RE: Does size matter? What's 2 inches? ;)

[firefighterjake]

Incidentally, right now I'm leaning towards the Jonsered. \

I like both dealers equally and both have treated me well. One has been around a lot longer, but the "new" guy is here to stay.

While I have had extremely good luck with my Husky 350 and a friend told me some horror stories about some Jonsereds they had "on the farm" I keep coming back to folks here who say the 555 and 2258 is pretty much the same saw . . . and in fact even the Husky dealer said other than the plastic, handle and a few other small things it's the same saw.

So for me it may come down to the price.

Husky 555: $640 for the saw (18 inch bar) . . . if I want a 20 inch bar that will be another $10. They are willing to give me $60 for my old saw on trade in.

Jonsered 2258: $589 (20 inch bar) . . . if I go with a 18 inch bar he'll knock $10 off the price. He also said he would give me $50 for my old saw, maybe a bit more once he tears it down a bit to give it a better look. He also said he could do a sprocket switch free of charge to allow me to run .325 chain.

 

[woodhog73]

I agree that 3/8 will cut faster.

I'm not sure about it staying sharp longer. I believe that's what some folks have experienced. But I also believe it has a lot to do with cutting conditions. Dirty wood will dull any chain very fast. So will hitting the ground. Lots of variables to consider, including brand of chain ( hardness of metal) when determining how long a chain stays sharp.

As far how quick to sharpen in my experience I an faster hand filing .325. Not sure why perhaps the smaller cutters ? Really don't know it just takes me longer with 3/8 chain. Everything's bigger including the file and seems to take me longer.

Like dairyman said .325 is smoother for limbing. If your using the saw to do trail clearing where you encounter buckthorn, brush, all sorts of small limbs, storm clean up, etc then I'd rather have .325. If your only cutting timber and firewood, delivered log loads that don't have any limbs, etc than 3/8 is probably the better set up on a saw 60cc or bigger ( like the ones your looking at)

The 555/2258 are strong saws, and will be fast in either 3/8 or .325. If it were me I'd choose chain type based on cutting conditions. But either chain cuts fine.

On the prices, Id go with the Jonsered. It's less money for the exact saw in red instead of Orange. Unless you just have to have the angled handlebar on the orange version. Is an angled handlebar worth the extra cash ? For me it wouldn't be but for others it's possible

 

[firefighterjake]

To address what I will be cutting . . . 80% of the time I will be cutting down the tree, limbing the tree and then bucking it up, 10% of the time I will be limbing (working on the ATV/snowmobile trails) and 10% just bucking (for those times when a friend has some wood that is already cut up into 4-foot lengths.)

 

[Dairyman]

Incidentally, right now I'm leaning towards the Jonsered. \

I like both dealers equally and both have treated me well. One has been around a lot longer, but the "new" guy is here to stay.

While I have had extremely good luck with my Husky 350 and a friend told me some horror stories about some Jonsereds they had "on the farm" I keep coming back to folks here who say the 555 and 2258 is pretty much the same saw . . . and in fact even the Husky dealer said other than the plastic, handle and a few other small things it's the same saw.

So for me it may come down to the price.

Husky 555: $640 for the saw (18 inch bar) . . . if I want a 20 inch bar that will be another $10. They are willing to give me $60 for my old saw on trade in.

Jonsered 2258: $589 (20 inch bar) . . . if I go with a 18 inch bar he'll knock $10 off the price. He also said he would give me $50 for my old saw, maybe a bit more once he tears it down a bit to give it a better look. He also said he could do a sprocket switch free of charge to allow me to run .325 chain.

For $50-60 I'd be thinking to keep the 350 as long as it's in good repair.

Removing the clutch isn't difficult and I would recommend that you have the dealer show you how.

Edit: Found a video. Just need to watch the first 30 seconds.

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[woodhog73]

a friend told me some horror stories about some Jonsereds they had "on the farm" I keep coming back to folks here who say the 555 and 2258 is pretty much the same saw . . . and in fact even the Husky dealer said other than the plastic, handle and a few other small things it's the same saw.

As for horror stories from years past well Jonsered like all companies have had some models that were less than desirable. To make any sense of the horror stories on the farm one would need to know what the issue was and the model of saw to give it any merit.

The original Jonsereds from back when it was owned and built by the original Jonsered company, well those were far ahead of their time and probably some of if not the most reliable saws money could buy 45 years ago.

In the case of the 555/2258 I'm about 99 percent certain it's just the plastic and angle of the handlebar. There are no other " little things" that differ on those 2 saws.

Your dealer is correct though in saying that as on some others there are a few differences other than plastic and handlebar. I believe the 562xp/2260 have different bar mounts. On the bigger 372xp / 2172 and 390xp / 2188 I believe the air filters are different the Jonsered versions don't get the high top.

But other than that it really is just plastic and handle bar. And ofcourse price.

Speaking of price $589 seems decent. I haven't shopped for a 60cc saw in so long I don't know if one could get it a little cheaper or not. For some reason I was thinking you could get that saw for closer to $500 but I wasn't sure. But if you get awesome dealer service sometimes that's worth paying the extra $50 to $70 bucks or so over buying online.

