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Chainsaws

Stihl s are great saws, but my problem is repair parts are primarily sold thru dealers only. I dislike paying the high dealer markup especially when there isn’t a dealer with decent parts selection near me. Also a lot of Stihl parts from dealers are sold with a near 50% to 100% markup even when mail ordered. I have resorted buying Stihl parts from eBay sellers who take apart brand new saws in order to sell the parts without becoming a Stihl dealer.
 
I noticed a few things about the test: 1) was the saw initially tuned by the same qualified person before the tests? 2) Was the same type chain used on all saws? 3) Was it sharpened by the same person with the same equipment? 4) No mention of compression release.
 
This guy does all of the presentation by himself, no helpers. He did use the chains that came with the saws, and does comment about that a few times. I also posted that I thought the same chains and each sharpened on the same sharpener would make the test more correct. As I said, he is not sponsored by anyone. He does review chainsaw sharpening systems too.

My 25 year old Husky almost always takes 5 pulls to start. Some days 6. Interesting to see that many of the saws have the little bulb things to prime the saw before you pull the rope.

robo hippy
 
I have an electric Makita 18x2 36V that I struggle through roughing out blanks in preparation for the bandsaw.
 
I had to laugh. It is real easy to say Stihl is No. 1 when comparing it to those cheapie box store models.
It'd be more interesting to do a workup between the big 3 - Stihl, Husqvarna, and Echo (and maybe Makita, which has been gaining a little ground since buying up Dolmar)

If you wanted opinion from a former small engine tech (in the business 1983 to 2020) , I'd have to rank the modern current production Consumer/Hobbyist models as Echo being #1. (I'm thinking of Stihl MS-290, Echo CS-450, Husqvarna 355 Rancher as comparison models here...)
- Husqvarna's consumer models became based on the former Poulan-Weedeater product line (After Electrolux AB Bought Poulan-Weedeater) so they are really not all that much better than what you can buy at your local wal-mart.
- Stihl in recent years seems to have shifted a portion of its manufacturing into China (Several Stihl models, if you looked close, clearly marked "Made in China")
leaving Echo as pretty much the remaining company that still produces most, if not all of their units in the USA (Lake Zurich, IL factory) from admittedly with some China made components (And Japanese parts via their Yamabiko parent company) (Granted both Stihl and Husqvarna have USA plants, but these are more Assembly plants, as far as I know, with not much real manufacturing going on otherwise, and again, I am not going into the Pro-level models of the type you might find on logging sites, which is where Stihl and Husqvarna would beat Echo most times)

Based on direct experience with Servicing all those models in my shop, by Far Echo came out on top for quality, reliability, and maintenance (I was finding it took less time to do maintenance and service on Echo models, because they were built to be serviced..) Stihl was a second place when it came to serviceability, but fell on its face when it came to consistent quality and reliability.
Husqvarna wasn't too terrible, but hard to service some models, often being somewhat finicky to "dial in" their tuning/adjustments) In a pro shop (and billing paying customers), "Time is Money" which meant repair/service costs (repair tickets) were almost always quite a bit less for the Echo models than the other 2 brands..

So, as an overall, my vote would go to Echo for being No. 1
 
I guess this brings up the point about big box stores vs. chainsaw shops. I believe that the chainsaw shops carry a more 'professional' grade saw, and the big box stores carry a more 'hobbyist' grade of saw. Correct?

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I guess this brings up the point about big box stores vs. chainsaw shops. I believe that the chainsaw shops carry a more 'professional' grade saw, and the big box stores carry a more 'hobbyist' grade of saw. Correct?

robo hippy
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I agree Robo. I bought a Husky from a big box store and it works fine for around the house tree trimming. When I was processing logs I had Husky chain saws that were bigger and smaller than the big box one I purchased. They all way out performed (even the little one) the one I purchased from the big box store. One thing I learned from the Husky dealer is to open the choke when storing the saw. I started doing that and the saws start right up even after sitting for extended periods. Not sure if that applies to all brands but it sure helped my Huskies.
 
robo hippy said:
I guess this brings up the point about big box stores vs. chainsaw shops. I believe that the chainsaw shops carry a more 'professional' grade saw, and the big box stores carry a more 'hobbyist' grade of saw. Correct?

robo hippy
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Not so much any more, Home Depot carries Echo models, and those are the same as Dealers sell (And Home depot is restricted to selling those at Echo's minimum retail price, so Dealers can "match or beat" Home Depot prices) Number of hardware stores locally are set up to sell Stihl (However they MUST have a service department and a tech that has been to Stihl School - Though in my experience that's pretty much "Lip Service" by the Hardware stores - All these techs do any more is pretty much change out parts.) I also see Husqvarna at hardware stores as well (those that can provide for a service department of sorts - Again just lip service, really techs there don't get paid much in comparison to independent pro shops) Thing is, those hardware stores COULD be selling the pro models, only problem really is, they don't have enough *volume* - the pro loggers tend to favor the professional chainsaw & logging supply shops.

