Chainsaw wars revisited!

[Pat]

I have never personally owned a Stihl nor a Husky. I have had only Macs in gas and some small electrics.

Anyway, I have been researching chainsaws as I have become interested in a chainsaw mill for hobby quantities (or maybe a little more) of "home made" lumber. To really not have the size of the chainsaw be a real weak link in production, you need a saw that is about $1000, Stihl or Husky. If you have the patience of Egon, yo can get by with less.

Performance and features wise: weight, HP, etc. the Stihl and Husky are essentially equivalent.
The larger saws, called PRO model saws by Stihl, when purchased in the US only have a 90 day warranty! If you buy one from Canada for delivery in the US, it has no warranty!

Husky carries a 2 year homeowner use warranty. Am I missing something here? For the same $ why not go for 8 times as long of a warranty?

I realize there are thousans if not millions of satisfied Stihl owners. I'm not detracting from the quality of that brand. My argument is based on the general concensus of pro loggers who have used both brands and think they are essentially equivalent plus the difference in warranty.

Caveat: I have not contacted either company but have gleaned info from the web, advertisements, FAQ pages of saw sellers, and such. Some were authorized sellers of Stihl and or Husky.

Oh, and by the way... I have been advised that chain speed is quite important and can't be made up for by increased blade pressure against the wood. Therefore my consideration for using a chainsaw bar and chain with a cheap engine (for a chainsaw mill) would require "belting up" the RPM quite significantly. Blade speds of the chain are about 60 MPH or 88 ft per second. This would require sealed bearings selected to survive the forces involved. By the time it was worked out the savings over a standard chainsaw retrofitted with a ripping blade would be marginalized. Yet another idea to be stored away for later and just in case.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

If you have the patience of Egon,

No patience involed; It's called poverty stricken.

Egon <font color="blue"> </font color>

[dummy]

What about Jonsered? Owned one for a little while, but someone else decided they needed it more than I. A fellow in the tree business turned me onto them, he swears by them and buys nothing but. I still really like my Stihl 034. Mac, you can't get parts for the older ones. Poulan, well.....no thanks. And, oh BTW, Stihl restricts their dealers from selling out of their local area. Kind of a good thing in a way, but ....

[fivestring]

<font color="red">"Husky carries a 2 year homeowner use warranty. Am I missing something here? For the same $ why not go for 8 times as long of a warranty?" </font color>

After seeing at least 5 times as many Huskys as other brands in my buddy's small engine shop, he told me why.
To satisfy my need for input, I travelled to two other friends small engine shops. Again, more Huskys than any other brand.
Is this because there might be more Huskys than any other saw?
Could it be because they break down more?
I don't know the real answers, but, it seems that each year model uses a part or two different from the previous year model, making parts finding a challenge (according to my buddies).
With Huskys, you can't take 3 broken saws of the same model from different years and make one good saw (again, according to my friends that do small engine repair).
Just my .02.

[ScottAR]

I believe the reason may lie in the fact that husky's are sold nearly everywhere. Box stores, Sears, mail order, etc... People buy them and maybe they know how to care for them and maybe they don't.

Stihl requires you to buy from a dealer which hopefully will show you how to care for your saw which works in theory, unless one has a crappy dealer. I haven't met a crappy Stihl dealer but I'm sure some exist.

[gsganzer]

I believe that Husky and Jonsered are the same saw. You used to be able to interchange parts.

[dmccarty]

Pat,

I have three Stihl's, a 046 Pro chainsaw, a FS80, I think, weed
wacker/brushcutter and a handheld blower.

The FS80 has to be around 10 years old. And HAS been used.
The only problem I have had with it is a leaky gas take which
started when the FS80 fell out of the bucket of my tractor.
[img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] That ain't Stihl's fault. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Other than that "problem" the equipment has performed
flawlessly. The chainsaw is at least 5-6 years old and gets used
a couple times a month on average.

All of them have just required reasonable care, good fuel/oil,
and spark plugs. I have put in a couple spark plugs. Given
the years and the use of the equipment a couple spark plugs
sure seems cheap. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I'll buy more Stihl products as needed....

Later,
Dan McCarty

[egon]

North Of 49 you got to go to a dealer for a Husky.

Egon

[Pat]

Dan, Thanks for the user report. I find that all decent quality equipment has its supporters and always a few detractors too. Nothing hardly ever is universally liked but Stihl and Husqvarna sure have loyal followings that outnumber the detractors by a fair margin. I'm sure either, sized correctly, would serve me well.

I can't help but chuckle remembering all the Johnson versus Evinrude arguments I heard years ago, and this after OMC (Outboard Motor Corporation) owned and built both brands with most models having the same identical parts except engine cover and paint color.

Not to imply that Stihl and Husky mfg are the same, of course they aren't, just pointing out human nature to differ over a product even when the difference is literaly only skin deep.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

fivestring, 5 times as many Husky saws as Stihl? If the same number were sold in the area the odds might still favor Husky with a warranty 8 times as long as Stihl. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Maybe I have been looking in all the wrong places but I haven't seen a Stihl in this part of the country, in use or in a store. Lots of "farm" stores have Husky and among the local wood cutters I have seen, the top saws in use have been Husky.

If I had a Stihl I haven't a clue who would be experienced in working on them. I don't want it to become me. I can do a lot of things but I don't want to do all the things.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]