So, while loading the truck after work today, I was talking to my father's best friend about saws. He's been a wood cutter for 28 years dealing almost exclusively with hardwoods. He runs a ported Stihl MS361..
Anyway, I'm looking for a new limbing saw (been askin about MS260Pro) and mentioned the Husqvarna 346, and he said "Won't buy a Husky no matter what" He then went on to tell me about his "Piece of S#%t 371"... Apparently he used to run only Husqvarnas but after some brutal repair costs and difficult dealer-customer relations he switched to Stihl. He did rave about Husqvarna's power and speed, but said it wasn't enough to make up for the other misgivings....
He told me about the random hard starts: he rigged up to do some high limbing, fired up his saw, warmed it up and shut it off, climbed the tree and couldn't start the saw.. he spent 20 minutes pulling, pulling and pulling untill he finally threw the saw 60 feet to the ground! The repair shop found nothing wrong with it, other than a severely bent bar from the fall.
He then had a Husky 272 that gave him nothing but problems... He did say that when it was running it was a bear, but that wasn't often. First the starter recoil broke, followed by the AV, then the oiler. After a few years it needed rings, then a piston followed immediatly by a cylinder. Carb was junk, fuel lines sucked to replace and they "Always" had issues. He finally junked it at the repair shops recomendation.... He added up the repair receipts and in the first year the saw cost him just over $1600. That saw was almost enough to turn him away from Husqvarna untill....
His most recent husky (can't remember the model). It was less than 2 months old, and ran like a banshee. Anyway, he was bucking when the chain got pinched. My father made a relief cut, he freed the saw, and it seemed fine. He tried to make another cut but the saw had no power... he gave it a few revs and a horrible sound came from the crank-case (like gravel)... he reved it up again and a huge fireball blew the muffler off and caught his hand an arm on fire! He managed to extiguish himself and the saw without injury. He brought what was left of the saw to the dealer-(remember it was less than 60 days old)- and the dealer couldn't do anything for him... so he contacted Husqvarna directly and still no refund, no replacement, nothing!
He has run Stihls ever since, and is using an old 361 that he loves. Starts within 3 pulls, plenty of power, and easy to keep up with..
I run a '98 Jonsered 2065 that has been nothing but great to me, but his story (backed up by my father) is enough for me to be a Stihl man from hear on out.
if you got a good 1. Catch ya all later.
