Need a saw with a 28 inch bar. Which one?

[losttheplot]

If you modify the muffler on a new saw you would give the dealer an excuse to void the warranty.

Any warranty is only as good as the guy behind the counter filling out the paperwork.

[sandsawmill14]

their warranty is good 5 yr consumer 1 yr commercial  where most of the others are 1 yr consumer  90 days commercial :-\  only problem is we dont have a dealer that i know of

[sandsawmill14]

and i wouldnt buy a saw i knew needed modified to perform as i wanted it to and as losttheplot said there would go the long warranty

[ladylake]

  With a muff modd and tuning chances are near 0 that you would need the warranty and if needed for anything major just buy a unmodded muffler. We found out how good Huskys warranty is on the new saw coming thread, dealer blamed lean factory tuning on straight gas.  If the limiter caps had been pulled and tuned  right that saw wouldn't have burned up.   Steve

[sandsawmill14]

  With a muff modd and tuning chances are near 0 that you would need the warranty and if needed for anything major just buy a unmodded muffler. We found out how good Huskys warranty is on the new saw coming thread, dealer blamed lean factory tuning on straight gas.  If the limiter caps had been pulled and tuned  right that saw wouldn't have burned up.   Steve

that it true and we found out about the husky warranty first hand >:(   i would really like to know if husky wont honor the warranty or if it is just the dealer :-\

[ladylake]

 
I'd blame it on the dealer, some will turn in the warranty claim + charge the customer blaming it on straight gas.  Steve

[sawguy21]

That is called double dipping, at least two shops I know of lost their franchises over it after customers complained. Echo is a good brand with good performance once properly tuned as Steve points out, any I have run had surprising torque for the size. Their warranty is a sales gimmick though. Any defects due to design, workmanship or materials usually show up within a few hours of use, days at the most. They know the chances of a legitimate claim in the second, third, or fourth year are virtually zilch.

[thecfarm]

I know of someone that had a blazer. They was replacing the boots or something under warranty. As soon as the warranty expired,the replacements was done too.  ;D

[Canadiana]

My early 80's husky 61 (60cc) and 20" b/c takes a few minutes to buck 3 fters. I would be interested to hear how the bigger bars and skip tooth chains do on similar saws

[ReggieT]

Or with a little patience you can run a 1970's Echo 30 cc saw with a 28" b/c

Unfortunately Falleri died 5 years later at a young age 62 in 1979.


  

  

  

  

 

That is a phenomenal feat and article!
Thanks for sharing!

[Backwoods]

It really has to come down to how many trees you are cutting, and what size they are. A pro is almost always going to suggest a bigger saw because that is their context for what they need. A farm owner might say he has to cut "a lot" of wood, because cutting 20 trees per season seems like a lot. To a pro that might be a day's work.

If you are cutting up wood year round then I love the Husqvarna 372. It is 70CCs and can pull a 28 inch chain no problem in all but the toughest and biggest trees and a farm owner doesn't really need much more than that. Technically it is called a pro-series saw, and in my experience it is the best of both worlds. But it is beyond your $600 price range.

If you are doing less work than that, then stay in the 55-65CC class, save $300, and be content with what you have. Husqvarna and Stihl make what they call "rancher" saws in that range, which are well built and reliable and meant exactly for the purposes it sounds like you are asking about. If you know what you are doing you can easily cut a 36 inch tree with a 20 inch bar on a 60CC saw, and only a pro would complain that it seemed slow. (because they are used to running 80 and 90 CCs)

A pro with 80CCs and a 28 inch bar will get it cut down and bucked 1/3 faster than you. If that makes a difference to you, then go pro-series. If not, then get a rancher saw and be happy. If you are undecided in the middle, get the husky 372XP.

[CR888]

Holmens article was the best, he has heaps of old mags/cool info on saws and chain and stuff. While the Echo 8000 is a solid capable saw, IMO there are much better options out there. Going from a 346xp to a Dolmar 7910 with 24" b/c is like going from a Ford pickup to a Kenworth truck! It will make 20"+ wood a fast enjoyable task rather than a hard slow tough slug with a 50cc saw. Dolmar 7910 is a real performer with great power to weight and reliability. It is a saw that will impress you each time you use it like the 346xp but just with more grunt. Cutting big wood with an underpowered saw is very taxing on you and your gear. Other good choices would be a MS461 or 390xp. The 576 is really smooth and capable but about as heavy as a 390 without the HP. The Dolmar 7910 would be first pick though.

[4x4American]

I was just talking with a guy at the concentration yard the other day, he's into saws and gets to shoot the breeze with many loggers, and he mentioned that he hasn't met one person who likes the 576xp..and I said same here, even though I've only known 1-2 people who have had one. 
I have a 346xp, and I find that the AV on it stinks.  I have found that the bigger the saw, the less the vibrations.  I have girly wrists and some form of arthritis from when I had pins put in my fingers from being crushed and to me, I'd rather lug around some extra weight than run that 346.  It's just the ticket to have on my fourwheeler for trailclearing and small jobs, but if I'm doing any bit of cutting I prefer a 70cc saw. 
The best handling saw I have is a 372 husky, but that xtorq engine STINKS!  It's hard to start, even when warm, bogs out alot, and is underpowered.  It's in need of some modding. 
I also have a 461 and that thing is plain torquey and I regard it as one of my favorite saws.  It usually has a 28" bar on it, but sometimes it can be found dressed with a 2' bar.  Those Dolmars are supposedly pretty good but I've never ran one.  I have a dealer not too terribly far away, but a great Stihl dealer half the distance, so I do most of my business with Stihl.  I got the 372 so that I could have the right to complain about much I don't like it, but I ended up liking it, sometimes...well, it's a love/hate relationship...you could have found it for sale on craigslist a time or two  :D   You just can't beat the AV on it IMO, it is awesome.  I got it from Spike60 a few years back. 

