Saw Question

[Dan Morris]

Any one got any opinions on a new chain saw...Poulan vs Husky.
I won't use one enough to invest in a Stihl........Will be used around house and hunting/camping.
Dan

[skeet]

The Husky is nice as is the Stihl...Poulan is ok. Buy a chain saw that has a nice 5 yr warranty though. Get an Echo. They have a 5 yr warranty on their saws. Ya get a whole year on a Stihl...and I have 6 Stihls. But no more. And there is a place in Minnesota or North Dakota or somewhere in that area that sells 'em cheap and free shipping. My next is going to be an echo. In fact the next 2. I am selling a couple of my Stihls and gonna get a new Echo....or 2. I had one of the old Poulan XXV small saws for topping trees on the ground. Bought it in 1971..used it until 2003. Some scum suckin pig stole it...right outta my truck. Course they don't make em the same anymore. It cost me a whole 58 bucks way back then too.

[fabsroman]

Yeah, but $58 back then is the equivalent of $580 now. Gas used to be 25 cents back then, and now it is $3.50.

[Swift]

Any saw may give ya yrs of service without incident.

But to me certain things yer better off going the more money up front route , ie Stihl or Husqvarna.

[Dan Morris]

Thanks for the input, Home Depot was replacing Poulen with
Homelite...buy em cheaper. In close out rack, 4018 Poulen with case was $109....conned em into a 2 year warranty..in writing!!!!
This thing does what I want it for.
Dan

[rainydays]

The Poulans arn't a bad saw till you get alittle mileage on them. Once they start breaking down they pretty much turn into a throw away. A Husky would be a much better value IMO. They seem to be alittle bit better built and easier to repair.-tr

[Dan Morris]

At the price I paid, if it will last 2 years, it can throw! LOL Cheapest Husky I found was $249, an Echo was $319.
Dan

[scalerman]

Had both an Echo and a Husky- the Husky is far superior in every respect. Buy the Husky.

[TreeDoc]

Looks like I'm a little late to influence the decision....sorry!

Oh well!

Drain the fuel out of the Poulan when you're done with it and aren't planning to run it for a month, use good 2 stroke (Champion Fuel Mix) in it, and keep a little corner of the dumpster clear so there's room for it next year.

[TreeDoc]

Originally posted by fabsroman
......Gas used to be 25 cents back then, and now it is $3.50.

Off topic but it's hit $4 for regular here.

[skeet]

Gonna get worse too. Course you do live in Kalipornia!! Everything costs more there...and it is all soooo much better. BTW TD...what kinds of saws do you receommend for the average user?

[TreeDoc]

Equally, Husky & Stihl but you have to break it down to individual models between the two. Each of the 2 manufacturers create some dogs. Of course, we generally stick with the "Profesional" units, XP series of Husky (575XP, 3120XP) or the even numbered units of Stihl (260, 440, etc) to compare apples with apples though I have run a couple "Occasional User" saws in our line up and got a couple-a-few years of good use out of them but they eventually become to cost prohibitive to fix.

I'd toss the echo in the line-up for Homeowner Duty no doubt. I used to run the Echo 3400 series, top handled, limbing saws. They were light, inexpensive, and ran well for the use we put them through but I phased those out for the Stihl MS200 (old 020) Arborist Saw. The bigger Echos don't stand up to the commercial applications but for an Occassional User they'de be great.

I could buy 2 Echo 3400's and fill 10 gas cans with fuel and oil mix for what one Stihl MS200 costs ($600 now) but when the Echo's got sick, they died. They also don't carry the power and torque the Stihl does. On the flip side, Husky's answer to the MS200 was their 338 Arborists package. The first one was a P.O.S., the second updated/upgraded model was also a P.O.S. Nothing but carb problems and constantly. I sh!t-canned those saws and we haven't looked back since we've exclusively run the MS200.

Just idiosyncrasies with each model.

[skeet]

I have a bunch of Stihl saws. They have all been pretty good saws. Don't have a lot of need for the arborist saws. what I have now are 170 290 025 026 034 041. the 170 and 290 are pretty new. The 041 is one cutting saw. Sounds like a motorcycle idling. I bought it used at an auction (75-80 bucks)years ago and it has cut a 100 cords of firewood for me. The 025 is a saw that was given to me and it starts and runs great. Ugly looking as it hadn't been taken care of but it is a nice limbing saw. I like the Stihl line but they have gotten way to expensive...especially since I can't write them off like you can. Well maybe one I can.... for farm use.

[TreeDoc]

The 025 was one of the Occassional Users that I had that served us well. I almost felt bad when it finally gave up the ghost we ran it so long! The 026 is one of Stihl's BEST! That has been a very solid professional saw in that class.

[skeet]

Arborist saws are so expensive? Are they made that much better? I do understand the configuration differences etc.