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Stihl chain saws
The professionals use professional grade; which equates with medium and heavy duty equipment. Consumers (such as myself) prefer lighter weight equipment, which pretty much equates with light duty.
My old 80s vintage McCollough started to takes it's toll on my arthritis - I guess maybe it could have been considered medium duty - so I went shopping for something lighter; specifically Stihl or Husqvarna. I ended up with an 025C (the predecesor to the MS250) which was the most horsepower available at the time, in the lightest head. I was told it the fault of the EPA, but this saw is all RPMs and no torque. I wore myself out sectioning one hickory trunk for firewood, and ended up actually finishing the job with the old McCollough.
Tried to find a Husqvarna dealer that was interested in taking a slightly used Stihl in trade - they weren't interested.
//greg//
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I agree completely Art. Although I can't help but wonder if there aren't different EPA standards for commercial two strokes as opposed to consumer-grade stuff. There was nothing mechanically wrong with my vintage McCollough, other than the weight versus arthritis issue (elbows). I thought I was trading straight across for a saw with equal or better capabilities. Well - it may have looked that way on paper, but it sure didn't work out that way in the field.
Then again - since the high rpm/low torque is an EPA thing - I might be a Husky owner wishing I'd bought a Stihl, instead of the other way around.
//greg//
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Well, the toll on my arthritis taken by the 12-13 pound McCollough's is what made me decide to retire it. The Stihl 025C head weighed in at 10.3 pounds, but they still managed to squeeze 3hp outa 2.7cc. On paper that looked good; light and comparatively powerful. In the field, it turned out to be light. Period.
//greg//
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Yeah, hindsight is 20/20 Art. The old 18" McCollough went through that hickory just fine. On paper, it seemed that a Stihl with the same displacement and horsepower and Oregon bar/chain should perform similarly (or better considering the age difference). The only real (external) difference between the two saws was the weight. And of course the comparatively poor performance of the new Stihl against the old McCollough.
I don't section hickory on a regular basis, it just happened to be the job that the McCollough was engaged in at the time I bought the Stihl. I've since simply relegated the Stihl to the roll of trimming saw. A little heavy for trimming, but it beats buying a new saw to replace another (almost) new saw.
//greg//
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Thanks Murf. I understand what you're saying, I've been doing this for 20 years myself. Anyway, I mentioned above that both the McCollough and the Stihl were running 18" Oregon bars and chains. Additionally, the McCollough bar/chains were well used. But the Stihl had a new outa the box bar and 3 chains stated by Oregon to be specifically for the 025C
Specific to the hickory, the old McCollough didn't need much more than it's own weight to make a reasonably straight section. The shiny new Stihl needed almost constant constant down pressure, which actually caused chain stoppage at times. I wasn't impressed. It got so aggravating that I finally I got the old McCollough back out to finish the job.
But I still parted with the old Mac, simply because of the weight factor. Still got the Stihl, I just don't let it get near hickory trunks anymore.
//greg//
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You obviously know what you're talking about Art - and I respect that. But I also think you missed the part where I said the old McCullough outperformed the new Stihl while BOTH were using model-specific Oregon bars and chains.
Or am I the one missing something? Perhaps you're suggesting that the high rpm/low torque difference between two saws using the same chain is the cause. If so, is the answer to switch to Stihl chains? or to something else?
Oh, and I apologize to the OP - I'm afraid I'm guilty of hijacking here. On the bright side, perhaps some of the answers I get may apply to your situation.
//greg//
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