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slowindown

Stihl ms171 vs husqvarna 120 or 38cc saw

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Thoughts on these saws? I’m gonna replace my old 38cc 16” poulon pro. This saw would be used for limbing and cutting small trees for firewood. It’s what I keep in my sxs for trails too. I have a stihl 029 super and a stihl Ms229 for larger stuff. 

 

I would go for the stihl but my concerns are that the engine is only a few decimal points over 30cc  vs 38 for the husqvarna and it uses narrower  .043 chain instead of .050. The stihl is $199 and the husqvarna is either 179 or 189 at lows. 

 

I’m also thinking about another cheap 38cc along the lines of the poulan or similar as it lasted better than I had figured. 

Edited by slowindown
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What’s the HP rating of each? The Stihl may put out more hp and be lighter.  That’s what I found when I bought my MS261, it was lighter in weight and put out more hp than the husky that was 5-8 more cc’s. Whats the next size larger Stihl? 

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Thanks for the suggestion - hadn't even thought of that.  So I looked them up.  The husq is 1.88hp.  The stihl is1.7.  So, little difference.  And with the narrower chain on the stihl, probably not noticeable.

 

Let me address a couple of more of your points, Stihl has some next up saw sizes like the ms180 which has a 31.9cc engine producing 2.0 hp.  They go up incrementally from there.  The only 180 they had at the coop was the 180 b-ce, which has the easy start pull cord I don't much care for and the tool-less chain adjuster, which I also don't care for as it adds a bulge so you can't lay it flat on it's side.  There's a couple of other stores that sell stihl.  I may check what models they have.

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14 hours ago, slowindown said:

Thanks for the suggestion - hadn't even thought of that.  So I looked them up.  The husq is 1.88hp.  The stihl is1.7.  So, little difference.  And with the narrower chain on the stihl, probably not noticeable.

 

Let me address a couple of more of your points, Stihl has some next up saw sizes like the ms180 which has a 31.9cc engine producing 2.0 hp.  They go up incrementally from there.  The only 180 they had at the coop was the 180 b-ce, which has the easy start pull cord I don't much care for and the tool-less chain adjuster, which I also don't care for as it adds a bulge so you can't lay it flat on it's side.  There's a couple of other stores that sell stihl.  I may check what models they have.

 

I have a 180 with the easy start and tool-less chain adjuster.  It's a cheap, crappy, poulan-ish saw.  My 346XP is a supercharged V8 compared to the MS180 being more like a Ford Festiva.

 

The 180 was free-ish.  Guy gave it to me, and I had to replace the case, clutch, and carb.  Runs good now, but it's a crappy saw compared to my 346.

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No doubt. The 346 to a 180 is an apples/oranges comparison, different class of saw, very different price point. You’d need to compare something like a stihl 261 with the 346, or some other 50cc to be fair. But I have no doubt that you’re 100% accurate with what you’re saying. 

 

The ms180 is just a homeowner saw. Anyway, I went to another stihl dealer and they had regular ms180’s without the easy start contraption and a regular side tensioner. They were priced at 199.95 and if you bought a 6pack of oil or some premix, they doubled your warranty. Plus I got a new fuel tube for my 029 super. 

 

Its light as a feather compared to the poulon pro 38cc I’m retiring. I hope it does well for the things I got it for. 

 

 

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Edited by slowindown
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if i had to choose ? ( thank goodness i don't ! ), i would never...EVER..buy another stihl again !. they can bite my rear end !..lol. go with the husk if you can ?, they also make mach's now ( or so i read ? ). i'm a mach saw person..always have been, always will be !.

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This is my 4th stihl product.  Two bigger saws I inherited when my father passed away and a weedeater I bought.  My dad ran those stihls cutting and selling wood for years and they're still (pun) good to go.  When I was a kid, we cut with the old homelite saws - homelite used to make a great saw.  The only place that sells husqvarna around here are big box stores.  I prefer mom and pop places for knowledge and service, if I need it.

