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MS 400

Started by ehp, January 01, 2021, 06:22:46 PM

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JJinAK

@ehp Thanks Ed. I'm following this one closely as this saw is on my radar to replace my older non-cm 362.  I always appreciate your updates and feedback. 

JJ
MS461
MS362

ehp

I figured it should be close to broken in now so yesterday I put it to work fairly hard and made her cut to see what it really has under the hood. . It did quite well  and pulled the 20 inch setup quite well.  Saw is good on fuel and pretty than a 462 by a far bit . I got oil pump at wide open but it still does not use much bar oil . It's does the job but abit more bar oil would not hurt . 

snobdds

Well I guess it's time to buy as soon as my shop gets one in.  

The funny thing is, they are loaded with 500i, Non M tronic 661, 461, 462, 362 etc...Nothing is moving here.  I hope this does not make them pause when ordering the 400i once available. 

ehp

It my weak and small mind a 362 is not in the same league as the 400 , 400 has more torque so a nicer saw to use . If your a firewood cutting kind of person honestly its all the saw you need , 20 inch light weight bar setup and your good to go and it should make a real good saw for guys climbing in trees where you need abit bigger saw

ehp

I have cut quite abit of timber with this saw now , zero problems and it runs pretty nice and its light and real nice on the hands 

lxskllr

I'm not sure I quite understand it's place in the lineup. Ok, it's a replacement for the 362, but you're right at the edge of 462 territory, which is only slightly heavier, and has more power. Seems like they should have gone with the power of the 362 with lighter weight.

edit:
Or go the other way, and have a saw around the 80cc mark that would bridge the 462 and 661.

ehp

they do, its called the 500i,  to me and this is just me but the 400 is a nicer saw to run than the 362 , its got more power and less vibs on the hands , I should be cutting bigger hardwood here in a day or 2 so that will tell me how its going to hold its own against the 462 . Right now I'm falling pine with the 400 and cutting up with a 462 , Power wise I cannot tell you cause the 462 on the landing is never as sharp as the 400 is but we will test them once Pete gets his 400 broken in and he also has a fairly new 462 along with 500i 

johnsayen

Hi all,

I am a firewood weekend warrior (5-10 cord a year) with a 261cm and am considering a second saw. Trying to decide between the 400, 462, and 500i and have been reading and watching everything I can about it. I was excited to see this thread, looking forward to hearing more about the experience and comparisons.

Thank you.

ehp

Been cutting walnut last 2 days and I'm running the 400. It's not big walnut but the 400 seems to handle everything so far . Biggest tree would be 30 inches or so on stump so not big stuff.  I run a 20 inch bar setup on the 400 and if I was going to run a 24 inch bar I would move up to the 462 or the 500 .  The 400 does perfect with the 20 inch setup but I would be sure with the 24 inch it would be abit light on producing enough bar oil if what your is cutting is stuff light white oak or stuff is dead . . As far as a firewood saw the 400 is one of the top saws to choose in my mind . It's very nice to operate and it's cheaper than the 462 by abit and to me the 362 is not even in the same league as the 400. Only problem up here is they are very hard to find at stihl dealers 

johnsayen

I have an 18” mounted on the 261 and it seems perfect, I’ve tried both a 20” and 16” on it as well but really like the 18.

I’m planning to run a 20” ES light saw on whatever the second saw is so it’s great to hear your happy burying the 400 with a 20” bar so far.

The one reason I was considering the 462 was it is only slightly heavier with a bit more grunt. Then of course I started reading more and was convinced I should get the 500i since it was “not much heavier”.

Even went so far as to make a table with weights for those that are interested. I love this thread and thank you for sharing your experience thus far.

Weight - model
10.8 - 261
12.3 - 362
12.8 - 400
13.2 - 462
13.9 - 500i
14.6 - 441, 461

ehp

20 inch bar on the 500i is kind of a waste of time , or waste of saw is more like it , 500i has alot more torque and is made to run a longer bar . I like the light weight 25 inch on mine , My buddy that has a 400 and 462 and 500 is the same as me , the ms 400 is just a nicer saw to run plain and simple 

johnsayen

Here are the vibrations level specs listed on the UK Stihl website for their pro saws. Pretty interesting as they reinforce your statements about the 400 being nice to run. 

