Some questions from concerned green guy

[SawTroll]

If you plan on running a 16" bar all the time, then save your money and get a 361. A 441 with a 16" bar is even overkill for power hungry people like me. There's also a parts issue. If your dealer doesn't carry them, then they probably don't carry parts for them either. Are you going to order air filters from the US too?

Ian

:agree2:

 

[edisto]

I'm not sure what he meant by the green in his title. I assumed, maybe wrongly, that it had something to do with nationality or ethnic origins.

Either way, or even some third way, his questions didn't seem to have anything to do with the green religion. Try to stay on topic please.

Green...as in "greenhorn". Beginner, novice, rookie, inexperienced, newbie, etc.

Posting to tell someone to stay on topic kind of reminds me of when my dad used to smack me to drive home the point that I shouldn't hit my sister.

Speaking of topics, doesn't the Canadian market have very similar restrictions to the European market, but with US prices?

 

[SawTroll]

.... thats 93 octane here.

I believe that corresponds to 98 octane in Europe - but I run the Aspen alkylate fuel (premixed with high grade synth oil) in all my saws anyway. It runs much cleaner, and can be stored for a looooong time.

Mice Acres is the NA "agent", btw......




To the original question;

I bought the Dolmar 5100S from the US in 2007, as it is N/A in Europe - and have had no problems at all, and a very good deal.

I also believe that the US and EU 441 is exactly the same saw, made in Germany. Not so with the 361 though, and the EU version is the better one!


Welcome to the AS Uldis!

 

[tdi-rick]

i sold a 575XP in '07 to an aussie. he bought it on ebay and paid over $100 in shipping. i was always kind of baffled by that but didnt ask any questions.
[snip]

If you saw what Husky and Stihl charge for new saws here, you wouldn't question it. Even Dolmar list prices are silly, but some of the Makita OPE dealers sharpen their pencils pretty well these days.
The only tax we have is a 10% goods and services tax (GST, VAT in other countries) that is claimable back if you have a business anyway. Import duties are negligible, so the importers are marking up a fair bit more than in NA.

 

[BobL]

One point I have not seen being addressed is Warranty. I have asked several local Stihl dealers would Stihl Australia cover a new saw I purchased overseas and they all said no. It then comes down to the risk you take of saving a few hundred on a new saw but you effectively have no warranty

Then if the saw is not sold in your country there will be far fewer or no spares for it. This can be a right PITA.

It reminds me of many years ago when CD players hit the market and I bought a JVC CD/Boom Box whilst traveling in the US. It died after 9 months but JVC Australia would not honour the warranty. That particular model was not imported into Oz so the part to fix it had to be especially imported from Japan and the final repair cost about half the price of a new CD player. Not worth it IMHO.

 

[dancan]

The 16" may be fun for power but for liming kick back is a real concern because the pivot point is at your left hand and the tip of that bar comes up real fast and violent at 16" .
I ran a 16" on a 2171 and did not like it at all but a 20" balanced alot better and less reaching .

 

[Hddnis]

Green...as in "greenhorn". Beginner, novice, rookie, inexperienced, newbie, etc.

Posting to tell someone to stay on topic kind of reminds me of when my dad used to smack me to drive home the point that I shouldn't hit my sister.

Speaking of topics, doesn't the Canadian market have very similar restrictions to the European market, but with US prices?

Yeah, I know, I was just being funny.



Mr. HE

 

[dancan]

Regarding the warranty , if I was saving that much$$ ,I'd buy it .
No different than buying a "Just used once" saw from ebay or local sale to save that much $$$ .

 

[Zero Gravity]

Well thanks for reply, but:
1) This is from Stihlusa.com: "STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the United States only."
Is it because of warranty or technical differences?
3) It is just from this:



If we can't trust dealers, whom can we trust? {rhetorical question}

I can confirm that my European motorcycles don't like to be ridden in the States. Every time I take my KTM out for a ride it tries to throw me. Maybe its the gas, Waite it's Arab gas?
ZG

 

[SawTroll]

The 16" may be fun for power but for liming kick back is a real concern because the pivot point is at your left hand and the tip of that bar comes up real fast and violent at 16" .
I ran a 16" on a 2171 and did not like it at all but a 20" balanced alot better and less reaching .