 

As to the 180, because I'm not too keen on the 46 gauge bar/chain, I did order a 50 gauge bar/chain for it, which should be here friday. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IDJW9GM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited by slowindown
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1 hour ago, shadetree said:

if i had to choose ? ( thank goodness i don't ! ), i would never...EVER..buy another stihl again !. they can bite my rear end !..lol. go with the husk if you can ?, they also make mach's now ( or so i read ? ). i'm a mach saw person..always have been, always will be !.

 

ill agree when it comes to the new stihl saws ,  the quality sure has dropped, just as the new honda atvs , are nothing close to the toughness and durability of  old school Hondas , i reckon chalk it up to the times we live in now ,  i can't speak much on the husk, but ... i know a few that have them, and often have ignition/carb issues, but that could be the owner/operator ... there's just too many variables. really can't say what brand saw I'd purchase brand new .. most likely a stihl...  just wish the quality was still there, so i won't knock them much. 

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Nice new saw you have there @slowindown. Gratz.

I like stihl. I always envied my grandpa when he would come cut wood with his old farm boss... It always started right up and never hitched a beat. My dad for whatever reason never bought into them. He would just get the black Friday poulons and couple years later tried the wild thing. I think he even had a makita gas saw recently (Last 10 years). I think they were all menards specials. They would be nice for a couple years then the oilers would go out, then the handles would break, parts werent easy to find, carb always needed to be tinkered with and cleaned.

And my experience with stihl is just the opposite. Every time i need to use my saw it has fired and been ready to go. I have a mom and pop stihl store in my hometown that's been there for 30 years and they're good folk. So i like spending my money there and they usually get me a 5% discount on a lot of things.

 

One thing i will agree about with the new saws is their quality has gone down quite a bit along with other gimicky things like the chain tightener. If i bought new, i wouldn't touch their homeowners saws or farm saws. I'd go straight to the pro line and get a 261 or next step up. magnesium cases and chain cover and all sorts of other benefits to increase the longevity. I will say though, my MS290 is 17 years old and still rips.

Edited by sled_22
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any love for the Echo..  I have gone through a couple of the poulan pro series..my Echo 490 20" really isn't that much heavier when you get out there and are working..and wow do I enjoy the extra power...and being an old fart, I appreciate that compression button that makes pulling the start cord easier...probably my only complaint is the thing floods really easy...so have to be careful on first starts of the day.

 

i have a cheapo Lowes (Craftsman - many other brands made by the same chinese kid, I know) weed eater 4 stroke for light duty weed trimming and limb saw work..it's fine and I appreciate the lighter weight.

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39 minutes ago, sled_22 said:

Nice new saw you have there @slowindown. Gratz.

I like stihl. I always envied my grandpa when he would come cut wood with his old farm boss... It always started right up and never hitched a beat. My dad for whatever reason never bought into them. He would just get the black Friday poulons and couple years later tried the wild thing. I think he even had a makita gas saw recently (Last 10 years). I think they were all menards specials. They would be nice for a couple years then the oilers would go out, then the handles would break, parts werent easy to find, carb always needed to be tinkered with and cleaned.

And my experience with stihl is just the opposite. Every time i need to use my saw it has fired and been ready to go. I have a mom and pop stihl store in my hometown that's been there for 30 years and they're good folk. So i like spending my money there and they usually get me a 5% discount on a lot of things.

 

One thing i will agree about with the new saws is their quality has gone down quite a bit along with other gimicky things like the chain tightener. If i bought new, i wouldn't touch their homeowners saws or farm saws. I'd go straight to the pro line and get a 261 or next step up. magnesium cases and chain cover and all sorts of other benefits to increase the longevity. I will say though, my MS290 is 17 years old and still rips.

 

 

Absolutely.  Like everything else, big conglamorates have bought out all these companies and the homeowner/ Big Box Huskys now are nothing more than a poulan in Husky clothing.

 

When people get into the "Husky vs Stihl" the best answer is "Whichever has the best local support".

 

I have a True Value hardware store here that carries Husky, and the guy who runs the store is a wizard on working on them, so that's what we've always gotten.

