Thinking about getting another chainsaw. Stihl sells their cheapest one for $300 new and next model up for about $400 new. Are these any good? It'll be mostly for chopping firewood logs into lengths and the odd trimming job on trees on my property. Or am I better getting a good secondhand larger chainsaw?
shaun16,
Oct 21, 6:24pm
Or am I better off getting something else? I see mitre10 has mccullochs and Morrison for reasoniable prices. But I know stihl is known for "quality" whereas some of the other brands maybe not?
wasgonna,
Oct 21, 6:52pm
Those Stihl are fine, never had any problems and a pleasure to be able to afford them. They are made in China but to the Stihl's usual high standards and each are thoroughly checked before leaving there. Unfortunately that is the only way they can stay competitive for the home market.
happychappy50,
Oct 21, 7:44pm
Stick wth a still,I had a smaller one for yrs,couldn't kill it,gave to my son & I upgraded,it is still going I believe.Just use the old rule . if it is cheap it probably won't run the distance
mrfxit,
Oct 22, 2:24am
Bollocks. The real life rule is . If it's cheap, don't trash it as if it's expensive & well made, unless you don't care about it dying fast.
Had plenty of cheap gear over the years & most of it's still running ok after 10/20 & 30 years old.
General rule is, don't expect perfection & expect a higher number of fails, but in saying that, treat it right & it's probably going to be ok.
timbo69,
Oct 22, 7:29am
You wont get better for your budget. I rate all sthil saws the mid range/contractor husky saws are close if not equal to reliability/build etc
snoopy221,
Oct 22, 7:33am
OXYMORON=Lower end STIHL
golfaholic2,
Oct 22, 8:38pm
I bought a cheap 16 inch stihl , new , it goes ok , but is gutless . I prefer my 20 inch craftsman from mitre 10 to be honest ( which was about 50 bucks cheaper )
ambo11,
Oct 22, 10:15pm
I'm Stihl through and through, but I bought a new MS180 recently to see what the fuss was about, and I hate it. Totally gutless, and it has a narrow kerf chain to help with this. Non adjustable carb does not help. but I may as well cut wood with a ripe Banana. Mine has done a few tanks and sits in the shed gathering dust. mind you I normally use 60-100cc saws. For home use they would be fine though. just dont expect speed. The lower end Husqvarna are basically Poulans in an orange dress. I also have a Solo 636 which is direct competition for the MS180 and it easily cuts at twice the speed. Solo is a top quality saw but less known, Stihl and Solo, in my humble opinion are the best saws you can buy, and I'd happily have either.
budgel,
Oct 22, 11:34pm
I have a Husqvarna 326 chainsaw which sells for around $350. It has a few more cc's than a comparably priced Stihl. May be worth considering? I am very happy with mine.
blueviking,
Oct 23, 4:45am
Bought a tradetested 20in for around $100. Started 3rd pull when I didn't expect it.Was a bit hard to start when I'd left it for a few weeks. Then had a load of cuttings to take away. Slapped the cuttings on the ute and kept cutting it down. The saw started 1st or 2nd pull each time.Balanced like a small Stihl, so you can start it by holding it. I've helped out my arborist mate and his Stihl's are normally harder to start. For $100 you can't go wrong if you're only an occaisional user
electromic,
Oct 23, 9:46am
My Stihl 021 must be at least 15 years old,14" bar, 35 cc, made in Germany. Has been used in a commercial environment for it's whole life and has never failed. It was the 2nd cheapest stihl when new.
timbo69,
Oct 24, 8:19am
"so you can start it by holding it" Thats gonna hurt one day.
timbo69,
Oct 24, 8:21am
Times have changed. an 021 is a far better saw than what is mentioned above.
mrfxit,
Oct 24, 8:54am
"Drop starting" easy to do & easy to screw up. Just have to pay attention to what you are doing . Spose to be paying attention anyway.
I have done it to a McCulloch ProMac 700 + 24" bar. Granted not often, as it's a heavy bugger.
The little Homelite 25, I have is a little niggly some days but never lets me down
peacebird15,
Oct 24, 10:09am
I dont think stihls bottom range saws offer the value for money that echo/shindaiwa's do. but are still good
(I own dozens of stihl, husky and echo saws, blowers etc, and depend on them for my livelihood)
snoopy221,
Oct 24, 10:18am
Yip solo is a good saw fer sure=after all only the old 680 solo has the distinction. Of . BEING THE ONLY EVER 80CC SAW TO TAKE OUT A 100 CC CLASS RECORD
That is probably true, Op should look out for one second hand but not mine because I will not sell it or any of my other stihl gear even though I am not contracting anymore.
snoopy221,
Oct 24, 11:16am
REFUEL ANY SAW. HOT. leave it for a sec and the ole fuel pressurizes and floods it Hence old skool drop start-BUT with chain brake ACTIVATED. WTF-Is WRONG wif DAT?
ianab,
Feb 27, 7:12pm
While those little Stihls aren't "bad", you have to be realistic about what a ~30cc chainsaw can do.
I put them down as "pruning" saws. OK you can saw up an actual tree for firewood with one if you are really patient. I'm not that patient. I did try out a friends MS180 the other day on some small pine logs. It cut them, and it was nice and light to use, started fine etc. But I'm used to my 60-80cc saws, so I soon went back to those.
Unfortunately when you get up into the ~50cc range saws, you have to spend a bit more $$. But if you are talking about lopping up 12"+ logs on a regular basis, that's probably what you want.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.