Stihl MS382

[Richy65]

Hi there,
I am new to this forum and came upon by accident, a lucky accident by all accounts! I used to run a Husqvarna C120 saw for use on my land, mainly Longan and Teak, unfortunately due to the crazy laws here, the maximum legal bar size is 11", unless you have a police and government license which kind of limits choice and limits suppliers to selling low powered saws.

Well the work proved too much Husqy and it eventually developed so many problems it was totally useless, oiler failed, fuel lines failed, clutch blew to pieces so I cut my losses.

Luckily for me I managed to find a dealer that would sell me a saw without the paperwork, so I bought a Stihl MS382 with a 25" and an 18" Duromatic bar, the Rollomatic is almost impossible to find here.

Problem I am having is managing to find much information about this model, it is rarely featured on any of the Stihl product data sheets and very little info appears online. it is a 5.3HP. 73CC machine, I run a 3/8" , 0.063" chain, but finding other compatibility options is not too easy. My saw was actually imported from where it was manufactured in Brazil, the bars come from Germany and Brazil, but the chains are not marked with their origin.

If anyone has any information or tips regarding this saw, I would be extremely grateful, as I am not that experienced with chainsaws and a lot of the terminology. I use the saw only on my own property for maintaining my orchard (around 200 Longan trees and 600 Teak trees) largest diameter trees are around 18" but most are nearer 12" - Any advice would be great.
We actually have a Stihl representative office about 500 miles south from me, but, they are not contactable as their "inbox is full" and they never empty it. I contacted Stihl in the USA and Germany, but they were very little help to be honest, and the US office never bothered replying to me after the initial response.

Thanks in advance!

[teakwood]

Where are you located, sounds to me that you are in latin america. The 382 is made in Brazil, i call it a latino version as it's not available in the first world. A widely used saw here in CR but for me it's an ok saw but has nothing to do with a real pro saw of the stihl line, which were made in Germany, although Stihl calls them a pro saw.

We also can only get Duramatic bars here and they are a turd to say the least, way too heavy and slow (slows down your chainspeed and sawpower by alot because the lack of a bar tip pinion) I import ES or light bars from the US.

11" max bar size??? , sounds like latin government employees common sense  :

[axeman2021]

Welcome to our forum wish i could help but have nothing to add, that 11 inch max bar size would even keep my battery chainsaw in jail.

[Richy65]

Welcome to our forum wish i could help but have nothing to add, that 11 inch max bar size would even keep my battery chainsaw in jail.

Thanks for that, agree, ridiculous limits on these sorts of tools here, as people go out into the jungle and cut steal and sell a lot of the hardwoods - usually stolen from national forests.

[Richy65]

Where are you located, sounds to me that you are in latin america. The 382 is made in Brazil, i call it a latino version as it's not available in the first world. A widely used saw here in CR but for me it's an ok saw but has nothing to do with a real pro saw of the stihl line, which were made in Germany, although Stihl calls them a pro saw.

We also can only get Duramatic bars here and they are a turd to say the least, way too heavy and slow (slows down your chainspeed and sawpower by alot because the lack of a bar tip pinion) I import ES or light bars from the US.

11" max bar size??? , sounds like latin government employees common sense  :

Hi, thanks for the reply, I am in Northern Thailand, Stihl doesn't seem to advertise this one that much, not a lot of info on it. It is a powerful saw and way better than my old Hisqy. Just difficult to find any info on it as it never seems to appear on any of the Stihl paperwork.
Appreciate the reply thanks.

[Gary Davis]

sounds like a good saw

[teakwood]

MS 382 - Professional Chainsaw

[joe_indi]

If a 044 fell in love and married a 038 their kid would be a 382 :D
Here in India it is becoming a substitute for the 460 , even though the 462 is available, people like the simpler 382.
Though it might look a bit like its 038 parent, many parts are more like the 044/460
Crank shaft, bearing, oil pump, clutch, drum to name a few.
52mm bore but shorter stroke like the 038 magnum or the 381. But, it has a much better acceleration than the older 1119 series (038/380/381)
Lighter flywheel.
In some regions I think it was exhaust stratified like the 461, but the ones we get here in India are in the plainest form.
However, its acceleration also seems to be its its Achilles heel here. It does not tolerate high revs with low load (read blunt chain). Crank big end burn outs are common because the standard guide bar length here is 18" And chains though full chisel lack proper filing. Inexperienced workshops add to the failure rate by setting H screws lean to eliminate the four stroking under no load conditions.
Thankfully the AM has stepped in with parts at a fraction of the OE cost. AM Cylinders, pistons, crankshafts , crankcases and more are available at rock bottom prices.
But for the veterans who cut their first tree with a 046/460, it is not considered a substitute for their old saws, though they may carry a 382 as a spare saw.
Though it is a light saw with great power for its size  if I were to choose between an old  rebuilt 460 and a brand new 382, I would take the 460 any day

Regarding the 11" bar length limit, I remember the Stihl engineer mentioning something about this 25 years ago. Home owner saws and farm saws could be bought across the counter, but pro saws needed the individual to attend some classes and get a certificate before he could buy a pro saw
In some countries due to uncontrolled tree felling bar lengths are limited ( you could bruise a tree but not fell it)

