I recently had a tree climber cut down a 100 ft. white pine tree. I am left with some pretty good size 3 to 4 ft. diameter logs that I want to cut up. I have done what I could with my Stihl MS250 18" bar. I am now looking for a bigger saw that I can afford and have narrowed it down to the Husqvarna 365 with a 28 inch bar or the Stihl 391 that can take up to a 25 inch bar. Both saws are 64 cc and a little over 4 h.p. My concern is with the bar lengths. The Stihl can take up to a 25 inch bar although on Stihl's website the recommended length is 16 to 20 inch. The Husky can take up to a 28 inch bar length. I can buy the 28-inch Husky for 569.95 and the Stihl 25-inch for $599.95 Would I do better with a 28 inch bar or would I be sacrificing performance with it. I do like Stihl equipment and have never owned anything made by Husqvarna.
Thank you for all your help.
Get the Husky, its built better plus more power in real life no matter what the specs say. Steve
If your talking a Husqvarna 365 thats a great deal as they should run around $750, if its a 465 rancher I think $560-$570 is the going price. The Echo 620p will also take a 27" bar and is about the same price, unlike the Stihl and Husqvarna saw the Echo has a metal crank case. But with any of these saws because they are lower hp a full skip chain may help them cut better.
Ooops my mistake. It is the 465 Rancher that I am interested in and not the 365.
So do you think the Husky 465 Rancher would be OK with a 28 inch bar if I take it easy? Or will there not be enough H.P. and it bog down? I will be cutting white pine logs.
Look at a Echo CS590, way better built than either of those 2 plus more power, Echo has dealer days with 20% off , you should be able to get on for around $350. With Echo you are not paying for the name like Stihl and Husky. Steve
Where is Spike60 when you need him, I believe there are a few YouTubes from him on the 465 rancher. If you do decide to pick it up try to find a full skip chain for it so you have more hp per tooth, just watch out for kickback.
Perhaps you have a future use for the larger saw but if just looking to cut 1 large tree up I would look to renting a saw if there are rentals available in your area.
No way I would put a 28" bar on a 465 rancher, a 28" would be more than a 365 would be happy with. IMO, you need more saw to run a 28",
24" bar is enough for 67cc husky 570, using the full skip would help but i think you're asking just a bit too much. The 044 stihl at 70cc was great with 20, I'm sure it would've been fine with 25 but it's my understanding that certain ages of that saw the bottom end doesn't stand up well to the bigger bars. Best o luck!
Why do they even sell the Husky 465 with a 28-inch bar? Even on Husqvarna website they say the 465 can take up to a 28-inch bar.
I'm new, and a dummy, but my experience may help. I recently got a ms362cm to take care of a big project that won't be done for quite awhile. It'll ultimately be used to take a 60" black oak apart, but some of what I've removed has been in the 30"+ range so far. I have a 25" bar, and it's handled everything I've given it. Not ideally, but for a non pro that isn't dealing with huge wood all the time, it's a good match. It slows down a little in big cuts, though no major straining, and it's kind of nose heavy. I think it would really fly with my typical work load, and a 20" bar, but it's nice having 25" as an option when needed, and for your pine, it should handle it no problem.
Not the saw you were asking about, but it's in the same general class. The more experienced members can give input for specific brands/models, but somewhere in the 60cc range should do you fine for this project assuming this will be an infrequent sized job, and a smaller bar can be procured for your typical work.
It will pull the chain but you will have to take your time and go slow, if your not in any hurry to cut the tree then it should work "fine". If you can get a full skip chain for it then it will cut better as it will have less teeth to cause drag. Its not meant to make full bar cuts all the time but will work in a pinch and being that your cutting pine and only one tree it should be ok. Now if you were cutting hardwoods or frozed solid trees you may want to drop some extra cash on a better saw or get to know someone who does have a larger saw. I also have a stihl 362 c-m and have only cut red and white oak with its 25" bar and it cuts good, not as well as a ms 440, but not bad. If I was more and cutting larger trees then what I do I would be getting a 70-80cc saw.
Skip chain is the trick if you want to use a longer then normal bar. Each cutter that's in the wood needs a certain amount of power to keep it cutting. If you have too many cutters in the action, and not enough power, you keep having to lift the saw out of the cut to keep it running, and that makes for very inefficient cutting. If you have a skip chain, then each cutter can keep cutting properly. The skip chain on the small saw will of course cut slower than a full comp chain on a bigger saw, but at least it will be able to run properly and throw decent chips.
Another trick is going to square chisel chain it's a sharper faster cutting chain for clean wood.