Chainsaws....Again.....

[TNWNGR]

This topic came up a short time ago but now I'm the one looking for a new chainsaw and wanted to see if there's anything really new and or better I should be considering. At this point I'm leaning towards a Husqvarna 445 Series 45.7-cc 2-Cycle 18-in Gas Chainsaw because its mostly going to be used for limbing and small tree removal. I've run 20" bar and larger Stilh  chainsaws in the past when heating with firewood so I'm familiar with that brand. As to the Jonserred saws I've no personal experience but their reviews aren't noticeably better. Oh yeah, I've had terrible results and experience with Poulan chainsaws and none with Echo.

[Esko 270]

 Ms192c,it's a Stihl but it's perfect for what you are  talking about, I've had mine for years and its been awesome, assuming they still make it, it would be a good one.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Esko 270

[FUJIMO]

I have 5 pieces of husky equipment, 2 are saws and all run with precision.

Had a good jonesered too, fwiw.

[Hozzie]

All the better ones you mention will work. I am a Stihl fanboy though.  

[Dane]

Husqvarna and Jonsered are the same company. Typically you will get a few more features for the same $$ with the Jonsered saws.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Ugly]

I have a Husqvarna 455 and it's been fantastic, I've had it about 13 years and wore out my last bar. Come to find out not all Husqvarna bars are the same. Special order item now. (Which reminds me, I still need to order a few)

i replaced my shindaiwa (which was awesome) with a stihl, awesome as well. 

Echo bought out shindaiwa and quit making their saws, the dealers were selling echos in their place. 

I was more than unimpressed with what echo did to shindaiwa's trimmers and think they ruined the brand.

So I highly recommend Husqvarna and Stihl. 

[Danger Rane]

6 hours ago, TNWNGR said:

This topic came up a short time ago but now I'm the one looking for a new chainsaw and wanted to see if there's anything really new and or better I should be considering. At this point I'm leaning towards a Husqvarna 445 Series 45.7-cc 2-Cycle 18-in Gas Chainsaw because its mostly going to be used for limbing and small tree removal. I've run 20" bar and larger Stilh  chainsaws in the past when heating with firewood so I'm familiar with that brand. As to the Jonserred saws I've no personal experience but their reviews aren't noticeably better. Oh yeah, I've had terrible results and experience with Poulan chainsaws and none with Echo.

I have a Husqvarna in the size you mentioned. Got it about 1.5 years ago at lowes, no issues thus far but I've honestly only had about 6 tanks of gas through it. I find it to be the perfect size for my tasks which are basically limbing and taking down trees periodically. There's not a tree on my property that I couldn't get through with this size, and it's not a back breaker to lug around and use overhead for a while. My Dad  has a similarly sized Stilh, he's had it about 3-4 years, and it's a really nice saw as well. He has a 20" chain/bar combo and also a 16" combo depending on what he's doing. Prior to getting my Husq I borrowed a friends Poulan and was not at all impressed. Not sure where you are in Middle TN but if you want to link up and check this saw out before buying one let me know.  

[runco]

Just like the infamous Ford and Chevy debate, just get the Toyota.  Same comparison, just get the Stihl. 

[Sam1]

12 hours ago, TNWNGR said:

This topic came up a short time ago but now I'm the one looking for a new chainsaw and wanted to see if there's anything really new and or better I should be considering. At this point I'm leaning towards a Husqvarna 445 Series 45.7-cc 2-Cycle 18-in Gas Chainsaw because its mostly going to be used for limbing and small tree removal. I've run 20" bar and larger Stilh  chainsaws in the past when heating with firewood so I'm familiar with that brand. As to the Jonserred saws I've no personal experience but their reviews aren't noticeably better. Oh yeah, I've had terrible results and experience with Poulan chainsaws and none with Echo.

