Ok, so I've been doing some geek stuff.
As one of the big draw cards of the 241 is it's fuel efficiency and the amount of timber it can put on the ground I started to look for some figures to support it.
It isn't straight forward - husqvarna post fuel consumption as g/kWh, with no reference to revs. Stihl don't post anything, but it has been tested by those pernickity germans. They have also tested a Husky 550, but not the 543. So some extrapolation is required.
Husqvarna 550 -
Posted by Husqvarna -
http://www.husqvarna.com/ca/en/products/chainsaws/550-xp/#specifications
Fuel tank volume 17.58 fl oz / 0.52 lit
Fuel consumption 446 g/kWh
Tested by KWF -
http://www.kwf-online.de/deutsch/pruef/pruefergebnisse/aagw/motorsaegen/6384_12e.pdf
Fuel consumption
max. power 420 g/kWh
max. torque 477 g/kWh
So, with this as a reference, the Husqvarna figure is roughly half way between the tested figures recorded by KWF.
Husqvarna 543 -
Posted by Husqvarna -
http://www.husqvarna.com/ca/en/products/chainsaws/543-xp/#specifications
Fuel tank volume - 14.2 fl oz / 0.42 lit
Fuel consumption - 467 g/kWh
Stihl 241 -
Tested by KWF -
http://www.kwf-online.de/deutsch/pruef/pruefergebnisse/aagw/motorsaegen/5957_11e.pdf
Fuel tank volume - 12.5 fl oz/ 0.39 lit
fuel consumption
max power 378 g/kWh
max torque 404 g/kWh
Even taking into account the larger tank on the 543, it doesnt look like it will go as far as the 241. In fact the 241 should be able to do (very roughly) 10% more work per tank.
It will be interesting to see how this bears out in the real world, but I doubt we will ever know as there are too many variables, and it would take a test like MCW did with the 241 vs 550 to get even the slightest idea. As a large percentage of AS chainsaw users would mod the muffler or get their saw ported, it quickly becomes farce anyway.