what makes you say that?
I have a 5 series and I’ve had nothing but perfect performance since I bought it a couple yrs ago.
Is it suddenly going to crap out on me or what?
Skogsmannen
Well-Known Member
Experience.
I'm not saying I personally wouldn't buy a 550/560 (I have and will again next time but I do use mine most days), I'm saying that from the sounds of it, for the OP it's probably not the right saw.
My experience with 5 series stuff so far is they:
1) run faultless for the first year/18 months and slowy become a bit tempremental then get retired (currently two on the fleet about this point)
2) run faultless for the first year/18 months then fail spectacularly - usually main bearings (currently two on the fleet)
3) run terribly pretty much from the start and are back and forth under warranty until either out of warranty or replaced by husky (one of each)
4) mechanical damage to the castings (usually starter side - theres a bit that is really thin and prone to cracking)
Its almost like they've designed them not to last and also make them hard to work on so you have to keep buying new ones.
For comparison, I have some 3 series pro huskys that are pushing 20 years old that I know I can drag out from under the bench, put fresh fuel in and they'll go no prob.
2 series pro saws are a whole different league - like the 3 series but tougher! Working alongside a farmer one day saw a prized 242xp get run over by a teleporter and all it needed was a new chainbrake handle and the front handle straightening out....
I run Stihl saws. No complaints at all. In my view the model options often overlap so don’t get hooked up on getting it wrong. If you are buying second hand just avoid a pro saw that has had a tough life.
Consider bar length and overall weight.
MS 251 / 261 / 271 will all run a decent 18 inch bar and do a full days work. They are all good.
If you a discing / logging hardwood trunks 16 to 20 inches obviously something slighting bigger take on the job easier.
Be conscious of chains and sharpening technique. This kills performance / progress much more than make / model or engine spec…… and as others mentioned - PPE. Gloves, trousers, boots and helmet. Don’t start a saw with out it all on.
Have fun shopping and cutting!
Consider bar length and overall weight.
MS 251 / 261 / 271 will all run a decent 18 inch bar and do a full days work. They are all good.
If you a discing / logging hardwood trunks 16 to 20 inches obviously something slighting bigger take on the job easier.
Be conscious of chains and sharpening technique. This kills performance / progress much more than make / model or engine spec…… and as others mentioned - PPE. Gloves, trousers, boots and helmet. Don’t start a saw with out it all on.
Have fun shopping and cutting!
I ran husky 357s and 346s for 20 odd years and went over to Stihl when they brought out the ecu models (550,560).
The best saw for reliability was a 346xp all day long. The 357xp was lovely to use but was woefully unreliable in its own right. When they went over to the ECU saws I bought a stihl 261 and a 440. Kept the 261 when I retired to a desk. It’s what I would recommend. The closest new stihl saw I could get to an old husky 346.
The best saw for reliability was a 346xp all day long. The 357xp was lovely to use but was woefully unreliable in its own right. When they went over to the ECU saws I bought a stihl 261 and a 440. Kept the 261 when I retired to a desk. It’s what I would recommend. The closest new stihl saw I could get to an old husky 346.
Terrydeer
Well-Known Member
The new 261 are extremely plasticky. All the saws seem to have a two year lifespan, after which they die or become very unreliable.
You will never get anything like the bomb proof 242 that was the love of my life 30 years ago, sad but true
But what you will see from the thread is that everyone has their favourite.
Go for what you get the best deal on not just in price but in warranty and you won’t go far wrong.
You will never get anything like the bomb proof 242 that was the love of my life 30 years ago, sad but true
But what you will see from the thread is that everyone has their favourite.
Go for what you get the best deal on not just in price but in warranty and you won’t go far wrong.
Skogsmannen
Well-Known Member
I've just re-read what I wrote and realise it might not have come across how I meant it to - I wasn't putting down anyones advice on here, more referring to some of the armchair arborists over there.
Freeforester
Well-Known Member
Had a 242 for the Christmas trees over in Denmark, was a great workhorse. The two I have today are the husq 346xp and the Stihl M362C.The new 261 are extremely plasticky. All the saws seem to have a two year lifespan, after which they die or become very unreliable.
You will never get anything like the bomb proof 242 that was the love of my life 30 years ago, sad but true
But what you will see from the thread is that everyone has their favourite.
Go for what you get the best deal on not just in price but in warranty and you won’t go far wrong.
So it would be worth the expense then of buying the OE parts and doing a top end rebuild on my old school pre-X-torq 365 SP, which has a scored piston and bore and needs a new diaphragm?
Dealers tell me it's not worth the expense - and it nearly half the price of a new saw - but they would wouldn't they. And only the X-Torq 365 is still available. The old one like mine is long gone but you can still get the parts.
TBF, I bought a 550 XP II because I was using the 365 for hedge laying and it's far too big for that. Admittedly it does a lot of other, much heavier, work as well, but for hedge laying it was too heavy and the engine was under worked, which I suspect is where the scoring has come from with carbon building up on the plug and dropping onto the bore.
