Advice for homeowner chainsaw

[honda4life]

Hello All,

Most of the time I buy pre-cutted firewood, occasionally I need to cut firewood in smaller pieces at home and most of the time I use a corded electric saw for this.
It's cheap, quiet, reliable and I'm not bothered by cutting slower since it's just a small part of the time spent in process of making firewood as a whole.
(So no, I don't need the fastest saw)

I have 2 x McCullogh CS380 (5,2 kg), and was hoping I get Husqvarna quality on a budget not paying for a brand name, yet a brand nameplate.
Too bad it's a Poulan I found out afterwards ... lots of similar issues with both saws (won't start hot, replaced crankcase seal, ...), I bought them both used since I don't think the price tag of a new saw is justified for occasionally use.
(So no, I don't have any brand preference)

From my grandfather I got his Husqvarna 61 Rancher white top, it's a great saw but two issues:
Too heavy for me (6,7 kg), and the compression is so high that when my muscles are getting tired it's almost impossible to start.
Spare parts are getting more difficult unfortunately. I don't mind older saws, I like to work on them as well.


So I'm looking for something more reliable than the Poulans, because you look like an idiot when your saw won't run well if you have to cut some wood somewhere else.
From what model you buy acceptable quality by Husqvarna / Stihl / Echo / Dolmar?

What's your advice for a reliable general saw that's not too heavy?
I'm thinking in the 40cc range, maybe 50 is more general purpose saw not adding that much weight.
Husqvarna 440, Stihl 024, ...

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[RileyT]

A 4910 Echo would be my choice, very reliably and reasonably priced.

 

[Seachaser]

My advice is go to a couple of local dealers and handle the saws in your price range. Husqvarna, Stihl, or Echo. Light, powerful, cheap, and good. Pick one.
Buy once, cry once.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

ECHO is a great homeowner saw when you want a lot of value for the money. Parts and shop manuals are available online, unlike the other two major brands, so repairs can be made by the homeowner if needed (like a brittle fuel hose due to age and ethanol in the fuel).

There are tradeoffs with every brand, for me running STIHL makes sense, but for you ECHO likely makes more sense. The Search function works well, this question is asked monthly and reading other posts will typically provide information on questions you hadn't thought to ask.

 

[Franny K]

because you look like an idiot when your saw won't run well if you have to cut some wood somewhere else.

How about a generator for the corded electric? Too bad you said you have a cheap one.

From what model you buy acceptable quality by Husqvarna / Stihl / Echo / Dolmar?

They will all be built to a price point. I will suggest the Echo 361p but there are a few acceptable quality issues or minimalistic components. It is light and blows the chips and exhaust gasses out in the same place which is pretty much straight down.

 

[Exophysical]

At least in my area, there are always a ton of used Husky 345's availible for pretty cheap. I got one for free last year and for a home owner, spare, light firewood cutting saw its pretty good.

I typically do my firewood cutting in the winter and put my saws to bed for the summer, but I keep some ethenol free pre-mix in the 345 year round, it handles whatever chores come up pretty well.

 

[iowa_jim]

For occasional use, I'd recommend a cordless electric, in the 60v range. I stumbled into a deal on an Ego 16" and have been happy with it.

 

[Husky Man]

I’d say look at the Husky 445, it’s reasonably light, decent power for it’s class, and it has a decompression valve, the smallest saw that I know of with one.

I bought one for my Wife in 2017, not a lot of hours on it, but it has been reliable, and I was impressed with it, considering it’s price point.


Doug

 

[AnthemBassMan]

I have a small Echo CS370 and it’s been a solid chainsaw. You could look around your local Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a used Echo CS310, CS 370, or CS400. They would be running 14”-18” bars on them, so they should work great for cutting up some pre split firewood. I haven’t run my CS370 since last April or May. Filled up the tank and hit the purge bulb 5-6 times. Pulled the choke and it popped on the second pull. Moved it to half choke and it was running on the next pull.


L8R,
Matt

 

[Sidecarflip]

Echo all the way. Makita like quality and a reasonable price point and a fantastic non commercial warranty too.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Nice thing about Echo is, don't matter where you buy it (even online from Amazon), you can go to any Echo dealer and they will warrant it if there is an issue, unlike Stihl dealers who are hesitant to warrant anything if you didn't buy it there. Echo warrants entirely on serial number and purchase date. Not sure about Husky other than places like Tractor Supply sell them but have no way of working on them, warranty or not.

About the only thing Echo won't warrant is a straight gassed saw.

 

[Sidecarflip]

How about a generator for the corded electric? Too bad you said you have a cheap one.

They will all be built to a price point. I will suggest the Echo 361p but there are a few acceptable quality issues or minimalistic components. It is light and blows the chips and exhaust gasses out in the same place which is pretty much straight down.

Curious what those are??? I'd say Stihl has some glaring issues like the ever leaking 1/2 turn fuel caps for instance and the lousy bar oil non adjustment...

 

[Franny K]

Curious what those are??? I'd say Stihl has some glaring issues like the ever leaking 1/2 turn fuel caps for instance and the lousy bar oil non adjustment...

For the Echo 361p minimal things to note in no particular order kind of tiny clutch diameter. two 6mm bolts with a shoulder for the bar nuts. Nylon looking chain catcher, tiny bar nuts, tiny fasteners that loosen up on the front handle on the right.