 

Buddy who lives in NW Arkansas is the same way with Stihl. 

 

 

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On 11/3/2020 at 2:29 PM, slowindown said:

Thoughts on these saws? I’m gonna replace my old 38cc 16” poulon pro. This saw would be used for limbing and cutting small trees for firewood. It’s what I keep in my sxs for trails too. I have a stihl 029 super and a stihl Ms229 for larger stuff. 

 

I would go for the stihl but my concerns are that the engine is only a few decimal points over 30cc  vs 38 for the husqvarna and it uses narrower  .043 chain instead of .050. The stihl is $199 and the husqvarna is either 179 or 189 at lows. 

 

I’m also thinking about another cheap 38cc along the lines of the poulan or similar as it lasted better than I had figured. 

Get a small Echo. They start easy and are reliable.

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2 hours ago, Majorpayne said:

Get a small Echo. They start easy and are reliable.

 

 

There are no echo dealers near me.   I would have to drive far (150 mile round trip) or mail order.

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Have you used the saw much yet?

One thing i did notice is it looks to have plastic dogs? Is that true? If that were mine the first thing i would do is get some steel non-agressive dogs. not only for ease of use but also safety. Maybe they are steel and just painted white idk, you tell me.

 

The dogs i'm talking about are also labeled as, felling spikes, bumper spikes, bucking spikes.

Here's a link to something similar. https://thebloughs.net/bigger-bite-for-a-little-saw/

Edited by sled_22
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33 minutes ago, sled_22 said:

Have you used the saw much yet?

One thing i did notice is it looks to have plastic dogs? Is that true? If that were mine the first thing i would do is get some steel non-agressive dogs. not only for ease of use but also safety. Maybe they are steel and just painted white idk, you tell me.

 

The dogs i'm talking about are also labeled as, felling spikes, bumper spikes, bucking spikes.

Here's a link to something similar. https://thebloughs.net/bigger-bite-for-a-little-saw/

 

I just got it yesterday morning and cut a couple of branches when I got home. 

 

Yes, they are plastic but It has the the holes to add the spikes. I ordered the spikes and a 50 gauge bar and a couple of 3/8 .050 55dl 16” chains yesterday morning from Amazon. They should be in tomorrow or Saturday. 

 

Both of those add ons were were highly recommended from what I was reading. While the saw seems more powerful than the old poulon, I could tell that the cutting was better with the poulon 50 gauge chain vs the stock 43 on the stihl. Unfortunately my old chains won’t swap because the poulon has 56 DL. 

Edited by slowindown
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4 hours ago, Majorpayne said:

Get a small Echo. They start easy and are reliable.

There are no echo dealers near me.   I would have to drive far (150 mile round trip) or mail order.

 

 

that's the same reason I couldn't go with a Stihl...long drive to get to a good dealer...but my local farmers exchange just 3 miles up the road..with people I like and trust...are Echo and service right there...so I gave Echo a try 2 years ago with a straight shaft brush cutter..good hard working unit...and that led me to trust the new chain saw purchase this year..and very happy with that so far.

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1 hour ago, Bighanded said:

There are no echo dealers near me.   I would have to drive far (150 mile round trip) or mail order.

 

 

that's the same reason I couldn't go with a Stihl...long drive to get to a good dealer...but my local farmers exchange just 3 miles up the road..with people I like and trust...are Echo and service right there...so I gave Echo a try 2 years ago with a straight shaft brush cutter..good hard working unit...and that led me to trust the new chain saw purchase this year..and very happy with that so far.

 

I can't speak for their newer stuff, but I have a John Deere weedeater from the mid 80's that's a rebadged Echo 2100, and the dang thing won't die.  I have a new one hanging on the wall thinking I'd need it, but the old one just keeps on going.

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On November 4, 2020 at 10:26 AM, shadetree said:

if i had to choose ? ( thank goodness i don't ! ), i would never...EVER..buy another stihl again !. they can bite my rear end !..lol. go with the husk if you can ?, they also make mach's now ( or so i read ? ). i'm a mach saw person..always have been, always will be !.

