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Which Chain Saw would you buy? Husky or Stihl?

  • I would buy the Husqvarna.

    Votes: 21 22.6%
  • I would buy the Stihl.

    Votes: 51 54.8%
  • I wouldn't buy either one - I would buy something different.

    Votes: 4 4.3%
  • Either one - they're both great.

    Votes: 17 18.3%

Stihl or Husky Chain Saw?

7K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  saw man 
#1 ·
I'm about to buy a new chain saw. Looking at Husky's and Stihls, something with a 16" or 18" bar for general work. Both look like awesome machines.

Which brand would you buy? I'm buying this week so I appreciate any input.
 
#27 ·
45-50 cc is a good range of engine size for a new saw buyer. That's about as light as chainsaws get, and they provide around 3 HP, so they're not too slow. Consumer models are a good enough investment for general light work, and if you have a failure based on inexperience with chainsaws (straight gas or old mix) you won't be out as much $.
Either brand will give you good service, in spite of what some would tell you. I'd look at dealer competence as the qualifier rather than brand name.
BTW, chainsaws are one of those items that require PPE.
 
#28 ·
Steve,

What ever you do Stay away from the Husqvarna 55 Rancher.
It is a homeowner saw. It performs well but the components that make it up are crap. I have one and I have had nothing but problems with the recoil starter. It has broken about 4 times. The thing is made of plastic, and cannot stand up to the rigors of heavy usage. I have used some of the bigger husky saws and have been impressed. I also like my 335xpt for limbing.
But for shear power and reliability I use my Stihl Saws. I have a 029 and a 044 (best saw ever made IMO) But Please don't buy a 55 rancher. I think you will regret it. :waving:

BTW you did not skimp on the mower, so don't with your other equipment.
You can find a reasonably priced Stihl or Husky for around $300-$400
In my experiences You get what you pay for.
Great looking mower!
Did you see the Diesel Yet?
It looks Bad azz


Jason
 
#29 ·
This was going to be the first saw I ever purchased, so I did a lot of research. I had narrowed my choices down to either getting a Husky, or a Stihl. After demos and a lot of soul searching, I bought a Husky 350. I can tell you that I could not be happier with it. I've only had it for about 6 months and I've already used the heck out of it. There were several reasons I decided to go with Husky. One of the biggest reasons was the weight factor. Stihls are well known for being a heavy saw. On Arboristsite, that's the most popular complaints about Stihl saws. I can (and have) cut with my saw all day and not get tired from using it. It's easy to hold in any position because of it's light weight. I read a story on Arboristsite, where a guy talked about how he used his Stihl for an hour or so and then he had to take a break because his hands were shaking. He said that he couldn't even drink a cup of coffee, because his hands were shaking so badly. There are a lot of stories like that on there, were guys are complaining about the weight of Stihl's saws.

I also like the fact my saw runs so smoothly. I can't remember ever feeling any vibrations coming through the handles on my saw. The excellent vibration dampening is another feature that I saw mentioned time, after time on Arboristsite. When I read the" which brand" threads on Arboristsite. I saw more recommendations for Husky saws than Stihl saws. Now...with that said. The guys on Arboristsite make it well known, that Husky's "homeowner grade" saws (like their Husky Rancher 55) cannot be compared to their "professional grade" saws (like their 372XP). I never saw (no pun intended) anyone on Arboristsite defend any of the "homeowner grade" saws, BUT.... I'd love to see anyone go on to Arboristsite and try to convince those guys that Husky doesn't make top notch "professional grade"saws. I don't remember seeing Husky's being labeled as being the best on Arboristsite, but they are definitely spoken of very highly.

My saw must have different features than the Husky saws TGIB was talking about, because all of my controls are right there by the trigger, my fuel and bar oil caps use O-rings to seal them and both caps only take a 1/4 turn to remove and install.

In closing, I'm not saying Stihl doesnt make good saws. I'm sure they make great saws. I'm just saying that your opinion of Husky saws, compared to Stihl saws differs from the majority opinion on Arboristsite from what I've seen. For the work that I do. The Husky saw I bought, is better for me than a Stihl would be.

Vic
 
#31 ·
TGIB said:
Electrolux bought Poulan at least 15 years ago.

If you examin any Craftsman, Husqvarna, or Poulan saw that is less than 3 cu in. disp.- the ONLY difference will be the color of the paint ! There is absolutly NO other differences in these models.

All Stihls have 2 piston rings. All but a couple Husqvarnas have 1 piston ring. The 2 rings on the Stihls give them better , faster heat transfer out of the piston dome to the cylinder wall and to the cooling fins. It also keeps the compression up higher, especially as the engines get some high hours on them. And it makes the piston run true and straight up and down the cyl. bore. The Husky with only a single ring will tend to allow the piston to rock and let the skirt slap the cyl wall - the double rings on the Stihl prevent this from happening to such a degree.