Jonsered. for delimbing and small fast stuff, you can't beat them because their chain speed is substantially faster.  Feels like a lot more power in a lighter package as long as you keep the chain sharp and don't use one of those dumb anti kickback chains (some of them come on the saws now)

***Disclaimer*** I bought a new CARB compliant Jonsered couple of years back to replace an older one and it was not as good (still better than the others though IMHO) so if you can find a non-CARB compliant model, buy it instead.  But hell, CARB compliance ruins anything, all the saws may come that way now.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Sam1

[TNWNGR]

47 minutes ago, Sam1 said:

Jonsered. for delimbing and small fast stuff, you can't beat them because their chain speed is substantially faster.  Feels like a lot more power in a lighter package as long as you keep the chain sharp and don't use one of those dumb anti kickback chains (some of them come on the saws now)

***Disclaimer*** I bought a new CARB compliant Jonsered couple of years back to replace an older one and it was not as good (still better than the others though IMHO) so if you can find a non-CARB compliant model, buy it instead.  But hell, CARB compliance ruins anything, all the saws may come that way now.

All of the Jonsenred models I've seen advertised are CARB compliant, pretty much every other saw is too..

 

Edited January 21, 2017 by TNWNGR

[Dolomite_supafly]

My wife picked up an electric chainsaw and to be honest it is pretty nice for small work. If I have to go beyond electrical cord range I will just fire up a generator.

[hipower]

9 minutes ago, Dolomite_supafly said:

My wife picked up an electric chainsaw and to be honest it is pretty nice for small work. If I have to go beyond electrical cord range I will just fire up a generator.

Same here, buddy. My wife came in last fall after a little shopping trip, telling me she'd bought a lightweight electric chain saw that she could use by herself.

After poo-poo -ing the little thing; she huffed off and nothing else was said about it. Until...I needed to cut a few limbs that had dropped from a slowly dying hackberry.

Well, I thought, might as well try it. The limbs are close enough to the garage that I can run a long extension cord out and try the little saw.

I was greatly impressed with it. It cut thru up to about 8" with no problems.

I did go back and apologize to her. It was beneficial to my wellbeing. 

[Wingshooter]

I fought with a couple old chainsaws for years. I finally broke down and got a 250 Stihl 18". It's perfect for light-medium duty work around my place. My dad has had the same Jonsered saw for years (70's or 80's ?), and it's performed without much issue to this day. I'm a fan of both. If I had to buy another today, I'd get a Stihl (the one without the EPA kit).

[Grunt67]

On 1/20/2017 at 7:19 PM, Ugly said:

I have a Husqvarna 455 and it's been fantastic, I've had it about 13 years and wore out my last bar. Come to find out not all Husqvarna bars are the same. Special order item now. (Which reminds me, I still need to order a few)

i replaced my shindaiwa (which was awesome) with a stihl, awesome as well. 

Echo bought out shindaiwa and quit making their saws, the dealers were selling echos in their place. 

I was more than unimpressed with what echo did to shindaiwa's trimmers and think they ruined the brand.

So I highly recommend Husqvarna and Stihl. 

I have the 455 Rancher also. Bought it a few yrs. ago. had no issues with it at all. Would definitely buy again if needed. Mine has a 20" bar.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Grunt67
Additional info

[bud]

.

Edited April 26, 2017 by bud

[Ugly]

23 hours ago, Grunt67 said:

I have the 455 Rancher also. Bought it a few yrs. ago. had no issues with it at all. Would definitely buy again if needed. Mine has a 20" bar.

The rancher is fantastic and I plan on keeping it to my last day!

never had a problem except the prime bulb dried out after about 6 years. 

Apparently they changed the location of the oil port for the bars somewhere along the line. 

Mine has an 18" and a 24" bar (I know, too big for this saw but it came as a kit and works fine as long as you let it work) and a couple of handful of chains. I'm on the fence on next bar and chain size but I would certainly go Husqvarna again. 

Edited January 24, 2017 by Ugly

[quedz]

 

All Chain saws Ratings

Husqvarna 445 chain saw

$300

Best Buy

Edited January 24, 2017 by hughd

[Sam1]

I wouldn't be buying a 14 pound chainsaw for delimbing and small tree felling... goodness

[Grayfox54]

When I was still working for the city, we had a bunch of chain saws and I was the guy who had to fix them.  

We had a bunch of different brands over the years and when I retired most of them were Stihl because nothing else would out work or out last them. 

We had some  Husqvarnas and I won't knock 'em. Also an excellent saw. But our problem was getting parts for them. Sometimes had to wait a couple of months for what should be a common part.  If you have an actual dealer nearby, it'd probably be a good buy. If not, go Stihl.