 

macs  used to be very popular around here, but there's are no dealers anywhere close. so stihl, just took over as top dog., as for husk, some places carry them, but i just never gave husk a thought, my grandfather, passed his older stihl down, to me, and that's just what i stuck with, but i see guys here talking more, and more about what a good brand saw they are, so i might give them a shot , and use the 039 a lot more like a back up. 

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42 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

 

macs  used to be very popular around here, but there's are no dealers anywhere close. so stihl, just took over as top dog., as for husk, some places carry them, but i just never gave husk a thought, my grandfather, passed his older stihl down, to me, and that's just what i stuck with, but i see guys here talking more, and more about what a good brand saw they are, so i might give them a shot , and use the 039 a lot more like a back up. 

 

If you do get a Husky, get an XP.  The homeowner saws aren't worth a crap anymore.

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i was kind of thinking the 365 ... the only great mom and pop small engine  shop in columbia is burned a couple years back,( they also delt with older saws, and equiptment) and all you see at pawn shops is small toy size saws ... not worth  my time, and usually over price, the 365 is looking good, but I'll do more research, thanks for the advise, jeep. 

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3 hours ago, _Wilson_™ said:

i was kind of thinking the 365 ... the only great mom and pop small engine  shop in columbia is burned a couple years back,( they also delt with older saws, and equiptment) and all you see at pawn shops is small toy size saws ... not worth  my time, and usually over price, the 365 is looking good, but I'll do more research, thanks for the advise, jeep. 

The old school pop and mom  Briggs and Stilh dealer in Slidell burned a little over two year ago , maybe it is a conspiracy 

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I have the MS 193 for the lighter limbing work, it is super lite it is even easy to use with one hand if needed and It has more power than I was hoping for when I bought it. Had 3 years and it always starts right up and does everything I put it to with ease. It was a little pricey for a small saw but You get what you pay for...top notch best little saw I have ever seen or used.  Yoi can also get it with a top handle.  nothing but Pro series saws for me. 

image.jpeg

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Red Max is an off-shoot of Husqvarna., and might be worth consider. Got a weed wacker, an a small chainsaw Red max. i like them both.

still got my Varna, from 2000. cept starting like a Harley, it still runs.

Red Max is lighter, but packs the punch of a Stihl.

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I had a Stihl Farm Boss back in the 80s , cut firewood as a side business ,  it lasted a long time , gave it to my buddy and he still has it , seen it in his garage about a month ago and asked if it still ran and he says yea >>>>  

 

This time I went with the  Husqvarna , used it twice so far , and hope I don't have to use it cause it is for big trees that I don't want to mess with , I have a ECHO 18 and that is perfect for me , also have a Poulan 10 trimmer for the trails , and two Ryobi rechargeables  ,  one is a 8 inch pole saw and the other a 10 inch chainsaw , I use that Ryboi 10 inch a lot , amazing little saw , it last almost an hour on the big battery , their chains must be good quality as they stay sharp  a long time 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Fishfiles said:

The old school pop and mom  Briggs and Stilh dealer in Slidell burned a little over two year ago , maybe it is a conspiracy 

They burn down because they all smoked cigs and never contained flammable liquids correctly. How many small engines that don't run right have fuel related issues. On top of that, they are always sharpening lawn mower and chainsaw blades making sparks.

It's just as simple as a higher risk situation.

12 hours ago, 01RUBY500 said:

I have the MS 193 for the lighter limbing work, it is super lite it is even easy to use with one hand if needed and It has more power than I was hoping for when I bought it. Had 3 years and it always starts right up and does everything I put it to with ease. It was a little pricey for a small saw but You get what you pay for...top notch best little saw I have ever seen or used.  Yoi can also get it with a top handle.  nothing but Pro series saws for me. 

Those are some nice saws. A 261 is my next saw now. They look and feel like one of the best all around saws in regards to power to weight and pro saw built.

I say that then thing how nice it might be to have a limbing saw too... urgh, i'm getting an addiction for saws.

Edited by sled_22
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