Husqvarna or Stihl for homeowner?

[Andrew15]

Hi , I am new here..
I just wonder what chainsaw is better in quality Husky vs Stihl?
I am looking for saw for occasional use just for home, there are many choices ..
Stihl 028,029, ms271
Or Husky 450 , 455 etc ...
Any recommendations please?

As most people say, first you should see what dealers you have in your area. Usually when it comes to a homeowner id say to get a Stihl. Mainly because Stihl's tend to be slightly lighter in weigh and weight is something important when you look for a saw. A chainsaw that's too heavy could cause shoulder and back pain and you also don't want more of a saw that you need. But both Stihl and Husqvarna would do! Depends how much you are gonna use it and how big is the wood. If you got some firewood to cut here and there id say a Stihl MS 251 or a husky 445 should do. But if you gonna abuse it more and got bigger wood , like in the range of 20" id say that something like a Stihl MS 291 or even a 311 should handle the job. But i won't recommend the MS 311. Its a heavy saw and you might not like handling it. To be honest if you got some more work a Husqvarna 455 Rancher should be able to handle the job. Its a little heavy but it can handle 20" bars but so does the 291 for just about 300 grams less in weight. I hope i helped.

 

[stihltech]

If you have good e free fuel near by and run good oil premix is an absolute waste of money.

If you have and are able to mix fuel. You would be amazed what we see at the shop. Some are not capable.
Most of the time we are preaching to the choir here. Spend a while working in a shop and it starts to make sense.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Even for gas powered saws, almost all gas saw owners should be using premix.

I know there are plenty of heavy saw users on this forum that premix doesn't make sense for, but most saw owners burn so little fuel that cost doesn't matter. A single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix all year. If they have to have a shop do it, a single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix in a decade.

Just run premix.

I take it by 'premix' you mean canned gas and that is what I always use, in my case either Echo red Armor 50-1 or Tru-Fuel 50-1 though I prefer the Red Armor. I will say since going to canned fuel, I have had no carb issues at all and my saws sit for long periods of time without use. They do sit in a climate controlled, humidity controlled shop however. The shop temperature is maintained at 69 degrees and the RH is always at 50% or a bit less. I have to do that to maintain accuracy with my precision machine tools, besides, corrosion is always public enemy number one here and my saws exist in the same environment.

I can let them sit idle without even starting them for over a year with no issues.

I even drain the crap gas from my power lawn equipment and dry them up and replace the crap gas with canned fuel as well. It ain't cheap but rebuilding carbs and FI units isn't cheap either. My local (other dealer) sells VP but I've never tried it. My Kubota dealer don't, just sells Red Armor pre mix bottles (for crap gas) and Red Armor canned fuel and I get mine at dealer cost as well and while not all that cheap anyway, better than phase separated e-gas anyday.

 

[Sidecarflip]

If you have and are able to mix fuel. You would be amazed what we see at the shop. Some are not capable.
Most of the time we are preaching to the choir here. Spend a while working in a shop and it starts to make sense.

Interesting comment. I have found that with (at least) Echo Red Armor canned fuel, all my saws 'seem' to run better on it than mixing the small bottles of Red Armor or Stihl oil with the e-gas.

That applies to every saw I come in contact with and that encompasses all popular brands. remember I work part time at my local Kubota dealer who also sells Echo (full line) and we get a lot of other brands in the shop with issues as well. They a;ll seem to respond quite favorably to Red Armor canned fuel, in fact, any saw we work on, leaves with a full tank of it and so far, no one has complained.

Also interesting is my ancient 028 WB that I've owned about forever (bought new way back in the 60's) runs much better on it than on anything else.

