Chainsaws.

It is no secret that I hate Stihl Chainsaws or Maybe they hate me or maybe our hatred is mutual. No matter I have owned several Stihls over the years and I just can't keep the damned things running.

I am a Husqvarna guy almost 100% the only two exceptions are my Echo little 10" top trigger and my Big Echo 800 both kind of specialty saws. My Go to saws are my Husvarna's and these 4 (Yes I know the are only 3) but I am mentally seeing my 455 that I somehow backed over with the big tractor and pushed so deep in the mud that I had to use a chain and tractor loader to pull it back up very broken and mangled the other day

The 460 and the old 465 are my regular use bigger saws with 24" bars. I use them for felling and cutting the mill logs out of the trunks with full chisel chains. The 455 I run a 20" bar and cut the bigger firewood out of the crowns. The little 120 a very good saw after you modify the air filter and air intake, I use for getting into the crown and breaking all of the branches and little limbs down. If it is really thick in the crown I break the little Echo out World of difference working a crown with a 10"-14" bar VS a 20" or 24" bar!


460 and 465 Level work.


455 and a 20" bar level work.


120 and little Echo level work.


I cut the crowns into big pieces and fork them into piles and back over and destroy my 455 in the process LOL. Then cut the firewood out down to about 3" diameter. There is a lot of firewood to be cut out of the crowns that make a lot of BTUs. The little brush in big piles make for great bonfires. I cut and split the funky pieces like on the end of that front log for the camp fire ring.


I shoot for 1 day of cutting and 1 day of splitting and stacking = 1 Month of fire wood for one wood stove. Husqvarna Saws have served me better than any other brand has for the last 35 years.

 

I'm in the same thought train. I also have 3 Husqvarna chainsaws. They will run circles around my neighbors Stihl saws of the same size. I guess part of my attraction to Husqvarna comes from my motorcycle racing days loved the 360 and 390 Husky.

 

Me too! I have just two, both are Husky 440s with 18-inch bars. I have come close to needing a little something bigger, like a 20 - 24 inch bar but have managed with what I got. These little guys are fairly lightweight, durable and reliable, good for limbing and falling. I do keep good care of them but for 90% of what I do, they are enough. They start easy too as long as you do it as is directed. Both have been used very hard and I do mean, very hard. The only repairs so far have been a broken chain brake, easy fix. I can't really justify a larger saw now as got the main work all done, just some seasonal maintenance now, but if I did buy a larger saw it would be the Husky 460 or 465.

 

Huskys my go to, echo and stihl fightover 2nd and 3rd.

 

Let me know how you like Husqvarnas after all the us plants are closed and they're made somewhere in Asia.
Oh and trufuel sucks.
Stihls definitely don't like trufuel, doesn't matter if it's a saw, weed eater or blower. Stihl leaf blowers and weed eaters especially hate trufuel.
I also run 40:1 in everything now.
You run 50:1 because the epa told you to.
If you foul plugs at 40:1 your shit isn't tuned right.

 

Think my husky saw has a made in sweden tag on it.

 

They will probably continue to produce the commercial/professional ones.
They seem more than happy to close US plants that build homeowner gasoline mowers and saws, move over seas and make plastic battery powered junk.

 

Almost every part on my saws is made in Germany, Canada, Norway or Sweden. Made in the USA does not mean much now days as it is made just as Junky as if it were made in China. Woodford/Iowa Hydrants and the Echo Saws being two of the few that are still good quality things. The Echos are Either Made in Japan or the USA. The American Homeowner wanted cheap MTD Quality Garbage and that is what they got. Echo has their cheap junk consumer line of junk and then they have their higher quality commercial line. Same with A lot of companies. Stihl has their low end consumer junk and their commercial quality, same with Husqvarna. At this point I could care less if they close American Factories manufacturing consumer model junk in factories that dead beat Americans have no interest in working at.

 

Have ran those quality saw on it for years with ZERO problems, so can't agree with you on that one either.

 

Trufuel is catastrophiclly expensive. I'm not even sure if it's better than e10.
The only way I would run trufuel is if ethanol free pump gas was banned, all I could get was contaminated gas then I might run trufuel with more CD rated 2 stroke oil added to it.
If you checked your saws with a tachometer I bet they're all revving low.

