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Stihl chain saws
I bought a Stihl MS290 chainsaw to replace my old worn-out Husky 136 consumer grade saw. The Stihl is awesome but after a few hours the extra 3+ lbs of weight takes it's toll. I'm looking at buying one of the smaller Stihl saws, like the MS250, which is lighter and easier to use on smaller jobs. Are the smaller Stihl saws as well built as their larger brethren?
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Stihl chain saws
I've worked with some professional tree cutters. All they use---me too (I'm a contractor, not a tree guy)--is Stihl. The tree guys call the smaller saw "trim saws".
I used to buy Husqvarna, but not after a crappy cutoff saw I had.
I have a 760 or 790 (I think) Stihl 16" diameter cutoff saw which is basically the same as a chain saw---almost 7hp! And it's h-e-a-v-y. I used it cut open jewelry store safes in the Lower 9th Ward, Louisana from Katrina.
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Stihl chain saws
The 290 never impressed me as much as the 260!
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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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Stihl chain saws
Ken,
I purchased a Stihl MS 192T. I had been eye balling the Stihl MS 192T for quite awhile. I needed a reliable and servicable limbing saw for when I am out cutting firewood. For the past 15 years I have been using a Homelite Super 2 which as been a real trooper but the plastic and rubber tanks, oil, and fuel lines are getting real old and the thing leaks like a siv. Parts are getting tougher to find if you can find them at all and it smokes like a freight train. It finally seized up about a month ago.
The Stihl MS 192T is very light and well balanced. I went with the 192 T primarily because of top handle equipped throttle trigger and it comes with an attachment anchor loop for a lanyard it you are climbing up a tree to do some work. Where I live is a forestry industry town and the guy at the Stihl Saw Shop had never seen an MS 192 T before be he even commented about how well he liked the feel and light weight. This saw performs unbelievably well limbing oak tree tops for its big brother the O-66 I have used for the past 14 years to cut firewood. Weighing in at a tad over 16 pounds, the O-66 is a cuttin' haus but it gets mighty heavy after several hours cutting and limbing tree tops. The dealer evern threw in a free 6 pack of Stihl 2.5 gallon size 2 stroke mix.
The 192T runs for a long time on a tank of fuel and I can cut a pickup load of tree top limbs on a tank usually. Having a really big and really small saw seems to work well as I can cut up the tree top limbs with the 192T and saw up the remaining large logs with the O-66.
Another think I like about the MS192T is that its small size and light weight make it ideal to take out on the trail on the ATV to clean up low lieing branchs and trees that fall across the trails provided they are not too large. The MS200T is the professional grade saw but it cost $500 vs. the $279 for the 192T.
The top handle and throttle allow you to cut with one hand and pull the cut pieces out of the way with the other. I highly recommend this saw.
If the MS 290 get too heavy for you, the MS 250 is not going to make much difference as the 290 weighs about 13 lbs. vs. the 250 weighing about 10 lbs. The 192T wieghs about 6 1/2 lbs. Use the 290 for the big stuff and the 192 for the small stuff.
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Stihl chain saws
Randy, thanks for the pointer. I've also concluded that one saw won't do it all. The 290 easily takes out a 18" tree but limbing is a real chore. The little Husky 136 was a compromise that would struggle on a larger trees and wasn't ideal for limbing either. It was a heck of a saw for the price and if a dealer was closer the choice between Husky & Stihl would be tough. At 7 lbs the 192T does look like it would take the work out of limbing and the top handle control looks really good. I think I'll pick one up.
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Stihl chain saws
I think you will be very impressed as well as satisfied with the 192T Ken. It sure did make a BIG difference in how much and how fast I could cut up large tree tops as well as limbs up to about 8 inches in diameter but I try to stick with nothing more than about 4 inches and save the larger stuff for the O-66.
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Stihl chain saws
Randy, I bought a MS192T and used it for a few hours this afternoon. It's a real joy to use and is definitely a winner. It makes short work out of limbing these tall firs without tuckering a guy out. Thanks for the tip!
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Stihl chain saws
Glad to hear you like it. For such a small chainsaw it is a real haus and gets a lot of work done on a tank of gas. Did you get the 14 inch bar? Very welcome. I should have mentioned that you should get the stihl sharpening kit pouch that comes with the file hold file and handle. The smaller chain is real easy to sharpen and so far lasts about 5 tanks of gas between sharpenings.
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Stihl chain saws
Hey Greg, we take both makes in trade on a regular basis and we do see people swapping both ways but it's normally from wrong applications of sizes that causes the change. I like the pro models of both over the home owners. Lot's more torque and horsepower from both.
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