Husqvarna 154SG bar length

[DHansen]

Picked up two more inexpensive replacement bars for the 550XP and the 154's.  Hardwear store that wants to get rid of old stock that is not STIHL.  Been a good spot for me to pick up discounted Husqvarna, Jonsered and John Deere stuff. I also ordered a Husqvarna solid bar with replaceable sprocket tip from the saw shop.  Same size and spec as these.  

[DHansen]

Husqvarna sure has a lot of marketing names on their chainsaw bars.  Farm Tough, Rancher, X-Force, X-Tough, X-Tough Light, X-Tough Solid and X-Tough Professional.  And there are differences in the bars.  I wonder if it is done to fit into the customers price ranges or actual performance and customer needs.  Maybe a blend of both.

[DHansen]

I richened up the 154SE to lower max RPM by 1000 RPM.


The NOS Total Super bar on the 154SE.

[DHansen]

The 550 XP MII 

[DHansen]

Anxious to see how this turns out. 

After leaning out the 154SG and richening up the 154SE.  Removing the 3/8" - 20" bars and going to the .325 - 16 and 18" The 154's are cutting very nice and an improvement from what they were like.
The 550XP is lighter in weight, but all three feel good, balance well and cut great.  I cannot say one is superior over the other. There is a sound difference and weight difference, but they all get the job done.  The 550XP is auto tune and stock.  If wanted I can lean out the 154 and pick up another 1,000 RPM.  

[Spike60]

This is a great thread. Wish you were in driving distance. Post #51 broke me up. Stringing all those marketing terms together shows that someone in marketing should have applied the brakes at some point. 

Throwing in the new 550 to compare with the 154's is a good way to show how far we have or haven't come over the years. However, the conclusions from these models is unique to them and wouldn't necessarily apply to other saws. For instance, IMO the 242xp is one saw that has truly never been replaced. The current 543xp is nice, but doesn't come close. The icon 372 is a tough act to follow. The 572 seems to have succeeded where the 575 and 576 fell short. 288 vs 385/390? I'll go with the 288. So sometimes the new model raises the bar, other times the outgoing saw remains the preferred model.

Much of this is objective and personal preference that goes beyond what can be measured with cookie times, compression numbers and scale weights. When concentrating on the job at hand some saws just feel better to work with than others. There's no right or wrong, it's like adjusting the seat in your pick up to where you like it. And you've done that here with the 54's by changing the bar and chain setups to make the saws more enjoyable to work with. 

The best thing though is shining the spotlight on this chassis and sharing the info with everyone else. Keeping the older models in focus is the only way to broaden our saw options now that we are down to essentially 3 manufacturers. Granted, the old saw option is mostly limited to guys who are handy and can work on the things. And parts availability will always be a changing dynamic. But if we were limited to only what was new at the local Husky, Stihl, or Echo dealer this wouldn't be any fun at all. (And Shindaiwa; the Japanese Jonsered) 

[DHansen]

Don, I took two more of the mufflers off and looked at taking the two halves apart.  Both of these have a rolled edge were the bolt passes through that holds the two halve together.  If I wanted to attempt separating the two halve I would need to dremel off the rolled edge or drill the top area off with an oversized drill bit.  I think this rolled area hold the two sleeve in place inside the muffler.  The bolts pass through these sleeves.  With the RPM I am getting I question the need for any muffler modifications.  That is so far.  We will see.

[donbj]

You were more observant than I was noticing that. There is just about as much metal inside the muffler as the outside from what I saw in mine, though I did manage to snake some out.

[DHansen]

Must be several slightly different designs of these mufflers.  This next 154SE muffler came apart with a little wiggle and pull.  The rolled edge on this one was only on one halve of the muffler, keeping the sleeves attached to that halve. The sleeves stay attached to one side of the muffler shell on this one.  I think I will modify this one and use it on the 254SE and also do some work on the air filter to carburetor elbow and see what happens.

[DHansen]

Was looking into why the air filter change and carburetor adjustment affected WOT RPM by 2500RPM.  I started looking at 5 different used air filter and noted the outlet of the air filters were not all the same size.  I see online that this is a modification that is common on this saw.  I was unaware of this detail.  The ones I have measure from .493" to .640"  Since these are all used saws and filter that I have only had for a few years, I do not know what the stock diameter is for the outlet diameter.  But changing the air filter to a larger outlet diameter and adjusting the carburetor for this change in air flow has a definite effect on WOT RPM.  The difference is measurable on the tachometer.   The carburetors have been HDA35B, HDA17A and HDA18A. 

As to my opening question, the 154/254 saw works great with the 16" - 18" .325" bar.  The 7 pin vs 8 pin drive sprocket depends on the engine and what you are cutting.  The 8 pin is fast and makes a great saw with the 16" bar, and hard to beat that combination.  The 7 pin worked better for me on the 18" bar and bucking large red oak for firewood.   Spike's advice was right on target.

[DHansen]

Don, found another variation of a 154SE muffler, I like this one.  The outlet is further forward, it is lower on the muffler.  And outlet lines up on the metal chain guard plate that has a deflector that prevents the exhaust from heading toward the clutch or chain.  Keeps the heat moving forward.  No rolled edges to secure the internal bolt sleeves.  A center buffer plate that comes right out.  I made no modification to this muffler as the outlets were never more than 80% of the cylinder outlet area.  I hope I find more of these.