Imho, limbing with a longer than 16" bar is a liability - much easier to inadvertedly hit "something" with the top of the bar tip.....:jawdrop:


...but I question limbing with a 70cc saw as well, unless the limbs are huge......

 

[Uldis]

Thanks for all posts and welcome,
You have set my mind at peace. Will get the saw, run 98+Stihl HP Ultra, and one 16" (I always have thought that limbing is safer with smaller bar, just like SawTroll said) plus one 20" bar for bigger logs, firewood, etc. (the job with oaks..)
SawTroll, I agree with You, limbing with 70,7ccm saw is fancy and getting a smaller saw would save money, energy, and still get the job done, but when I get to bigger log bucking I have always wanted that more power to do it faster.

 

[WoodViking]

One point I have not seen being addressed is Warranty. I have asked several local Stihl dealers would Stihl Australia cover a new saw I purchased overseas and they all said no. It then comes down to the risk you take of saving a few hundred on a new saw but you effectively have no warranty

Then if the saw is not sold in your country there will be far fewer or no spares for it. This can be a right PITA.

The warranty issue was my biggest concern as well. But the savings can be huge! I paid approx. $900 on importing a 372 from the UK. For a lot of you guys $900 is way over what you would have to pay at your regular dealer. Compared to what the saw sells for here the $900 is half the price, so I saved approx. $900 as well. For a saving that big I could actually buy one more if there is any problems:greenchainsaw:

I do agree with you about bying a saw that is not avaliable in your country though. Parts and spares for it could be hard to get. But if capable of fixing it yourself then there is allways online stores for parts

 

[Uldis]

A bit off topic:
Many may ask why I talk about the MS441, because 16" to 20" bar - the MS 361 would do just great. The thing is (actually why I started interesting in saws from US) because a friend of mine, who occasionally goes to US, said that he could get me the MS441 (exactly this model) for only 40-50$over the price of US MS361 (approx. 575$ and $ vs. LS is going down, so it will be even cheaper), and I thought why not to give it a go. (Although it all sounds too good to be true to me...)

 

[Rookie1]

A bit off topic:
Many may ask why I talk about the MS441, because 16" to 20" bar - the MS 361 would do just great. The thing is (actually why I started interesting in saws from US) because a friend of mine, who occasionally goes to US, said that he could get me the MS441 (exactly this model) for only 40-50$over the price of US MS361 (approx. 575$ and $ vs. LS is going down, so it will be even cheaper), and I thought why not to give it a go. (Although it all sounds too good to be true to me...)

Id do it too if I were in your shoes. Youll be the only guy around with an imported,not ported,saw. That would be cool. Plus if you can save money,why not. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[edisto]

Yeah, I know, I was just being funny.

I figured...

 

[Haywire Haywood]

A bit off topic:
Many may ask why I talk about the MS441, because 16" to 20" bar - the MS 361 would do just great. The thing is (actually why I started interesting in saws from US) because a friend of mine, who occasionally goes to US, said that he could get me the MS441 (exactly this model) for only 40-50$over the price of US MS361 (approx. 575$ and $ vs. LS is going down, so it will be even cheaper), and I thought why not to give it a go. (Although it all sounds too good to be true to me...)

If you're going to go that route... be sure to get an 8 pin rim so you can use up some of the power to get more chain speed. It will speed up your limbing too. If you do end up putting a longer bar, say 24", swap back to the standard rim.

Ian

 

[dancan]

The 16" may be fun for power but for liming kick back is a real concern because the pivot point is at your left hand and the tip of that bar comes up real fast and violent at 16" .
I ran a 16" on a 2171 and did not like it at all but a 20" balanced alot better and less reaching .

In response to the original question "(3) Stihl recommends bars from 16" to 32" on Stihl MS441. Is it OK to run the 16" all the time (here we have a lot of fir trees) for quick limbing?",I'll stick by what I have stated , if (from experience , all though limited compared to some ) your bringing one saw to do a tree job and all you need is a 16" bar ,a smaller saw is great but if your bringing a 70+cc saw to get it done from start to finish 16" is too short and the balance is off .
Four inches of kickback at the end of your arm 16" out is a lot closer to your nose than the same 4" at 20" out .
I base this from tree work that I have done and I'm open to other opinions but I can't see me putting the 16" on the saw anytime soon unless I'm blocking up some wood .