Your thoughts on a new saw.

[Treespotter]

Damn! 99 posts before being told to "go buy a Stihl"

Oh well maybe we will get to 100 next time!

Don't bother Matt81. Don't even respond to people that just crawled from under the orange/white stone into the real world. Some of them still have no clue that there are way better brands now. Brands that deliver truly reliable saws with better power to weight ratios without being insanely overpriced.
But heck. Some people just feel safe under the Stihl stone.

Wolter

 

[tobimax]

Tobimax, could you humor me, and when you get a chance weigh the PS-5000 empty of fuel and oil and power head only? I have 2 5105's one without a cat which i removed but the other i have not got around to removing yet. I will weigh them tomorrow.

If the 5000 is actually so much lighter (0.7 Kg) than the 5105 i am going to get one from Dolmar New Zealand while i can. I would appreciate a 3.8 Hp saw that's well under 5 kg when I'm blocking down larger wood.

Hi Matt,
I do not have a sophisticated scales just one for fish. I weighed the 5000 so good as I could at about 5kg and a bit. So I think the factory weight of 5.1kg is about right.

 

[ShaneLogs]

MS261 is a real good saw! I have an 026 PR0 and love it! I have ran the MS261's lots of times and they run real smooth and have lots of power. Get a 441 or a 460 Magnum if you want a real big saw. Buy a Stihl!

 

[Matt81]

Hi Matt,
I do not have a sophisticated scales just one for fish. I weighed the 5000 so good as I could at about 5kg and a bit. So I think the factory weight of 5.1kg is about right.

Thank you. That is interesting.

The info i am looking at says 4.7 kg? It is a PS-5000D maybe that is different to yours?
http://www.dolmar.co.nz/products/detail.lsd?item=PS5000D

Usually from the same company at least weights will be comparative. Maybe there is almost no difference to the 5105. I will weigh both of mine tomorrow.

 

[tobimax]

Don't bother Matt81. Don't even respond to people that just crawled from under the orange/white stone into the real world. Some of them still have no clue that there are way better brands now. Brands that deliver truly reliable saws with better power to weight ratios without being insanely overpriced.
But heck. Some people just feel safe under the Stihl stone.

Wolter

Wolter its a shame really that people are so silly not to try the other saws out there. Let them crawl under their stone. I use all 3 brands and a chinese to boot. It all really depends upon how the saw is used and maintained. The stihl saws used at the college I´m at are hopeless. They never work properly. It is probably because they go through so many hands. I always took my own saw, if not I tucked away a 346xp in a dark corner. Most of my colleges fought over the 260/261s and I pulled out the only working Husky! The stihls were awful breaking down all the time. But I now work as a ranger and use again mainly a 260. Works like a dream, our 880 "BigMama" also. At home and in private I use all 3, each has its own use. Job Done.

 

[tobimax]

Thank you. That is interesting.

The info i am looking at says 4.7 kg? It is a PS-5000D maybe that is different to yours?
http://www.dolmar.co.nz/products/detail.lsd?item=PS5000D

Usually from the same company at least weights will be comparative. Maybe there is almost no difference to the 5105. I will weigh both of mine tomorrow.

Have a look here if you can see any difference.http://download.dolmar.com/manuals/17762.pdf

 

[palbin]

Even as good as the 346xp is, the 357xp is a real power house
compared to it ... .

 

[tobimax]

Have a look here if you can see any difference.http://download.dolmar.com/manuals/17762.pdf

Have a look at mine in my album.

 

[Matt81]

Even as good as the 346xp is, the 357xp is a real power house
compared to it ... .

That is very true. Only 1 lb heavier but almost 3/4 of a Hp increase. They are meant for very different tasks though. I would not be doing medium size felling and logging with a 346XP! Same i would not be doing tree pruning or stripping limbs off felled trees with a 357XP! The 357XP feels a bit more portly compared to the 346XP but still handles well for its size. I have used 357XP and repaired them for friends but i have sadly never owned one.

I am always on the lookout for one at the right price!

 

[Matt81]

Have a look at mine in my album.

It looks very similar. From the parts breakdown i cannot see hardly any difference.
Clutch cover is slightly different and the pull starter cover is the same as my 5105 SC but different to my later build date 5105.
I will weigh both of my 5105's in the morning as i did not get a chance today as the rain had actually cleared so i was able to get some work done. Rain will be back tomorrow for at least the next 5 days.

