Buying my first chainsaw. Lowe's OK?

[Actiontreenh]

Honestly buy a poulan or a homelite. Beat it til it blows. Then tear it apart and see what went wrong. More than likely lack of oil due to buddy or girlfriend/ wife straight gassing it. To be honest all the plastic shell saws are disposable. I have more than enough saws to say the most used saw is the lightest smallest one. That being said I use my 540 the most. There's no difference between the rancher at the dealer and Lowes. Lowes just buys way more then the dealer.

 

[HarleyT]

What I did when I bought my logsplitter from TSC. They had it in a flyer for $100 off, so for that 2 week period during that flyer, they had the $100 off price tag on it at the store.
The new flyer I got in the mail, had a %10 off coupon for anything in the store, valid starting the day after
the sale ended.
So I went the day the coupon started, and they still had the old sale price on the splitters, so I went to the desk and ask the guy if I could use the coupon on the splitter, and he gave me the %10 off of the sale price.
He was happy to, he just worked there and didn't give a ****.....

 

[Actiontreenh]

Guess I'm to slow to type

 

[HarleyT]

Honestly buy a poulan or a homelite. Beat it til it blows. Then tear it apart and see what went wrong. More than likely lack of oil due to buddy or girlfriend/ wife straight gassing it. To be honest all the plastic shell saws are disposable. I have more than enough saws to say the most used saw is the lightest smallest one. That being said I use my 540 the most. There's no difference between the rancher at the dealer and Lowes. Lowes just buys way more then the dealer.

Well he IS talking about buying a Poulan........

 

[Actiontreenh]

Call husky. Just had a fun day of talking to there cust service. Every time I had to call guess the choices. I was told because I had a tree business years ago that has been gone for over ten years that I do not get a warranty. Sorry I get 90 days. I have a pair of 550xps that suck. But I don't blame the auto tune. I blame the company for not requiring the dealers to learn the product. That's where my basis comes from. For a first saw get light low power. Learn how to sharpen a chain and cut with little nut. Learn how to finesse a saw. Then go all out and buy the best. I refuse to buy a firewood saw without heated handles. Ya I'm touched.

 

[sundance]

Husqvarna 965 03 02-96 is a 455 with an 18" bar and chain. Doesn't matter where it comes from, it's the same saw. The idea that Husky would built a lesser quality saw for Lowes is ridiculous.

Here's 0296 at Lowes (note the model #)
and 0296 at a dealer

Most dealers will match Lowes price if they can but it's not always possible.

Dealer likely can't match the 10% off for vets and you can't use the cards. Sounds to me like the 455 will do what you need and the price is pretty much impossible to match if you use the cards,

 

[Modifiedmark]

No email for Husky. Oh well.

You didn't look in the right place, its right there on the Husqvarna site. You can ask the question there and they will reply to your email.

 

[Actiontreenh]

Only reason to pay more at a dealer is better service. But nowadays dealers don't seem to care. I should rephrase that. Only select few care. Most are clueless and can't be bothered by warranty anyhow. Same goes for cars, boats and sleds,wheelers. Pretty much all loyalty is gone. Look at Stihl for example. They make an arctic version saw. But only in Canada. Think they could get one for a us customer? Nope. Think husky bought redmax for a reason? Cause they couldn't compete on the higher end toys and the cheap toys were rigged but cheap.

 

[James Miller]

The 455 will do fine as a fire wood saw. At the price you said you can get it I would already have it.

 

[Modifiedmark]

• 
  
  Will E
  82 Answers • 100% Helpful
  Hello Mark
  
  My name is Will, I am a Husqvarna Expert and Product User
  I'm happy to assist today
  
  Same product. You receive better product support coming from a dealer. Dealer would be more knowledgeable.
  
  Please let me know if I can further assist
  Will
  
  
• Thanks
  

Here is the answer straight from Husqvarna.

 

[54bogger]

Wow, then I must REALLY be a rotten saw man since I use a 440 and 661 to cut firewood!! lol

Do you tell everyone they have to have a 440 or 661 to cut firewood with? That is the point...[/QUOTE]

Nope, but I do recommend stihl to everyone.

