Stihl Chainsaw

[ClinchValley]

We use a 291. How do they stack up? Has done what we have asked it to.

 

[JW IN VA]

We use a 291. How do they stack up? Has done what we have asked it to.

My son has a 290. Has done everything he needed it to do.Don't be tempted to change the sprocket and bar/chain to 3/8s pitch.It hurt performance.

 

[jltrent]

We use a 291. How do they stack up? Has done what we have asked it to.

My son has a 290. Has done everything he needed it to do.Don't be tempted to change the sprocket and bar/chain to 3/8s pitch.It hurt performance.

If you go to a 3/8's chain get a full skip. They clean out better, keep you chain speed up and are easier to pull.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STIHL-3-8-chain ... xuVADpGldQ

 

[Supa Dexta]

I bought a 361 a number of yrs ago - Its been a bit of a dud. Never did seem to live up to the hype the internet gave it, so I'm guessing it was just a lemon of sorts. Its had one rebuild, and Im down to a 16" bar on it, and it still doesnt seem all that strong. I use it, not a lot, but I've got too much money into it to give up on it.

 

[jltrent]

I bought a 361 a number of yrs ago - Its been a bit of a dud. Never did seem to live up to the hype the internet gave it, so I'm guessing it was just a lemon of sorts. Its had one rebuild, and Im down to a 16" bar on it, and it still doesnt seem all that strong. I use it, not a lot, but I've got too much money into it to give up on it.

Get one of these fully adjustable carbs for your MS361 and it will run like it should.(China and Hong Kong still make them, but USA does not) The EPA carbs that came on the MS361 are a POS. Even if you take the limiters off without springs on the stems they want hold to place. I have used dozens of these on different Stihl size saws and properly adjusted all ran great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARBURETOR-FOR- ... xy3NBSjh97

 

[Nesikep]

Supa Dexta.. it just needs a little bit of a porting job.. opening up the muffler on it might help a lot already.

 

[callmefence]

Ms271 18" bar

 

[cfpinz]

I bought a 361 a number of yrs ago - Its been a bit of a dud. Never did seem to live up to the hype the internet gave it, so I'm guessing it was just a lemon of sorts. Its had one rebuild, and Im down to a 16" bar on it, and it still doesnt seem all that strong. I use it, not a lot, but I've got too much money into it to give up on it.

Get one of these fully adjustable carbs for your MS361 and it will run like it should.(China and Hong Kong still make them, but USA does not) The EPA carbs that came on the MS361 are a POS. Even if you take the limiters off without springs on the stems they want hold to place. I have used dozens of these on different Stihl size saws and properly adjusted all ran great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARBURETOR-FOR- ... xy3NBSjh97

You ever messed with one of the 362's? I bought one last year with the computer controlled carburetor, doesn't idle as smooth as I'd like but it's a cutting sob.

 

[ddd75]

for 10" and smaller i'd just get a sthil 170 or whatever equivalent they have out today. they are 200 or less .. come with a 14" bar but it will handle a 16" fine.

very light, easy to handle all day and won't wear you out.

no reason to get a big saw that'll work you all day, only to be cuttin lill firewood.

 

[dun]

for 10" and smaller i'd just get a sthil 170 or whatever equivalent they have out today. they are 200 or less .. come with a 14" bar but it will handle a 16" fine.

very light, easy to handle all day and won't wear you out.

no reason to get a big saw that'll work you all day, only to be cuttin lill firewood.

Funny you should mention this. I have 2 of them with 16 inch bars and use them for 90% of my cutting. Have a bigger stihl with a 20 inch bar that I hardly ever fire up. I've gotten to where I prefer cutting from 2 sides rather than have to heft the big saw. I cut the notch,half from each side then do a plunge cut from one side then do another from the other side

 

[Dave]

for 10" and smaller i'd just get a sthil 170 or whatever equivalent they have out today. they are 200 or less .. come with a 14" bar but it will handle a 16" fine.

very light, easy to handle all day and won't wear you out.

no reason to get a big saw that'll work you all day, only to be cuttin lill firewood.

It may be because for years I ran saws a whole lot bigger than we are talking about here, but I would rather run a big saw for a hour or two instead of working all day with a little saw

 

[Stocker Steve]

I would rather run a big saw for a hour or two instead of working all day with a little saw

I only have 3 saws currently - - an arbor saw, a Stihl 250, and a Stihl 260.
The 260 is slow with oak and so so with ash.
How big would you go for 18 to 30" dia hardwood?

