Stihl bar and chain or off brand??

[HemiMoparGuy]

First off, I have recently just experienced my first non-safety chain...I bought a Stihl RS chain for my 029S, I meant to buy the RM, but the dealer near the cabin only had RS and RM3. Not gonna lie, I got a bit of a chubby when I used it the first time. I also experienced, not actual kickback, but could feel exactly why the average homeowner should not use this type of chain. I have the original 16" bar and chain on this 029S, I have always wanted to get a 20"+ bar and chain, but just never got around to it and hadn't been using the saw much in the past few years. So I have a 3 part question.
A. I have read many reviews stating that the Stihl chains are worth the little extra cost as they seem to stay sharp longer or whatever, is this pretty accurate?
B. Is it worth getting a Stihl bar or is there less to the bar and generic is just fine?
C. The chart listing bar sizes for various saws states that several saws can take a 20" chain, all of which are smaller than the 029S...can the 029S efficiently run the next size up, 25" I believe?

Thank You in Advance,

Eric

 

[Ryan'smilling]

A: meh, different people feel differently about it. It might stay sharp a little longer, but if it does, it's harder to file. It's definitely more expensive. I run a lot of Stihl chain and a lot of Oregon chain. They're both good. My dealer is pretty expensive when it comes to chain, so I usually wait until i need a few loops and order oregon chain from Left Coast Supplies, who I highly recommend. LGX is the equivalent to RS.

B: bars come in varying quality, even within the Stihl brand. The rollomatic e bars are the cheapest laminated bars. rollomatic ES bars are a solid hunk of steel with a replaceable sprocket tip. There are other manufacturers that make cheaper bars (forester, oregon, lots of other ones too), as well as manufacturers that make more expensive bars (tsumura, sugihara, cannon). For the most part they all work. A cannon might outlast 3 ms290 powerheads, but it'll also cost several times what a rollomatic e bar or a cheap laminated oregon bar will cost.

C: Efficiently is a bit of a subjective term. I personally would not set up a 290 that way unless it was a once in a great while type deal. If you want a bigger saw anyway, wait until you have a job that needs it and bite the bullet. If you need a 24" (stihl calls it 25") every three years and you don't want a big saw, then sure slap a 24" and some skip chain on there and go to town.



By the way, there's a GTG in Michigan soon that you should consider attending. If you got a chubby from a 290 running RS chain, wait til you run a ported 661...

 

[HarleyT]

Let's talk about this "chubby"!!

Pics!!!

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Let's talk about this "chubby"!!

Pics!!!

Keep those pics in the PMs, would you guys?

Where is the dislike button, by the way?

 

[HemiMoparGuy]

Let's talk about this "chubby"!!

Pics!!!

Well, it has gone down in the mean time, as it was nearly a week ago...and if went down like this...I was napping at the cabin when a couple guys started cutting up the tree that fell from a storm. They had a couple Poulans out there. I picked one up out of laziness of getting my saw out. Fought with it as it didn't want to run under load. Neighbor yelled over, "Hey, want a real saw?" So I was like eff this thing, and got mine out, and it ran good, but chain didn't want to even cut butter, hadn't used it in so long, didn't realize it was dull. So the neighbor came over with a quite new 271. Reminded me of how mine used to cut. So after I used the sharp 271, I realized it was time for a new chain and ended up buying one. So yes, comparing a worn rm3 to a new rm3 and a slightly smaller saw to the new rs chain, a chubby was the resultant.

I'd be a bit interested in a gtg...but I have a feeling I should stay away for CAD reasons. I have 4 saws now that I barely touch...wife would kill me if I bought a 660 the sit on the shelf next to them. But, I better ask for the info, just incase....for science reasons.

 

[NSEric]

I don't mind cheap bars, I don't have to bore cut anything so they work fine for me. If you bore cut often get the rollomatic es, they last longer.
Here's a good video explaining the difference between bars.