[Richy65]

If a 044 fell in love and married a 038 their kid would be a 382 :D
Here in India it is becoming a substitute for the 460 , even though the 462 is available, people like the simpler 382.
Though it might look a bit like its 038 parent, many parts are more like the 044/460
Crank shaft, bearing, oil pump, clutch, drum to name a few.
52mm bore but shorter stroke like the 038 magnum or the 381. But, it has a much better acceleration than the older 1119 series (038/380/381)
Lighter flywheel.
In some regions I think it was exhaust stratified like the 461, but the ones we get here in India are in the plainest form.
However, its acceleration also seems to be its its Achilles heel here. It does not tolerate high revs with low load (read blunt chain). Crank big end burn outs are common because the standard guide bar length here is 18" And chains though full chisel lack proper filing. Inexperienced workshops add to the failure rate by setting H screws lean to eliminate the four stroking under no load conditions.
Thankfully the AM has stepped in with parts at a fraction of the OE cost. AM Cylinders, pistons, crankshafts , crankcases and more are available at rock bottom prices.
But for the veterans who cut their first tree with a 046/460, it is not considered a substitute for their old saws, though they may carry a 382 as a spare saw.
Though it is a light saw with great power for its size  if I were to choose between an old  rebuilt 460 and a brand new 382, I would take the 460 any day

Regarding the 11" bar length limit, I remember the Stihl engineer mentioning something about this 25 years ago. Home owner saws and farm saws could be bought across the counter, but pro saws needed the individual to attend some classes and get a certificate before he could buy a pro saw
In some countries due to uncontrolled tree felling bar lengths are limited ( you could bruise a tree but not fell it)

Thanks for the information, other than buying another underpowered Husqy or a cheap knock off Chinese saw, I thought that this was my best option. it has more than enough power for my uses - but I am more concerned about the build quality and reliability, the overall power and weight are a bit secondary as I am not lugging it up a mountain to cut giant redwoods. Not cheap (about $US470 - we can get a cheap Chinese saw with no name brand for under $US 80, but how long will it last?

[Richy65]

Thanks for all of the information, does anyone have some sort of guide as to how Stihl use their model numbering system, 180, 280, 381, 392.....etc.? It is really confusing and to be honest, where I am, the Stihl office could close tomorrow and it would not make any difference, they are useless - (But many companies here are very similar) websites updated maybe 10 years ago and compatible with Win 98, even government sites are like this, a sad joke.

[axeman2021]

Thanks for all of the information, does anyone have some sort of guide as to how Stihl use their model numbering system, 180, 280, 381, 392.....etc.? It is really confusing and to be honest, where I am, the Stihl office could close tomorrow and it would not make any difference, they are useless - (But many companies here are very similar) websites updated maybe 10 years ago and compatible with Win 98, even government sites are like this, a sad joke.

This is from the Sthil 2021 Catalog hope it helps.

 

 

[Richy65]

Thanks for all of the information, does anyone have some sort of guide as to how Stihl use their model numbering system, 180, 280, 381, 392.....etc.? It is really confusing and to be honest, where I am, the Stihl office could close tomorrow and it would not make any difference, they are useless - (But many companies here are very similar) websites updated maybe 10 years ago and compatible with Win 98, even government sites are like this, a sad joke.

This is from the Sthil 2021 Catalog hope it helps.

 

Thanks so much for your help, most appreciated. The saw is great once you get it running, but if you are not careful and give it just one pull too many, it will flood and never start. A lot of it seems to be down to the operator, if you get it right it fires up great. It isn't the lightest saw, and I suffer from blocked arteries 100% in my left leg and 60% blocked in my right, so this thing can be a real struggle at times. Really makes me mad as a few years ago, I was climbing 30 foot trees in a pair of flip flops in the dark, hand sawing branches to cut down bees nests at night, now I can barely lug this thing 50 yards on the land, and the leg pain after 10 minutes of swinging this thing around is terrible. Not going to let it beat me, got the saw running and firing pretty much OK ( I did notice that when ticking over, it tends to run slower in the normal upright position, then will speed up a bit when you turn it to 90 Degrees, is this normal? Probably drops about 25% RPM when running upright, and has a 25% increase in tick over when on its side)
Thanks for all the assistance guys, really good information that I am not finding here. Any of you saw guys use fuel stabilizer like STP? I usually buy a gallon of petrol (95) but need to keep it from going off here as we are running 42C temperatures at the minute, with very high humidity, you can really feel the difference running the saw in the morning, afternoon and evening.

When I first bought it, we almost held a competition to see who could start the thing! It had such a kickback when it tried to fire that it almost broke your wrist, it ripped the starter cord out of your hand managed to crack the top plastics. My 22 year old son, 6 footer, 130KG had to rake time out after trying to start this thing when it was new, nearly broke his wrist. It tore the tendons in my left arm (being a lefty pulling the cord) but there sure is a knack to this, it certainly isn't the same as starting a 45cc Makita weed whacker.