 

[ZinTrees]

have found that with (at least) Echo Red Armor canned fuel, all my saws 'seem' to run better on it than mixing the small bottles of Red Armor or Stihl oil with the e-gas.

because its not really gasoline like from the pump, similar but different ingredients, haven't tried echo fuel, but I've ran motomix, and VP Racing, the VP is lightyears ahead of the motomix, and same exact price at my saw shop

all I run is canned fuel, and I go through sometimes a gallon or two a day, its expensive but an unreliable saw is expensiver

 

[Sidecarflip]

because its not really gasoline like from the pump, similar but different ingredients, haven't tried echo fuel, but I've ran motomix, and VP Racing, the VP is lightyears ahead of the motomix, and same exact price at my saw shop

all I run is canned fuel, and I go through sometimes a gallon or two a day, its expensive but an unreliable saw is expensiver

You use a lot more than I do but even if I did, I'd still run canned fuel anyway. Sort of like comparing premium synthetic motor oil to the cheaper dino stuff. Most people would buy the expensive synthetic stuff and not blink an eye, but balk at the price of canned fuel. I don't quite understand that illogical logic either.

Like the guy who takes my saw logs and cuts them down and sells the wood to campgrounds for his retirement income. I've mentioned to him in the past that it probably would be better for him in the long run to use canned fuel and I'm always met with an adverse comment but yet I still get his saws to fix when the carbs or fuel lines fall apart from e-gas and I charge him for fixing them. He'd be farther ahead burning canned fuel but I cannot convince him and candidly, I quit trying.

When burning canned fuel, you have to look farther than the end of your nose to see any advantage I guess.

The only thing I don't like about canned fuel is the containers they come in. The gallon size is hard to dispense from so I fill my chainsaw sized plastic fuel can with the gallon tins. Either that or I keep an empty quart sized one and fuel with that (I have both available). Of course there is the issue with the what I consider the lame epa approved fuel containers that make filling anything a chore. I get around that by keeping a pre epa plastic gas can instead. the new style ones are all a joke, a bad joke on every consumer.

 

[ZinTrees]

You use a lot more than I do but even if I did, I'd still run canned fuel anyway. Sort of like comparing premium synthetic motor oil to the cheaper dino stuff. Most people would buy the expensive synthetic stuff and not blink an eye, but balk at the price of canned fuel. I don't quite understand that illogical logic either.

Like the guy who takes my saw logs and cuts them down and sells the wood to campgrounds for his retirement income. I've mentioned to him in the past that it probably would be better for him in the long run to use canned fuel and I'm always met with an adverse comment but yet I still get his saws to fix when the carbs or fuel lines fall apart from e-gas and I charge him for fixing them. He'd be farther ahead burning canned fuel but I cannot convince him and candidly, I quit trying.

When burning canned fuel, you have to look farther than the end of your nose to see any advantage I guess.

The only thing I don't like about canned fuel is the containers they come in. The gallon size is hard to dispense from so I fill my chainsaw sized plastic fuel can with the gallon tins. Either that or I keep an empty quart sized one and fuel with that (I have both available). Of course there is the issue with the what I consider the lame epa approved fuel containers that make filling anything a chore. I get around that by keeping a pre epa plastic gas can instead. the new style ones are all a joke, a bad joke on every consumer.

I use the gallon cans it comes in, fits in my milk crate perfectly next to my arm and hammer laundry detergent bar oil bottle, there is a company selling spouts for "water cans" that are like the old blitz style fuel can spout, I will try and find a link here in a minute

but yeah, when a saw won't start, and I've got a crane and crew sitting on a job costing my $250-400 an hour, a saw not starting and taking 5 minutes to un flood or whatever gets really expensive really, really quickly, often times I've had to finish the day with a tophandle to buck big stuff just to keep people moving, not since switching to canned gas, 100% of my saws start 100% of the time, hot, cold, sitting in the sun, don't matter, they don't vapor lock either

only downtime my saws have now is running out of fuel or a chain being thrown/swapping chains, for the most part I either grab another saw or if work is slow I swap chains, we don't sharpen anything on the job anymore and it saves a lot of time too (plus I use a chainlocker so none of my chains get tangled)


I used to have to put my saws under the truck or in the shade to keep them from vapor locking, but now I can set them anywhere and they will start on the first pull, saves my shoulders some too!

