Husky 555 vs 460

[Ashful]

The MS362 is likely the very best firewood cutting saw ever made.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

At what kind of price.....

 

[CRE10]

Your 026 is already a great firewood saw, but it's nice having two saws. Is the 362 M tronic?

I don't know how old "Oldman" means, but you're not getting younger. 50cc firewood saws can go a long ways with a sharp chain. I'm young and in great shape and I feel it after a day with a 70cc saw and long bar.

 

[Wildo]

AHEM!


http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.n...6af40002b8f7/143befb4304fc0be88256ca400553ebe

 

[Oldman47]

Your 026 is already a great firewood saw, but it's nice having two saws. Is the 362 M tronic?

I don't know how old "Oldman" means, but you're not getting younger. 50cc firewood saws can go a long ways with a sharp chain. I'm young and in great shape and I feel it after a day with a 70cc saw and long bar.

I am oldman47 because my wife has called me old man since I was 25 years old and I was born in 1947, yes well over a half a century back.
I have only today heard of the used 362 so I really know nothing about it except that it is probably well used with a history of being used by a maintenance service. Those are all the questions I would need to ask before moving on it. I already have a solid manual type chain saw in a 20 inch so another just like it in a 60cc is not much of an improvement. On the other hand an auto-tune 60cc that I don't need to mess with is appealing. That is why I was looking into a Husky 555.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

I am oldman47 because my wife has called me old man since I was 25 years old and I was born in 1947, yes well over a half a century back.
I have only today heard of the used 362 so I really know nothing about it except that it is probably well used with a history of being used by a maintenance service. Those are all the questions I would need to ask before moving on it. I already have a solid manual type chain saw in a 20 inch so another just like it in a 30cc is not much of an improvement. On the other hand an auto-tune 30cc that I don't meed to mess with is appealing. That is why I was looking into a Husky 555.

If the 362 is a C-M model, it has Stihl's version of Autotune (M-tronic). An MS362 should outcut the 555 and be right there in performance with the 562xp.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

I would love to do that but everything within 100 miles is 10% ethanol. I do see the local big box store recommending nothing but high octane fuel on a big sign behind the Husky display though. Unfortunately there are no local dealers for Husky near me except the big box stores and they carry nothing bigger than the 450 farmer version. Even a 460 or a 455 would be a special order, which means MSRP or darned close to it. I suppose I am stuck dealing with E-bay or similar for my saw. Chain is another story. The local Stihl store also services the saws and has a nice chain selection. In fact I am taking my old Stihl in Monday to get it in good running condition after being idle all these years. I'll need to check into the better chain. Unfortunately my 026 uses a .325 chain so not as many robust chains out there for it.

Home Depot sells 50 to1 pre-mixed, 92 octane fuel for about $5.95 a quart if you by 6. Way more money than purchasing from a gas pump, but in the end way cheaper than carb repair/replacement and all the other hassles of gas station ethanol laced fuel. It's all I use in ally saws and I've never had a problem and I don't worry about a saw sitting for 4 weeks and the gas going "bad".

 

[Oldman47]

Thanks for that Clyde. It remains to be seen which model it really is.
For Ralphie Boy, I find it real easy to drop into my local gas station and drop a pre-measured 50:1 mix of oil in a gas can and then pump exactly one gallon at 92+ octane into that gas can. If I only use 2/3 of it I can always dump what I have left into my car with no ill effects. The extra $4.50 a quart is ridiculous IMO.

 

[TreePointer]

I'll use the non-ethanol canned fuel at the end of a season when I prepare my OPE for winter storage. Other than that, it's entirely too expensive for the amount of fuel I use.

 

[pen]

This link can help too. http://pure-gas.org/

Have had 2 gas stations that switched to serving high octane non-ethanol in my area in the last year. Keep on the look-out for your area too!

 

[Ashful]

I'll use the non-ethanol canned fuel at the end of a season when I prepare my OPE for winter storage. Other than that, it's entirely too expensive for the amount of fuel I use.

