I Know It's Been Asked but Need the Latest Word on Saws ... Best Bang for the $$

[DGK]

Hi Beenthere,

When were bucking wood there is so much other noise from the Bobcat that the idling saw is no problem. Haven't had any plug issues at all. We have tried shutting down the saws in the past but they appeared to hotter than when left idling (sawdust smoking etc),plus we were going through pull cords.



. Sorry no videos available. but here is picture of one end of the bundle of wood being bucked.

[stonebroke]

DGK You guys ever think about a firewood processor?

Stonebroke

[DGK]

Hi Stonebroke,

Ya though about it, researched it etc. Our market here is primarily for round wood as opposed to split. Most of the trees that we use for firewood are under 12" dbh. When you start looking at processors, the production numbers are usually based on large diameter trees. We are able to buck about 3 cord per hour using the chainsaws. This works well for me. There are guys in town with processors but the cost of the machine vs. the volume produced doesn't seem too profitable.

[GASoline71]

I don't understand the idling for cool down. Seems the saw would cool faster if shut off. Granted, there is no air moving past the cooling fins, but still....how much air does an idling saw move that cools more than the internal heat generated by the saw firing?  And to me, an idling saw doesn't burn clean which leads to plug fouling and maybe fouling under the head and in the muffler.  Don't know these answers, just thinking of other two-stroke engines and even some four stroke experiences.

Me either... saws are not like diesels with a turbo... where they need to idle down to cool the turbo off.  Or after pullin' a hard load a transmission will get hot, so you keep the engine idleing for cool down.

Gary

[stonebroke]

Dgk, Are you cutting killed trees, so they are already dry?

Stonebroke

[Al_Smith]

 That's a pretty good sized operation there  I have to say . I think the most I ever cut in an entire year was around 60-70 cords and that was years ago when I sold the stuff .

[DGK]

Stonebroke,

We cut Beetle-kiled spruce which has been standing dead for up to 15 years. Very dry wood so it is ready to burn right away.

[Al_Smith]

 Now like Paul Harvey says,the rest ot the story  :D

Spruce is like cutting balsa wood which explains how you can cut up three cords per hour . I've cut and burned the stuff in the Colorado mountains deer hunting and it isn't the greatest fire wood I'll tell you that .

Of course if that's all you have you have to make do with it  .Then  too I suppose we in the east are spoiled  with our vast assortments of hard woods .Which by the way you can't get three cords per hour . One guy would be lucky to get that much in a day ,long one at that .

[DGK]

That's 3 cord per hour with 2 saws running and a bobcat supporting the operation. Bucked 16 or 18" lengths not split. Semi-trailer loads of wood nice and neat.

[Al_Smith]

 Like I said you could do it on those fence post sized soft woods all piled up nice  and neat .Never happen on good old eastern oak out of the woods . :D

[DGK]

I wish that we had some hardwood. Pretty much just white spruce and a bit of pine here.  :(

[John Mc]

... Then  too I suppose we in the east are spoiled  with our vast assortments of hard woods.

I'll say. I've run into people here in New England who say "Oh no, you can't burn softwoods. It's not safe. You'll get too much creosote build-up and start a chimney fire."

To which I reply: creosote build-up is mostly a function of burning green wood, or not operating your wood stove properly (starving the fire for air). What do you think wood burners use in areas where softwoods are the only thing that grows? The only difference is, they've got to make more frequent trips to the woodpile than someone burning hardwoods does.

John Mc

[cb6048]

husky 346xp nuff said

[Al_Smith]

No doubt a 346 is a nice little saw ,so are others in that size range for that matter .

As far as burning conifers for firewood ,if that's alll you have you really have little choice in the matter .  An air tight stove though will compound the creosote problem I can assure you that from prior experiance . Perhaps with more air and a hotter fire it wouldn't be so bad .

In those Colorado mountains I had mentioned you have two choices .Either dead blue spruce or quakeing aspen . Neither is the best but ya gotta do what you gotta do because once the sun sets at around 10-11,000 feet it gets rather chilly . Down right cold as a matter of fact .

[John Mc]

No doubt a 346 is a nice little saw ,so are others in that size range for that matter .

It sure is a nice saw, but it ain't cheap.

As far as burning conifers for firewood ,if that's all you have you really have little choice in the matter .  An air tight stove though will compound the creosote problem I can assure you that from prior experiance . Perhaps with more air and a hotter fire it wouldn't be so bad .

In fact, it burns quite nicely (although quickly, and without much coals) with the appropriate amount of air. That's one of the reasons the newer EPA certified stoves won't let you choke the air down as far as the older "airtight" stoves did. The fire burns a lot dirtier when starved for air - higher particulate emissions, and a lot more creosote. You lose a lot of BTUs burning that way as well... some of what's going up the chimney will burn, but not at the lower temperatures of a smoldering fire.  but I guess I'm getting quite off the OP's topic here.

[Al_Smith]

No in fact a 346 is not cheap .However if one were to look back in history saws have never been cheap . Fact is in retrospect they are actually cheaper than they were in the 60's .

I personally don't buy new saws ,only two of same in my lifetime .

However if you say take into consideration that a 200T Stihl will pay for itself in a day or two it isn't that bad . My first saw was an S-25 Poulan which I still have .It was 139.95 on sale . That saw paid for itself in just few days because I was selling firewood at the time . The fact it that saw has likely paid me back 100 fold the original price--plus I still have it .