The big difference between box store and dealer these days is the quality of the service department (and the attitude towards excellence in service) A dedicated tech working in a hardware store shop can out-fix a "parts changer" tech at a pro shop.... but generally those dedicated pros (like me) end up being horribly under-paid and so they branch out into freelancing/moonlighting, which can often lead to them making more money by themselves that way than working for someone else.

If I were to charge enough labor rate to pay a "top wrench" tech a good living wage, even assuming I could keep the shop busy enough to bill all his hours, most repair jobs (on those cheaper consumer / hobbyist models) - even the basic maintenance ones, can approach the cost of a brand new unit - I started turning away a lot of that work myself back in the 2010's and later - people wanted to pay me $20 to fix their $69.95 wal-mart trimmer, when carburetor kits were starting to cost $10, fuel lines & filter add another $5, and the time it takes to change it all out and tune the unit , I'd end up making less than 10 bucks an hour out of which I'd have had to pay all the shop overhead, insurance, light, heat, taxes, etc, etc.... end of the day I would be lucky to put a buck in my pocket for every $100 in business I did... and if I were to charge enough to be reasonably profitable on those box-store repairs, the repair bill would be more than the cost of a brand new box-store unit - In a nutshell they became "disposable" chainsaws (and mowers and trimmers and tractors) - cheaper to go buy a new one than fix the old one.

Thus, here I am - pretty much retired after closing down the shop, liquidating everything, and converting it into a wood shop :)
 
I recently took my chainsaw in for repair.
Found out when I picked up the saw......the hourly work rate was $120/hour. Adds up quickly.
 
Stihl or Husqvarna are just the same in my opinion. Several things extend the life; use can gas or non-alcohol, don't run them wide open all the time (you extend the life of the motor and less heat in the chain and bar), file the rakers often to continue to get the right thickness of chip, buy several chains and keep them all sharp and changed often, don't use safety chains, learn how to use the bucking teeth so you don't move the saw around so much, dress the bar so the edges are perpendicular to the side of the bar (a disc sander works great for that), clean out the groove of the bar with a dental pick, and finally set them a little rich if there aren't stops on the carb screws. Government reqs have made them adjust the carb to run lean to reduce pollution. I continue using my Farm Boss after 30 years with zero engine repair.
 
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robo hippy said:
I guess this brings up the point about big box stores vs. chainsaw shops. I believe that the chainsaw shops carry a more 'professional' grade saw, and the big box stores carry a more 'hobbyist' grade of saw. Correct?
Click to expand...
Do saw shops exist anymore outside timber country? Do they even exist in Oregon anymore? A forester explained the 'hobbyist' line vs the 'professional' line of Stihls and Husqvarna to me a few years ago. Our local Stihl dealer is the hardware store and Husky is the power equipment dealer. They have a great selection of saws and accessories and good repair service, but everything they sell is in the 'hobbyist' line (which includes the Farm and Ranch versions). Very little logging activity or need to carry the 'pro' line of saws around here these days.
 
Chainsaws I've had have been finicky. It's mostly the operator. I Presently use a big box Poulan Pro(Im told it was made by Husqvarna) but definitely not a pro model. Its adequate. I've kept my dads Homelite XL12. Big heavy, always ran for him. but after a few years, I tried to resurect it and a couple of places told me it needed a new carb which isnt available but could be rebuilt for $250+. Yikes. I just got a Makita battery version which is good for what I am turning at present. My next door neighbor has a Stihl and it is about 20years old and still going strong.
 
