Looking to retire the old echo ...just using it to cut firewood fall a few trees here an there anybody recommend a saw

Husky 350. It worked do good for my dad that I bought one.

what saw brand matters less than who services them near by.

Husquvarna , Jonsered are actually made in the same place have good saws
Stihl is good , pro line like the others is the better saw
Echo pro saws are good
Dolmar/makita are nice if you have a shop around that sells and works on them.

but you want a place to get parts and service and it helps if the guy at that shop isn't an A-hole or they aren't sending your saw off to another place to get fixed

I run Jonsered saws because I have a good independ dealer who sells them I had a stihl and would work on them also but when I was ready for a new saw I knew I was buying from him because he was close , good guy , did his own work and had helped me with the saws I had before going to him.

when you go to a dealer and you get some sales guy who never works on the saw selling you something

or you go and the guy acts like your wasting his time just being there

those are places to skip.

We bought a Husqvarna 455 Rancher two years ago, and it starts every time when ya do the steps your supposed to do for a cold start. We sit at high altitude, so we had it adjusted accordingly at the dealer. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Best saw I've ever had. We do general maintenance on our trails with it, and it has done awesome.

what size wood are you going to cut ?

say 30 inch is the biggest you will need to go then a 18" bar would do you multiply by 3 and that is how many CC you should be looking for in a saw.
normally that gets worked the other direction CC/3=max bar length for frequent cutting.

Buy another echo
They're the best saw going. All the new stihls and huskys are junk. And all your paying for is the name.
If your not cutting huge stuff buy an echo Timberwolf, they come with a 5 year warranty and are fairly inexpensive
And you can actually get parts for them.

I run all Stihls and have never had a problem. All older saws though.

Would no be scared of a Husqvarna either

I run Stihl because the dealer is 5 minutes from me. I would get a pro series saw in either which brand you choose.

I am with Pete on this one. I run Stihl and have one small husky also but I do my own maintenance and fixing / tuning. And I have a stihl and Husky dealer fairly close by for parts, or order them online when to pressed for time.

I have a Husqvarna 445 and gave a friend a 460 after I finished my cabin and had no further use for it. Those saws felled, limbed, milled and whitled the notches on my cabin without missing a beat. A lot of hard hours.

Big box stores market by length of bar! Buy based on cc’s.

Whichever company has a sales/service center close. Stihl, Husky, JR are all great.

Just purchased the 590 and it cuts like a demon.( late Christmas gift). I have 5 other big Stihl, 2 Dolmar saws, a Stihl climbing saw and a Dolmar climber. Paid $432 w/ 5year warranty.

Yeah a 18 inch bar is plenty for what I need it for like to be no more than 350 400 dollars

Just bought a 590 last month, liking it so far!
Was $419 at local hardware store, and they honored their 15% off anything coupon on top.

Have had pretty good luck with bigger Huskys and older Stihls too.

Husky rancher series are made by poulan, they are ok wore out a 455 in 6 seasons cutting firewood for market, my choice is the husky 562xp, same size weight aas the 455, way more power and better longivity.

ive had stihls all my life and would buy another one in a heartbeat. cut 15 to 20 truckloads a year of firewood and they always start and have never any trouble with them.i sharpen my own chains and blow out/change air filters when needed and run non-ethanol gas.

I had a Stihl 025 for years now it finally gave it up to where it wasn't worth/ able to be fixed,it was a great saw, recently I bought a Husqvarna 450 rancher and I'm very impressed with it, I've heard the Stihl have went down in quality, don't no, but I'm very happy with the choice I made.

For what you are describing I’d get a Husky 440. Handles like a small saw and cuts like a 50 cc saw.

Also check out the Echo 4910

I have the CS2255 which is a 455 rancher in red 2014 saw , I need a carb right now but been fine until now so ordering a carb.