I never have had an issue with the Stihl flippy caps just make sure it is firmly in place. I even got a recall notice and never did anything.

The oil pump on that Echo puts out plenty and hi and low are extreme. You asked for the minuses not the plusses.

 

[Sidecarflip]

I locktite all my fasteners as a rule Blue medium strength. My nuts aren't that tiny or at least my wife tells me they aren't...lol The bar nuts on my Timber Bear are the same size as Stihl's, in fact I use a Stihl Scrench to loosen and tighten them, got an abundance of Screnches for some reason.

I agree the oil pumps on the Echo's are touchy but too much is better than too little and bar oil is a cheap date anyway and it's easily adjustable unlike late model Stihl's are. One thing I don't like about at least the Timber Bear I have and that is the clunky toggle kill switch. Could be engineered a lot better in my view. I can deal with it and I do.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Hello All,

Most of the time I buy pre-cutted firewood, occasionally I need to cut firewood in smaller pieces at home and most of the time I use a corded electric saw for this.
It's cheap, quiet, reliable and I'm not bothered by cutting slower since it's just a small part of the time spent in process of making firewood as a whole.
(So no, I don't need the fastest saw)

I have 2 x McCullogh CS380 (5,2 kg), and was hoping I get Husqvarna quality on a budget not paying for a brand name, yet a brand nameplate.
Too bad it's a Poulan I found out afterwards ... lots of similar issues with both saws (won't start hot, replaced crankcase seal, ...), I bought them both used since I don't think the price tag of a new saw is justified for occasionally use.
(So no, I don't have any brand preference)

From my grandfather I got his Husqvarna 61 Rancher white top, it's a great saw but two issues:
Too heavy for me (6,7 kg), and the compression is so high that when my muscles are getting tired it's almost impossible to start.
Spare parts are getting more difficult unfortunately. I don't mind older saws, I like to work on them as well.


So I'm looking for something more reliable than the Poulans, because you look like an idiot when your saw won't run well if you have to cut some wood somewhere else.
From what model you buy acceptable quality by Husqvarna / Stihl / Echo / Dolmar?

What's your advice for a reliable general saw that's not too heavy?
I'm thinking in the 40cc range, maybe 50 is more general purpose saw not adding that much weight.
Husqvarna 440, Stihl 024, ...

Any advice?

Thanks

What size and kind of wood are you cutting?

Where are you located?

 

[honda4life]

Locaties in Belgium, Europe.
Size depends on what's available at reasonable prices.

 

[fields_mj]

Based on your original post, I'd recommend a battery powered saw to be honest. No rope to pull, and no carb to get gummed up from sitting on the shelf for too long. Pick a brand that you also want to use for battery powered lawn equipment (trimmers, blowers, ect) so that you have multiple uses for the batteries.

If you insist on a gas powered saw, I really like the 026/ms260/MS261, but that platform is probably a lot bigger than you really need. I don't have anything smaller than that so it's hard to make a recommendation. A friend of mine likes his MS180, and there's nothing wrong with any of Echo's products either.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Not familiar with what's available in Belgium, but if you go gas power, would definitely recommend running a canned premix fuel in it.

 

[2StrokeFondler]

You could pimp your 61 with a 272 top end and use the decomp
How do you start your saws? Drop starting heavy saws with high compression is asking for trouble...

 

[Pudsy]

If you are seriously looking for light weight (low power) AND a decomp as well as second hand (low price) you may want to have a look at the Dolmar 341 or 401 or the like. These are basically the old Dolmar 100 chassis - plastic fantastic - with a _lot_ of variants over the years (Dolmar 33, 330, 39, 390, 100, 102, 340, 341, 342, 344, 400, 401, 410, 411, Makita DSC-340, 400 and maybe more).
Only a few of these have a decomp, at least the: 341, 344, 401, 411 that I know of from the top of my head.
You can find these readily on Belgian/Dutch 2nd hand sites, but the prices vary greatly. I have 20 or so of these and payed between 10-40 Euros for each, about half of them in fine running condition, but people do tend to ask/bid more (like 50-150€). I'd say anything under 75 is a fair deal for a good running one, but if you're not in a hurry you can always find one cheaper or buy two fixer-uppers for 10-20€ each.

Other than that you can also find a _lot_ of Stihl 017/170/018/180 second hand, but these tend to go for more (typically around 100-150€), which to me comes darn close to buying a new one. These don't have decomp, but honestly I doubt you would really need it on such a lightweight saw (same for the Dolmar 100 series).

I also have a small Solo 639 (39cc) from the same era that has a decomp and generally feels more like a pro saw. Those are harder to find and also weigh a tad more than the Dolmar 100 family or small Stihl, but that also makes it feel more "durable" somehow.

There must be other small saws with decomp too, but these are what I could quickly think of.

Like mentioned above, you may also want to consider a battery powered saw. I have a Makita tophandle with dual 18V batteries (36V), just because I have a lot of other stuff for that battery platform, and it always performs well and long on a single charge. I hardly ever need to swap batteries during one cutting day and tend to grab it a lot, especially for climbing and cutting up branches up to 20-25cm or so.