 

[Sidecarflip]

A while back there was a lengthy discourse on here about the advantages / disadvantages of using canned gas versus pump e-gas, versus using 'Rec Fuel' which is sold as not e-gas and it was interesting to read the sides but I never changed my program one iota. Kept right on using canned fuel and will keep on using it.

Like I said, my other 'saw shop' sells VP in quarts, gallons and 5 gallon containers though I have never tried it, but I may (or may not) in the future. Canned fuel, especially Red Armor don't smell anything like normal e-gas and the exhaust don't smell anything like e-gas either. It has (at least to my nose) a more 'solvent' smell and I do notice a much less 'smoke' issue from canned gas versus bottled pre mix oil as well and I do know that at least with the Red Armor stuff, I get no carbon buildup on my spark arrestor screen or in my exhaust port in the jug or inside the muffler either.... and I look, regularly.

 

[ZinTrees]

here ya go, theres a lot of people selling them now, when I checked a few years ago there werent many

I use eagle and justrite steel round cans for mix gas, straight gas and diesel, I stopped using plastic a long time ago
https://gasspouts.com/collections/all

 

[ZinTrees]

Canned fuel, especially Red Armor don't smell anything like normal e-gas and the exhaust don't smell anything like e-gas either. It has (at least to my nose) a more 'solvent' smell and I do notice a much less 'smoke' issue from canned gas versus bottled pre mix oil as well and I do know that at least with the Red Armor stuff, I get no carbon buildup on my spark arrestor screen or in my exhaust port in the jug or inside the muffler either.... and I look, regularly.

BINGO

yeah its basically not gas, its some chemicals mixed up to make the engine think its gas, thats about it lol, all my pistons, mufflers, etc look like they have only had one or two tanks ran through them, and thats with literal hundreds of gallons of this stuff ran through them
only thing I mix fuel for is the 881 because it uses so much, and I don't care if it gets blown up, I can work without it, but my 200t, 194t, 500i, all those I can't go a day without

 

[Sidecarflip]

I guess we are the minority here and I don't have an issue with it at all. After 74 years, I've learned (the hard way) what works and what don't.

I do a lot of work for local arborists, sharpen their chipper knives and their saw loops (that took some doing in itself, I had to show them on paper how it was mor expedient for them to have me sharpen their loops rather than them tossing a dull or rocked one and replacing it with a new one. I sharpen a literal shitte load of chains now. They usually come in, in lots of 50 or so and I've educated them to put the dull ones in a bucket of oil and keep them submerged as I will not sharpen any loop with rusted drivers. I even supplied the buckets with lids for them and the oil as well. Last fall, I rehosed one of their Hige Rangers (Alltec) and presently I have a diesel powered self feeding Bandit in the driveway that I have the snout off of and I'm installing an access door in the lower part of the snout so the owner can easily clean out any plugging without having to spend a lot of time digging it out from the bottom which takes a lot of time and time is money when you own and operate a professional tree service company. The curved and sealed door will make that chore quick and easy for him. I'm kind of surprised that Bandit don't do that as standard equipment. Maybe I'll swing by the factory next time I go up north to our hunting property. Just so happens there is an excellent bar and beanery at the end of the road that goes to the factory. Good burgers and good local brewed beer too. Bandit is kind of local for me as it Green Manufacturing. I run Green Teeth on my stumper. Nice folks at both locations btw. Michiganders are mostly nice folks despite what you hear...lol

 

[ZinTrees]

diesel powered self feeding Bandit in the driveway that I have the snout off of and I'm installing an access door in the lower part of the snout so the owner can easily clean out any plugging without having to spend a lot of time digging it out from the bottom which takes a lot of time and time is money when you own and operate a professional tree service company.

please, please, please send me some pictures of this!
mine plugs up on occasion, usually taking over an hour to unplug, last time I had to take it home, put a large limb down the chute and hammer the blockage out with the excavator bucket, really sucks when it clogs up


just make sure its basically perfectly smooth inside the chute or itll plug un within 10 seconds of unplugging it lol
I need to straighten out and re-install my chute end deflector, had to cut it off after it got bent beyond fixing in place and havent put it back on yet, thanks for reminding me that I can't chip into a pile right now lol

