Sterling Bronemann
Stihl lovin country boy
I wonder what one would cost to ship up that way. There are 2 very nice 361's around here on Craigslist for sale. May go pick one up just to resell or have as an extra. The price is very fair.
Stuck on new saw purchase
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I like mine. Pre-mtronic though. Bought used, but it's been a good saw.
Good to know how does it handle with a 20 inch bar that's mainly what I would like on it as for the used tires it would cost me too much in exchange and shipping and my wife wants me to buy a new one 2 year warranty spending a lot of money on this saw but thank you
Sterling Bronemann
Stihl lovin country boy
I like new stuff as well as anybody, but I can also respect a piece of equipment that has been maintained and taken care of very well. There is a practically new 361 with less than 4 tanks of fuel through it for sale. Emailed the guy and waiting for a response. May pick it up and keep or re-sell.
LoveStihlQuality
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Back to his question about M tronic. My first was MS 362C I still had std carb. Both good. Can run a 25 but happier with a 20.
Then 661c and more recently ms 261c. So M tronics are ok. More importantly, sharp chain, fresh fuel preferably ethonol free
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Then 661c and more recently ms 261c. So M tronics are ok. More importantly, sharp chain, fresh fuel preferably ethonol free
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Sterling Bronemann
Stihl lovin country boy
I run the 20" bar on mine with the yellow(non-safety) chain and it cuts very well. I have my 025 I use on the smaller stuff and it's a little animal. Love cutting with the 025. Bought the 025 for $100 from my uncle's estate, and the 361 off craigslist for $400(practically new condition).
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Where in Canada are you? I have a bunch of saws and bought a new 261 awhile ago. I was also planning to buy a new 441 at the same time but decided to wait and I found a barely used 441 for $600. The 261 is a great saw and will likely surprise you compared to your other saws. I'll likely buy another 261 just to have around and I plan to sell a dozen or 15 of my other saws as I never use them anyway. I run an 18" bar on it because I have bigger chainsaws and a bandmill so the bigger trees are left standing until I have time to mill.
Im in southern Ontario.... ive decided on the ms 261 i will be picking it up on Saturday with a 20 in bar best of all it comes with the wood pro kit.... it should for that money 759 can still abit nervous about the mtronic but what the heck i guess i will see thanks for everyones input greatly appreciated
Trapper_Pete
ArboristSite Operative
they are about the same money at least here
the question is what size logs are you bucking if you say a lot of 30+ inch in diameter logs for fire wood then the 391 with more displacement and a longer bar would be the way to go
if you say most of your wood is less than 20 inches in diameter then the 261 would be the way to go
if you say a real mix but not a lot of large stuff then still the 261
I ran a MS260 since 2007 most of my wood is 20 inches in diameter or less with some over maybe 15% over 20 inches the 261 is primarily oilier adjust ability, compression release , and emissions compliance added to the 260
I have run it with a 20 inch bar from day one , it isn't the fastest in big logs with the 20 inch bar but it works and I have cut some big logs that had to be cut from both sides with the 20 inch bar I am also tall and it let me not bend over as much.
if I had it to do over again my second bar would be a 18 inch , 18 is sort of a goldilocks length almost a 20 but less drag with fewer cutters
shortly after I got my saw I was talking with my great uncle at a family reunion ,he had a lot of years of cutting in heating with wood has been a family norm for a long time , he also ran the MS260 but with an 18 inch bar and 3/8 pitch chain
I was running .325 pitch what the dealer set my 260 up with. the difference is on a 20 inch bar I was pulling 81 links 40 cutters a 3/8 pitch chain 20 inches is dragging 72 drive links and 36 cutters
he was running a 18 inch bar 3/8 pitch that would be 68 drive links 34 cutters but he went a step further and ran skip chain 17 cutters .
we both hand file, I think everyone else in the family sends chains in to be ground , he preferred chisel chain he said the skip could cut just as fast in hardwood by keeping the rpm up and not bogging down and speed up sharpening.
I haven't ever proved him wrong I have been running the MS260 with .325 because both my bars for it have a lot of life left in them and hand filing my chains last a very long time , I am still running semi chisel chains that I picked up probably 5 years ago , I never got around to ordering a skip tooth and also can't find any to order for the .325 pitch for it but would like to now that I see how fast my other saw is in 3/8 pitch with a 18 inch bar.
I started running another saw with 3/8 chisel chain and it sure cuts fast in clean wood.
to some extent there is a point where less is more , fewer cutters going faster taking nice big chips and having the room to clear that nice big chip may very well make for faster cutting .
if you wern't set on the Stihls , my "new" 3 year old Jred CS2255 with 3/8 .058 18 inch bar and full compliment chisel chain if your cutting clean wood easily out cuts the MS260 with 20 inch bar but it is 5 more cc , the cost was almost 200 less , I will have to see how it holds up I am on year 3 now and it is doing very well. it would be in the farm and ranch category not pro.