The Stihls all have their drive sprocket outside the clutch, so that the chain lifts right off with no interferance. The Husky still has the sprocket behind the clutch , so the chain and bar are more difficult to remove or replace.
If you ever have a tree trap the bar on a Stihl, it is simple to remove the bar nuts and side cover , and then just lift the saw engine off the stuck bar. You can then continue to cut down the tree with another saw or the same saw with another bar - whatever. The point is that your expensive saw engine won't be in harms way to be crushed by the falling tree.
A Husky, with its sprocket hidden behind the clutch will not let you remove the engine from the saw bar, because the chain will not go over the clutch, and this keeps the saw tied to the trapped bar in the half cut tree. What can you do to save your Huskey from being crushed by the tree when it finally comes down ? Lots of luck to you if you get caught like this with a Husky stuck in a half cut tree.

The bar adjusting screw is between the two bar nuts on most Stihls, this is easy to see and reach, and very convenient. This same screw is again hidden behind the bar on the Husky, and is harder to see and use when covered in oil and chips.

The air filter cover on a Stihl is removable in seconds , even with gloves on, with a single twist knob or lever, and you can clear off the dust and chips from the filter and go back to work in a minute or two. Many if not most Huskeys require removal of several small screws to open the top of the saw to clean out the air filter. The job is usually done on a Stihl , and back to work, before you get the second or third screw out of a Husky - and no screws get lost in the leaves of the woods.

The Stihls controls are simple and are all on a single thumb switch. Ignition on, trigger lock, and choke are all controled in one place and are integrated together - very very simple easy system, and all Stihls big and small have the same exact system.

The Stihl bar nose sprocket never needs to be greased ! The bar and chain are designed to deliver BAR OIL to the sprocket roller bearings, so it's one less chore for you to remember to do regularly , since the saw does it continuesly.

Stihl is the only company that makes their own saw chain, and it has several advantages. There are oil guide grooves in the driver links that propel oil up into the chain and get more oil around the rivets and up onto the bar rails. This extra oil that is guided to where it is needed is the reason that Stihls chains do not stretch and need the constant retightening that other brands require. It also is the reason that Stihls bar rails wear about twice as long as others do before they need to replace the saw bar. In fact, if you would use Stihls saw chain on a Husqvarna saw, you will find that it dramatically increases the length of time before the Husky bar wears out too.

In addition to having constant automatic oiling of the bars roller sprocket on Stihl bars, there is another good feature inside the Stihl bar. This is a little rounded metal insert that is down in the bar groove, at the REAR end of the bar. This acts as a small dam and prevents all the oil from draining and dripping out of the bar after the saw is shut down for the day - week - or month. This little pool of oil will always stay there, and when you start up the saw , even if it has been months since it last ran, this oil will coat the bar on the first revolution that the chain makes around it. There is no waiting for the oiler pump to finally get some oil to the dry bar and chain, and no galding of dry metal to metal takes place in the Stihl system.

Even the oil, and fuel caps are better on Stihl. There is a flip up lever on these caps, and you only turn them a 1/4 turn and they release. There are O rings on them , not flat gaskets, so they seal much much better. They also close and seal with just a 1/4 turn, and the lever handle snaps down and actually locks the cap closed. There is no need to use a tee wrench to open and close them. A child could open them with their bare fingers - they are so easy to turn. Also, the tank openings are larger and easier to pour into, and it is the good sealing properties at little pressure of the caps O rings that make this design work so well.

There are other features on Stihl, like a drive sprocket that can be changed or greased in about 2 minutes, without the hassle of disasemling the clutch. This same job takes 5 to 10 times longer on a Husky. Or a chain brake safety system that is more effective and NOT mounted in the side cover and in the way as it is on Husky. Or on some models, the spring loaded EZ starter systems, and the quick adjust tool less chain tensioner. The design differences just go on and on and on.

There is no model of Husky , big or small, that will rev up to a higher top RPM than the like model of Stihl. There is no Husky that has more compression , or more torque, or more horsepower than the equal model of Stihl. In fact, because of the single piston ring, verses the double rings in all Stihls, quite the opposite is true.