I also have the CS2166 which is basically the 365xp or a down tuned 372xp , once you cut with that going back to the 2255/455 feels slow. it is the difference in almost 50% more displacement and 2krpm.

my 2255 was faster than my Stihl MS260 but they were close.

the 562XP makes sense when you wear saws out and time is money

if your going to take >10 years to wear out a 455 and cut 5-6 cord a year then it is not worth owning the 562xp unless you are on the clock or need to cut big wood.

I prefer stihl but I only run pro models. The guys saying echo or whatever Brands are equal to stihl or husky are not comparing them to the pro models from stihl or husky.

X2

My dad really likes husqvarna

Stihl 170 with 16” bar. Around $150. Cut about 4 cords per year, 170 handles 95%.

Still have and use my Stihl 028 Wood Boss, that I bought in the Eighties.

Here is the salesman pitch. I have a couple questions you need to answer.

How much firewood do you cut per year?
How big is the diameter of the trees you are dropping?
How many cc is your current saw?
How heavy is your current saw?
What dealers do you have?

You don't want too small of a saw, and you don't want one that will wear you out cause it's too big.

Get one without a computer, I made that mistake 6-7 years ago on a Husky 372, only trouble I have had was when a year old or so was a carb issue which was fixed under warranty, but I know the day is coming when I will not be able to fix it and will have to go to a dealer, and that warranty work was the only time I ever took a saw in.

If I had it to do over I would get an echo

get a stihl 261 its pro grade, its great

When my old Husky died...I bought an echo...very pleased

261cm

Or 372xp

Most of the saws that everyone are suggesting are discontinued models.

What he said!

I have had several saws in the last 50 plus years. The last one I bought was an Echo. I was a bit skeptical but a good friend that cuts a lot more wood than I do recommended the brand.
It is the best saw I have owned. I really like. I do not wood for a living but cut 7 to 9 cords a year. I do not buy tree length but go out and cut them down, limb and cut them up.

Mac

Ok so a couple of you have mentioned Jonsered. THEY ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SAWS. But they don't make them any more. Huskvarna bought out Red Max and discontinued the Jreds at that time replacing them with the Red Max. I haven't heard anything but it appears that they are now getting rid of the Red max.

Those that say Stihl and Huskvarna have lost quality likely have been using homeowner saws. In my opinion they are junk and the only way to go is to buy the Pro series models. Chances are if it was sold at a box store or chain store of any kind it is most likely a homeowner grade saw. Best bet is to go to a local saw shop.

I have heard nothing but praise about the newer echo stuff

Stihl Pro series stuff is great but in my experience they can be hard starting saws, run great once going.

Huskvarna, Jonsered, Red Max. All the same company and most of the saws in their model lines have twins in the other colors. But again there is a significant difference between the homeowners models and the Pro models.

Stihl 261c. You won’t regret it.

How old are you? I have a Husky 455 Rancher but I'm also 66 and I only want to run the 455 for so long. I also have a Stihl 250 which is much more user-friendly for me. 455 for the big diameter stuff and the 250 for smaller wood. I gave $300 for the Stihl a few years ago.

A lot of the saws we are mentioning you couldn’t even buy used for $350 - $400

Point to remember. A lot of problems with saws come down to maintenance. Hard to start - carbon deposits on the cylinder head, plus others. Loss of power - carbon buildup on spark arrester, plus others. You have received some good suggestions, buy enough engine for the bar size you need for your workload.

I just went from the Husky 455 Rancher and switched to an Echo 620. I cut mainly dead juniper and oak. The Husky bogged down in the big rounds. My Echo rips through the dead wood.

the 372 is one of the most popular saws around , tons of parts , they make , jugs , pistons , complete rebuild kits , that would be the first saw for ease of working on and parts availability.

my 2166 shares a bunch of parts with 372/365 the 2166 is a 365 in red 70.7 cc but with the same restrictor plate as the 365 you can delete the air restriction and have a 372

I have run a ported 372xp side by side and it is a touch faster than my 2166 but it is a few seconds in a big log

you can probably run that till it has a carb issue and still sell it for decent money