[HolmenTree]

Here's a 1979 article on the death of Bruno Falleri the man who felled the 6 foot diameter redwood with a 30cc Echo chainsaw.


 

[HolmenTree]

I see the article  is hard to read.  Hopefully this works better.


  

 

[ukwildcat53]

The tree that started this conversation was a 26" Hickory that fell about a month ago.  Even though I could cut the trunk with my 346XP with 20" b/c it was really difficult to do so.  When you bury the bar in a tree that hard it really bogs it down.  I gave the wood away to someone on Facebook and I told him that I wasn't able to cut up the trunk so he brought his saw with him.  It was a Dolmar 7900 with a 28" bar.  I got to use it and that is a saw.  It cut through the trunk like it was nothing.  At this point I am considering the Dolmar 7910 and the Stihl MS461. 

[nitehawk55]

Not saying 63 is old Wildcat but I'm 61 and I prefer the smaller saws now .
I think a 60cc saw with a 20" bar should be lots of saw for you and a 26" Hickory .

[HolmenTree]

Not saying 63 is old Wildcat but I'm 61 and I prefer the smaller saws now .
I think a 60cc saw with a 20" bar should be lots of saw for you and a 26" Hickory .

I totally agree with you Nitehawk.
A 50cc 346 is a decent power saw in the right hands with the proper tuning and file sharpness.
But nothing replaces displacement. 60cc and over with a 20" b/c could easily buck up that 26" hickory.
Best bang for your money is the budget priced Stihl MS390.....

[nitehawk55]

Lots of good choices in the 60cc saw range out there , Husky 555 , Echo CS 590 ( Saw Troll will jump on that one ), Stihl MS 391 or 362 , Dolmar PS 6100 or Makita .
You don't need to go too big and as you age you'll find lighter is better .

[ukwildcat53]

In the first place it is not a 60cc saw.  It is a 50cc saw. In the second place I wasn't asking for your opinions about whether I was incompetent with a saw because I said it was really taxing on my saw to cut a 26" Hickory.  As I said I could cut it up with my saw but when your bury a 20" b/c on a 50cc saw it is about all it can handle and it is a lot of work.  You can't tell me that a larger displacement saw with a longer b/c wouldn't make the job much easier.  Since I can't get any constructive comments I will just make the decision on my own.  Thanks

[sandsawmill14]

guys remember he was asking what saw for a 28" bar NOT if he was able to use it or if he needed it ;)

wildcat go with the 461 you wont be disappointed  ;D if you think you want the mtronics go with the 441 it will pull the 28" bar fine i know because i run a 28" on mine about 1/2 the time the rest with a 24" bar  mine is old enough it doesnt have mtronics but my next saw will be a 461 so i can tune it the way i want to ;) good luck whatever you decide   and dont let it get under your skin ;)

[rburg]

Husky/jonsered 372/2172, stihl 461, dolmar 7310 all of these would run a 28" bar but would cost more than the $600 price range.

[HolmenTree]

I have a farm in Georgia.  I heat with firewood in the winter but only cut for myself.  Often I will have trees down around the farm that I will remove.  I have a Husqvarna 346XP that I have had since 1999 and love the saw.  I am looking to buy a new saw and would like to have something with a 28 inch bar and would like to stay around $600.  I have checked out the Husqvarna 645 Rancher online and it looks interesting.  The specs say up to 28 inch bar but I wonder if it will really be able to handle it.  Looking for advice and suggestions.  All help will be greatly appreciated.

You have a early edition 346XP -20" which you've been running for 17 years.  Now jumping up to a much larger saw may cause you some disappointment.

I had a 346XP New Edition with extra power and I ended up giving it away to my FIL.
My main saw now is a 62cc 562XP and it has the power to bury a 20" b/c all day in oversized hardwood. As well, a 30 year old Jonsered 630 at 61cc can also do too.

I have a 372XP-24" and a 395Xp-28"-32"-36" and I hardly ever use them in my tree service. But they're there for backup.

The joy of a 80cc saw with 28" b/c gets old fast unless your constantly felling and bucking big wood.

Step up to a 60-70cc saw with a 20" and a 24" b/c for backup.
You'll thank me.

[sandsawmill14]

husky 562  59.8 cc   13.23 lb
husky 372  70 cc      14.3 lb
stihl   362  59 cc      12.35 lb
stihl   441  70 cc      14.6 lb
stihl   461  76 cc      14.6 lb

these numbers are from from actual husky and stihl website specifications  so if they are not right dont blame me ;D :D :D :D
i cant see enough difference in the weight to make any difference especially for a fire wood cutter
the 461 is my pic of the saws listed remember he has a good 20" saw now he wants a 28" saw 
1 question why do alot of guys run 20" bars on 660s and 385/395s if a 362 or 562 would run a 28" bar good  ??? ;)

[nitehawk55]

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