Chainsaw selection assistance

[weinerles]

At last I find a place to get some real advice. Spouse definitely wants a Husky. We have tall, thick and not so thick oaks on property. Trying to select a model, perhaps the 350 or 353 but not sure and need recommendations??!! 20" makes sense, yes? Experienced at felling trees but this machine will be used only a few times a year. Any safety features I should require as well?

also any recomendation of a good place to purchase?

Thanks ahead of time for answering this barrage of questions....

[Bushwhacker]

IMHO  neither of the mentioned saws will successfully pull a 20" bar&chain even though Husqvarna lists a 20" as a bar option. Some may disagree with me on this, but the smallest thing I've run a 20 on was a MS360 Stihl and it pulled it okay.Now I use a 20 on a MS460.I'm not saying you need to buy the kind I use I' m just giving examples of sizes I've run 20" bars on.I just feel that in the 50cc saws you need to stick with bar lengths that the saw will handle easily . I feel the Husky 350 or the 353 either will handle an 18 nicely and you can cut some large trees even with a 16"  Happy Sawing

[Ed]

For the type of usage you are describing, a Husky 55 rancher & 20" bar should do just fine. My firewood cutting partner uses one & it works excellent.
I would buy from your local FULL SERVICE dealer.

[weinerles]

so you do think the 55 will handle the 20" bar? Bushwacker showed some concern about certain saws handling a 20".

[Ed]

Yup, my friends handles the 20" just fine. You are not talking day in & day out usage only occasional.
If you feel the 55 might be a little small for the 20" bar look at a 357xp.

[Timberwerks]

I've had a 20" bar on the 55 for awhile now and I keep it sharp so it cut just fine. I mainly saw hardwoods and have not had a problem. I think a 18" bar would be a better choice to make it a little easier on the saw.

Dale

[Old_Town]

I too, run a 55 Rancher with a 20" bar and it works great. If I were a professional sawyer I would probably want more power. I mainly cut mesquite(which is very hard) oak and hickory. I have been very happy with the 20" bar on my 55R. I found an excellent price online at:

http://www.toolsineed.com/productsHusqChainsaw.htm

$288.50 for a 55R delivered is cheap!! an tax free if you don't live in AZ!!

[SasquatchMan]

One thing to keep in mind is that a 20" bar with 3/8th pitch chain on it might be a bit much for a smaller saw, but with .325 kept sharp, not so troubling.  

That said, my saw is 56 cc and I wouldn't want more than about 18" on it....

[DanManofStihl]

I had a 036 chainsaw and I run a 20 inch bar on it it is 3/8s pitch and 50 guage it cuts very well it is not the fastest but not the slowest that is about the smallest saw that I would run a 20 inch bar I had a 026 with a 20 inch same set up and that thing was slow even in soft wood so get as much power as you can afford.

[rahtreelimbs]

Any 036's that I ever had were dogs IMO. On e of the many saws that I have is a Husky 359. With the muffler opened up this saw will run a 20" bar real well even with the nose buried!

[Bushwhacker]

weinerless,
I expressed concern over a 53cc saw running a 20" bar in hard wood all right. you're talking oak and its pretty hard but if you're not running a full bar in the cut  a 20 may be ok. Seems the 55R crowd runs them and they"re doing good. It's just I've never run one one on that size saw before.  I cut mesquete dry and it's tough wood. I still feel you need about 60cc to run a 20' &.375 chain for your saw and you to stay happy. Whatever, get what you want have a good dealer to stand behind it, keep your chain sharp, wear the safety gear and have fun.  Stay Safe- BW

[sawguy21]

The Husky 55 will definitely run the 20" bar with .325 chain but might be a tad lacking with 3/8 pitch if you are using all of the bar. A 59 cc+ might be a better choice.

[rebocardo]

I use Husky 365s 20+ hours a week with 20 and 28 inch bars on mostly white oak. For occasional use the 20 inch bar is ideal with safety chain for that saw in white oak, imo. You can easily use it to cut down and saw up a 28 inch oak or other hardwood tree with the 20 inch bar.

It runs a 28 inch bar fine too.

After a few hours of branch cutting where you are holding the saw without resting it on something while cutting it can get a tad heavy with the 20 or 28 inch bar, though for firewood and stuff it is no problem.

As a matter of fact, I was using the Husky 365 with 20" bar and the Husky safety chain that came with the saw (very sharp from my filing) to "split" white oak into firewood (lay the wood on its side and cut with the grain) and it was leaving me buried in curls and cut very fast.

I use a 28 inch bar with ripping chain for this too, though I like using the safety chain better since it is easier to control the saw in case of kick back and the 20 inch does not bog the saw down.