 

[Dave]

I would rather run a big saw for a hour or two instead of working all day with a little saw

I only have 3 saws currently - - an arbor saw, a Stihl 250, and a Stihl 260.
The 260 is a little slow with dry oak.
How big would you go for 18 to 30" dia hardwood?

I haven't kept up with saw models lately. I have a Stihl 290 with a 20 inch bar. I would want more saw than that for wood that size. I have a Stihl 066 that has a 36 inch bar on it and will run a 42 inch bar. You don't need that much saw. But it is nice because it will zip through wood that size. For wood that size I would want a 044. I think the new model in that size is 440 but not sure on that. I would want a saw that can very comfortably run a 24 or 28 inch bar. I would want 3/8 full skip chisel bit chain.

Several years ago the boss has back surgery and couldn't get winter wood cut. So a 5 or 6 of us got together to cut wood on a weekend. We had access to a pile of doug fir logs about 12 inches on the butt end and a one ton truck with a dump. I was a few minutes late getting there and a couple guy had their little saws out buzzing. I pulled out that 066 and started cutting. With that big saw on that size wood it is just zip, side step, zip, side step, zip...... Probably less than two seconds per cut. They put their little saws away. That truck held 3 cords. I cut it as fast as 4 or 5 guy could load it and the truck was backed right up to the pile.

 

[dun]

Several years ago the boss has back surgery and couldn't get winter wood cut. So a 5 or 6 of us got together to cut wood on a weekend. We had access to a pile of doug fir logs about 12 inches on the butt end and a one ton truck with a dump. I was a few minutes late getting there and a couple guy had their little saws out buzzing. I pulled out that 066 and started cutting. With that big saw on that size wood it is just zip, side step, zip, side step, zip...... Probably less than two seconds per cut. They put their little saws away. That truck held 3 cords. I cut it as fast as 4 or 5 guy could load it and the truck was backed right up to the pile.

When we were up on the Kitsap Penninsula they built a bunch of new highways and dozer pushed the timeber and anyone could have it that wanted. There was a huge amount of maple, but most of ther est was fir or alder. We burned about 12 cords a year so a bunch of us got togehter to go cut firewood for all of us. I had a 044, seems like a 30 inch bar and the others had their mculcks, crafstman, etc. I cut nothing but maple, the others cut mostly alder. I cut a lot more wood in a day then all the rest combined. I kept around 15 sharpened chains so rather then stop and touch them up from cutting that dirty bark I just swapped chains. Hard to believe how much I could get done 35-40 years ago compared to now.

 

[Atimm693]

I would rather run a big saw for a hour or two instead of working all day with a little saw

I only have 3 saws currently - - an arbor saw, a Stihl 250, and a Stihl 260.
The 260 is slow with oak and so so with ash.
How big would you go for 18 to 30" dia hardwood?

70cc, Husky 372 or Stihl 044/440 or 460/461. 461 is the current model. 20 or 24/25" bar.

It's rumored that the 441 has been discontinued, at the very least there is a supply shortage. You get more power and the same weight with a 461, so I can see why they would cull it.

I have a Jonsered CS2252 as an all around saw. The Autotune has been flawless in the 2 years I've had it. With the wild temperature and humidity swings here, it's nice to not have to adjust the carb every time you take it out.

 

[rockroadseminole]

I made my living for over 20 years burning 2 + gallons as a day in a in saw. At one time or another I have fell a tree with about every brand of saw made. I wouldn't buy any thing but a Stihl. I would also advise you to buy the biggest saw you can afford. Even a small commercial grade saw will out last those smaller saws by a significant margin. Learn how to sharpen it and also learn how to keep the chain out of the dirt. A sharp chain makes all the difference in the world.

You ever used a Dolmar? I'd never heard of Dolmar, but they carry them at the local store. It's the type of store that's been run by the same guy for 60 years, and he doesn't sell junk. Tornado did a number on our place, so we needed another saw to go with our stihl. Got one in the $550 range, and this is the best saw I've ever owned. Had it for two years now and it still cranks within 5 pulls. With a sharp chain I can't bog it down.

 

[Nesikep]

I've heard good things about Dolmars... Makita saws are Dolmar built as well.

If you have a lot of wood in the 20+ inch range, a big saw is just so much nicer to run.. I'd say at least in the 70cc range.
I have a Stihl 044 which I quite like, it's perfect for that size wood, I also have a husky 394 that's been ported and that thing cuts like an angry beaver.. I don't even bother splitting large chunks before loading them on the truck.. if they're too big, I just saw them in half, and a big saw can do that with authority