 

Here's my free Husqvarna mower. Old guy bought in 2017 it because I was self propelled. By 2019 the self propelled function was non functional.
2 of the 3 pulleys melted, I suspect because of dust.
Then I got it in 2020 with a broke air cleaner, that's a Briggs part, which I couldn't get.
So I just deleted the self propelled feature and ran it with a broke air cleaner with glued on air filter.

 

My small huskys a cheaper saw, still made on sweden. My last good 435 husky got stolen out of my garage.

 

So you don't Like Husqvarna or Trufuel Point made. This may shock you but a lot of us do like one or both. And on what you want bet how much you wanting to bet? Because I will be happy to take your bet and will take the saws to the shop and get you certified diagnostic printouts. I have a Dyno that I use to tune the saws and already know the answer , the only question left is how much money you want to give me on the wager?

 

435 is a real good general purpose saw light enough and small enough to get around in brush and not wear you out but big enough to tackle average size trees and logs. Only thing I don't like about the 435 and 440 is they don't do so well driving a full chisel chain but do well with a semi chisel chain. That is just a personal thing for me. The 120s and 135s are nice for light work but the air filter system on them totally sucks and will get clogged fast with the fine sawdust in the air. The filter is to thick, is totally exposed with no cover or pre screen. LOL I started cutting N95 mask up using the official filter as a pattern and cut a metal window screen out 3 thick and putting on top of the Double N95 filter. Keep a tooth brush in my pocket to clean the metal screen and eventually take the top N95 off and replace it with another. The 120 runs like krap with the official filters even when they are new and clean and it just goes downhill fast from there. Runs like a little scalded ass cat with the N95s and metal screens.

 

When I went to work for the Navy in Guam, 30+ years ago, the chainsaws we had, for after-typhoon cleanup, were a hodgepodge of stuff that had been turned into DRMO, then reclaimed by my department, and made to run again. Not safely....just functionally!
After a year or two, I convinced the boss that they were an OSHA injury report waiting to happen, and we were told to scrap them again, while the Navy went out and bought three new Husquevarna's to replace them. Sweet machines, easy to keep running, and would work an 8 hour day of cutting up storm-felled trees with us.
We also got them to buy us a Granberg bar mount sharpener and file for the blades the "Huskies" used. Good to have, when we got to cutting up the iron wood trees, as that wood is so hard, that a few hours of cutting would dull the blades. Head back to the shop, and before lunch, I'd have the chains on the 3 Huskies, plus the big monster (older) chainsaw I used sharpened back up again, to go back out in the afternoon.

 

Having grown up in logging, I have had a metric ton of experience with all the various brands, and I can tell you hands down, the two European saw brands are light years ahead of any other manufacture!!!

There was a time back in the 70's and early 80's when Homelite was king, their commercial line was the top performer and it really showed the rest of the world what would be required to compete here in North America, like Kenworth Trucks, you had to be the best or you didn't work here! This was a time when a logger supplied his own tools, including his chain saw, so there was massive incentive to produce the very best if you wanted to stay in business very long, and I remember a time when you would see various manufactures show up to the logging decks with new trucks, saws, and all sorts of other equipment, many BIG name brands with their fortunes on the line, how well they did, and what the loggers thought of them would make or break them, Names like Tiger Cat, Mercedes Benz, MACK, KMC, Husqvarna, and Stihl! There were many other big names, names you don't see on the logging decks, and that shows just how important it is to get the very best out into the wilds of North America, the hardest and most demanding forests in the world!

I say all that to say:
I own and use BOTH Husky AND Stihl, both are the very best performers for different tasks and needs, but I also have a small selection of vintage Homelite's that have all been rebuilt, ( Hot Rodded) and I also use them daily! On my Cat double arch grapple Skidder, you will ALWAYS find my Husky 490 with it's 32 inch bar fitted with an Oregon Ripper Chain, you will also find a Stihl 470 also with Oregon Ripper chain on a 28 inch bar, and you might find my itty bitty Stihl 330 with 18 inch bar and carbide/chromoly rescue chain, or,...........my fav Homelite 340 with 24 inch bar and buzz saw carbide tooth chain! Here is WHY you will find this mix:
When it absolutely required tons of cutting torque, it has to be a Husky, no other saw can match the Husky for brute power, PERIOD! When you need speed above everything else, and the torque load isn't extreme, Stihl is the only choice, when Lives are on the line, Homelite gets the job done loud and proud! Running my saws head to head has shown which ones excel at what, and which don't get used much if ever ( I have a hard time selling them) and which need modified to do a better job! I am also VERY particular in my chain and bar choices! For heavy bucking or long run cuts, a ripper chain is the best for tooth life and sharpness, and with good bar oil, bar life! For speed cutting, a special made skip tooth carbide chromoly chain is the top choice, and for rescue work, ( Yes, I still keep a pair of emergency saws around and running) I generally use a diamond tooth "Rescue" Chain and roller bearing bar!

