Last week, I had bad luck with my saws, a Husqvarna 350 and Rancher 55. A week before, I took the saws to my local dealer and spent $166 for their yearly tune-up/parts/bar etc. I put a new 18" bar on the 350. These saws were about 10 years old. When I started to use my 350 for cutting some firewood, I noticed it wasn't running correctly after about 5 minutes of use. I brought it back to the dealer and he indicated that it had a bad "seal" or something. He indicated that it probably wouldn't be worth it to fix the 350. Although it was nice to have two saws, I figured my Rancher 55 would be sufficient for my immediate woodcutting needs. Last week my Rancher 55 burnt up after about 3 hours of use while cutting firewood. I don't know why, as I was using brand new gas with proper Husky oil.
I'm a little disappointed after spending $166 in maintenance on these saws and they're now useless. Besides, its fall and I enjoy being outdoors this time of year cutting wood. I could have the Rancher 55 rebuilt for about $175. The dealer also offered a $80 trade in for the old saws if I bought a new saw or a $125 trade in on a new bigger more expensive saws like the 555, 365, or 372XP.
Well, I decided to spend some time researching saws and figure out what I need. I have a large woodlot (mostly jackpine) and a portable sawmill (hobby) so the bigger saw will be nice to have. I cut slabs/ firewood (5 cords/yr home use) and on occasion need to cut large 30"-36" or bigger hardwood/white pines.
I've decided that I'll need two saws, a smaller saw similar to what I had (Rancher 55) and perhaps something bigger like a 365 or 372XP. I have the opportunity to buy two used 353's that are around 3 years old for $225. One of the 353's has a burnt piston as it was run with raw gas when new. The other 353 runs fine and apparently hasn't been used all that much.
What do you think about buying the two used 353's for $225 for my smaller sawing needs? One working with 18" bar and the other as a parts saw. My next question is which saw for the big saw? I can get a new 365 for about $560 or a 372XP for about $775 (without a trade in). Any idea's or help would be greatly appreciated.
I may be biased, but the 372XP is my bread and butter saw! Awesome designe, and pretty bullet proof, IMO. Plus if you want to hang a 36" bar on it, it has the power to pull and then some, all this in a fairly lightweght package for the power it puts out. If the $$ is too much of an issue, then get the 365.
If you are looking at the new strato 372xp XT and the 365 XT they are both 70.7cc. You can tell by the decompression button in top of cylinder through cover.
The 365 XT is a detuned 372 XT in same cc size unlike the old 372xp 70.7cc and 365 65cc
Just so you know. ;)
I'd go with the 372XP. I've used Jonsered'd since the early 80's and this year changed. You won't be sorry and if you do go with it, I'd hold off on the second saw. You won't need it since the 372 handles very nicely with a 20 inch bar.
If you do want a lighter weight saw, the 353 is a nice one (I own a Jonsered 2152, the twin sister to the Husky 353). It will pull an 18" bar, but personally, I think a 16" is a better match for it.
IMO, the ultimate in 50cc saws is the 346xp, but a nice used 353 will serve you well... as long as you're not expecting 372-like performance out of it.
Find a different dealer, I'd think he tuned them both lean. Steve
This evening I ended up buying the two used 353's for $250 to include a brand new 18" bar/chain and a couple of spare chains. I think I got a good deal on the saws. The running saws doesn't look like its been abused and looks clean. The parts saw looks pretty clean too. I guess it was a brand new saw when raw gas was used in it causing the burnt out piston I'm going to take the saws down to a different dealer tomorrow and have them checked out. I like the smaller saws for cutting firewood. I often cruise the woods looking for "easy to get" dead hardwood and a small saw works well on most of the smaller leftover stuff I can find in older logged out areas.
I stopped and looked at the 372XP today. I agree, it looks like a very nice saw. What size bar do you recommend (20" or 24") since I already have the 353 with an 18" bar?
Bar length depends a lot on the individual, how tall are you, what is the majority size of wood you are using it on, etc. Myself I have a 28" bar, I have run saws with longer bars, and don't like how easy it is to reach my toes with the longer bar! You really have to keep your mind on where that tip is all the time. A 28" for my height, (5'11")suits me well, keeps me from bending over a lot, and is big enough to easily buck a 48" log even with the big cutting dogs I have on it. If you are doing a lot of smaller wood, a shorter bar will cut a little faster than a longer bar, but for the balance of the saw, I would prolly not want to go shorter than 20 or 22" on a 372XP. (BTW I have the full wrap handle -XPW- the W is the full wrapper), it is the first saw I ever used with the full wrap, I have to say, I didn't know what I was missing, on a larger saw, they sure are nice!
I also like having a spare saw in the woods. I run an old Husky 51 with 16"bar, as my backup saw. My first BIG say was a Jonsered 2171, with 24" bar. I have had no problems with it, it is nice, not to have to bend over when limbing, but it seems a bit heavy for routine firewood work. I mainly cut 8-20" dia trunks, and those trees have pretty small limbs. I then picked up an older, used, Jonsered 2065. This was just a great deal in price, it has great power, but it was not lighter...might be the same engine as the 2171, and still seemed heavy. I lastly bought...again...a used... Husky 359, at a great price. I find the Husky 359 to be my favoritesaw. It has more than enough power for trees 20" and under in dia. It also seems a good bit lighter than the Jonsereds.
IMHO, I would check that dealer, W of town that sells the Jonsereds and look at a 2159. Good balance of pwer/wt and price. Or Husky 359 or 357xp
Several friends run the 372s, but they are pro cutters,in the woods evry day, rain or shine. I just cant justify the cost of the big dog, 372xp, for firewood and hobby milling. I cut about 12 pulp/logger cord yearly, mostly soft maple, standing dead elm and ash, and beech with the 359, and no complaints.
The bigger saws cost more initially, weigh more and cost more torun/maintain. Just MHO, bigger is always necessary
Quote from: gearman on October 20, 2011, 01:30:30 PM
IMHO, I would check that dealer, W of town that sells the Jonsereds and look at a 2159. Good balance of pwer/wt and price. Or Husky 359 or 357xp
If you are going new, The Husky 555 is the new successor to the 359 (though I believe both are being sold now... I haven't even seen the 555 in my area yet). Someone posted videos on here of a 555 vs a 357xp. The 555 beat the 357xp with a time of about 12 seconds, vs the 357's 14 seconds running the same chain in the same wood.
The 562 XP seems to be the eventual replacement for the 357xp (or the 560xp, which it appears won't be sold in the US.
John Mc