Well, there are two 'chainsaw' stores in town. Both also sell yard work equipment to the professional land scaping businesses, and do the repair work. The local Ace Hardware where I generally shop for 'big box' store stuff sells both Husky and Stihl, but they do not have any repair shop. Never go to Home Depot or the other big box stores.

robo hippy
 
Dean Center said:
Do saw shops exist anymore outside timber country? Do they even exist in Oregon anymore? A forester explained the 'hobbyist' line vs the 'professional' line of Stihls and Husqvarna to me a few years ago. Our local Stihl dealer is the hardware store and Husky is the power equipment dealer. They have a great selection of saws and accessories and good repair service, but everything they sell is in the 'hobbyist' line (which includes the Farm and Ranch versions). Very little logging activity or need to carry the 'pro' line of saws around here these days.
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Not very many dedicated chainsaw only shops (other than local hobby repair shops) - as noted before, the profit margins on new equipment keep getting slimmer and slimmer (when I closed up shop, my margins were less than 8% - entry level string trimmer that sells for $159.95 , dealer cost $139.78, IF the dealer was in the top margin bracket, having bought/sold over 100 units a month) only way for shops to keep in business , they had to diversify (locally biggest saw shop in the twin tiers went into wood stoves, then pellet stoves plus installations, plus Husqvarna mowers & tractors, etc) Margins were a little bit better (up to 12%) on bigger ticket machines, and FAR better on stoves & heating products. Many shops also started marking up from MSRP on parts as well (Parts margins keep shrinking too, stocking and monthly purchase requirements kept increasing, so you HAD to push your service shop techs to be parts changers to sell more parts, rather than fixing components) More and more shops also been diversifying into Powersports (ATV's, Snowmobiles in the snow belt areas, snowplows for pickup trucks, utility trailers, and those near lakes/water would do Boats and Jetskis, and so on..) - Just to keep their heads above water and keep the business viable.
 
Dean Center said:
Do saw shops exist anymore outside timber country?
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i deal with a tractor sales Company. They are A full service stihl dealer. Have lots of trees service clients and landscapers.
they can fix anything but the wait is 2 weeks or a month depending.
no real logging in our area other than real small scale pulpwooding.

also there is a guy that works in the back of a hardware store who has a pretty good reputation.
 
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We have a company that sells and services several brands of outdoor power equipment. They've kept my well used 16" Echo running great for over 20 years. Recently bought a larger Stihl that I hope serves me as well.
 
Michael Nathal said:
I for one am disappointed with Stihl. My saw only lasted about 5 yrs before a major engine rebuild was needed.
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I was given a new Stihl 026 as a housewarming gift (after building my first one) from my dad in '94. I just retired it about 5 years ago because I disliked having to deal with the Stihl dealer here. It's not only for woodturning use, but we heat with wood as well, so a saw gets a lot of use around here. I bought a Husqvarna 550xp to replace it. and I've been really impressed with it, as well as their local dealer.

The Stihl was getting to be fussy about starting. The carb seemed to require adjustment about every other time I took it out. The air filter wore thru and the dealer ordered the wrong one. Not sure if was the dealer or Stihl, but somehow for any part, they wanted the serial number because they had multiple versions of the 026 or something. (Big PITA) It ran great once started and tuned. It had an inboard clutch so changing chains was a snap, as long as you didn't lose a bar nut.

The new Husky has the autotune system. It adjusts itself and for the most part (now that I'm used to starting and just running it for a minute) is foolproof. It does have an outboard clutch, which is still a bit of an irritation for me. On the Stihl, I could just about swap a chain in the dark. This Husky is a bit more tricky. At one point, somehow the brake (which was in the cover) got screwed up, so I just removed it. It made a lightweight saw even lighter. Never used the brake on saws anyway. At least the bar nuts are captive in the cover. It will be interesting to see if it serves me well for 20 years, but so far, so good.
 
@Darryl Fictive, Good chainsaw choice. The Husky 550xp just might be the best pro saw in the 50cc class. Here’s a video on Dino testing several 50cc saws including the Husky 550xp and the Stihl MS261c:


 
Both Husky and Stihl have very good chainsaws in their professional ranges.

I went with Husky XP saws. I needed a 72cc saw that could pull a 28" ripping bar when needed, but mostly it gets used with a 24" bar on it for crosscutting logs. Almost all of the wood I cut is hardwood, some of it very hard, and for me the durability of the saw was important factor in my decision.

The other factor in my decision was that I would have had to go up to the 75cc Stihl pro MS 881 to pull that length of rip chain, which was a bit more than I needed, so I went with the Husky 372XP.

It's a great saw that starts first time every time and powers through anything that I attempt to cut with it, but I do always run freshly sharpened chains (X-cut C85 for crosscutting and full chisel square chain for ripping).

Here is a review of its little brother the 572XP...

View: https://youtu.be/ACNv7g1Lni4

I also have the Husky baby brother in the pro range, the 339XP, which I use when I only need a 16" bar.
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