 

[Westwood]

• 
  
  Will E
  82 Answers • 100% Helpful
  Hello Mark
  
  My name is Will, I am a Husqvarna Expert and Product User
  I'm happy to assist today
  
  Same product. You receive better product support coming from a dealer. Dealer would be more knowledgeable.
  
  Please let me know if I can further assist
  Will
  
  
• Thanks

Here is the answer straight from Husqvarna.

Well there it is then. Thanks for that. I'll get the Lowe's one, run that **** until the rod spits out, and by then I would have bounced back from the recent home purchase to buy an XP or something.

 

[Modifiedmark]

Do you tell everyone they have to have a 440 or 661 to cut firewood with? That is the point...

Nope, but I do recommend stihl to everyone.[/QUOTE]

Well I give you a lot of credit for at least knowing which Stihl models you own. 80 percent of the Stihl owners around here cant tell me what model they have when I ask them.

Most the time they say "I got the big one, the one with the 20" blade." Another 10 percent stick out there chest and proudly say "I got a farm Boss" Oh and they all recommend I get a Stihl too.

The 10 percent that do know what model they have piss and moan about there Stihl dealers and how they get it stuck to them everytime they go there.

 

[54bogger]

Not a big stihl fan huh?

 

[Modifiedmark]

Not a big stihl fan huh?

What I'm not a fan of is someone like Evan chiming in that a man needs a $800+ 70cc+ pro saw to cut firewood with especially in a thread where a guy don't have a bunch of money to spend and can get a perfectly capable brand new saw for $100 that would do the job for him and do it pretty well.

As to the Stihls, some are alright, I'm not a all out hater. I wear thin on the Stihl fanboys though, they are not the correct answer every time.

The 044/440 is the most overrated tweener saw around though, you should dump that 440 for a 441, much smoother and more powerful. The 661 is ok, but keep it to a 36" or under bar.

 

[farmer steve]

What I'm not a fan of is someone like Evan chiming in that a man needs a $800+ 70cc+ pro saw to cut firewood with especially in a thread where a guy don't have a bunch of money to spend and can get a perfectly capable brand new saw for $100 that would do the job for him and do it pretty well.

As to the Stihls, some are alright, I'm not a all out hater. I wear thin on the Stihl fanboys though, they are not the correct answer every time.

The 044/440 is the most overrated tweener saw around though, you should dump that 440 for a 441, much smoother and more powerful. The 661 is ok, but keep it to a 36" or under bar.

as a STIHL guy i agree Mark. (note i was the 2nd or 3rd guy to post in this thread and told him to go for the husky). i don't cut with anything bigger than a 60 cc saw most of the time and i cut 20-30 cords a year.

 

[James Miller]

Well there it is then. Thanks for that. I'll get the Lowe's one, run that **** until the rod spits out, and by then I would have bounced back from the recent home purchase to buy an XP or something.

You'll have your mortgage paid off and kid threw college before you break the rod on that 455. A good friend runs his 455 for firewood and in his landscape business and hasn't killed it. Fresh mix and take care of it and it will run for many years.

 

[Evan]

Since Marks bustin my balls so hard.
I reread the op's question i see i missed the part where 100 brings the saw home.
For 100 thats a orange saw that will do well.

Learn safe operating practices, learn to sharpen tune and service and itl last quite a long time.

Stay off this site as much as possible or guys like me will get your ear youl have more saws than you can use in a week. Also stay off craigs list.

Good luck and have fun making chips

 

[fulladirt]

Hey guys long time lurker, first time poster.
I picked up a 455/20" from Lowe's about 4 years ago. Cut all my firewood with it 5-6 cords a year. Never misses a beat, still runs great, starts easy, and never had a problem running the dreaded ethanol gas we have around my way. I turned the oiler all the way up and feel it is adequate for 20" bar. It will leak some bar oil while sitting so I just keep some cardboard underneath it.
In about the same class we have a 60cc Echo CS600p. But it can be a real bear to start sometimes and even though it has a little more power I grab the 455 over it every time.

 

[HarleyT]

so I just keep some cardboard underneath it.

After 33 years of marriage, I do this with my wife also......