lasmacgod
ArboristSite Operative
I haven't seen too much talk about the 545, being that it seems it is overshadowed by the 550xp, so I wanted to make an attempt at a review for those considering this saw.
Well, after remaining disappointed with my 346xp, even after proper tuning, etc., I sent it packing. After running a MS261 for a while and remaining disappointed with my local dealers, I finally found a Husqvarna dealer I like. The 40 minute drive one-way is a bit annoying, especially when there are 3 Stihl dealers within 10 minutes of me, but we'll worth it.
So, I bought a Husqvarna 545. I still had the 16" Oregon Pro Lite bar and 3 Stihl .325 non-safety semi chisel chains I used on the 346, so I dumped the narrow kerf chisel setup straight away.
Ran two tanks through it between yesterday and today. I am very happy with this saw, much nicer (in my opinion) than the 346. Cut some hedge, hackberry, walnut, and something I didn't take the time to identify, as everything was covered in snow and ice. Biggest wood was around 18", and was the hedge. All were trees that had died (who knows how long ago) in my father-in-law's pasture and he had pulled them with the tractor and dragged them up to the burn pile.
I started out with the the cuts in a log/trunk as per the manual to settle the computer, and then just started cutting. Initially, restarts were a little dicey, required a few attempts before it would remain running, but after 3 or 4 times, it pretty much settled down and now restarts perfectly. Likewise, it initially had some issues with too high of an idle speed, causing the chain to run, but it has pretty much figured its idle speed out. Throttle response and cutting speed have improved over the two tanks of fuel. The only gripe I have is that the control lever is difficult to manipulate while wearing thick, insulated, leather gloves, but it is, admittedly, a minor gripe.
Conclusions:
-The 545 is a great 50cc saw. May not be the fastest saw out there, but it has a great power band, and is more than capable of laying quite a bit of firewood on the ground using very little fuel and not wearing me out.
-The Stihl MS261c-m is a wicked saw in terms of torque.
-A good dealer is more important than the brand of the saw.
-I think the 346 is probably a good saw, but like a movie that is over-hyped, it is a disappointment when it doesn't live up to the hype, no matter how good it actually is. I say this because my dealer let me play with his old OE 346, which he claimed was pretty well worn out, so my expectations were low. I was quite happy with how it cut.
-Horsepower numbers, in my opinion, are useless in terms of assessing saw performance. The 545 is rated for 3.2 hp, IIRC, but it felt like it cut better than my old MS260 and NE346, both rated around 3.75 hp.
At the risk of getting flamed, I now understand the sideways balance thing SawTroll talks about. It did take playing with the MS261 and the 545 side by side to get it. I would have never consciously noticed it had I not purposely focused on it. Grabbing the MS261 by the top handle in a comfortable position, and holding it with my wrist relaxed, I noticed the saw leaned slightly to the right. Doing the same with the 545, it sits level in the hand. Whether it makes a significant, actual difference or if it is purely psychological, the jury is still out for me in terms of cutting firewood. In theory, I can see where it would reduce arm/wrist fatigue. When the chain meets the wood, I don't know that the difference will be terribly significant. Time will tell, for me.
Well, after remaining disappointed with my 346xp, even after proper tuning, etc., I sent it packing. After running a MS261 for a while and remaining disappointed with my local dealers, I finally found a Husqvarna dealer I like. The 40 minute drive one-way is a bit annoying, especially when there are 3 Stihl dealers within 10 minutes of me, but we'll worth it.
So, I bought a Husqvarna 545. I still had the 16" Oregon Pro Lite bar and 3 Stihl .325 non-safety semi chisel chains I used on the 346, so I dumped the narrow kerf chisel setup straight away.
Ran two tanks through it between yesterday and today. I am very happy with this saw, much nicer (in my opinion) than the 346. Cut some hedge, hackberry, walnut, and something I didn't take the time to identify, as everything was covered in snow and ice. Biggest wood was around 18", and was the hedge. All were trees that had died (who knows how long ago) in my father-in-law's pasture and he had pulled them with the tractor and dragged them up to the burn pile.
I started out with the the cuts in a log/trunk as per the manual to settle the computer, and then just started cutting. Initially, restarts were a little dicey, required a few attempts before it would remain running, but after 3 or 4 times, it pretty much settled down and now restarts perfectly. Likewise, it initially had some issues with too high of an idle speed, causing the chain to run, but it has pretty much figured its idle speed out. Throttle response and cutting speed have improved over the two tanks of fuel. The only gripe I have is that the control lever is difficult to manipulate while wearing thick, insulated, leather gloves, but it is, admittedly, a minor gripe.
Conclusions:
-The 545 is a great 50cc saw. May not be the fastest saw out there, but it has a great power band, and is more than capable of laying quite a bit of firewood on the ground using very little fuel and not wearing me out.
-The Stihl MS261c-m is a wicked saw in terms of torque.
-A good dealer is more important than the brand of the saw.
-I think the 346 is probably a good saw, but like a movie that is over-hyped, it is a disappointment when it doesn't live up to the hype, no matter how good it actually is. I say this because my dealer let me play with his old OE 346, which he claimed was pretty well worn out, so my expectations were low. I was quite happy with how it cut.
-Horsepower numbers, in my opinion, are useless in terms of assessing saw performance. The 545 is rated for 3.2 hp, IIRC, but it felt like it cut better than my old MS260 and NE346, both rated around 3.75 hp.
At the risk of getting flamed, I now understand the sideways balance thing SawTroll talks about. It did take playing with the MS261 and the 545 side by side to get it. I would have never consciously noticed it had I not purposely focused on it. Grabbing the MS261 by the top handle in a comfortable position, and holding it with my wrist relaxed, I noticed the saw leaned slightly to the right. Doing the same with the 545, it sits level in the hand. Whether it makes a significant, actual difference or if it is purely psychological, the jury is still out for me in terms of cutting firewood. In theory, I can see where it would reduce arm/wrist fatigue. When the chain meets the wood, I don't know that the difference will be terribly significant. Time will tell, for me.