I run my saws on 91 to 98 octane fuel with Quicksilver Marine 2 stroke oil, the Husky's get a 40/1 mix, and the Stihl's get a 36/1 mix, the Homelites get a 32/1 mix ( due to the high compression and other race mods) and I run Golden Spectrol air filter screen oil on the pre filters, NO Grease, and no other oils, you don't want that shit getting into a carb, bad things happen, usually a saw going hard lean and KA-BOOM, exploded piston, and mangled rod, and sometimes, ventilated case = Junk Parts Saw!
E-85 blend fuel can actually be good for certain saws, it helps cool them, but you need to fatten your oil blend a fair bit, I don't recommend doing it unless your very savvy with tuning your saw's and knowing what to look for/listen for when running them! Those fancy fuels in a can, DON'T do it, it's a big waste of money, if you cannot get Pure gasoline, then I would ONLY recommend buying 5 gallon cans of 98 or 100 octane 76 Race Blend or VP Race blend, and mix with your regular unleaded 2/1 and then add your 2 stroke oil, and start a little fat and then work your way down watching your saw's head temps and spark plug color to see where she runs best on that! My Big Ass Husky is the odd ball here, It's a full race build saw, so it gets race gas and special plugs and has a built in temp gauge so I can see how she is running, and how much power she is cranking out, and I can tell when she is workin hard, vs too hard! I will add, None of my Stihl saws are modified, only the Husky's and Homelites!

If I was a noob just startin out and lookin for my first saw, a Husky 330 to 360 with a 24 inch bar would be my recommendation, or,.....same size Stihl and bar combo, BUT, get to know your local professional saw shop tech, he will likely have your Stihl almost as long as you! I wouldn't recommend a Vintage Homelite unless your savvy with chain saws and absolutely LOVE rebuilding them, if this fits your style, Boy Howdy, your gonna have some fun, those saws are Absolute Monsters when set up properly!

For any other brand, Fuggeddaboutit, they are ALL Cheap Junk!

Edit:
ONLY buy a "professional grade" chain saw, not a Farm Rated or Home Owner grade, and ONLY buy from a reputable dealer of that brand! Trust me, you Want to spend a little extra to get the kind of service those professional saw shops offer, it will really pay off later when you need work or just service done, and you usually get professional sharpening thrown in on the deal!
Lastly, invest in TOP Quality chains and the tools to maintain them, and only run top quality brand name spark plugs and service parts!

 

That 435 was my investment when oil field layed me off, cut some firewood then it got stolen lol

 

We have had great luck with Stihl, but Husky makes fine saws.

 

I used to not have a problem with Husqvarnas. Only thing I knew is they started easier than Stihls and the oil pumps like to burn up that's it.
Very few people do Husqvarna chains.
Stihl chains are the best hands down.

Trufuel, everything I learn about it is negative on top of negatives.
It's clearly lower volatility than pump gas. If for example if I fill a 1 gallon trufuel container with pump gas it will off gas to the point where it's stressing the container way beyond normal makes the container bulge and buckle in a manor that does not inspire confidence that it will hold. I use 1 gallon trufuel containers for diesel. I collect 1qt trufuel containers and refill them with 40:1 pump gas, the 1qts are great.

On my 30cc redmax weed eater 50:1 trufuel will cause me to lose about 600rpms, it will run like shit and will scorch the spark plug ground arm.
On my small easy to start echo trufuel I have to pull I about 3x as much to get it to start compared to 50:1 pump gas. With pump gas at 40:1, if I'm real fast and can release the manual choke before it's done sputtering I can get it to fire on the first pull army of darkness style.

I like to end on a positive note here's what I like about trufuel:

Free 40 and 50:1 trufuel runs great in my riding lawnmower that's why I'll take all the free trufuel I can get.
Also makes good weedkiller, works best if you do not light it up.
Free containers.
The biggest positive is it will allow you to get ethanol free gas in some region that doesn't have any.

 

Marine Quick silver can do weird things inside an air cooled engine. It's intended for liquid cooled 2 strokes.