New Chainsaw for Farm

fawlty towers

Posting here as I might get a better response than forestry section. Well as title says looking for a new chainsaw. Will be used for general farmwork - clearing ditches for fencing to cutting various sizes logs for firewood up to about 20 inch dia. Would like to get something that will last. From various research was thing of either a 261 stihl or 550xp husqvarna. Just wondering if these would be overkill for my work requirements or what would others recommend. Saw a 261 locally for 900. Have seen them cheaper online. Anyone recommend where to buy on line

Tia

jaymla627

fawlty towers wrote: »

Posting here as I might get a better response than forestry section. Well as title says looking for a new chainsaw. Will be used for general farmwork - clearing ditches for fencing to cutting various sizes logs for firewood up to about 20 inch dia. Would like to get something that will last. From various research was thing of either a 261 stihl or 550xp husqvarna. Just wondering if these would be overkill for my work requirements or what would others recommend. Saw a 261 locally for 900. Have seen them cheaper online. Anyone recommend where to buy on line

Tia

365 X torq would be ideal, bullet -proof saw that are around 750 from most main dealers has thy exact same running gear as a 372 xp that's over a 1000 euro , have put a serious amount of wood put through one here and hasn't missed a beat

lanber man

Have a look on Amazon I picked a couple from America and they were great value.

kay 9

Have a 550xp and it's a ripper of a saw that requires zero maintenance bar the usual. The auto-tune is great technology that doesn't miss a beat. Great saw and highly recommend. Have mine since 2013.

fawlty towers

kay 9 wrote:

Have a 550xp and it's a ripper of a saw that requires zero maintenance bar the usual. The auto-tune is great technology that doesn't miss a beat. Great saw and highly recommend. Have mine since 2013.

How do you find it for mobility around the farm. Would be a bit concerned about weight of the saw especially for the smaller stuff such as clearing ditches for fencing etc

Nekarsulm

Ditching and fencing etc, a small saw is much more practical. I have a little stihl 170 that gets far more use them my "big" saw.
It was only £75 off ebay, and for ease of starting alone is so handy.

fawlty towers

Nekarsulm wrote:

Ditching and fencing etc, a small saw is much more practical. I have a little stihl 170 that gets far more use them my "big" saw. It was only £75 off ebay, and for ease of starting alone is so handy.

Great value for that money. They seem to be 270 new. Ideally would like to get 1 saw to cover all workloads rather than a big and a small saw.

The smaller saw would not be able for the larger stuff and the big saw may be too awkward for the smaller stuff.

Would getting a long and a short bar on one of the original 2 be an option or do you think it will be too awkward for smaller stuff

Melodeon

The 261 stihl and 550xp husqvarna are both high-end, high speed, lightweight professional forestry saws, and their price tags will reflect this.
Given good maintenance and fed a diet of good quality fuel and chain oil, they will give thousands of hours of service.
In general farm work, that probably adds up to decades of use.

With a suitable short bar (13" or 15"), either would be the gold standard by which all other saws would be measured for general farm use, in my opinion.
Either will also pull an 18" or 20" bar occasionally, but obviously without the grunt of a bigger saw more suitable for regular use with such a bar.

If you can get over the sticker-shock, either would make a superb choice.

Keep it clean, use only decent quality sharp chain, run it on Aspen or similar alkylate fuel, and you'll have a saw for a lifetime.

mayota

fawlty towers wrote: »

Great value for that money. They seem to be 270 new. Ideally would like to get 1 saw to cover all workloads rather than a big and a small saw.

The smaller saw would not be able for the larger stuff and the big saw may be too awkward for the smaller stuff.

Would getting a long and a short bar on one of the original 2 be an option or do you think it will be too awkward for smaller stuff

I'd totally agree with Nek a 170 is a great saw. They can get through big stuff with a bit of thought too. Feck dragging them big saws around.

kelslat

fawlty towers wrote: »

Posting here as I might get a better response than forestry section. Well as title says looking for a new chainsaw. Will be used for general farmwork - clearing ditches for fencing to cutting various sizes logs for firewood up to about 20 inch dia. Would like to get something that will last. From various research was thing of either a 261 stihl or 550xp husqvarna. Just wondering if these would be overkill for my work requirements or what would others recommend. Saw a 261 locally for 900. Have seen them cheaper online. Anyone recommend where to buy on line

Tia

i have an 024 stihl here for the last 20 years and it is absolutely ideal for a farm. I will get a 240 when that dies!

BunkMoreland

fawlty towers wrote: »

The smaller saw would not be able for the larger stuff

There'll never be anything too big for a saw. You'll just spend a bit longer cutting it is all.

djmc

Anyone else have a problem with petrol messing up their saws in the last few years.
Only started using aspen this year
I was wondering if it's the fuel or the saw the guy I purchased it from that services it for me blames the fuel.

jaymla627

BunkMoreland wrote: »

There'll never be anything too big for a saw. You'll just spend a bit longer cutting it is all.

Trying to cut big trunks 20 plus inches of say ash/oak with a small 45 cc saw and a 14 inch bar is just messing, they're simply not designed to tackle large wood, had a 55 cc rancher here with 18 inch bar and it too was useless in the big stuff.
Its like a contractor coming into the yard with a welger 200 and spending the day doing 120 bales our instead using a fusion and having the job done in a couple of hours

MF290

djmc wrote: »

Anyone else have a problem with petrol messing up their saws in the last few years.
Only started using aspen this year
I was wondering if it's the fuel or the saw the guy I purchased it from that services it for me blames the fuel.

Pure black smoke started coming out of the lawnmower a few years back and I was sure I'd put diesel into, drained it and it happened again. We stopped using tesco petrol after that.

Muckit

I'II probably be ran out of the place by the die hard Stihl and husky boys, but I've a lovely little ......tanaka 4501. Lightweight and does the job.

On a side note, the chain sharpeners that are sold in Lidl are excellent IMO. Bought one a few years ago and don't know myself now.