drinkwater
ArboristSite Lurker
Hi everyone,
I'm a new site member and I'm looking for a recommendation for a used saw that can run a 24" or longer bar for felling some large trees. I kind of think I want a Stihl, but I"m not sure what the best choice for me would be.
Here's some background on me and my situation:
I'm fairly new to chainsaws in general. Well, not completely "new" - when I was a kid, we heated our house with a wood burner, and every fall I was out there bucking logs, splitting them, stacking them, restocking them in the basement, etc. But I was just teenager and ran whatever chainsaws the old man had. He had quite a few. All I remember about them is that they were mostly orange and seemed heavy as hell (this would have been the early 90s, I was a scrawny teenager who didn't play any sports and probably weighed around 150 soaking wet, so "heavy" may be relative). BUT... I know more or less how to run a chainsaw. Also, this was in the mountains of NW/central PA.
I recently bought a home in SE PA (Chester County) that is heavily wooded. And by "heavily wooded", I mean, "the house is invisible in aerial photos because there are so many trees around the house." They're everywhere. We have almost no yard. I'm surprised there are no trees INSIDE the house. We've already had a car window shattered by a falling branch.
So far I've cut nine trees, mainly so we can park our cars. Most of them have been Poplar and over 100 feet tall. There are other trees mixed in - mostly oak and maple, but there's a little bit of everything.
I've only ever owned one chainsaw - a newish Husqvarna home-gamer little saw, maybe a 240? Anyway, it sucks. Barely runs, etc. BUT... the previous owners of the house left me a Stihl 026, which after a good cleaning, replacing the fuel and air filter, and adjusting the carb, runs great. I actually love the thing - 16" bar, starts easily, cuts the heck out of anything. At first I was disappointed because it seemed only slightly larger than my crappy little Husqvarna, but wow... I had no idea. Great saw.
But the trees I'm cutting are not 16" bar sized. There are some smaller ones that the 026 can handle, but most of them are well over 16" in diameter. I think the biggest one I cut so far was around 34" in diameter, and that was measuring three feet up.
As of right now I'm using my old man's Husqvarna 371xp with a 24" bar for the bigger trees. But we live about 4.5 hours apart and it's almost fall, and he's going to need his saw back. So I need something to take it's place.
The question is - WHAT?
The 371xp is a nice saw, but honestly, it didn't love being buried in a 33" poplar tree. Granted, there are plenty of smaller trees, but there are quite a few larger ones that still need to be cut. Seeing as I have the 026, I think I need to get something on the "big" side for my second saw. If I stick with Stihl, would an 046/460/461/462 fit the bill for me, or should I step up to the next size, like a 661?
It looks like the 046 series of saws can go up to a 28" bar. The 661 can go up to 32". And then there's the 500i, which apparently can take a 36" bar??? BUT... I'm not really looking to buy a brand new saw. The 462 with a 28" bar retails for $1149.95, which is quite a lot of money. I'd love to find something for, say, half of that?
Sorry for being so long-winded, just trying to give a background on what I'm doing and what kind of advice I'm looking for.
SO - what used saw(s) should I be on the lookout for?
I'm a new site member and I'm looking for a recommendation for a used saw that can run a 24" or longer bar for felling some large trees. I kind of think I want a Stihl, but I"m not sure what the best choice for me would be.
Here's some background on me and my situation:
I'm fairly new to chainsaws in general. Well, not completely "new" - when I was a kid, we heated our house with a wood burner, and every fall I was out there bucking logs, splitting them, stacking them, restocking them in the basement, etc. But I was just teenager and ran whatever chainsaws the old man had. He had quite a few. All I remember about them is that they were mostly orange and seemed heavy as hell (this would have been the early 90s, I was a scrawny teenager who didn't play any sports and probably weighed around 150 soaking wet, so "heavy" may be relative). BUT... I know more or less how to run a chainsaw. Also, this was in the mountains of NW/central PA.
I recently bought a home in SE PA (Chester County) that is heavily wooded. And by "heavily wooded", I mean, "the house is invisible in aerial photos because there are so many trees around the house." They're everywhere. We have almost no yard. I'm surprised there are no trees INSIDE the house. We've already had a car window shattered by a falling branch.
So far I've cut nine trees, mainly so we can park our cars. Most of them have been Poplar and over 100 feet tall. There are other trees mixed in - mostly oak and maple, but there's a little bit of everything.
I've only ever owned one chainsaw - a newish Husqvarna home-gamer little saw, maybe a 240? Anyway, it sucks. Barely runs, etc. BUT... the previous owners of the house left me a Stihl 026, which after a good cleaning, replacing the fuel and air filter, and adjusting the carb, runs great. I actually love the thing - 16" bar, starts easily, cuts the heck out of anything. At first I was disappointed because it seemed only slightly larger than my crappy little Husqvarna, but wow... I had no idea. Great saw.
But the trees I'm cutting are not 16" bar sized. There are some smaller ones that the 026 can handle, but most of them are well over 16" in diameter. I think the biggest one I cut so far was around 34" in diameter, and that was measuring three feet up.
As of right now I'm using my old man's Husqvarna 371xp with a 24" bar for the bigger trees. But we live about 4.5 hours apart and it's almost fall, and he's going to need his saw back. So I need something to take it's place.
The question is - WHAT?
The 371xp is a nice saw, but honestly, it didn't love being buried in a 33" poplar tree. Granted, there are plenty of smaller trees, but there are quite a few larger ones that still need to be cut. Seeing as I have the 026, I think I need to get something on the "big" side for my second saw. If I stick with Stihl, would an 046/460/461/462 fit the bill for me, or should I step up to the next size, like a 661?
It looks like the 046 series of saws can go up to a 28" bar. The 661 can go up to 32". And then there's the 500i, which apparently can take a 36" bar??? BUT... I'm not really looking to buy a brand new saw. The 462 with a 28" bar retails for $1149.95, which is quite a lot of money. I'd love to find something for, say, half of that?
Sorry for being so long-winded, just trying to give a background on what I'm doing and what kind of advice I'm looking for.
SO - what used saw(s) should I be on the lookout for?