Actually I am. I bought a echo 7310 and my brother in law and father in law both bought the stihl pro series of the same size. (Forget number)
One was EFI , one is carbonated. (One year older)
Both stihls had a heap of trouble. Neither of them ran right ever, the carborated one spent 6 months in the shop waiting on a new carb after 2 hours use, just a factory defect. The EFI one, unless you have a diagnostic computer you basically can't fix them yourself, his was proof of that, wouldn't run cold at all, never was able to get it quite right.
My echo however, which is a pro series, ate them both alive. And not an issue to this day.
New stihls are Chinese garbage . They're not the saws that built the brand. Sorry it's just the was it is.

Iv'e had the Echo 590 timberwolf for four years now. Very satisfied, cuts like a charm. They put out a good one with this.
I heat strictly with wood.

Thanks for all the feed back I think I'm just going to stick with the echo hearing good things about them an my old one treated me good ...that Timberwolf looks good for the money .

I have run several all Husky now. 372XP is my favorite currently.

I run chainsaws daily for a living. Would recommend a pro series Stihl or Husky. We run thinning projects with stihl 261cm and husky 550xp, each guy on the crew has their own preference, but those are the two we stick to. The huskys seem to last about 3000hrs, stihls 4000, before starting to lose compression. We rarely have breakdowns with either one. Personally, I would say a stihl362 would serve most firewood cutters a couple decades with the right amount of power

I also prefer the pro Husky saws I've also had a 064 Stihl which was a temperamental bugger when falling timber during the cold winter months I like the husky saws because they don't make my hands hurt as much as the Stihl did .

I'd also suggest running full skip chain over regular saw chain less to sharpen and way faster wear some saw chaps and protective gear .

Everyone says make sure a dealer is close. How close?, 3 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles? What are you guys driving, a stagecoach? There has to be a dealer within 30 miles of most anyone nowadays. How often do you guys go to the saw shop, every 3 days? I was pretty hard on saws and never worried where the dealer was because I was serious and had 3-4 of the same model and always finished the day out. Take another saw with you, even if its a Homelite XL12 just so you can finish the day out.

X2

Echo. All of my chain saws, brush cutter, weed eaters, edger, blowers, etc are Echo. It makes it easier to work on them myself.

And, Echo starts easy and runs well.

I'll probably get laughed at when I tell y'all what I'm running now but I don't care. When my old 350 gave up the ghost I was hearing some bad reports about the newer husks and I saw an ad for a 99.99 Poland Black Friday special. I thought what the heck. It wasn't a speedster for sure but it did what I needed to do around the farm. Sadly it was lost when I had to abandon it when a tree decided it wanted to fall a different direction than it was supposed to. So when the next Black Friday came around I picked up another for the same price. I don't think I've seen that deal for a couple years now though.

No stagecoach here, upgraded to a tractor.
Do have couple xl 12s though.

Worked on a couple Pintos, junk. Does this mean all Fords are junk?

Got an eager beaver saw that has NEVER been wrenched on by me.
Does this mean all eager beavers are great? No. it means I've never tried to start it.

Just contributing some similar content lol.

For that low of budget new saw, I think you are barking up the right tree with Echo.
Unless you work on them yourself, I suggest a dealer.

Not knowing plastic case homo models from pro,
is what muddies the water for many on this topic.
There's a guy on one the saw forums with a pro model list.

I have the Husky 455 and I like it good power.

.

South Dakota guy I knew said Husqvarna

For the budget you want , you aren't going to get a quality saw. Sorry to break it to you. But thats the reality of it. Remember when you have yanked that starting short for the 200th time what little money you paid and what a great deal it was. I know, its probably not easy to do that what the sweat is running down yer crack and there is wood that needs cutting. But those sort of happy thoughts are a good way to stay sane.