 

[Sidecarflip]

One advantage I do have and that is, if I need tree work that entails a bucket truck and or a climber, I only have to make one call and they come and handle what I require and I never get billed for any of it. I'm way to old and feeble to be fiddling around with anything not on the ground and even with that stuff, I use one of my big farm tractors with a loader and a grapple on that to move stuff around with. I have a nice advantage / set up if you want to call it that and I appreciate it and offset their due bills accordingly. Last spring, one of them had their bucket truck in my side hayfield cutting a large maple and ran over my brand new top handle Stihl Arborists saw that I really liked and was really expensive and he felt bad but it was my fault for leaving it on the ground where I did and he even offered to pay for it, which I declined anyway but I bought an Echo Top handle instead and while I did have to modify it slightly (as in a new non cat muffler and removal of the last baffle in the muffler), it has really turned out to be a nice and very reliable saw and it's extremely light too. Was my first Echo actually and now I have 2 more as well. Still have my 028, will never sell it and my 075 and my 090G but both are shelf queens now. Bought them both new when I bought the 028 way back when. The 2 big ones have been dried up for years, no bar oil in them either. Just sit on the shelf in the shop and some day I may sell them both. Both are in pristine condition too and both have the old style Stihl roller nose bars on them and both are running 404 full tooth chipper. Of course they have not run in years but I'm sure they would if I wanted them too. 075 has a 36" bar and the 090 has a 4 1/2 foot 2 man bar on it.

Love 404. The one scar I have on my left leg is .404 wide....

 

[ZinTrees]

I run 3/8 .050 on everything, even my tophandles (3/8LP)

can't stand .325, stihl or husky, they both get wobbly side to side and quit cutting really fast, I think they re-label the bars or something and claim its for .325

.404 is nice stuff, too big for anything under 90CC IMO but super easy to sharpen and cuts nice, my 881 wears a loop of it on the 42" bar, but on the 20" bar I have for playing around with its got the 3/8", my mecanil grapple saw will be running .404 when I get it, need a robust chain when its being driven by hydraulics with zero feel of the cut, just brute forcing it

on occasion I will square file an old chain to play with, love how it cuts but takes too long to sharpen, I need to get the double bevel files and quit using the triangles I think, the triangles suck for keeping angles as im too dang blind to see it and you cant really feel it

about running saws over, I haven't done that yet, but I've dropped a few, dad dropped my 200T twice, once from ~70ft and broke the brake handle, again from ~30ft and snapped the top handle in half, I dropped my 261 when a snap cut went bad and ripped it out of my hands, snapped my lanyard too
I do need a saw scabbard for my excavator eventually, right now they sorta sit in the cab with me and its cramped
I quit hand filing for the most part, I've got a stihl 2in1 for 3/8 and one for 3/8lp, do have file kits for all sizes but quit using them (and lost a few I think)

the 2in1 is nice for a quick touch up if I ding one tooth or something but for 99% of my work I run a few loops over the grinder, doesn't wreck the temper like people say it does either

if I need a bucket truck or chipper around the house, I go outside and grab mine, although for most of my trees the bucket can't reach them, and the chipper is 8000 pounds so its a little tricky to get down to the back field
id honestly rather pay another company to do my personal tree work, I've got a 30ft magnolia in my front yard that I may be taking down this summer, every winter a bunch of it snaps off with snow load or high winds, I'm just worried about it falling in the road and taking out the power lines that are about 5ft away

we have 5 acres, about 70% is wooded and 20+ degree hills, hard to walk around on, even harder to do tree work on if it involves rigging or dragging logs

 

[Sidecarflip]

The access door I'm gonna gasket on the inside with rubber, once I get it done, I'll shoot you a private message and then provide you with the dimensions and / or fab the door here and you can cut the snout and install it yourself. For the life of me, I don't understand why Bandit never did that, but I'm gonna find out next time we go up north because I'll stop in. They build a ton of chippers there, have a buddy that hauls them all over the country for them.

