Remorse with MS391, going to MS362M??

[hseII]

The ECHO is a good saw; before you write off Guido's offer, find out what the history is: you might be saving money & getting a great saw.

 

[7sleeper]

Hohenwald=land of big churches and fine cuisine. Just moved here 3 years ago and don't recognize the name you mentioned.

I am more of a "get it from the store" kind of guy. I don't have the confidence some of you have in other people polishing and porting and modifying the saws to be able to buy one, even though they might be better.

The Stihl dealer, whom I got to know and I trust, was trying to save me money by buying a good saw at a reasonable price that would work for a homeowner firewood guy. I don't need a screamer like a 4XX like loggers seem to be sold on here because of the high expense even though they last a long time for them. The crux of it is I don't want to get something unproven by time and the dealer wasn't to excited about that either, even though I am sure he would make more money on a 362M that a 391.

He did say he sold a lot of 311s to loggers, maybe for lighter work, I don't know, but they never have to come back for service. It is a small town with lots of loggers and he gets most of the business, it seems. He doesn't have a lot on shelf or I would have probably taken one home already then I wouldn't be confused anymore.

I tried out a 311 or something close as a loaner and I thought it worked quite well, but am not sure how that would compare to a 391. It sure was a lot faster than my 25 year old 55EV echo.

Maybe I am overthinking it to much.
While ciphering I came upon literature for a CS 620P Echo which is in the mix now.

Either way I want to order it Monday or Tuesday because I have a big oak on a guys lawn I need to pick up ASAP.

@Chuck Oppermann ,

I like your dealer! Sounds like he is treating you right!

Personally I would choose Dolmar 6100 but my second choice would be the Echo 590 and with a small muffler mod and carb retune you are set to go! Powerwise in the 311 region at ~1/4 to 1/3 less in money. Of course the used 362 would also be an excelent choice.

The very newest version of the 362 is supposed to have shed weight and added HP compared to the last version...

This is NOT correct! There is no newest version of the 362. There are the "old" 362 carb models and the "new" 362 with electroic MTronic carb. What you are mixing up are the new models of the 241 & 261, both already MTronic, which have truely shed some weight.

7

 

[hseII]

@Chuck Oppermann ,

I like your dealer! Sounds like he is treating you right!

Personally I would choose Dolmar 6100 but my second choice would be the Echo 590 and with a small muffler mod and carb retune you are set to go! Powerwise in the 311 region at ~1/4 to 1/3 less in money. Of course the used 362 would also be an excelent choice.


This is NOT correct! There is no newest version of the 362. There are the "old" 362 carb models and the "new" 362 with electroic MTronic carb. What you are mixing up are the new models of the 241 & 261, both already MTronic, which have truely shed some weight.

7

261CM & 362CM 2.0/ version 2, lightened up, whatever they want to call it.

 

[Supreme Being]

261CM & 362CM 2.0/ version 2, lightened up, whatever they want to call it.

How can you tell them apart in the store so that you know they are the latest models?

 

[hseII]

How can you tell them apart in the store so that you know they are the latest models?

I they have stickas on them?

 

[Supreme Being]

I they have stickas on them?

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. However, I'm not sure you fully grasped my question. If there is 2 or 3 different versions of a particular saw, say the ms261. How do you know that the particular saw you are looking at in the store is not one that has been sitting around for years and is actually an older version?

The saw will have a sticker?!? What will this said sticker denote?

 

[hseII]

2.0 is being touted as lighter, stronger, faster, plus it is supposed to have a lighter clutch cover that is skinny & ribbed.

BS did a thread on the new MS261 on AS.

 

[stihl sawing]

Hohenwald=land of big churches and fine cuisine. Just moved here 3 years ago and don't recognize the name you mentioned.

I am more of a "get it from the store" kind of guy. I don't have the confidence some of you have in other people polishing and porting and modifying the saws to be able to buy one, even though they might be better.

The Stihl dealer, whom I got to know and I trust, was trying to save me money by buying a good saw at a reasonable price that would work for a homeowner firewood guy. I don't need a screamer like a 4XX like loggers seem to be sold on here because of the high expense even though they last a long time for them. The crux of it is I don't want to get something unproven by time and the dealer wasn't to excited about that either, even though I am sure he would make more money on a 362M that a 391.

He did say he sold a lot of 311s to loggers, maybe for lighter work, I don't know, but they never have to come back for service. It is a small town with lots of loggers and he gets most of the business, it seems. He doesn't have a lot on shelf or I would have probably taken one home already then I wouldn't be confused anymore.

I tried out a 311 or something close as a loaner and I thought it worked quite well, but am not sure how that would compare to a 391. It sure was a lot faster than my 25 year old 55EV echo.

Maybe I am overthinking it to much.
While ciphering I came upon literature for a CS 620P Echo which is in the mix now.

Either way I want to order it Monday or Tuesday because I have a big oak on a guys lawn I need to pick up ASAP.

Sounds like you are going to do what the dealer tells you to buy anyway so what are you wanting from these members? Maybe to tell you your doing the right thing. I'd take the 362 over those other two in a heartbeat. Nothing wrong with the 311 or 391, just heavy underpowered pigs. I don't know a lot of loggers but the ones I do know of would never choose a 311. if you're going to be cutting a lot of big oaks, I promise you will want more than that 311. unless you like to take all day cutting one up. Having a good sharp chain will help out a lot too.

 

[Storm56]

The OP has received some very good advice from members here but he seems intent on taking the advice of his dealer. Personally I would have NO faith in a dealer that recommends an MS 311 to professional loggers....

