Buying My First Saw

[Tonty]

I should maybe add that I, together with my two sons, can cut a years worth of fire wood (3-4 cords) in about 1.5 full days of cutting, so we aren’t using these saws day in and day out. Like others have mentioned, if you can afford a pro saw, you should get one.

 

[Moose032]

Buying my first saw and looking for advice.

We use wood as our primary heat source and we go through about 3 chords a year. I'm cutting mostly dead White Ash, but I also get into some Oak (and will actually be felling some old Oak trees on my inlaws this summer) as well as some assorted other hardwoods. Occasionally I get into some Hedge, but I try not to cut much of it because it burns too hot in out stove. Im not great at gaging diameter of the logs I mostly am cutting, but most of it is not much bigger around than a 55 gallon barrel.

I've only ever used Stihl and would like to stick with them. My current saw is actually probably 30 years old and a hand-me-down from my dad but it's starting to fall apart. Budget is "get whatever is best" (wife's words) but id like to stay somewhere around the price of an MS 311. Ive got a buddy who has one and really likes it but i wonder if I really need all the bells and whistles (like the decompression valve) or if a 271 would do just as well at a lower price point. Thoughts?

For cutting 3 chords a year I really don’t think you can beat the Echo CS590 for the price. It is an incredibly reliable saw and it has plenty of power to cut anything within reasonable size. I’ve been using one for about 6 years and I’ve never wished I had a bigger saw. It’s going to be a little bit bigger and have a little bit more power than the farm and ranch saws from the other two brands (although those are both also perfectly fine if you choose one).