old-cat
Fir Man
Just a while ago, I looked at the STIHL web page for light bars. The e light and the es light are made different. Can someone tell me which one to get; I'm saving to get an MS 461 with 28" light bar for firewood bucking only.
STIHL light bars
- Thread starter old-cat
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
cutforfun
Addicted to ArboristSite
just a guess, but maybe replaceable tip
old-cat
Fir Man
Thanks all!
Just a little intel on those ES lightweight bars- several timber faller buddies of mine have ditched them because when the ES lightweight bars are bent or pinched hard- they can't be fixed. This is due to the "honeycomb" type construction that makes it a lightweight bar. They've all gone to Sugi, Oregon, or Tsumara lightweight bars.
KenJax Tree
Terraphobic
Yup ES light is the one you want, i have the E light bars in my 200T's and 201T.
I should have thought of that a week or two ago... just got the 461R, didn't think to ask about the light weight bar, even had the money then...:rolleyes2:
Anthony_Va.
XPW Fan Club
Mines been working well for me so far. I have actually pinched it down a couple times and was worried that it would disable it after seeing JJ's post a few weeks ago about them. But it has held it's ground so far. I trust JJ's word though so I'm keeping an eye on the bar. I've heard the same from a couple other people about the honeycomb centers getting destroyed. I have heard the same about the inserts popping out of the Oregon light bars.
I also have a Tsumura and Sugi light bar and the Tsumura is pretty heavy to be called "light". It is very stout though. The Sugi bar is pretty light and seems good and stout too. I would recommend the Sugi to anyone.
I also have a Tsumura and Sugi light bar and the Tsumura is pretty heavy to be called "light". It is very stout though. The Sugi bar is pretty light and seems good and stout too. I would recommend the Sugi to anyone.
Tree Sling'r
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've had good luck with one I bent pretty bad, thank goodness, it was brand new. I really like them, I have four now, 36s and 32s.
I've yet to use one in the woods since I have so many solid bars to use up first. Three of the log cutter friends I talked to were in stove pipe wood down by Brookings, and you know how the wind is down there. One had a tree sit back hard on a 32" and it crushed the lightweight portion of the bar beyond repair. The other two bent theirs and none of the local bar guys would touch 'em. Of course the Stihl technical service rep just told them to buy new ones.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Hmmm. Who would have thunk it...
old-cat
Fir Man
$70, from the STIHL store in Centralia, plus their price on the saw is lower.:msp_biggrin:
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've got a couple - 28 and 36, and theyve been run hard daily for about a year now. The tip is getting pretty worn on the 36, but I can't fault the bar. They've both had some hard punishment. I often use the 28 for crane jobs in big trees. The first time I used that 28 on a crane job i thought for sure it was toast. The balance can be tough to read, and sometimes you get a crane op who is less than brilliant and moves the stick around in a way it pinches your bar. When that's done, all you can do is duck and hold tight while you can hear the torture of twisted metal being crushed and squeezed under the weight of thousands of pounds of hydraulic force as the op tries to twist and spin the top to snap it off since you can't cut no more.
Not only was the bar fine, the paint wasn't even marked. I've since used that same bar on dozens of similar crane jobs, and scores of normal take downs. If you can destroy one of these bars in normal tree work then you can probably destroy pretty much anything.
I wish they'd bring out an ES 25" lite. It's a useful bar size, but with the 28 weighing as much as an ES 20 standard and having much the same balance, the ES 25 becomes a bit of a pig. The 28 is a very usable bar size though, it's a real workhorse.
Shaun
Not only was the bar fine, the paint wasn't even marked. I've since used that same bar on dozens of similar crane jobs, and scores of normal take downs. If you can destroy one of these bars in normal tree work then you can probably destroy pretty much anything.
I wish they'd bring out an ES 25" lite. It's a useful bar size, but with the 28 weighing as much as an ES 20 standard and having much the same balance, the ES 25 becomes a bit of a pig. The 28 is a very usable bar size though, it's a real workhorse.
Shaun
PersonX
Stihl tipping trees over
Finally got my 25” ES Light bar for my 362! For those interested I cleaned up a lightly used 25” ES bar and put them both on a scale. My 362 just lost 1.08 pounds. I went to my dealer and gave him the part number and told him to order me one. It took 3 weeks. I haven’t cut with it yet but from my experience with the 28” and the 36” ES Light bars I expect my 362 to feel like it has a really short bar on it when it really doesn’t. The only problem that I’ve discovered with the ES Light bars is that I like them enough to ignore the fact that they are overpriced. When I heard Stihl finally made a 20” and a 25” I was instantly in the “take my money mode”. These bars are expensive but in my opinion worth every penny.
Attachments
Yotaismygame
Juiced Saws #GetJuiced
Interesting you say that. I was talking to a faller from Eugene earlier this week about Stihl Light bars and he said that's all he runs and thinks they're the best bar made. I also run a 25", and 28" stihl lights bars on my 372 with an adapter. I was at a dealer this week as well and the parts counter guy was telling me about sugi bars bending as well and not being able to fix them. Don't quote me on the sugi bar info I cant remember exactly what was said but it was among those lines. He also said it just depends on the faller. Some guys take care of there stuff and others don't.
Oldsawnut
Addicted to ArboristSite
Well 7 years ago when this thread was created the Stihl RW bars were a different style. I actually liked the looks of the older Stihl RW bars better than the new ones. Everyone had problems with the Oregon RW bars popping their aluminum inserts about that time to. Now days I think they are all made fairly well.
Yotaismygame
Juiced Saws #GetJuiced
Whoops didn’t even notice someone revived an old thread