I bought it when my Stihl was down for a while after years it developed an air leak and I burned up the cylinder , I rebuilt it but needed another saw while I was doing it. I needed a second saw any ways and the local saw shop is a Jred dealer and has been very helpful to me over the years.
either way any new saw I get in the future will likely be 3/8 it just seems to open up my chain options and if your fixed cost per link is $0.22 or $0.23 current bailey's non sale price fewer links in a chain makes for a less expensive chain 81 links at 0.22 is $17.82 and 72 links at 0.23 is $16.56 for the same length chain and it seems to me the fewer cutters cuts every bit as fast in the same wood.
in the end having a good servicing dealer you can work with is very important and could easily cause a person to drive right past one dealer and go to another brand of saw with a dealer that was good to work with.
this is of course my opinion and my reasoning and some may find flaws in it and I am fine with hearing those flaws if you want to point them out.
You really need a 2 saw plan...see I am already helping with CAD. Buy the 261 then start searching for nice used 660/661 to help with the very large pieces. This will make firewooding more fun and not stress the smaller saw in the big stuff.
Thank you for all replys.. kyle1 ive been thinking of the 2 saw deal like i stated i have an 023 and a ms 250 i was complaining to my wife i needed a bigger saw.... she spilled the beans and almost got me a ms 291 for Christmas.... i said wasn't big enough thats where the 391 idea came in always wanted a forestry grade saw and the dealer said it was a much better saw going to try to see what the best deal he can do on a 362 but sure im walking out with a 261 for now lol than ill have to buy a second saw when this might not be big enough...
MNfarmer
ArboristSite Guru
I started out with one chainsaw and then they multiplied! If you are going to have one saw get two bars incase you pinch one. Between me and my dad we have 3 261's and they're great! I just cut firewood and they would more than handle anything I would want to pick up and put on the splitter. As was mentioned already, keep your chain sharp and your rakers at the correct level and use premium ethanol free gas. The rakers often get overlooked, just yesterday I looked at a one year old 261 that seized up on the owner from continual overrevving due to improperly set rakers. If you take care of it, it will take care of you for many years!
Welcome to the site Justin. I'm going to throw something a little OT out there. You mentioned longevity. If you look at the Red saw in my avatar, it's an early 70's Homelite Super 1050 with a 36" bar on it. It survived 20 years of commercial service with my Dad. Then I turned it into my milling saw for another 20 years. Six- seven years ago I bought a brand new 660 so I could give the old 1050 a break. Well, that old 1050 can walk the dog on the 660 in big wood. But, that's not my point. If you put good fuel, good mix and lots of oil on the bar, all of the major brands will last you a life time. I have 70's Echo's and Mac's that still run great. They all came from my Dad or other tree services. I would feel a little leery if they came from homeowners. I have too many friends that keep running their saws after the bar oil runs out becuase they just don't feel like filling it. If you pick one of the Stihls you mentioned, and take care of it, it will take care of you. Another thing I keep saying I'm going to do is, pick one day a month to start all of my stuff to keep the rotten gas they produce from gumming everything up. I haven't made it every month, but lots of rainy days I just pick stuff up, start it, rev it a bit, and grab another one.
LoveStihlQuality
Addicted to ArboristSite
Re start regularly, I dump mixed out and store with Trufuel.
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I go threw at least 5 gallons of mix a month, so my mix is OK. I have favorite saws that get used a lot so they are OK too. I have some really nice old saws that will sit and I'll look up on the shelf and realize I haven't used that one in 6 months or a year. I keep trying to thin the heard, but I just can't seem to get below about 30 saws. I just can't afford that much Trufuel.
LoveStihlQuality
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I also use the 4 cycle Trufuel in mowers, pressure washer etc. This was not a paid indorsment
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NSMaple1
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Going by advertised stuff, the 362 should be $140 more. Would match decent to your 250.
Hand Splitter
ArboristSite Operative
Good choice on the 261! I had a 391 and traded it for a 260+ cash. The 260/261 is a much better saw!
If you are thinking of a 2 saw plan I would skip the 362 and jump to at least a 70cc saw it even a 90 cc saw. I could cut everything with my 260 and 660, but I have other saw's for fun!
Saw on brother!
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I agree on skipping the 362. I would go for a 441. The 660's are so heavy that I only use them for bucking at my pile and I hardly even use them there. The 440 and 460 work good. You'll really like the 261 and will run out of trees quick. See if the dealer will throw a chain or two in, never hurts to ask and remind him you might be coming back for a bigger saw. The 441 I bought awhile ago is still sitting in the same spot in my shop. Damn rain and wet snow.