I had owned several different saws. You can't go very wrong if you buy a Husqvarna, Jonsered, or Stihl. Right now, I have a 026 and a 260 Stihls. I've owned one Husqvarna and two Jonsereds. They were all reliable saws.

there is a Stihl dealer who is 1 mile but they have a guy who comes in once a week to work on saws , write out what is wrong on tag with name and phone number and leave it there
if you need a part they will toss the big Stihl catalog on the counter and let you find what you need , you will pay exactly what the MSRP says it is which is higher than it should be. they don't calculate their cost and their cut , just always what the book says. you should get your part in a week.

the Jonsered dealer used to be 2 miles he moved and is now 1/2 mile and he is open 6 days a week and sometimes will catch up on Sunday. so your down time is much less and he has a yard with a few big logs in it all the time so you can actually test. you talk to the guy who fixes the saw and he keeps a lot of parts in stock.

there is another Stihl dealer 7 miles away , they will check your saw in and 2x a week they drive all the saws 30 miles to where their saw guy is and he works on them and sends them back , if you get lucky you drop your saw off on Monday it goes to the other shop Tuesday , Thursday it comes back and you can pick it up Friday. if they are busy hurry up and wait.

or you can drive 37 miles which if you had a good dealer who serviced saws and had a personality better than a angry junk yard dog you would be fine driving 45 minutes each way.

a good dealer is better than a close dealer, but if you can have a close good dealer ,buy whatever brand they sell and service.

I have 2 saws and yes can finish out with the other , not everyone has 2 saws and even if you do , down time on your big saw or your little saw can be inconvenient.

spares are good

nothing breaks when it is convenient. murphy's law of breaking stuff.

I would have one of these guys trap you some Beaver!!!

The husqvarna 372xp, 365, and whatever jonesred have been discontinued for years. you can no longer get them unless someone has nos in the back room. They were replaced by the 572xp. all of husqvarnas pro stuff is computer controlled now. I believe the 395 even when to computer carb. Last time i looked at the dealer order page (about 18 months ago) the only carb saw left was the 3120 and I doubt that's available.

I been liking auto tune knock wood.

Well he wants one saw, not a fleet, and close just means convenient. Saws need parts and occasional repairs. The workers at service centers are usually a fair bit more knowledgeable than Home Depot or hardware store employees. If a service center is convenient, you can access those things when you need them without driving 30 miles or more. Not all places that sell saws are service centers as I am sure you have noticed. As far as how close convenient is, that’s up to him and where he lives.

You can still buy a 372 xp today!
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/chainsaws/372xp-x-torq/

https://www.merithardwareinc.com/product-page/husqvarna-372xp-20-pro-chainsaw

My point is whether the mechanic is 3 miles away or 45, it may be a week before you get it back. A back up or 3 makes sense to me, anyway. Most all high wear regular maintenance repairs can be done in the woods with crude tools. Now if a saw blows up on me, it doesnt get fixed, it goes into parts rotation. Your probably further ahead to buy new than get that fixed. Again- just depends on how serious a guy is about getting the wood in. Beig an ex timber faller I cant fathom going into the woods without at least common high wear items with you.

.

Closest town to me is 25miles and the dealer that was there closed shop a couple years ago. Now the closest one is 80 miles one way, second closest is over a hundred miles. So, no, not everyone lives five minutes away from a freaking dealer. Wasn't a big deal when the "local" guy was open, but it dang sure is now. You paying for my multiple saws? Seems like you're projecting your use case on everyone else.

My first saw was a Poulan and it was not in the commercial class some of these others are.

Nope, saws break down on everyone. 80 miles one way is all the more reason to have a spare unless your a weekend warrior. Pay for a spare or pay for the gas, doesnt matter to me- just my advice for what it is worth.

Be big fun if a couple dealers set up at the conventions.
Demos or races or ??
I'd love to take a ms 500 for a ride.
Boys and toys lol.

My buddy cuts firewood 40 miles one way from home, takes a new Echo with him. I told him to take mine for a spare- he says no, thats OK- I told him he was crazy. So far no problems getting a load YET.