Damn good chippers and I grind a ton of Bandit knives and square a ton of anvils too. Now, if they just painted them some other color like Kubota Orange, that would be good.

 

[ZinTrees]

The access door I'm gonna gasket on the inside with rubber, once I get it done, I'll shoot you a private message and then provide you with the dimensions and / or fab the door here and you can cut the snout and install it yourself. For the life of me, I don't understand why Bandit never did that, but I'm gonna find out next time we go up north because I'll stop in. They build a ton of chippers there, have a buddy that hauls them all over the country for them.

Damn good chippers and I grind a ton of Bandit knives and square a ton of anvils too. Now, if they just painted them some other color like Kubota Orange, that would be good.

You can get them in any color you want but you gotta pay extra

Yeah, mines got a 4bt cummins, 2002 250xp, been exelent minus that one time s hydro hose blew a foot from my face, pointed directly at my face...

 

[Hermio]

I take it by 'premix' you mean canned gas and that is what I always use, in my case either Echo red Armor 50-1 or Tru-Fuel 50-1 though I prefer the Red Armor. I will say since going to canned fuel, I have had no carb issues at all and my saws sit for long periods of time without use. They do sit in a climate controlled, humidity controlled shop however. The shop temperature is maintained at 69 degrees and the RH is always at 50% or a bit less. I have to do that to maintain accuracy with my precision machine tools, besides, corrosion is always public enemy number one here and my saws exist in the same environment.

I can let them sit idle without even starting them for over a year with no issues.

I even drain the crap gas from my power lawn equipment and dry them up and replace the crap gas with canned fuel as well. It ain't cheap but rebuilding carbs and FI units isn't cheap either. My local (other dealer) sells VP but I've never tried it. My Kubota dealer don't, just sells Red Armor pre mix bottles (for crap gas) and Red Armor canned fuel and I get mine at dealer cost as well and while not all that cheap anyway, better than phase separated e-gas anyday.

I have not had any trouble even with E10 fuel as long as I add Sta-bil to it. I have gone 9 months without using the fuel and it works just fine. Never had a carburetor rebuild in over 40 years. My main problem was the bar oil pump on my Stihl saws.

 

[diver64]

If you have and are able to mix fuel. You would be amazed what we see at the shop. Some are not capable.
Most of the time we are preaching to the choir here. Spend a while working in a shop and it starts to make sense.

I've got a couple of those odd containers Chinese sellers send with their saws. After getting used to how they work I find them quite useful and bulletproof. Just fill the oil and gas to the indicated lines for whatever mix you need and done. For someone that doesn't use premixed all of the time keeping straight gas on hand with StaBil and mixing it as you use it is the way to go I think. That premixed canned stuff is outrageous in price.

 

[diver64]

I have not had any trouble even with E10 fuel as long as I add Sta-bil to it. I have gone 9 months without using the fuel and it works just fine. Never had a carburetor rebuild in over 40 years. My main problem was the bar oil pump on my Stihl saws.

I've used pump gas and StaBil with a little Marvel for decades and have not had a problem either. I leave a saw, small generator and old weed wacker at my hunting camp. They get used once a year. When done I run them dry, pull the plug and mist with some oil then turn over a few times and loosely put the plug back in. Been doing this for years with no problems. If I can find straight gas I buy it but regular E gas seems to work fine.

As for saws with the homeowner, I'd get a 50cc class Husky or Stihl. If there is a Home Depot maybe an Echo Timberwolf which is slightly bigger but people seem to think they are the cats meow. I've come to the conclusion over the years that a 50cc or so is about the biggest saw a homeowner needs and can handle. I cut all my firewood for over 10yrs with a Husky 41 and a 16in bar. I just picked the wood it would cut and did it. Worked fine for me.

 

[ZinTrees]

I have not had any trouble even with E10 fuel as long as I add Sta-bil to it. I have gone 9 months without using the fuel and it works just fine. Never had a carburetor rebuild in over 40 years. My main problem was the bar oil pump on my Stihl saws.

I'e had bad fuel from the gas station, E10, or ethanol free, both times cost me a lot in downtime