Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
Go for the pro model. Sounds like you will be doing more than just homeowner work with it.
Egon
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
Brand issues aside, two bars are a good choice. I have a 12" for general purpose use and a 20" for felling and cutting larger stuff. I picked the 12" for the more frequent chore of limbing trees and cutting fallen limbs. Lighter and easier to maneuver than a 16.
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
Any brand chain saw will do the trick, 1.5 acres is a walk in the park. A 16-20" bar can tackle major chores but the key is to keep the chain sharp.
Where you buy your firewood, tell them you need it 16" and many will take care of cutting, and that sounds like a pretty standard size for fireplaces.
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
If I were in your shoes, I would go with the quality of the pro. I also would stick to the 20" bar and not have to be changing it (or wishing it was changed) all the time.
I like the 20" bar because it demands less bending over when limbing and cutting wood than a shorter bar. True, the 20 is a bit heavier, but I think being used to one bar length is helpful (for safety, if nothing else).
I get two new chains for each new sprocket, and if I had two bar lengths, I would feel I would need two sprockets and four chains. Another reason I would stick to one bar length.
Just my opinion. You do what feels best.
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
Just another though to justify the pro model.
If cutting fire wood this is a constant operation and the saw may operate at elevated temperatures for long periods of time. The pro model will handle this. The home owner model does not have the cylinder/piston metelurgy for this type of operation.
Egon
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
Sounds like the consesus is to have santa spend the extra $75 for the pro model. That is what I was leaning towards, but it is good to have know that I am on the right track.
I just remembered that my father in law has an old saw he wants to give us maybe 14 or 16". I think I'll spec. the new one with a 20" bar and keep the old one for the limbing if it works well, or maybe just for the dirty stump work if it doesn't.
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
I just got my husky on thurs. the bar on mon. and called about the chains today. I ordered it from nopel online and saved about 130.00 on a husky 372xp with a 20" bar. sounds like you like quality tools so I would go for the pro line if I were you.
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
KC,
Thanks for the link. The place is about 25 minutes from my house [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Re: Do I need a pro chainsaw
I agree with egon, go the pro route. For the few extra dollars it's not worth sweating over.