Or getting the one saw stuck.

Any 034 or 036s in that pile LJ?
That might be my next adventure, because I can.

No, they are pretty scarce in my saw buying adventures, Mostly Husqvarna and Jonsered in my piles, plus other brand antiques. I have a Stihl 090 & Mcculloch 1-72 I probably wouldnt part with.

Those are big, and old-er.
I too have antiquers, I should get pics.
I give away a bunch of saws to friends that ask to borrow.
Best way to keep them friends.

when I only had one saw I got it stuck unbolted the power head, drove 15 mile to the store bought a new bar drove back and put my spare chain on went back and very carefully cut my other bar out.

I was loving my husqvarna 435 until it was stolen. Now i have a sthil farm boss 271 its good but for some reason the bar doesn't keep tension on the chain. After a few mintues there's a lot of slack in the chain. I've used 2 chains and same results. The sthil is easier to start especially when cold

I thought I would hardly ever need a saw again so I bought a cheap Poulan. Terrible mistake. Gave it away. Lesson learned.

Stuck while felling a tree? I got in the habit of keeping a come along, chain and rope with me when dropping trees.

An acquaintance came to me with a little Poulan saw that he had not run in 18 month and it would not start. Had been sitting with ethanol fuel in it. Fuel lines hard a glass and all the other good stuff that happens when they drink corn alcohol mixed into their drink. He asked if I could do something for him.
I said sure and you can watch. I took the bar and chain off, sharpened the chain and carefully threw the rest into my trash can and gave him back a sharp chain. Told him to find a decent saw to fit that if he wanted to be ahead of the game.

I am running 4 Stihls right now.
A 441 Mag with a 24" bar.
An old 290 Farm Boss 18" bar (I'd like to see how much wood that saw has cut in 20 years)
A 261C 18" bar
A 251 16" bar
Have had great results with all of them. The 441 is getting a bit much for me but I love that saw.
If'n I only had 1 it would be the 261.
I also have an old 026 in my survey truck. I would like to know how many miles of line that saw has cut.

Zim

i run a piped 372xp husky & it rips thru 10ish cord of hard wood a year, its 12 years old, & has never needed to go back to a dealer/shop, i run maxim 2 stroke racing oil only, never had a drop of ethanol in it either. i have other saws for back up. how old a fella are you? im almost 53 & i would never part with my 372, but after a couple tanks of gas, buckin, i hang it up or ill pay dearly the next day with back pain. i feel good while warmed up & working. if i ever buy another it'll be a 50-55cc saw, like the husky 550xp. lighter but still plenty of pepper. i have also heard good things about the new echo's.
stay away from the home owner grade saws, no matter the brand. pay a little more for a professional grade tool that will last a lot longer.

What are your common high wear items?

I'm 33 years old i cut say 5 6 cord a year ..I apperceive all the advice an comments trying to take a little bit from everyone here seems like the majority say husky or sthil...an make sure it's a pro series check

Scuba 1 that's funny I got a kick out of that I can imagine the guys facial expressions through that haha

Chain, Sprocket , bar ( mainly the tip ) clutch assembly and maybe an air filter depending on filter style.




Saving up a little longer till you can afford a good saw will pay off in the long run for sure.

Shock mounts, spark plugs, bolts, rounded out fuel caps and in my case, front handlebars to add to the list.

I have a husky 572xp and a 460 rancher both have treated me well. At work we have stihl saws and they seem nice too but there’s two things I don’t like about the stihls.

1- the caps for the gas and bar oil on the stihl saws bother me. The 1/4 turn design is a nice thought but I always think I get it locked and I take off and bar oil pours all over my leg. Maybe I’m the only dummy that does this.

2- this is a little picky but I like the chain tensioner on the clutch cover like the husky’s have. The stihls have the screw head for the chain tension between the bar nuts and it just isn’t as handy.

