In the Market for a New Chainsaw

[chutesnreloads]

Looking for suggestions and especially things/brands to avoid.Prefer not to spend more than $200.
Immediate use will be cutting up a downed tree and later cutting firewood and trimming around the house.

[BigAlofPa.]

I have a poulan wild thing. I had it for a long time. 15 years at least. My son has been through 2 Poulan pro's on his 3rd now. So im not sure what is good these days in your price range. My son said next one is going to be a husqvarna or stihl.

[Winger Ed.]

A Stihl is a bad boy, most of the pros use them..
The only problem with them is you have to buy parts or get it worked on at a dealer.
You can't even mail order factory parts.

[Finster101]

I bought an Echo 2 years ago. I have put nothing but the premix fuel in it. The fuel is a little pricey but for the amount I use the saw, it's worth the cost. I generally run it out of fuel before I put it away. I actually used it today cutting up an oak tree for the fire pit. It had been sitting for six months and started right up with out any fuss. Mine has a 14" bar but I can put up to an 18 on it. I'm very happy with it and it should be in your price range.

[Wayne Smith]

If you have a Stihl dealer within reach it should be among your first places to look. Not only are they made here in Virginia Beach but I have a dealer just down the street, only a few miles away. I have most of a red oak I'm cutting up and with my back I can't use my maul to split - so I got a skip tooth blade and I'm sawing everything. My back will let me work a couple hours at a time and I have to quit for a while. Mine has only been back to the dealer once while I was learning to use it. If you get one starting instructions are on you tube.

[jonp]

I have a Jonsered Pro saw and it's a beast. I don't think you are in the market for that type of saw. Frankly, $200 isn't going to get you a saw that will last. I'd go to a box store and pick up a good 50cc saw. About any name brand, either Echo, Stihl, Husky, Sachs Dolmar etc will do what you need.

I cut well in excess of 100 cords of firewood with a Husky 42cc saw and a 16in bar. Maple, Beech, didn't matter. With a good sharp chain it ran fine. Just don't "oversaw". You don't need a 70CC to cut a few trees, trim branches and cut a few cords of firewood.

I'm going to get beat up over this but a few years ago I bought a $90 Chinese Saw on Ebay. For the price it is a 50cc saw and I leave it at my hunting camp so if it's stolen I'm not crying over it. For occasional use, cutting a couple of cords of wood every few years, trimming branches and cutting the occasional pine across the road it runs fine. If your only going to use it once or twice a year for not much I'd think that route.

[smithnframe]

Echo or Husqvarna..........watch for sales at Lowe's and Home Depot!

[rancher1913]

if you are only using it here and there and nothing very serious, stick with the poulans, even having to buy a new one every 3 or 4 years your money ahead

if you have a lots of jobs and are going to use it hard, get a stihl. I had a husky and trying to get warranty work done on them is a joke, bought a stihl and have no problems even with cutting 10 cords a year and all the ranch work

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

$200 ?
I'd watch Craigslist or Facebook Market place for a used Stihl, they last for ever.

[Elkins45]

I have two McCulloch saws and an Echo. McCulloch went out of business so that’s not an option. I have to replace the fuel lines every few years when they get hard and crack. The oiler stopped working on the big one and it’s not worth the trouble to replace it.

The Echo is a top handled trimmer saw and I absolutely love it. I bought one for my dad when someone stole his trimmer saw and I liked it so much I bought one of my own. Easiest saw to start I’ve ever seen.

[Winger Ed.]

I have put nothing but the premix fuel in it. .

That'll work.

People using outboard boat motor 2 cycle and run a air cooled engine hot & heavy often have short lived saws & such.
Most oil for water cooled outboard boat motors can't take the higher heat of air cooled engines.

I've gotten the synthetic stuff for dirt bikes or the little bottles under the Stihl label
and have had a couple of those little engines last over 20 years.

Like 2 stroke boats- they run better and will spin up a higher RPM on the cheapest no lead gas with alcohol in it.
There's a reason racing fuels run a lot of alcohol mixes.

[Elkins45]

^^^^ Thats an important point. There’s a real difference between TC and TC-W oils. Water cooled outboards run a lot cooler than air cooled stuff. Don’t run outboard oil in your saws or trimmers if you want them to last.

[Petrol & Powder]

Stihl is the way to go.
Never let it see a drop of ethanol fuel and run it dry when you're done for the day.

MS-271 Farm Boss

18" bar 50cc engine

Double your budget to $400 and buy a good saw the first time.

[Stewbaby]

Stihl. Buy once cry once. Get a farm model, not the cheaper home owner version.

20+ yrs and still cranks on the second pull.

[Wayne Smith]

Mine is one below the farm model - he won't get the farm model for his financial limit. It has done everything I need it to do - but then since I can only run it for an hour or two I die before it does! When I got the skip tooth blade they told me that my saw wouldn't last - but then the common use for that blade is lumber mills. With my limitations I will be surprised if I burn out my saw.

[Idaho45guy]

I needed a saw to bring on the trail when out riding my UTV for clearing downed trees and other smaller jobs.

I looked at a ton of saws and read dozens of reviews and talked to a few folks. My limit was $150.

I ended up with a 45cc 16" saw branded as a Craftsman for around $130. It is also marketed as a Husqvarna, Poulan, and one other major brand. Exact same saw, just different colored plastic covers and stickers.

The Craftsmen version was red and matched my Honda UTV, so I bought that one. I've used it a couple of times and it works fine. Leaks bar oil quite a bit, but my dad says that's pretty much normal for all saws. It has a very detailed starting procedure outlined in stickers on the saw, and as long as I follow it to the letter, it starts every time.

As little as I use it, it's been fine. But, I've heard of other folks finding deals on Stihls for under $200 and I wish I would have picked up one of those for the man card points, lol.

[MrWolf]

I have a husqvarna rancher. Serves me well. Dont remember what I paid for it. Good luck.

[RickinTN]

Stihl has their 16" bar leader model on sale for $159 right now. I didn't really need another but for that price it's hard to pass up. I picked mine up Thursday and have used it at least a couple of hours everyday since including today. If you purchase a 6 pack of oil with the saw it doubles your warranty to 2 years.
Rick

[Mk42gunner]

For your intended use and price, I would check the local pawn shops for a decent Husky or Stihl.

Robert

[wv109323]

To me the size of the chain is more important than the brand of saw. Get a saw that takes a larger size to sharpen the blade. Saws under $200 are usually disposable if you can not work on them yourself. Most saws will have fuel line or carburator problems after3 or 4 years.
The smaller the chain the hotter the teeth get and wear more thus need sharpening. The big box stores sell saws around $200 but to get a saw for a lifetime it is $400.
Two tools that you don't want to go small on is a vise or a chain saw.