New Chainsaw

That second picture is a top handle saw, you would need to know what your doing with one of them. I have a Stihl 362cm a few years now and would highly recommend one

stihl 261 best saw for farm use. 15/16 inch bar and you won’t need anything else. Very light and powerful saw

i have a husqvarna 550xp and am delighted with it, light for continued use and serious power

I’ve been using a Stihl Ms390 over the last few days after the storm. Heavy saw but great for big stuff, heavy on juice too but that’s what happens with bigger saw.

Bought a 231 with a 16 inch bar the year before last and it’s still around the same price. Great saw too though for smaller stuff.

If I had to have just one saw I’d go for a 261 as mentioned earlier, jack of all trades.

Get them to throw in a spare chain. Absolute pain in the neck if your chain loses its edge when you’re far from home and you don’t have another.

I agree with the above post regarding Oleo Mac, I have an OleoMac strimmer and hedge trimmer for years and they haven't given any bother, I'd buy a magnesium bodied Oleo Mac before a plastic bodied Stihl if budget didn't stretch to a magnesium body Stihl.

I never could sharpen a saw until I got the easifile, I paid Mitchells €50 for a stihl for the bigger saw, and paid €25 in the ploughing for a spurious one. There seems to be no difference

https://lawnmowerpartsonline.ie/product/stihl-2-in-1-52mm-for-38-chain-file-holder-flat-file-and-depth-gauge-tool?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAqfe8BhBwEiwAsne6gWEVjj3EUcqFJ1ZELu8h0EqIjV91-ygdu3v7Jda-luq93kKiWfnxihoCK7oQAvD_BwE

I have an Stihl MS170 with 12" bar - lovely light saw. I use it for 90% of the work around the farm.

I also have an older Stihl MS250 with a 16" bar. Savage power, but you would notice the extra weight after a few hours work.

Unless you are cutting a serious amount of large diameter trees, you can log up to nearly twice the bar length by cutting straight around and keeping the alignment. A very long bar would kill you with the weight.

I’ve a husqvarna 435 14” bar Tis about 12/13yrs since I bought it. Great for smaller stuff but struggling around the farm this week with the bigger stuff that’s knocked.
will look into an olec mac for the trunks and bigger trees that are down.

I'm actually in the same position myself. Almost pulled the trigger on the 261 but then I read about the 550xp mk2. The husky seems to be more reliable and well built of the two and the oil/fuel caps on the Stihl seem to be a weak point. The Stihl being a touch lighter is what's keeping it in consideration for me. Will go to a shop and get a feel for both. The 261 would want to be streets ahead to change my mind at this stage

I think everything is 50:1 mix ratio nowadays.

I used to give it an extra bit of 2 stroke "for luck", but found out the hard way that this can cause extra carbon build-up, and eventually a scored barrel/piston

I've an ms250, bought it second hand. I've an ms660 with a 32" bar with a skip tooth chain that's only used for cutting up stuff over 18" in diameter or thereabouts. 95% of my chainsaw work is done with the ms250. I tried a husqvarna 365 a few years ago, but couldn't warm to a husqvarna at all so went back to the stihl brand. The ms250 is a super saw to be fair, I put a new carburettor in it 2 years ago not an original Stihl. I could rebuild the original stihl carburettor but it's fiddly work and I'd rather just buy a new carburettor. My gripe about the ms250 is it's air filter. I don't think an upgraded air filter can be got for them. What I do is use a small piece of cloth that I rub some burnt oil into and use a 2 rubber bands to secure it over the air filter. Works a treat for catching the fine dust. Brush the dust off at every petrol and bar oil refill, quick rub of the file on the chain and it's good to go again. Im looking at getting a little oleo mac 510 chainsaw now to replace the ms250 as it owes me nothing now at this stage, they're a third of the price of the stihl ms250 and have fairly good reviews.

Aspen is the best idea, I use the two versions on all my kit: 2 and 4 stroke.

Start first pull even after weeks

Its not cheap so if I am doing a lot together will use the traditional mix until the last fill, or empty it out before the last fill

went to see a Stihl 261 today. Very light for the power - will go for it over the 550xp

Dewalt. No shoulder injuries. No too much petrol. No too much 2 stroke. No smoke. Plenty poke. If you have Dewalt/Milwalkee battery tools already all the better. Perfect for occasional use. Neighbour has one. Swears by it. Tried it. Was impressed.

Dewalt/Milwalkee are battery not electric. Op said he had a bit of tidying to do and would only use it a few days in the year. In my experience leaving fuel in chainsaw over a period of time is a recipe for cuss words.