For those who can fix everything on their saw buying online makes sense but if you need the dealer should an issue unfold then having local support is important. Especially on a saw costing $500 or more. The saw shop I buy from if you didn't purchase from them they will gladly help you out but your saw goes to the end of the list. To be worked on last when everything else is done. A good dealer takes care of their customers who purchase from them.

 

[firefighterjake]

Well I did it . . .

Bought the Jonsered 2258 and opted to keep the 3/8th chain.

I also bought a spare chain and while I really have no issues with the gas (ethanol has never been a problem for me with any of my small engines) I bought several of the pre-mixs to qualify for the 2 extra years (total of four years) of warranty.

I waffled a bit on trying to decide whether to go with the .325 set up, but just about everyone I spoke to said most folks like 3/8th better . . . and I figured if I want to go that route it shouldn't be that expensive to switch over (although truthfully I suspect I will not do so and the 18 inch .325 chains will be donated to the ATV Club's saw (which stays at my house anyways.)

I traded in my old 350 since a) if I have to use another saw I can borrow the club saw, b) the 350 had a few issues (nothing extravagantly expensive, but nothing I wanted to invest much money in either) and c) lowering the overall price would be a benefit.

Out the door with the saw, pre-mix and extra chain = $611 and change once you factored in the trade in.

Initial impressions . . . YEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

 

[woodhog73]

Sounds like you did good.

Remember with the auto tune it takes a minute or 2 running once you start it from cold to adjust to the outside conditions so it might stutter or hesitate a little. If it does don't pay much attention to it. Once it auto adjusts the carb settings it's good to go.

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks again Woodhog and everyone else who helped me in this process . . . everyone's help was sincerely appreciated.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

One other thing with the 555/562 type saws is their warm start procedure. Please read the manual, otherwise you will find yourself pulling & pulling & pulling the starter handle with no luck.

Enjoy your new saw!

 

[firefighterjake]

One other thing with the 555/562 type saws is their warm start procedure. Please read the manual, otherwise you will find yourself pulling & pulling & pulling the starter handle with no luck.

Enjoy your new saw!

??? Started it several times the other day in my usual way with no issues.

 

[CrufflerJJ]

The problem occurs when you've been running the saw for a while to get it good & hot, then shut it down.

When you go to restart it, the maker recommends that you push the choke lever up, then drop it down to the high idle position. If you try to restart the saw any other way, many users (such as me with my 562XP) find it a real pain to restart. Doing it the recommended way usually results in it firing up on the first pull.

 

[woodhog73]

??? Started it several times the other day in my usual way with no issues.

Don't worry about it. Those starting issues were on early 562s. The bugs were way long worked out before Jonsered got the 2258/2260.

Your 2258 should not be plagued with that issue. High idle starting when the engine is not hot but also not cold is preferred as it is with any other 2 stroke engine.

When stone Cold choke till it burps. Then high idle till it starts. When Luke warm almost cold set the high idle pull the cord. Hot just pull the cord.

Hard starting issues as mentioned above did NOT carry over to the 2258 / 2260......enjoy your new saw. Awesome 60cc saw. It should give you hundreds or thousands of cords of firewood !! Like any other professional tool take care of it and it will take care of you

 

[CrufflerJJ]

Don't worry about it. Those starting issues were on early 562s. The bugs were way long worked out before Jonsered got the 2258/2260.

Your 2258 should not be plagued with that issue. High idle starting when the engine is not hot but also not cold is preferred as it is with any other 2 stroke engine.

When stone Cold choke till it burps. Then high idle till it starts. When Luke warm almost cold set the high idle pull the cord. Hot just pull the cord.

Hard starting issues as mentioned above did NOT carry over to the 2258 / 2260......

That's good to hear! My 2014 vintage 562XP does require the "picky" starting procedure when hot.

 

[DUMF]

Hey Jake, you're working full time. Think over how much time it takes to sharpen a 16, 18, or 20" chain and maintain the bar ?
Cutting 5-10 cords of mixed firewood each year including many softwood blowdowns, I've gone successively down in bar length and saw size (though always pro models ) to a past decade of 16" bars only at 325 for all around harvesting and limbing. It's faster touching up a chain with a stump vise in the woods, or changing out 16" chains. They're lighter and easier to maneuver in tangled blowdowns and limbing.
Why 16" ? Before learning to bore cut, I thought you had to have at least a 24-28" bar to cut trees that thick ( DBH ). Now most any tree I can drop with a 16" bar with the right technique and saw. And, it's kind of fun to show the big boys with their 28" plus bars that you can do the same job ( some slower yes ) with your 16" bar.
We do sharpen on site, often hitting, rounds, barbed wire, nails.

 

[WiscWoody]

My main saw is a 562XP and since I live just a few towns from a guy that does a lot of porting work by the handle of Tree Monkey I had it ported by him. I run a 20" bar on it. I have a lot of money into it but I figure it'll be the last saw I'll buy. The only other saw I run is a 390XP/24" that's also ported.... well... since the guys close and all... but it rarely gets used.