Buy the MS 391 as that is what you want to do, but now you KNOW there are MUCH better choices out there. I would easily take a Dolmar 6100 or an Echo 590/600/620 ANY day EVERY day over the MS 391.

 

[Supreme Being]

2.0 is being touted as lighter, stronger, faster, plus it is supposed to have a lighter clutch cover that is skinny & ribbed.

BS did a thread on the new MS261 on AS.

Thank you

 

[Chuck Oppermann]

Sounds like you are going to do what the dealer tells you to buy anyway so what are you wanting from these members? Maybe to tell you your doing the right thing. I'd take the 362 over those other two in a heartbeat. Nothing wrong with the 311 or 391, just heavy underpowered pigs. .

The OP has received some very good advice from members here but he seems intent on taking the advice of his dealer. Personally I would have NO faith in a dealer that recommends an MS 311 to professional loggers....
Buy the MS 391 as that is what you want to do, but now you KNOW there are MUCH better choices out there. I would easily take a Dolmar 6100 or an Echo 590/600/620 ANY day EVERY day over the MS 391.

Not really. That is why I am talking to you folks that have went through a lot of this stuff already. I think the whole question boils down to, "Are the current models (2014-2016) of the MTronic saws reliable enough that I should take a chance on one." Older non-Mtronic saws might be easier for a non-saw homeowner type to work on.

I like the idea of Pro saws and the advantages they give provided I wouldn't have a problem down stream that I couldn't handle by myself.

 

[Guido Salvage]

The saw will have a sticker?!? What will this said sticker denote?

I appears you are not familiar with Stihl saws, they place a data sticker on the rear handle of each saw. Most have the model number in addition to the displacement and DOM, or date of manufacture. Picture of the sticker on the 362 in question.



Running changes that occur within a model are tracked by serial number, which is stamped on each saw. The common term is "break", manufacturers will note "after serial number XXXXXXX".

Picture of the 362 in question, it and the 026 Pro and 260 will be listed later today.

 

[Storm56]

Not really. That is why I am talking to you folks that have went through a lot of this stuff already. I think the whole question boils down to, "Are the current models (2014-2016) of the MTronic saws reliable enough that I should take a chance on one." Older non-Mtronic saws might be easier for a non-saw homeowner type to work on.

I like the idea of Pro saws and the advantages they give provided I wouldn't have a problem down stream that I couldn't handle by myself.

For years I was not confident enough to buy a Motronic. But a year or so ago I bought a 261CM and it works just fine, so fine in fact I picked up a MMWS 261CM and it was an eye opener....

Both were low use used saws. Stihl is a bit too proud of themselves for me to buy new.

 

[stihl sawing]

Not really. That is why I am talking to you folks that have went through a lot of this stuff already. I think the whole question boils down to, "Are the current models (2014-2016) of the MTronic saws reliable enough that I should take a chance on one." Older non-Mtronic saws might be easier for a non-saw homeowner type to work on.

I like the idea of Pro saws and the advantages they give provided I wouldn't have a problem down stream that I couldn't handle by myself.

I have run both the 391 and at the time it was a 310, The 391 cut fine but it was as heavy as my 46o. Now I don't know how old you are but if you're still a young man then the weight won't be much a factor over the day, but if you are my age it will be. A simple fact is the faster the saw, the faster you will get finished. and it all depends on how much wood you will cut a year with it too. Personally I would not buy a Stihl homeowner saw. I have a MS 250 homeowner and have regretted buying it since new. It cuts fine when it stays together or won't flood out. Stihl dealer says it's fine and I don't know how to operate a stihl product. If you look at my sig you will see I own several stihl products and don't have a problem out of any but it. It's the only homeowner stihl I have too.

 

[hseII]

I have run both the 391 and at the time it was a 310, The 391 cut fine but it was as heavy as my 46o. Now I don't know how old you are but if you're still a young man then the weight won't be much a factor over the day, but if you are my age it will be. A simple fact is the faster the saw, the faster you will get finished. and it all depends on how much wood you will cut a year with it too. Personally I would not buy a Stihl homeowner saw. I have a MS 250 homeowner and have regretted buying it since new. It cuts fine when it stays together or won't flood out. Stihl dealer says it's fine and I don't know how to operate a stihl product. If you look at my sig you will see I own several stihl products and don't have a problem out of any but it. It's the only homeowner stihl I have too.

No One Else Here is " Your Age."

When historians talk about Carbon dating, they confer with you.

 

[Full Chisel]

MS250s are notorious for flooding easily and being hard to start. We have tons of them come in flooded...user error plays a role but if you pull one more than 5 times on choke you will be pulling the plug.

 

[stihl sawing]

lol

 

[stihl sawing]

MS250s are notorious for flooding easily and being hard to start. We have tons of them come in flooded...user error plays a role but if you pull one more than 5 times on choke you will be pulling the plug.

Yup, I figured that one out a long time ago, but the dealers here won't tell you they flood easy, they just say you don't know how to start one. Mine will flood sitting while hot, if you try to start it after it's hot it will flood and I'm not using no choke either. but like you said I have to pull the plug and drain the cylinder. Never does any of my other stihls do that.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Not knowing how to start a Stihl saw can play into your favor. I once bought a MS460 for $200 that the owner said would not start. It popped on the first pull and ran on the second. He looked at me in disbelief and asked how I did it. I told him it was all in knowing how to do it.

 

[JonnyStihl]

There are 3 versions of the 362. This is the latest one.

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