Chainsaw

[Aejsl]

This winter has made me a little more serious about keeping a good stash of wood available. I don't totally heat with wood but supplement. I've gone through about five ricks so far. I have an old home lite that I've been limping along with but I want to get something more professional. What's the consensus? stihl? Husky? jonserrand? Maybe a 22"-24"

 

[lizerdking]

Borrowed my neighbors stihl.... cut like a hot knife through butter... threw out my craftsman and i'm looking to replace with a stihl this spring.

 

[jagee]

Another vote for Stihl. Personally, I don't have one, or need one at the current house, but I've used them and various other power equipment from them. Best bang for your buck IMO.

 

[Kernal1984]

Spend more money and get a pro saw from husky or stihl and dont use gas with ethanol and it will be something you can pass on to your kids.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I just paid 459 for a stihl farm boss with 20" bar, carry case, case of 2 cycle oil, bottle of bar oil, and a sharpening file. This is new with a two year warranty.

 

[northtownship]

Do you have a Home Depot that rents tools nearby? If so go see if they have any Makita 6401 saws that they're going to sell. You can get your name on a waiting list and they'll call you when one comes up. They're a Dolmar and it was the best $250 deal (2 years ago) on a 64 cc saw. Mine sounds like a dirt bike and rips through the wood. Just take off the safety chain junk and put on a full comp stihl chain. I have 2 Huskies that are pretty nice too.

 

[lovemywoods]

I've had and Echo and Stihls.
The Echo was OK. The Stihls are better.

I use a 16" Stihl 211 and a 20" Stihl 310. I use the smaller saw probably 4 times more often than the larger one.
the 20" saw is used for dealing with bigger trees. However, you would be surprised how large of wood you can cut with a medium sized saw. Don't necessarily get a big heavy saw as your first one. You may tire of lugging that thing around when a much lighter saw would do.

The Farmboss mentioned by IndyGunWorks is an excellent all-around saw.

 

[grasshopperlegs]

I have worked on all the Chainsaws (Stihl,Husqvarna,Jonsered and Echo). I was a dealer for Jonsered and to me they were the best kept secret out there. I've had my Jonsered 2065 for over 10 years and it has never ever let me down. It has the turbo air cleaner like Husqvarna and it keeps you air cleaner really clean so you don't burn up your saw. I also like the Husqvarna (Which Jonsered and Husqvarna a built by Electrolux) they also have the turbo air cleaner. The Echo saw now has a pretty good warranty for the home owner (5 years) I think. If you are going to cut a lot of wood get something that is at least 50cc and it would hold a 20" bar and you can cut most trees with it. This is just my idea of what I think is good and I know the Stihl guys like their Sthils just like the Husqvarna guys likes theirs. I just like the best value and warranty if I am going to invest in a good saw.

 

[remauto1187]

Well if the SHTF truly and gas supplies are shut down. What are you gonna run the chainsaw on? Obviously its better than nothing until the gas runs out but I think alot of people dont fully realize that if the SHTF truly and lasted years that there will be no gasoline, natural gas, Cel phone service, cable, electric service, LP, ATM's and hell there wont even be any going to the grocery store!

 

[IndyGunworks]

Well if the SHTF truly and gas supplies are shut down. What are you gonna run the chainsaw on? Obviously its better than nothing until the gas runs out but I think alot of people dont fully realize that if the SHTF truly and lasted years that there will be no gasoline, natural gas, Cel phone service, cable, electric service, LP, ATM's and hell there wont even be any going to the grocery store!

Not all preparedness has to be a direct preparation for a complete SHTF event.

 

[ghuns]

Do you have a Home Depot that rents tools nearby? If so go see if they have any Makita 6401 saws that they're going to sell. You can get your name on a waiting list and they'll call you when one comes up. They're a Dolmar and it was the best $250 deal (2 years ago) on a 64 cc saw. Mine sounds like a dirt bike and rips through the wood. Just take off the safety chain junk and put on a full comp stihl chain. I have 2 Huskies that are pretty nice too.

^^^^This^^^^ If you can get one. I have a Husky 359 that has been worked on a little and a stock 6401 will keep up with it.

Homeowner grade saws are slow and are built from lesser quality components. I never understood why you would need a "fast" saw until I bought my outdoor wood boiler. I had tested a Husky 455 and was perfectly happy with it. The salesman asked what I was cutting wood for. When I told him, he brought out the 359. At the time, it was all the more saw I had any business running and damn was it fast. After I got comfortable with it, I gutted the catalytic muffler and had a buddy work some 2 stroke voo-doo on the head and ports. It will now run all day at 14500 RPM.

The faster your saw cuts, the less time you spend cuttin wood.

Buy a saw with enough power to run a 24" bar, but really, an 18" or 20" is plenty for most cutting. I have a 24" that I use more for limbing trees than dropping them, less bending over for my poor old back.

 

[iauffenberg]

husky with aviation fuel is what i run and never had a problem

 

[Aejsl]

Well if the SHTF truly and gas supplies are shut down. What are you gonna run the chainsaw on? Obviously its better than nothing until the gas runs out but I think alot of people dont fully realize that if the SHTF truly and lasted years that there will be no gasoline, natural gas, Cel phone service, cable, electric service, LP, ATM's and hell there wont even be any going to the grocery store!

I guess I am more prepping for inflation and electricity rates skyrocketing. If the propane situation is any indication I might go 100% wood heat.

 

[Electronrider]

Another +1 for a Stihl Farm Boss. It is a great all around chainsaw. I have had mine for 5 years now, and still runs/performs great.

 

[Brandon]

stihl

 

[atvdave]

Do you have a Home Depot that rents tools nearby? If so go see if they have any Makita 6401 saws that they're going to sell. You can get your name on a waiting list and they'll call you when one comes up. They're a Dolmar and it was the best $250 deal (2 years ago) on a 64 cc saw. Mine sounds like a dirt bike and rips through the wood. Just take off the safety chain junk and put on a full comp stihl chain. I have 2 Huskies that are pretty nice too.

This is what I have... I purchased mine new though. I also have a Dolmar 5100S.. Both saws work great. I cut about 3 to 4 cords of wood a year.

 

[Leadeye]

I have two Stihls, 046 and MS 260 Pro. Decompression buttons are great.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Another +1 for a Stihl Farm Boss. It is a great all around chainsaw. I have had mine for 5 years now, and still runs/performs great.

After some research and advice, I picked up a Farm Boss earlier this winter, just before the bad weather hit. Hope to finish breaking it in someday soon.

I also have a Sears Craftsman that was made by Husqvarna, and it's a quality saw too.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Well if the SHTF truly and gas supplies are shut down. What are you gonna run the chainsaw on? Obviously its better than nothing until the gas runs out but I think alot of people dont fully realize that if the SHTF truly and lasted years that there will be no gasoline, natural gas, Cel phone service, cable, electric service, LP, ATM's and hell there wont even be any going to the grocery store!

One of these days, I'm going to get a 36-inch or so cross-cut saw, 'cause you never know....

 

[caverjamie]

Either Stihl or Husqvarna are very good saws. Any loggers I have seen around here are using one or the other, but that doesn't mean there aren't other brands such as Echo that are fine as well. I have a Husqvarna 357XP which I am very happy with. It's a little older now but did come with an auto compression release for easy starting. Stihl has a better dealer network around here so most people buy those. I would buy either but I like the orange color a little better I guess.