Here are 2 pics of some Dolmar saws i missed out on about 6 weeks ago. A 7900 and a 5000. Both clean and low hours saws.
He wanted $900 o.n.o. for both. Or a good condition MS201T as a trade. I only had a good condition MS200T. He did not want the 200T despite me trying to tell him that stock it is the far better saw.
He thought i was trying to sweet talk him into letting the 2 Dolmars go for an inferior top handle saw. He ended up accepting $850 in cash.
Problem was it was a 6 hr round trip so i sat on it until i could justify the day off to make the trip. A week later I was all set. I had my compression tester, fresh mix and some basic tools so i could check them over properly and run both saws. He knew i was coming with the cash on that day. I checked the online advert just before i left home. Lucky i did, the bugger sold them the night before and never told me!
He ended up selling them for $800 despite knowing i was coming and telling me they were mine. Glad i did not waste the day and the $80 in fuel!!

 

[sunfish]

That is very true. Only 1 lb heavier but almost 3/4 of a Hp increase. They are meant for very different tasks though. I would not be doing medium size felling and logging with a 346XP! Same i would not be doing tree pruning or stripping limbs off felled trees with a 357XP! The 357XP feels a bit more portly compared to the 346XP but still handles well for its size. I have used 357XP and repaired them for friends but i have sadly never owned one.

I am always on the lookout for one at the right price!

The weight specs are wrong on the 357xp, it weighs right at 13 lbs. So the diff is almost 2 lbs and is very noticeable to me, I have a lot of hours on both saws... The 346xp is my go to saw, but still like the 357 and you're right about the power difference. 357 will smoke a 346, both stock!

 

[Matt81]

Right from the word of god it says here 12.1 lbs. I don't own one so cannot check.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/forest/products/xp-saws/357-xp/#specifications

 

[sunfish]

Right from the word of god it says here 12.1 lbs. I don't own one so cannot check.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/forest/products/xp-saws/357-xp/#specifications

12.9 is the right number. God is wrong with this one...

 

[Matt81]

12.9 is the right number. God is wrong with this one...

How come an error like that can not get checked for so long? I think i remember buying my 562XP over a good used 357XP for the very reason that the 562XP was slightly lighter.

I have the same issue with Makita here with the Dolmar saws. New models come along with EPA de-tuned heavier engines but they leave the old model specs for power and weight on the site. These are the go to figures that all the dealers use, so a bunch of false information ends up getting accepted as truth simply because it has been around for so long!

For example the 6400 was replaced by the new model 6401. It has been updated with the following: Power: 3.8kW/4.6HP, but the maths don't work. 4.6 hp is around 3.38 Kw. It seems that they just pick a number at random and expect the customer to be too dumb to think for themselves. Anything to distract us from the fact that it is actually worse than the previous model yet now costs more!

Makita will not despite my prodding verify the figures with Dolmar, even though it is obvious to anyone with a brain that they are wrong.

 

[Vibes]

With a muffler mod and a fine tune also a sharp chain I found the 290 to have more umph than a dolmar 5100 but that doesn't mean I thought the stihl was way better the dolmar was lighter and smoother and got the job done just the same . That was not a general statement about all comparisons of those models just what I observed between the two I handled . This is my opinion but I would say The stihl saws are very high quality the fit and finish is the standard set you can just visually look at their lineup and see .they don't skimp or cut corners *but they just are more utilitarian and less refined and lacking in features compared to huskys .the stihl products are not innovative to me . To me the dolmar is somewhere in the middle between those two brands ..except the appearance of them seems cheap in comparison .cant put my finger on it but To me they have that low budget plasticky poulon look. I think maybe a lot of people are turned off by their appearance maybe it's more to do with dolmars lack of marketing ..who knows

Yea but you do pay for all that not skimping and cutting of corners and you pay even more when all that " very high quality" fails. Like you said earlier, in my part of Pa, the Stihl dealers aren't out there making any friends. And several stories I've been told by a few oldtimers, I don't think half of them could put the fluid in a Zippo Lighter. Just what I've heard.

 

[tobimax]

It looks very similar. From the parts breakdown i cannot see hardly any difference.
Clutch cover is slightly different and the pull starter cover is the same as my 5105 SC but different to my later build date 5105.
I will weigh both of my 5105's in the morning as i did not get a chance today as the rain had actually cleared so i was able to get some work done. Rain will be back tomorrow for at least the next 5 days.

