Stihl 029

[hms79]

Hey all; 
You guys are great and I love the knowledge 
Anyway, I've been on a bit of a buying spree, I bought a house () that has a fireplace, and, even though I had just bought a Stihl 028 WB, I went and bought a Stihl 029. I don't see many posts on the forum about them, I know (think I know) they are an equivalent to the MS 290? I also thought they were called Farm Boss as well, but not too sure about that one, either. Anyway, it is a good running saw, and cuts great, but so does the 028. For some reason I've become addicted to chainsaws lately.
Thanks for the info 
HS

[sawguy21]

Congratulations! You will certainly find enough to do. What and how much will you be cutting?

[thecfarm]

You better be cutting wood if you're going to use that fireplace.
When the house was built, I wanted a fireplace in it.
Don't use it as much as what I should.

[hms79]

Oh, I plan on using it. I grew up with a wood stove in my home, so I'm used to it. After the recent severe weather, I have a ton of downed trees to cut, one is large, borderline huge. Both of my McCulloch 610s run, as well as my 028 and the new (to me ) 029 so I'm going to be on the wood cutting for sure. Maybe we won't have to run the furnace as much with a fireplace. I just don't see a lot on here about the 029?

[thecfarm]

I myself don't use the fireplace really for heat. Yes, I get heat out of it, but would hate to try to keep the house warm with it.
Unless I had 3 people cutting wood and the house was 12 feet square. 

[Guydreads]

You were wondering out loud why you're getting addicted to chainsaws.... Welcome to the club of healthy addicts!    Also you were wondering why there are few posts about 029's on here. I bet it's because they're probably quite reliable! Typically posts on here are about chainsaw problems.... So sounds like you're in a good boat! Their reputation from what I've heard is that they're a bit heavy and slow but strong, hardy saws.

[hms79]

I don't plan on heating the whole house, just using it a lot because it is in the common living room, where the TV would be. I thought they were (the 029) were good saws, but I also thought the 028 WB is as good, and I see a ton of posts about them, but maybe that's because they are more common. Either way, both run great. I've always been a McCulloch guy, so admitting that the Stihl'd are awesome is hard for me

[Old Greenhorn]

I myself don't use the fireplace really for heat. Yes, I get heat out of it, but would hate to try to keep the house warm with it.
Unless I had 3 people cutting wood and the house was 12 feet square. 

That's a gem Ray, and accurate too.
 Our house has a double chimney for a fireplace upstairs and down. As soon as we moved in, I put a woodstove downstairs, which is now  nice insert providing a lot of supplemental heat all winter 24/7. My wife 'decided' we would not use the fireplace upstairs because 'it sucks the heat out of the room and up the chimney'. I tried some logic over the years with little luck. This past Christmas I put my foot down (politely and gently) and demanded requested we have a fire on Christmas day while the kids were here, hang the cost, it's Christmas. She relented, and the kids (who are very familiar with the household logic here) were shocked to see a fire in the fireplace.  Yes, we did get some heat from it, but my wife would not conceded that point. She claimed the room temp went up because of all the people in the house. It's not an argument I can, or will ever win. Frankly, I'd just like to have a fire upstairs once in a while to make it a nice evening. What's the point of having a fireplace if you can't?
 If I were rolling in some extra dough, I would love to put another insert in the upstairs fireplace, but the cost of that and the required chimney liner has to be up around $5k minimum now and I can no longer truck firewood up a flight everyday all winter long, so it would be for bad days and power failures, or justifying the cost over the year. Sure would be nice though.

[thecfarm]

When I had the fireplace built, I wanted it high enough so we could sit on the ledge.
Company really likes the fireplace. 
Kids do too.
But they are not the one carrying in the wood.
But I do enjoy it.

[lxskllr]

Open hearths are fantastic for ambiance. Not so great for heat. I have an insert in mine. Not having an open flame kinda sucks, but I can actually heat the house with it.

[hms79]

Eventually I would like to put in a stove insert because I would love the heat. Hopefully it save some on the electric bill as far as heat goes. My Dad and Grandpa cut wood for their stoves with McCulloch saws. My Grandpa had a Pro Mac 55, and Dad had 2 Pro Mac 610s. Eventually my Dad picked up a Stihl MS 290 (I think) that I stupidly gave to my brother in law right after Dad passed away. Since we had been house hunting, I wanted a fireplace or stove, and being scared I would mess up the McCullochs, I bought both Stihls (028 WB and the 029) for the purpose of cutting wood. Since the Stihl's are mine and not inherited, I wouldn't be scared to work on them.
HS

[SnoJetter]

I can give you some perspective on the 029.  It was the first new saw I owned and got it back in about 2002 or so.  Unwisely, I got it with a 20" bar.  It's pretty much all oak and ash around here, and in a big log, the 3/8 20" was too much for the saw.  It just didn't have the power to pull that chain in big wood.  18" is more realistic for this saw, though buried it might still struggle.  It is on the heavy side for the power output.  All that said, it was dead nuts reliable.  I never had an issue with it in the 20 years I owned it.  I don't recall ever changing the spark plug and I did go through a couple bars.  The current owner still uses it and is very pleased.  I got rid of it because I wanted something that could really spin a longer bar, so I went with a 60cc saw for the 20" bar and a 70cc saw for a 24" bar.

Bottom line, don't expect too much with the big stuff and it will serve you well.

[hms79]

I watched my Dad and Grandpa cut up some big trees with those old McCullochs, I know Dad ran 20 inch bars on his saw (I still have the bars, though I replaced them) but he always said he wanted a saw that would run a 24 inch, which is why I always wondered why he bought a Stihl around the same size. As far as bogging down a saw, I cut up a downed tree in my yard a couple years ago with my MS 170. Not sure why I didn't get one of the Pro Mac's to do it, but I didn't. I'm surprised that poor little saw didn't give up, but it still runs like a new saw. I went older on the Stihl's because a local dealer told me that the older saws are more robust and can take more abuse, not sure why he would tell me that and not try and sell me a brand new saw.