I'm with you. Even my saw shop, who sells the stuff, tells customers to only use it for storage. It's just crazy expensive, for anyone actually putting any real amount of fuel thru their OPE, and its advantage is nil for a regular-use machine.

 

[Osagebndr]

Your 026 is first generation Stihl pro saw. The 362 will cut circles around it as will a 261 pro . Not trying to talk you out if a 60 cc saw ( I have a 361 that I love dearly) but if the 362 or 555 are a little heavy the 261 and the 550xp are also exceptional firewood saws at a lighter weight .

 

[Jon1270]

a 261 pro...will cut circles around it

Eh, not big circles. A 261CM has about 20% more horsepower, yes, but the 026 is still a quite capable saw, not to be dismissed. It's also more than a pound lighter than the 261.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Nice 562xp went up on AS this morning. Sugihara bar comes with it.

(broken link removed to http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/562xp.274954/)

 

[wildlingabovethebridge]

FWIW I just picked up a 460 from www.sleequipment.com for $403 + $15 shipping. So far I love it. Starts easy (fires on first pull, starts on second), lighter than other saws of that size class that ive dealt with, and screams through all of the woood I've thrown at it so far. I dont even need to get it up to full power most of the time. Time will tell on reliability. Admittedly, I cut 6 cord last year with a 34cc Poulan so any saw actually big enough to do the job and doesn't break is gonna seem great to me.

 

[Ashful]

60cc is the sweet spot for most firewood cutters. Big enough to sling a 20" bar, screams with an 18" bar. For the 12" - 18" wood that most firewood cutters are seeing daily, it's the perfect size.

It does fall short any time you get the nose of a 20" bar buried in something bigger than 20". It will get thru, but just not as quickly as a larger saw.

I use my 63cc Stihl 036 Pro for bucking anything under 20", and the 064 (85cc) for anything over 20". I may upgrade to newer saws someday, but they will be the same ~60 and ~90 cc sizes.

 

[Oldman47]

I think I agree Joful. My 026 is a 50cc and sports a 20 inch bar of .325 semi-chisel chain but struggles a little when I get up close to 20 inches when falling or bucking. I was thinking that 60cc would let me carry that same length bar with a bit of power to spare.
Since I started to do my homework I have also found that sometimes it is OK to completely bury a saw so that you can fall or buck logs bigger than the bar length. It just takes the right techniques and tools like wedges. The last time I used a saw there was no internet, yes that long ago, and I had to rely on manufacturer literature. Needless to say the booklets were a bit lacking in details.

 

[pen]

it is OK to completely bury a saw so that you can fall or buck logs bigger than the bar length. It just takes the right techniques and tools like wedges.

I'm no guru, but for me, when I wind up in a log bigger than my bar, I start at the top and let the nose of the bar drop to cut down the outside edge of the log, then bring myself back down through the log square. This lets the the tip be "free" as it goes down through.

 

[midwestcoast]

I'm no guru, but for me, when I wind up in a log bigger than my bar, I start at the top and let the nose of the bar drop to cut down the outside edge of the log, then bring myself back down through the log square. This lets the the tip be "free" as it goes down through.

How I buck most the logs dropped for me by the tree services.

 

[Ashful]

Yep, standard technique for anything with diameter up to 1.5 times your bar length. Reach over, holding saw with nose pointed down, and begin cut on far side. As you get far enough into the wood to make the rest of the cut from one side, draw the saw toward you until horizontal.

For stuff larger than that, and up to 2x bar length, you're stuck working both sides. Once you're past that, then you're into middle-plunge cut territory.

There was a great thread here, maybe two years ago, of someone taking down a 70-something inch tree with a fairly small (28"?) bar. Wish I could find it now.

 

[Osagebndr]

I've taken down and bucked trees upto 48" with my ms361 and 24"(25") bar without much problem using that technique when bucking . When taking down I work both sides of the tree on the wedge and back cut. Using felling wedges when felling and bucking will keep your bar from being pinched also