Husky 353 or 346XP

[Freakingstang]

More then two bad raps.
I'm not Knocking Your Dolmar saws, You work on your own, not everybody is a self proclaimed doctor of saws.
Thats why there is Dealers and it looks like Dolmar does not want to support there Dealers as well as other Companys.

Ok valid point. My dealer had one 5100 run on straight gas and Dolmar stood behind it for warrenty....Go figure.

BTW, I am not self proclamined... it was given to me by other members......

I haven't had to do anything to the Dolmars except adjust the carb as with any saws.....

 

[SawTroll]

its true that i never have run any dolmar, but still, imo 353/346 are the best erconomics wise...

They are extremely ergonomic, but they also are nowhere near the power of the 5100S.......

Haveing the MS361, my choise today would have been the 346xp among those, it is also a pound lighter than the 5100S.....:greenchainsaw:

The Dolmar is about halfway between the 346xp and the MS361 in power, weight, and power to weight ratio - never mind the ccs.

 

[SawWitch]

They are extremely ergonomic,

I can attest that the 353 is very ergonomic, and a very nice nice saw to work with......

 

[NYH1]

- so don't just trust me....:yoyo: :yoyo:

Don't trust you.............now that's funny. We're talking about chain saws remember! :greenchainsaw:

 

[stihl025]

Any Stihl's with that type of performance (that of the 346 or 353) other than the MS361? Just keeping options open...

Why the 346XP over the 353?

 

[SawTroll]

The MS361 is a totally different story from the 260/346xp/353 - it is a larger saw with a lot more power, not comparable at all....

 

[manual]

Any Stihl's with that type of performance (that of the 346 or 353) other than the MS361? Just keeping options open...

Why the 346XP over the 353?

I'll take a guess it's the Ms260 and the ms280

 

[SawTroll]

...
Why the 346XP over the 353?

More rpms, and faster in small wood (like most limbing)....

 

[sawinredneck]

Any Stihl's with that type of performance (that of the 346 or 353) other than the MS361? Just keeping options open...

Why the 346XP over the 353?

If you can find an old 026 pro, maybe, but the new 260's ge the nod , the lack the adjustable carb, and don't seem to run as well from what I've heard. I have a 346xp on the way. The othe option is a Dolmar 5100s, most seem to like it a lot. I myself love the 50cc Husky saws, can't find anything to compare with the feel and power yet.
Andy

 

[Kenskip1]

The 025/250 is a dud,

Saw Troll, I will have to advise you that my 025 is a screamer.After a bit of muffler mods, and appropriate carb jetting, this thing cooks. I will assume that your opinion is based on YOUR experience.


Well my friend, if you do a search on Google for this saw and read what people say about it you would be surprised by the response.

Anyway, this saw with a 16 bc, and a sharp 325 chain this thing will just flat cut.I will have to call you on this one. Ken

 

[Monkeyhanger]

From that staement, i can tell you have never run one. It is the smoothest saw hands down in the 50cc class. The 7900 is the smoothest in the 80cc class.

Hi,

I think you are very wrong there. The 7900 is definately not the smoothest in its class! It has much higher vibe levels than a 460 and thats according to the figures from the manufacturer and the KWF. No smooth they are not.

I don't have the figures for the 5100 on my computer at the moment but the legal limit (in Europe/Germany obviously) is 12m/s and the 7900 has up to 9.5m/s on the rear handle and up to 9.1m/s on the front handle. Only the Solo saws are worse in that respect. Even a 660 has lower vibes than the 7900.

Using the figures means that to completely avoid vibration caused injuries you can only use a 7900 for 30 minutes a day! In comparison a 346XP can be used for over 4 hours.

The vibe levels of the 7900 are the reason I bought a 460 for myself. Of course your subjective impression of the 7900 may be quite different to the objective figures. I know that I won't buy a Dolmar until they sort the vibe levels out though.


Bye have a nice Sunday!

 

[SawTroll]

Saw Troll, I will have to advise you that my 025 is a screamer.After a bit of muffler mods, and appropriate carb jetting, this thing cooks. I will assume that your opinion is based on YOUR experience. ...

A "dud" may be a bit harch, but I certainly don't like the 250.

My wiew is of couse from my own experience, I have used and maintained two of the 250s, and neither of them were impressive at all. They also have a higher "plastic feeling" factor than the comparable Huskys.....:greenchainsaw:
...I have never used an old 025 though.

 

[SawTroll]

Hi,

I think you are very wrong there. The 7900 is definately not the smoothest in its class! It has much higher vibe levels than a 460 and thats according to the figures from the manufacturer and the KWF. No smooth they are not. ....

I won't contest what you are saying about the numbers, as they are probably the same ones that I have read, but I firmly believe that they don't tell the whole story.
[ I]How well the vibes are dampened also play a part in the overall picture.[/I]

 

[Monkeyhanger]

[ I]How well the vibes are dampened also play a part in the overall picture.[/I]

Hi Sawtroll,

those are the vibes that actually reach your fingers. My brother (an ex-miner) suffers from white-finger as a result of vibration so I know that it should be taken more seriously than it is here. Wouldn't wish it on anybody.

Stihl has tables available and an exposition calculator to help companies calculate the exposition times allowable. It's all about health and safety. How the vibes feel doesn't really effect the damage they can do as far as I know.