Here are 2 pics of some Dolmar saws i missed out on about 6 weeks ago. A 7900 and a 5000. Both clean and low hours saws.
He wanted $900 o.n.o. for both. Or a good condition MS201T as a trade. I only had a good condition MS200T. He did not want the 200T despite me trying to tell him that stock it is the far better saw.
He thought i was trying to sweet talk him into letting the 2 Dolmars go for an inferior top handle saw. He ended up accepting $850 in cash.
Problem was it was a 6 hr round trip so i sat on it until i could justify the day off to make the trip. A week later I was all set. I had my compression tester, fresh mix and some basic tools so i could check them over properly and run both saws. He knew i was coming with the cash on that day. I checked the online advert just before i left home. Lucky i did, the bugger sold them the night before and never told me!
He ended up selling them for $800 despite knowing i was coming and telling me they were mine. Glad i did not waste the day and the $80 in fuel!!

View attachment 337323

View attachment 337324

Sh*t Happens!

 

[flotek]

Yea but you do pay for all that not skimping and cutting of corners and you pay even more when all that " very high quality" fails. Like you said earlier, in my part of Pa, the Stihl dealers aren't out there making any friends. And several stories I've been told by a few oldtimers, I don't think half of them could put the fluid in a Zippo Lighter. Just what I've heard.

Your right about that . The old Amish saw dealer near me always says stihl are over priced and he claims it's because they have such an aggressive widespread advertising campaign and. " somebody has to pay for that .. And that somebody. Is going to be the customer " he goes to these big expos and is always raving about the lavish expense stihl goes through with huge displays fancy tractor trailers of goods and over the top presentations and booths but in all fairness I imagine if their products were subpar they couldn't demand that price either . My 562 xp husky is the smoothest saw I ever held but I never cut with a 362cm to compare it

 

[sunfish]

How come an error like that can not get checked for so long? I think i remember buying my 562XP over a good used 357XP for the very reason that the 562XP was slightly lighter.

I have the same issue with Makita here with the Dolmar saws. New models come along with EPA de-tuned heavier engines but they leave the old model specs for power and weight on the site. These are the go to figures that all the dealers use, so a bunch of false information ends up getting accepted as truth simply because it has been around for so long!

For example the 6400 was replaced by the new model 6401. It has been updated with the following: Power: 3.8kW/4.6HP, but the maths don't work. 4.6 hp is around 3.38 Kw. It seems that they just pick a number at random and expect the customer to be too dumb to think for themselves. Anything to distract us from the fact that it is actually worse than the previous model yet now costs more!

Makita will not despite my prodding verify the figures with Dolmar, even though it is obvious to anyone with a brain that they are wrong.

The 357xp was closer to spec when it first came out, but was beefed up in the lower case. Which added a little weight, they just didn't changed the specs. The 562xp is slightly lighter, has more power & is smoother, but I still like the 357xp.

All saw specs are subject to question, brand doesn't matter...

 

[Matt81]

They all play their little games. Published weight with no clutch cover etc etc. At least from the same brand figures should be comparative due to the same measuring practices being used.

When they just get plain lazy and can't be bothered to publish updated figures for new models or worse can't even get out the calculator to convert HP to Kw correctly, then i have a problem with it.

 

[JustinM]

Its been a long time since Ive been on the forum (busy working with & on saws!! No, seriously just personal stuff but all good now).
Anyway, it seems only fitting to come back with my first post on yet another "which 50 cc saw should I buy" thread This is no disrespect to the OP, its a fair question & even though its been asked a 100 times, technology changes & the answers do too.
Right now in my "keeper" shelves i have 4 saws in the 50cc range:

Dolmar 5100
Husky 346xp
Stihl 026 pro
Dolmar 111

The 111 is sort of more of a "loaner" saw. Its slower than the others and I don't often reach for it first but I like having it around so I can lend it out & not be too worried about how its taken care of (although it just keeps on going and going). The other 3 are my main workhorses.

Which one(s) I choose that morning really depends on the day, the type of wood I'll be cutting etc. I wish there was some science to it. But there isn't. I just pick what I feel like that day & the experience is always good. All 3 of those saws are great. Sure, one may be a little lighter and another may be a little faster on the trigger. One many spin faster & another may have more torque, but you're talking about 3 of the best built saws of all time. And thats not even taking into account the shindawas, jonsereds, or newer versions of the above.
No matter what you choose, you won't go far wrong, despite what a fan of one brand or another on here may say. Get what feels right in your hands (and to and extent on your pocket book) and just go have fun.