Chainsaw Purchase

[Fordiesel69]

Have a friend that aquired a new 20+ acre fully wooded property. Has a blend of oak, some pine and spuce, a few beach, birch, red maple, and im sure other varietys native to Erie, PA. Good news is the pine trees are not plentiful. What I noticed is the way the land is, all trees are small diameter trunks with 12" to 18" diameter but are very tall starting at 30 upwards of 50 feet. Trees are very dense.

The goal is to pick a chainsaw for the purpose of felling, and cutting up to use for firewood. Has existing residential Husky 435 that can be used for de-limbing.

Torn between 50cc or 60cc.
Torn between 18" bar vs 20" bar.

No stihl, just husky and echo.

 

[dlundblad]

I heat my house with my Husky 455 Rancher.

Bought it only because it’s what my dad has as well. 20 acres of hardwood. Never an issue.

He has a 20” bar. I have an 18”. I figured less chain to sling would equal more cutting power.

 

[#18FAN]

562XP
572XP

 

[JeffKeryk]

I haven't worked in the tree business is a long time; I'm sure things have changed.
Huskadero is a great high speed saw. Expensive; there's a reason for it.
When the Echo saws came out, we were skeptical; we were wrong. Great saws.

For the money, the Poulan saws were a great way to go. Work horses; ran everyday.
Keep a nice edge on that chain...

 

[JavierH19]

Ive had bad luck with both my stihls but husqvarnas are amazing, all bought new. I also used a new echo and found it to be down on power even though it was the same size as it seems to redline a bit lower than the sthihl or husqvarna.

 

[wwillson]

More power is always better when cutting large trunks. Does he have experience with chains saws? If not, have him watch a safety video on how not to cut your face off. He should also purchase a good sharpener and a couple extra chains. Sharpen all chains before going to the woods and change to a sharp chain at the first sign the current chain is beginning to dull. Three chains is about the right number for a cutting session.

 

[Cujet]

562XP
572XP

This is the correct answer for a guy my size. About 5-10, 200 fairly strong. Health issues aside, I really can't use a bigger saw than that without getting too tired.

From a technical side, tall trees require HP, it's good to be near 5HP for that.

As you know I love my modded 50cc 346XP, a lightweight ripper. But it's not 5HP, and won't blaze through a thick trunk without gagging. It's a dream on 10 inch trees, a struggle on 2 foot pines.

20 acres of woods is a really nice size!!! Totally jelly!

 

[Infosponge]

Just bought my first saw last month, Echo CS590 with 24" bar. Started up and has ran great so far. Still sourcing components to build up a kit. I learned quickly that home depot and walmart do not have any chains larger than 20" and its been tough finding a case to house the 24" bar.

 

[skyactiv]

My previous home was on 5 acres with 2 being wooded. I have an Echo CS590 Timberwolf like infosponge does but mine has an 18" bar. It specs 89 octane. I probably don't have 30 minutes total runtime on mine. I use a bowsaw when dealing with a fallen limb at my current place, don't trust myself with a chainsaw and will consider selling it if anyone PM's me.

 

[PontiacHO]

The key to keeping the saw in good shape….don’t touch the ground with the blade and run non-ethanol mix.

 

[PontiacHO]

I haven't worked in the tree business is a long time; I'm sure things have changed.
Huskadero is a great high speed saw. Expensive; there's a reason for it.
When the Echo saws came out, we were skeptical; we were wrong. Great saws.

For the money, the Poulan saws were a great way to go. Work horses; ran everyday.
Keep a nice edge on that chain...

Some of the larger Poulan are rebadged Husky saws. Smaller ones (like mine) are JUNK.

 

[97prizm]

Not sure why you rule out Stihl. Maybe companies make some product segments better than others. I love my Stihl FS-38 trimmer. They Also sponsor numerous wood cutting competitions and use that info for future development. If you buy too small a saw you can't really upgrade it. I'd say go as big of displacement that you'll need.

 

[Hirev]

The Echo CS-620P with a 20" bar is a darn good chainsaw for around $650. My dealer will sell it with 20" or 24" bar. It is a higher performance version of the CS-590. I own both the CS-590 and CS 620P both have been good saws for me.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The key to keeping the saw in good shape….don’t touch the ground with the blade and run non-ethanol mix.

Well, I've seen some workers that thought their saw was a rototiller...

 

[wwillson]

Well, I've seen some workers that thought their saw was a rototiller...

It's amazing how quickly the ground dulls chains.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

@Fordiesel69 it is a balance for sure. I researched a decent amount before buying my Stihl Farm Boss MS271 several years ago. It is a 50cc saw with a standard 18" bar. I opted for the larger 20" bar and bought an extra 16" bar for limbing and other small tasks. It is manageable to hold and work with for a while. Personally, I don't think I would want to go any bigger. I bought the chain sharpeners off Amazon and keep my chains in tip top shape. It eats through Elm and Ash with little effort but really likes fuel when running the 20" bar. I have yet to find a tree I wasn't able to tackle with this saw. If you don't want Stihl, then pick a Husky or Echo in this range would be my advice.

Just my $0.02

 

[JeffKeryk]

It's amazing how quickly the ground dulls chains.

Especially when you hit a rock... Sheesh.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Not sure why you rule out Stihl. Maybe companies make some product segments better than others. I love my Stihl FS-38 trimmer. They Also sponsor numerous wood cutting competitions and use that info for future development. If you buy too small a saw you can't really upgrade it. I'd say go as big of displacement that you'll need.

My issue is the dealer's here are absolute ripoff con artists. I don't have 2024 ~ 2025 examples but they like to charge full MSRP list + 15% mark up. Makes it impossible to maintain your equipment this way and they want you to "take it to them for service".

Best example is I had a commercial string trimmer and the stihl carb kit was $80. A whole carb was $249, and it was just proprietary enough that it was not possible to use an aftermarket kit.

 

[2005jettatdi]

I was very happy with my Stihl Farm Boss even though it would not run on regular gas. The amount of gas a chainsaw uses in insignificant, so who cares. I am too old to play with chainsaws, so I gave it to my oldest son.

 

[hemitom]

50cc with a 18 to 20" bar is plenty of saw for cutting firewood !
If you're cutting stuff that this saw can't handle than you probably can't handle the block size to pick up especially if you are alone.