At least Stihl and Husqvarna are putting a lot of effort into reducing the vibe levels (whereas Solo and Dolmar apparently are not). If it wasn't important they just wouldn't do it...

Bye

 

[WRW]

A "dud" may be a bit harch, but I certainly don't like the 250.

My wiew is of couse from my own experience, I have used and maintained two of the 250s, and neither of them were impressive at all. They also have a higher "plastic feeling" factor than the comparable Huskys.....:greenchainsaw:
...I have never used an old 025 though.

To my knowledge, the 250 and 025 are pretty much the same saw. Those 250's didn't happen to have the non-adjustable carbs, did they?

 

[SawTroll]

To my knowledge, the 250 and 025 are pretty much the same saw. Those 250's didn't happen to have the non-adjustable carbs, did they?

I tought so, and no, they didn't.

 

[B_Turner]

Hi Sawtroll,


At least Stihl and Husqvarna are putting a lot of effort into reducing the vibe levels (whereas Solo and Dolmar apparently are not). If it wasn't important they just wouldn't do it...

Bye

I would be interested to hear what those that own/run both the 460 and 7900 have to say about vibration levels.

I am the most concerned and fanatical person I know when it comes to vibration levels in tools both because my hands are my life as well as being extra sensitive to vibration in tools. I don't own a 460 (which is a great saw no doubt), but I have run friends 460s and in my opinion the 7900 vibration levels are noticeably better. I personally am thrilled that husky has been reducing vibration levels for a while and now stihl is finally doing it with the 361 and now the 441. But for example the stihl 660s I have run (and the one I own and run a lot) has a ton of vibration that can actually make hands tingle, so to single out Dolmar as a vibration problem doesn't jive with my experience. I love my 066, but generally use my 395 because it is two worlds smoother.

Bottom line for me is that I find the vibration levels on my 7900 in the cut very acceptable. Better than my 371 and much better than the 460's I have run. And much more fun to run than either of those saws, although reliability is perhaps an open question. And I've not run as many different saws as some, but of what I have run the only saws in the same size range as the 7900 that are any smoother are the new generation 575 and 441.

I agree with those that say the vibration numbers don't tell the whole story.

 

[blis]

i doubt you have ran any of those new 300xp series saws (346xp, 353 for example), imo, i can barely feel the vibrations on my 353, nevertheless, havent run any dolmars so i cant say for sure...

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I don't have the figures for the 5100 on my computer at the moment but the legal limit (in Europe/Germany obviously) is 12m/s and the 7900 has up to 9.5m/s on the rear handle and up to 9.1m/s on the front handle. Only the Solo saws are worse in that respect. Even a 660 has lower vibes than the 7900.

Your numbers aren't entirely correct or applicable although you are correct about the 7900 being fairly high. I looked them up and you are quoting vibration levels at idle, which are naturally higher. They didn't have the 440 or 441 PDF available, so I wasn't able to get those numbers. The 660 does vibrate more at the rear handle than the 7900, but less at the front. These are vibration levels at full throttle under load.

More numbers to chew on:
346xp 2.5-2.7 (didn't list Front vs Rear)
353 Front 3.2 Rear 4.1
MS290 Front 6.1 Rear 6.7
MS361 Front 3.5 Rear 5.0
MS660 Front 4.0 Rear 7.1
7900 Front 5.8 Rear 6.3

Ian

 

[Monkeyhanger]

I would be interested to hear what those that own/run both the 460 and 7900 have to say about vibration levels...

...I agree with those that say the vibration numbers don't tell the whole story.

Hi,

I'm not singling Dolmar out, Solo is much worse (my friend uses a 651 and it is dreadful) in fact I swapped my 345 Solo for a 346XPG Huskie because of vibration levels. And I have not regretted doing so either!

So here are the official numbers (the numbers from the manufacturers actually usually come very close to those in tests - must be because of the health and safety laws here in Germany):

saw : idle front/rear : full throttle no load front/rear : full throttle loaded front/rear

MS460 : 4.7/6.5 : 2.6/4.8 : 4.8/6.5

7900 : 9.1/9.5 : 4.6/6.4 : 5.8/6.3

As you see in the cut they are very close and using a decent sharp low-vibe chain may push the results either way. The values out of the cut and especially when idling are another story and you do spend a fair bit of time with a saw idling in your hands if you think about it. At least I do.

I also have the impression that my 460 does not vibrate that much more than my 346XPG but that can't actually be true. Although it really does feel that way. If I try the Solo 651 I want to get it out of my hands again as soon as I can.

As I said I don't have a personal vendetta against Dolmar or anything childish like that, I'm just careful about my health and like to keep the risks as low as possible. Having said that I was taught to saw with a Pioneer 650 and some kind of Danarm chainsaw. Worlds apart from what we use these days!

Bye


PS

Husqvarna states an average of 3.3/3.5 for the 346Xp and 3.1/3.2 for the 353 in their handbook. The average being taken from one third idle, full load und the "rest" in between.

OK another PS

The values from the KWF and Stihl are the same whereas the values from Dolmar and the KWF are different with Dolmars own figures being lower. So are Dolmars numbers honest or did the KWF make a mistake when testing them??? Looks as if the idle numbers for the Dolmar should be considered "suspect".