404 harvester chain compared to 3/4" pitch

[cwjr]

I am just wondering if someone can shed some light on the differences, obviously the 3/4 is heavier and will last longer, but will take more HP to turn it because of the wider Kerf (cut). 

So far I have found the 3/4 is recommended at 6000 feet/min and the 404 is 8000feet/min.  But the 3/4 takes .060 thou per tooth and the 404 takes .050 per tooth. Wondering if the 3/4 cuts through a log any faster?

my big question is does anyone know the difference in horsepower requirement? 

I am building a processor and I am at the chainsaw adding point of the build. Went to the local Oregon dealer to order a 24" long harvester bar with 404 x.080 chain and a 13 tooth sprocket,  but he tried to sell me a 3/4 bar and chain he has, he says he will sell it to me cheap because there is no demand in our area for 3/4 stuff.   I told him that I have to redo my math before we can order the sprocket.  I have not bought either setup yet.

[Corley5]

Stay with the .404.

[Gary_C]

Big difference in the two sizes. You need a larger vice to sharpen 3/4 pitch chain and few people have one. The .404 bars cost about $70 and 3/4 bars well over $300.

Corley 5 is right, stick with .404 pitch.

[sawguy21]

I imagine he wants to part with that bar, nobody else wants it either. You would then be stuck with the cost and limited availability of 3/4 chain. I agree with Corley.

[Oliver1655]

Cory is on the money - .404.  If you are only running a 24" bar, have you considered .063?

[cwjr]

I have not considered .063 gauge, what would be the advantage of .063 over.080?    I am feeding the saw down with a hydraulic cylinder,  it seems most commercial units use the .080

[danabg]

We have had harvesters with both 3/4 and 404.Iwould definitely go with 404. It's way cheaper, easier to fix broken chains and takes less power to turn it.I wouldn't buy any machine that had a 3/4 setup on it anymore.

[sawguy21]

Cory is on the money - .404.  If you are only running a 24" bar, have you considered .063?

We don't move much .063, it is not strong enough for most applications.

[cwjr]

I have a sunfab scm 012 motor ordered for it, this is the bent axis piston style motor that can achieve 8000 rpm.  According to my math for my setup I will be running it about 7500 rpm,   I am trying my best to get the 404 into its optimum speed of 8000 feet per minute.  I am going to stick with the 080 gauge plan.  If I were using a smaller setup or hand feeding it I would consider the .063,  It is really not much cheaper to buy either.

Just painted my processor today, (with no saw part on it yet)  I will take some pics of it when I get it out of the garage and post them

[hdsuperglide1972]

Good morning just read your post and want let you know what i did.
I also went with a sunfab motor It is a scm 17 witch is the next size bigger. I am run about 22gpm to it the chain speed is a round 5000 fpm also a 24" bar will cut about 14" wood. The cut time is about 2 sec. I share the oil between saw and spliter and I have to wait on spliter to cycl. about 6 to 7 sec time on spliter. totla cycl. anout 10 to 12 sec sound fast but when run it seen like all day. I have seen a lot of factory built machines use the scm 12 motor so I thing your on the right track. I went with the bigger motor for more hp. I had a parker motor fist given to me that ran 1200rpm wicth had  the 8000 fpm chain speed and it sounded scary to be so close to. That is not why i did not use it had to be rebuilt  and could buy the Sunfab cheaper then the rebuild. Here a pic of mine.

 

[chainsaw]

Iv`e dealt with both sizes running delimbers over the years so I`ll give my 2 cents too.I like 404 way better.seems 404 cuts good even when dull and with broken teeth.3\4 cuts slower,takes more power to cut and it seems like when even slightly dull it doesn`t cut real good.It is lots more expensive and the bars are near $500 bucks local to me.
   The bad news for our area is the harvester bars are being phased out.can`t get them anywhere so loggers here are having to change over to 16H.