The 261 has 3.5/3.5 m/s^2
The 400 has 3.5/3.5 m/s^2
The 462 has 4.8/3.6 m/s^2
The 500i has 4.2/4.0 m/s^2

ehp

put the 400 threw some big hardwood today and it did very well for what it is , hard maple and walnut , it sure burnt more fuel today thou , 5 trees per tank was the average . I cut a fairly big walnut the other night with the 500i and it burnt a full tank just to cut the tree off the stump 

johnsayen

thank you so much for continuing to post about it - it's getting real close to decision time for me on the second saw, the 400, 462, or 500i. Since I plan to run a 20" bar on it I am strongly leaning toward the 400 based on your comments here. The only thing I'm slightly hesitant about is fear of missing out on the 462 for only a few ounces more weight, though it sounds like based on your experience the 400 is a much more pleasant saw to run. The small form factor and AV numbers would agree with it but I just don't know as I haven't handled either the 400 or the 500 yet. The 462 made me feel like Paul Bunyan when swung it around with a 25" bar.

ehp

other thing to is the 400 is about $300 cheaper here than the 462

B.C.C. Lapp

Quote from: ehp on April 21, 2021, 07:49:39 AM
I have cut quite abit of timber with this saw now , zero problems and it runs pretty nice and its light and real nice on the hands
I have read all your post to date and I think you got me sold.  I have three 362's now, love em.
But, got to move with the times.  I'm going to see about a 400.   Hope it works out as well for me.
Biggest problem I have lately is that all the "saw shops" I used to go to are now all "lawn and garden" places for home owners mostly.   Not enough loggers left around for the way the shops used to be I guess.
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.

ehp

the 462 does have more torque but if the chain is sharp they cut not that much different , the 500i has quite abit more torque but alot more money and I prefer to cut with the 400 if I can, On big trees I do use the 500i so anything getting close to 40 inch on the stump I grab the 500i and I'm talking hardwood , mostly hard maple or walnut . On the bigger red oak I have been using the 400 as oak cuts easy 

barbender

Ed, how does the ms400 compare to the Husky 562, they're the same size lass aren't they?
Too many irons in the fire

ehp

I do not have a stock 562 to test against , the 562's I got here are ported . The 400 is a very nice saw to run , could it use more power and that would be yes but I have never ran a saw where I thought I wanted less power 

ehp

400 is 67 cc where the 562 is 59cc , 562 is a screamer but in say 20 inch hardwood I'm not sure which is faster but I'm thinking the 400 has abit more torque

Tacotodd

It's only going to make sense, because of the old saying; theirs no replacement for displacement!
Trying harder everyday.

barbender

I didn't realize the 400 was 67cc, I thought it was a replacement for the 362...aren't those 60cc class? I'm not really a Stihl guy, and I appreciate most saw manufacturers putting the cc of the saw in the model number for a simple yellow such as myself😁  I don't have a lot of time on my Husky 562, but it has become my go to saw. I regret I didn't get one years ago, it makes me smile every time I run it😊
Too many irons in the fire

johnsayen

after holding the ms400 and ms500i I decided to go with a ms500i with a 20" light and 25" light bars. The 400 felt lighter obviously, but the 500 didn't feel overweight with the smaller lighter bars and as I've only got a 261 and now 500i, I felt like the 500i was a better compliment as it can run bigger bars in the future if I ever need one.

The first time I ran it I was a little shocked at the throttle response. The 400 felt great in the hands, too!

ehp

saw is still working very well even in this 100 F heat , this 400 has cut alot of timber now and zero problems 

BonScott46

Quote from: ehp on May 08, 2021, 06:39:36 PM
the 462 does have more torque but if the chain is sharp they cut not that much different , the 500i has quite abit more torque but alot more money and I prefer to cut with the 400 if I can, On big trees I do use the 500i so anything getting close to 40 inch on the stump I grab the 500i and I'm talking hardwood , mostly hard maple or walnut . On the bigger red oak I have been using the 400 as oak cuts easy
How does the plug look on the 400/462/500? My 462 seems to drink a lot of fuel from the amount of cutting I get out of a tank. I have noticed that it runs a very dark plug as well. Are you getting the same or more cutting out of a tank through the 400 vs the 462? Thanks!
064
461
462
044
261
2511t

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