I also agree with everyone that says go with the pro saw either stihl or husky. They are made well and they just rip! Also another thing I have come to like is a long bar even if it’s only a 50cc saw I like at least a 24” bar because you don’t bend over every time to cut something close to the ground. It’s definitely makes a difference at the end of the day. Yes a long bar will bog a small saw down in big wood but just ease up on er a little.

high wear , chains , bars

flip your bar on occasion some people say every time you change chains , but I sharpen on saw so I do it when I clean the saw.

good to have a spare bar nut or 2 around , they get lost some times.

use bar oil , not waste motor oil

use good 2 stroke oil

if you learn to file chains you will make a chain last a lot longer

keep you bar out of the dirt/ground , people do not realize why their chains keep going dull

you can cut 4-5 tanks of gas on a chain easy if you keep it clean but 0.010 seconds in the dirt and your sharpening

I like a long br of the lighter kind as well so I can stand up while limbing and bucking. My 661 balances with a 36" tsumura light bar the same as with a normal 20 inch bar. So I run the 36 90% of the time.

Extra nut or two is a good idea. Chain slipped off the bar this past summer, took off nut, bounced off the ground and right down a chipmunk hole. Yet another reason to hate those chipmunks.

I agree to an extent on longer bar for some operations

it is nice to not bend over as much , BUT you have to have enough saw to run that bar

a 40cc saw with a 20 inch bar is just not going to maintain RPM Especially when some one puts it in a 30 inch in diameter log

if you are cutting wood as big in diameter as your bar or bigger you need the 3:1 rule 3cc of engine to every inch of bar length.

a good 50cc saw will pull a 20 and that is great for limbing but when you start bucking 24 inch rounds put the 16 inch bar on and you have a real ripper no slowing down.

cutting speed = chain speed if you loose rpm you cut slower no matter how big your bar is bigger bars may get you in larger wood but they don't make you cut any faster and long chains cost more and are more cutters to sharpen.

I have a 211 still and its all I need. Sounds like it would work for you. Get a NAME brand with a local shop to fix it. Quality doesn't cost much more

I run a dolmar/makita 6100p and it has been an excellent saw. Nothing stops it with a 20" bar and it pulls a 24" just fine when needed. Unfortunately this past spring they stopped making gas powered saws but I think parts will be available for 5-10 years. Hopefully someone will start making aftermarket parts for them. It's a shame, dolmar has been around forever.

That being said, if I was to buy another saw tomorrow it would be a husky xp.

Five to Six cords of wood per year?

Significant, but, not too much to expect from a used pro saw. Personally, I think I would be looking for a used pro saw in the 60 cc range. I just saw a MS 360 on Facebook Marketplace for $245. If I didn't already have over a half dozen, I'd probably be all over it.

Don’t buy from a box store, especially husky. I run a 562xp with a 455 rancher as the dependable “b!tch” saw. I use a Sthil 026 at work and it is great, light and enough bar and power for clearing/felling the odd tree on or near a power line…..LIGHT! You don’t wanna be lugging around a big power house saw

Over the years I have had 5 Stihl chain saws seems like when they needed to be worked on the parts were no longer available. Over 8 years ago I got an Echo 450 saw best saw I ever had it would start on the second or third pull after 8 years had to have it tuned up the parts I needed were still available getting ready to cut some firewood in a few minutes if it blows up I still would get another Echo.

Pete said
you will pay exactly what the MSRP says it is which is higher than it should be.
they don't calculate their cost and their cut ,
just always what the book says. you should get your part in a week.

then Cook said
Over the years I have had 5 Stihl chain saws seems like when they needed to be worked on the parts were no longer available.

I say
Couple that with no stihl parts sold online makes these difficult.
That is where a GOOD TRUSTED dealer nearby comes in play.
To get an air filter for 034 I was told to bring it in, pay in advance,
then they will call me if it comes in and I can drive there again, no drop ship.
That is three counties away. The closer dealers have no parts for these,
but they will take the saw on trade,, LOL.

Stihl is #1 though.

Rant over. OP, good luck with new saw fever.