saw better than the 300's. I've owned 3 50's, 55, 340, 345, 346xp, 353, and 2 350's. I kept the 55 if that tells you anything.