I bought the 550 because it was half the price of the equivalent pro cordless option, which would make sense for hedging, and I thought the autotune, which I'm well aware makes the whole carburettor a throwaway item, would be better at coping with the start/stop nature of the work and the tendency to sit idling between cuts.
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Skogsmannen
Well-Known Member
My guess is that if your 365 didn't die all of a sudden, then it will have picked up a bit of an air leak somewhere (crank seal etc) causing it to lean off and score over time. I'd be surprised if the stop/start working will have caused it to die. More than likely, the cylinder will be salvageable and you'd get away with a new gasket and a good aftermarket piston kit. I'm pretty sure the pre xt 365 was the same stroke as the pre xt 372 so a 372 top end will drop straight on....
I've not tried them personally yet, but the non chinese aftermarket cylinders are meant to be quite good and a lot less than oem.
Regarding the 550 and stop/start work, I've never liked it (but maybe I'm the strange one). Running it as a chipper saw, or more often when am running the Hypro or jumping on/off the forwarder, It always seems to me that it baulks,coughs and farts for ages, i'll nip a pranch or two off, switch it off and then go through it all again a few min later - but a non autotune saw never has that problem.
I have burnt out rather a lot of plugs on the 365 though they always came out in one piece. I think I will overhaul it. Even ten years old and down on compression it's still a cracking saw.
I've noticed the 550 does take a few minutes to clear it's lungs on start up, even when it's warm. One thing I don't like about it - though it's a minor annoyance - is that I can't operate the choke lever with gloves on. It's buried in that recess and I can't pull it out without taking a glove off.
I feel it needs a decompression button too. I wonder how many pull cords it's going to get through.
When it's up and running on full song I do find it a very nice saw to use. I just hope it stays that way. At least my saws are earning me money. maybe if it's purely for home use @Oly might be better off with a pre-ECU analogue saw. Trouble is, they're all going that way now with emissions regs and when all saws are like it, no one will want to part with their old school ones and the used market will dry up or they'll all get run into the ground.
I'm tempted to buy a new 365 XP and mothball it.
I've noticed the 550 does take a few minutes to clear it's lungs on start up, even when it's warm. One thing I don't like about it - though it's a minor annoyance - is that I can't operate the choke lever with gloves on. It's buried in that recess and I can't pull it out without taking a glove off.
I feel it needs a decompression button too. I wonder how many pull cords it's going to get through.
When it's up and running on full song I do find it a very nice saw to use. I just hope it stays that way. At least my saws are earning me money. maybe if it's purely for home use @Oly might be better off with a pre-ECU analogue saw. Trouble is, they're all going that way now with emissions regs and when all saws are like it, no one will want to part with their old school ones and the used market will dry up or they'll all get run into the ground.
I'm tempted to buy a new 365 XP and mothball it.
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The 365xt is also the same stroke as a 372 - the only difference are the fins of the transfer port covers, grind them out and polish the covers ant tweak the mixture and viola - you have a 372.
Regards,
Gixer
I have an old Stihl ms260 it's served me well from new it's just had a new cylinder and piston kit (its 2nd) which was a doddle to fit even for someone as un-mechanical as me. I'm going to keep running it as a spare but my next purchase will be a Makita Pro saw. All the new Huskys and Stihls have the electronic Carburettor which puts me off. I don't think they'll be as easy to maintain/fix like my old Stihl hence me looking at Makita/Dolmar.
Skogsmannen
Well-Known Member
Strange one on the 365 plugs, out of curiosity were you using the red two stroke oil (oregon or the cheaper husky/stihl stuff)?
Don't be worrying too much about starter cord life (or a decomp), especially on a small saw like a 550.
The used market is going that way already!
Yes, I was using red Stihl oil... Have switched to Husky LS now, which I notice has exactly the same spec code as XP oil but about £15 cheaper for four litres.
I'm sure leaving the saw chugging on the ground for too long was what burned the plugs out. I was only getting plugs fail when hedge laying, going through one or two a season. Though one year I had 1000 m of hedge with very big stuff in it and loads of big field maples that needed de-limbing/crown raising so the saw was used quite hard and that year I had no burn outs. Added to that carbon deposits from dirty oil maybe..?
I will look into sourcing non-Chinese after market parts and do a full top to bottom refurb I reckon.
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Oly
Well-Known Member
So I think I've whittled it down (excuse the pun!) to:
Husqvarna 346XP
Stihl MS261
Husqvarna 550XP (Mk2)
Any others? I must admit I'm leaning toward the first two as they sound more simple and easier to work on than the latter. The 50cc semi pro level seems about right, plus a reasonable weight too. Thoughts? Have I misunderstood anything? Any others?
Husqvarna 346XP
Stihl MS261
Husqvarna 550XP (Mk2)
Any others? I must admit I'm leaning toward the first two as they sound more simple and easier to work on than the latter. The 50cc semi pro level seems about right, plus a reasonable weight too. Thoughts? Have I misunderstood anything? Any others?
doric_prince
Well-Known Member
Would only say that I’m a novice user of chainsaws and the 550 Xp mkii is really easy to use. Simple to take off the bar, captive nuts, easy to clean and replace chain when the time comes. It starts well too. You won’t go wrong with this model.
