Chainsaw

[Lakeside53]

Stihl saws have gone down in quality and there service is not the best in the world there carb's are all now made in China and you would be lucky to get parts in a week unless it is in stock in the store.

For a moment I though I was reading another RED post.

Your wide sweeping generalizations don't hold water.

Most of Stihl saw models are for the most part unchanged in 15 years; 20 for for some. So... how has the quality "gone down"? The handful of "new" models have been superb - i.e. -361, 441, 280...

ZAMA (your China reference) carbs are used on many saws... not just Stihl. Stihl, like other manfs, use Walbro also..

Comparing Stihl ( the Corporation, not not just the crappy dealer d'jour) to Efco for "service" lololol. Stihl parts are available overnight to dealers, for most everything made for the past 25 years, and many parts way back beyond that. ... and at least there are local dealers. Hate to break it to you, but almost all of saw owners get them fixed by a saw shop.

As for the rest of your sales pitch... I guess you'll be an AS site sponser soon?

 

[SawTroll]

.... The 361 as Mayor mentioned is puts you right in the $600 range. Same displacement as the 310 but more HP and about .5 lbs lighter.

The true weight difference is more than a pound......

200USD price difference may seem like a lot, but considering how long the saw probably will last, it is not much per year = another vote for the MS361......:rockn: :rockn:

 

[aandabooks]

The true weight difference is more than a pound......

200USD price difference may seem like a lot, but considering how long the saw probably will last, it is not much per year = another vote for the MS361......:rockn: :rockn:

The weight of the powerhead only or the weight with fluids and b&c? The Stihl website has them within about .5 lbs when fluids are added. The 361 has larger tanks than the 310.

 

[Log Splitter]

As you stated, you listed a wide range of saws, both from the standpoint of power and from the standpoint of pro quality. And then we all jumped in and added the 361 to your list. LOL!

If it were me, I'd pay more for the pro features. The power / weight ratio is important (to me), as is the antivibe feature found on the 270/280/361. But I'm getting older too.

I own both the 270 and the 361. They have different applications (again for me) since the 270 is noticeably lighter than the 361. I use the 270 for any hardwood up to about 12 inches, and the 361 for the rest. While I like my 270 a lot, if I had it to do over I'd pick up the 280 instead. It's the same weight as the 270, but has more power and only costs $30 more.

I'm sorry if we've confused you, but our job is to help you spend your $$$$.

Don't forget dealer support, make them earn your business!

 

[Just Mow]

If your only going to use your saw for firewood then order yourself a Efco from northern tool. Unless your needing anything more than a 20 inch bar you can get away with a Efco 152 if you want more than 51.7cc's than you can step up to a Efco 156 with 56.5cc's. I am going to be a Efco dealer soon just because they have a warranty that is better than Echo, Stihl, Husky, and Poulan, Echo has a nearly identical warranty but Efco gives pros a two year instead of a one year but for consumers they both offer a five year warranty. Go with a Efco and you won't be sorry all of there large chainsaws are made in Italy and you can usually get parts from your local distributor in less than 48hrs. Stihl saws have gone down in quality and there service is not the best in the world there carb's are all now made in China and you would be lucky to get parts in a week unless it is in stock in the store.

www.efcopower.com
http://www.echo-usa.com/prods_list.asp?Category=CHAINSAW

Don't buy the Efco if you ever want or need any parts. The extra warranty is offered by manufacturers who make inferior products.
We have gone over this before. The carbs are made in china and the quality is some of the best that there is in power equipment. If you don't stop spreading these false lie's , well you will dissapear from here.


Get the Stihl ms 361. It is one of the best saws on the market.

 

[Zodiac45]

If you MUST have a Stihl get the 260 or 361.

Get the others out of mind now and forever, they are turds compared to these saws

+1 I would not consider the others. Either of the two above will last you a lifetime for firewooding. Really depends on how big of wood you harvest. If I could only have one I'd go for the 361.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Just Mow]

How is the 280 with that new IEM? Kind of worried about electronics on a chainsaw...

Works great. I have two.

 

[hornett224]

i like the 270/280 ,nice saws.

like everyone else says,i'd spend the extra money and get the ms361.you'll be glad you did.

 

[Woodjack]

like everyone else says,i'd spend the extra money and get the ms361.you'll be glad you did.

Just curious, I have the ms290 and it seems fine. What's better about the ms361?

 

[Ken05]

Ditto on the 361 or even the 440. Your cutting northern hardwoods. There is no such thing as overkill. The more work the saw can do the less you have to.
My good local dealer sell J-reds so thats what I have. I moved up to 2171 from the 50cc one for firewood and I feel the bigger saw is less work. You just set the bar on the log, pull the trigger - it does the rest. No horsing it.

