chainsaw recommendations

[Bushmoose]

I 2 Poulans that have been great for several years. O

Poulan... pull n, pull n, and pull n................

[duckslayer]

5 pages and the only one talking about an echo is the OP, that might tell you something. I personally wouldn't think of any other saw than a stihl. If I had no choice but to switch then I would run a husky.

[line052]

Had serveral echo and poulans with my lanscape business in the first years 07/08, trimmers, blowers, saw. The first to go was the Poulan, upgraded to Stihl and after each died, got another Stihl to replace. (no longer do that type of work) My Grass trimmer, blower, saws and hedge trimmer are 8 yrs old and I have NEVER had a issue with any of them. Right now in Ottawa $249.00 for MS-170 (The saw I have)
Stihl has the annual fall sale on now. Will never buy anything other than a Stihl product again.

http://en.stihl.ca/

[mbmellis]

Once you go Stihl you never go back. But I was unhappy with the "easy start" feature available on some models. A bit tricky and finicky, even dangerous.

[mooboy76]

I had my eyes set on a Husky 555, or with smidge more cash a 550XP, but neither materialised. My wife instead picked me up a 455 rancher for Birthday/Father's Day/Get That Wood Cut Up Dummy Day. It gets a bit heavy, and I don't have the limiters pulled off to get the full power out of it and properly tune the carb, but I've run it for the past year without any issues. Grabbed an oregon semi-chisel chain and off to the races. I also grabbed a 16" bar and semi-chisel chain that I have yet to put on; hoping to give it a bit more rip than the stock 20".

Stihl, or Jonsered (made by Husky) would have been an easy substitute, but this is what I've got and I expect it to last a good long while.

Dolmar is harder to find, but I've also heard good things, and I hear their prices are a bit lower for what you get compared to the orange, red, or creamy grey saws.

The decompression button is nice. One to two pulls to burble, then the first real pull lights her up almost every time.

[greatwhite]

How did the 170 compare to the Poulan? I have a Stilh 025 and was thinking of getting the 170 as long as the 170 has more power then the poulan I would be happy. I don't expect the 170 to be as fast as the 025.

Had serveral echo and poulans with my lanscape business in the first years 07/08, trimmers, blowers, saw. The first to go was the Poulan, upgraded to Stihl and after each died, got another Stihl to replace. (no longer do that type of work) My Grass trimmer, blower, saws and hedge trimmer are 8 yrs old and I have NEVER had a issue with any of them. Right now in Ottawa $249.00 for MS-170 (The saw I have)
Stihl has the annual fall sale on now. Will never buy anything other than a Stihl product again.

http://en.stihl.ca/

[MikePal]

Dolmar is harder to find, but I've also heard good things, and I hear their prices are a bit lower for what you get compared to the orange, red, or creamy grey saws.

Coincidence, I had never seen a Dolmar saw before last week, I saw them in the 'Wood Chop Shop' in Ogdensburg. They have a full line of models available.

I didn't take note of the price difference though. I'll take a look the next time I'm there.

[MikePal]

How did the 170 compare to the Poulan? I have a Stilh 025 and was thinking of getting the 170 as long as the 170 has more power then the poulan I would be happy. I don't expect the 170 to be as fast as the 025.

The 170 is only a 30cc vs the 025 is a 45.5cc saw, so significant difference in weight and power.

[greatwhite]

I just want it to be small and better then a Poulan. I expect it will be less power the the 025. So it is 30 CC I think my Poulan is 35 cc. I wonder how it compare against the Poulan. I want it to carry on the bike with a small bar like a14 inch

The 170 is only a 30cc vs the 025 is a 45.5cc saw, so significant difference in weight and power.

[Bluebulldog]

Well...if I ever have to replace my chainsaw, I'll buy a Stihl. It's all we run here at work, and never any issues.

Having said that...my current saw is now 12 years old. 18" 42cc Poulan "Wild Thing" bought from the Poulan service dealer in North Brampton as a re-furb for $120. Never had any issues with it, other than just maintenance, and had to clean the high speed jet at about 7 years old. It's still running, and cutting like it always has.