[gemniii]

I've started to look for a good log yard saw for 22 to 30 inch White Pine & Hemlock Logs.   

Avery

Well I've just finshed my first tank and then about another half with my John Deere CS62 (aka Efco).
It's a little heavy for me for overhead work, but waist high and lower it's great w/ a 20" bar and full chisel chain.
If you search around you might be able to find a good bargain on one since John Deere has now switched to selling Stihls.

[ladylake]

 The CS62 is one of Efco's better models, same weight as the 56cc saws and more power, built good.  There were some really good deals on Ebay a while back.   Steve

[weimedog]

I love these "bang per buck" threads. Usually they go back and forth brands smashing or ego baiting..all fun. So I have to throw my hat into the ring.

Best bang per buck depends on how mechanical you are...and how fashion driven you are.

For me? The best Bang per buck has been provided with one of three saws:

1) A $10 Dollar Homelite 540 with  28 inch bar...aquired for ten bucks and I have added a few hours of elbow grease, a carb kit, new chain, new fuel & chain oil lines, just general clean up. Oh yea a couple of helicoils to strenghten the muffler & cover mounting points. Total spent? MAYBE 50 dollars. Its a second pull starting (reguardless of weather & temps) 88cc saw that can make a pile of chips in a hurry. Proven to be reliable as well.

2) My $150 dollar Husqvarna 455. Bought from Tractor Supply as a problem customer return. Of course this was two days after an ICE STORM! So I gambled & argued and ended up with it along with a pair of 440e's for $150 dollars each. All looked brand new. All turned out to be..perfect and brand new with no issues I have found yet. One 440e was resold for $200 to help offset the gamble.....$450 minus $200...$250 dollars for two saws. The 440e has been used for countless hours reliable by my Wife, and the 455 by me for most of this summer. BOTH much better than reported here and places like this.

3) My $25 Dollar Homelite S-XL 925. It looked clean in the pile of saws I was picking over, it had compression but I didn't know at the time if it had spark..I gambled..It had spark. A fuel line, fuel filter, & carb kit later it was running really well. A new Oregon "Power Match" bar & Oregan chain later it was cutting wood. That was 7 years ago and it still runs strong as ever. So maybe $100 dollar saw...hours and hours of cutting hard maple, Ash and Hickory later its by far the best Bang per Buck saw I have.

From what I have heard and seen for "Newer" saws.

1) Those Makita/Dolmar 6400 series saws are hard to beat used or new. Especially when you can get a Barrel to build them to a 80cc power house..and yea there is that new filter upgrade.

2)Clean Ebay or used Husqvarna 266-272's or even newer 365's Usually under $350 bucks clean including mail and easy to build to what you want. 372's bring top dollar.

3) Those clean  Ebay or used 290 & 310 Stihls and other Stihl's that are the smaller CC versions of a particular class of Stihl saw. No one wants them used as they can get the bigger versions for the same money..they are better than posted about. My friends has a 310. Its been a solid machine in the harshes of environments.

Moral of this story? there are lots of great bang per buck situations out there if your mechanical enough and do a little research. Its fun as well...the hunt & gamble part at least. AND the money isn't that big so..have a little fun. It might turn into a habit.

My current project..a Husqvarna Model 61 thats loosing its 48mm barrel & topend entirely in favor of a like new 50mm top end & carb from a 268XP aquired for $50 bucks. Total dollars? When done? Maybe $150 invested total along with my time. I bet it will out cut, out last, and out run anything you could buy new for $300 dollars new.

[Al_Smith]

Best bang per buck depends on how mechanical you are...and how fashion driven you are.

   
   

:D That covers a lot of territory Walter . You gotta remember what forum you are on now . A few of us can fiddle and tinker and soup up saws that will outrun the next class size up but most can't . ;)--or take 3 saws and come up with one but then again it goes back to that mechanical know how thing . Which I might add can be a a good thing or bad depending on how you look at it . I will say this though,it's neat to revamp a saw,maybe soup it up but you can certainly spend hours doing it . 8)

[ladylake]

My last one was a CS5500 off Ebay with a bad coil (it was bad) and a broken case, it had one little chip out of it that make no difference. I bid $10 got it for $5.50 plus $17 shipping, put on a coil I has laying around and it ran good but kind of gutless. Then modded the muffler which really woke it up.  These Echo saws really wake up with a muffler mod.  My CS8000  is 3 saws put together .  Steve

[DanG]

Avery, unlike many of these guys, I hang out on other parts of the Forum and I know exactly what you want this saw to do for you.  I do the exact same thing you are wanting to do.  I chose the Echo CS-670 because they have the best dealer anywhere around here, and I've been very pleased with it.  I've had it for about 7 or 8 years now with no problems at all.  I know that becoming a chainsaw mechanic is not in your plans, and I've found both of my Echos to be very dependable.

[Al_Smith]

Yes indeed dealer support is very important and something that must be factored in if a person is not well adept in doing mechanical work on saws .

For  those of us who have a scad of saws of  nearly every make and model it means very little because if one is down for parts we might have 25-40 that do run . For those who only have one maybe two  ,you have to have a reliable place for both parts and mechanical work if needed . Not take in the saw and get it back two months later either .