 

[THALL10326]

If your only going to use your saw for firewood then order yourself a Efco from northern tool. Unless your needing anything more than a 20 inch bar you can get away with a Efco 152 if you want more than 51.7cc's than you can step up to a Efco 156 with 56.5cc's. I am going to be a Efco dealer soon just because they have a warranty that is better than Echo, Stihl, Husky, and Poulan, Echo has a nearly identical warranty but Efco gives pros a two year instead of a one year but for consumers they both offer a five year warranty. Go with a Efco and you won't be sorry all of there large chainsaws are made in Italy and you can usually get parts from your local distributor in less than 48hrs. Stihl saws have gone down in quality and there service is not the best in the world there carb's are all now made in China and you would be lucky to get parts in a week unless it is in stock in the store.

www.efcopower.com
http://www.echo-usa.com/prods_list.asp?Category=CHAINSAW

By expanding into North America, Emak signals its intention to consolidate its status as a global player. With its 3 production sites (two in Italy and one in China), 6 European branches (in Germany, France, Benelux, Britain, Spain, Poland) and over 120 distributors, Emak maintains a presence in more than 70 countries, serving some 20,000 points of sale in the five continents.

Well lookie there Doggy, Efco has ties to China, my my. I see they are a huge outfit too, about the size of a pimple on Stihl's azz,LOL

 

[user 19670]

You do not need a pro saw but they are nicer to run, take more abuse and hold there value in the long run!! If you want to spend $400 get a ms280 or ms310 but I do agree that a 60cc saw is a good firewood size and the ms361 is hard to ignore!!!

WOW! I like your choice of personal safety equipment, especially the eye protection.

 

[f700]

Well, I think I have made my decision after reading everything here and talking to two dealers, I think I am going with the MS270. It is lightweight, has many of the pro-saw features and according to both dealers has more low end torque than the 290. Still haven't thrown out the 361 yet, but it is really more than I want to spend which is $400 or so.

 

[Log Splitter]

You'll be pleased with the 270. It does have a great antivibe and is light enough to let you cut a long time before you get tired. You might want to do a search and read some of Sprig's posts about his 270. I'd say he's the biggest fan here, and I'm a close second.

After you break in the 270, if you keep posting here we'll convince you to buy the 361 then.

 

[Ken05]

WOW! I like your choice of personal safety equipment, especially the eye protection.

Got yer back on that one Gordie. Not to mention thats softwood. In NH yer gonna need hardwood to keep warm.

 

[Ken05]

Oh yeah I got a 2171 also - that baby rocks!

 

[bluequill56]

WOW! I like your choice of personal safety equipment, especially the eye protection.

I wondered when the PPE Police would roll on to the scene!

 

[user 19670]

I wondered when the PPE Police would roll on to the scene!

You might think I deserve that. After over 30 years working the maintenance trades in heavy industry my remarks about PPE come naturally to me. Sometimes only a fellow worker is around to make the suggestion and often a fellow worker is the only one that will be listened to.

By its nature, using a chainsaw is a solitary act and a person injured alone runs the risk of dying alone.
Could you drive from the country to a hospital in town with something in your eye? Highly unlikely since using your good eye causes your inured eye to hurt (don't ask me how I know)

I drew attention to the lack of PPE because I care. Why did you react the way you did?

 

[sesmith]

So I can't speak for the 270 'cause I've never used one. I can tell you about the 361, though as I just bought one about a month ago. The 361 is going to replace the last "pro" quality saw I bought, which was a Homelite 410 (which I bought new in 1985). I whined about the price then, but that saw has lasted me 22 years and still runs like a top (although it tends to ice up in the winter). I also cut about 7 cords a year. The old Homelite has more torque than the MS361, but the 361 is faster and cuts circles around my old saw (and the weight difference is appreciated in my old age). The 361 is a great firewood saw, but I can tell you I wouldn't want anything with less power (and it's got plenty).

As far as justifying the extra 200 bucks, that's easy if you're on the edge... Lets say the 361 doesn't go 22 years this time, only 10. That's only 20 bucks a year over the price of the 270...or about 3 bucks a cord of wood cut extra. Real easy to justify...even the $600 you spent in one year when you figure the price of heating oil that wood is replacing However, if you buy the 270 now and the 361 later...no big deal. You need at least a couple of saws so when you do manage to pinch the bar, you can rescue it without having to leave evidence in the woods for all to see

Scott

 

[Gologit]

By expanding into North America, Emak signals its intention to consolidate its status as a global player. With its 3 production sites (two in Italy and one in China), 6 European branches (in Germany, France, Benelux, Britain, Spain, Poland) and over 120 distributors, Emak maintains a presence in more than 70 countries, serving some 20,000 points of sale in the five continents.

Well lookie there Doggy, Efco has ties to China, my my. I see they are a huge outfit too, about the size of a pimple on Stihl's azz,LOL

LOL...He says he's going to be a dealer. Now we know what he's going to do with the building his Edsel dealership was in.