Whether we consider the under 3 cu. inch Orange Poulans/ Husky units, or the larger [over 3 cu. in] Husky units, this company is still offering essentially the same product they designed 20 years ago. If you took a Husky Rancher from 1985 and put it next to a new Husky of the same size today - what great design advance could you point out ? The only one I can think of is that the top sheild has been lengthened so that the heat of the muffler doesn't burn the knuckles on your left hand so badly that you had to wear a glove to protect yourself from it. Other than that - it's still the same machine !
This is an example of a company that has spent all its time, effort, and money on advertising and self promotion, but virtually nothing on R+D.
So TGIB, you never told us...do you run Husky or Stihl? :D

Buck
 
#32 ·
TGIB said:
Electrolux bought Poulan at least 15 years ago.

If you examin any Craftsman, Husqvarna, or Poulan saw that is less than 3 cu in. disp.- the ONLY difference will be the color of the paint ! There is absolutly NO other differences in these models.

All Stihls have 2 piston rings. All but a couple Husqvarnas have 1 piston ring. The 2 rings on the Stihls give them better , faster heat transfer out of the piston dome to the cylinder wall and to the cooling fins. It also keeps the compression up higher, especially as the engines get some high hours on them. And it makes the piston run true and straight up and down the cyl. bore. The Husky with only a single ring will tend to allow the piston to rock and let the skirt slap the cyl wall - the double rings on the Stihl prevent this from happening to such a degree.

The Stihls all have their drive sprocket outside the clutch, so that the chain lifts right off with no interferance. The Husky still has the sprocket behind the clutch , so the chain and bar are more difficult to remove or replace.
If you ever have a tree trap the bar on a Stihl, it is simple to remove the bar nuts and side cover , and then just lift the saw engine off the stuck bar. You can then continue to cut down the tree with another saw or the same saw with another bar - whatever. The point is that your expensive saw engine won't be in harms way to be crushed by the falling tree.
A Husky, with its sprocket hidden behind the clutch will not let you remove the engine from the saw bar, because the chain will not go over the clutch, and this keeps the saw tied to the trapped bar in the half cut tree. What can you do to save your Huskey from being crushed by the tree when it finally comes down ? Lots of luck to you if you get caught like this with a Husky stuck in a half cut tree.

The bar adjusting screw is between the two bar nuts on most Stihls, this is easy to see and reach, and very convenient. This same screw is again hidden behind the bar on the Husky, and is harder to see and use when covered in oil and chips.

The air filter cover on a Stihl is removable in seconds , even with gloves on, with a single twist knob or lever, and you can clear off the dust and chips from the filter and go back to work in a minute or two. Many if not most Huskeys require removal of several small screws to open the top of the saw to clean out the air filter. The job is usually done on a Stihl , and back to work, before you get the second or third screw out of a Husky - and no screws get lost in the leaves of the woods.

The Stihls controls are simple and are all on a single thumb switch. Ignition on, trigger lock, and choke are all controled in one place and are integrated together - very very simple easy system, and all Stihls big and small have the same exact system.

The Stihl bar nose sprocket never needs to be greased ! The bar and chain are designed to deliver BAR OIL to the sprocket roller bearings, so it's one less chore for you to remember to do regularly , since the saw does it continuesly.

Stihl is the only company that makes their own saw chain, and it has several advantages. There are oil guide grooves in the driver links that propel oil up into the chain and get more oil around the rivets and up onto the bar rails. This extra oil that is guided to where it is needed is the reason that Stihls chains do not stretch and need the constant retightening that other brands require. It also is the reason that Stihls bar rails wear about twice as long as others do before they need to replace the saw bar. In fact, if you would use Stihls saw chain on a Husqvarna saw, you will find that it dramatically increases the length of time before the Husky bar wears out too.

In addition to having constant automatic oiling of the bars roller sprocket on Stihl bars, there is another good feature inside the Stihl bar. This is a little rounded metal insert that is down in the bar groove, at the REAR end of the bar. This acts as a small dam and prevents all the oil from draining and dripping out of the bar after the saw is shut down for the day - week - or month. This little pool of oil will always stay there, and when you start up the saw , even if it has been months since it last ran, this oil will coat the bar on the first revolution that the chain makes around it. There is no waiting for the oiler pump to finally get some oil to the dry bar and chain, and no galding of dry metal to metal takes place in the Stihl system.

Even the oil, and fuel caps are better on Stihl. There is a flip up lever on these caps, and you only turn them a 1/4 turn and they release. There are O rings on them , not flat gaskets, so they seal much much better. They also close and seal with just a 1/4 turn, and the lever handle snaps down and actually locks the cap closed. There is no need to use a tee wrench to open and close them. A child could open them with their bare fingers - they are so easy to turn. Also, the tank openings are larger and easier to pour into, and it is the good sealing properties at little pressure of the caps O rings that make this design work so well.

There are other features on Stihl, like a drive sprocket that can be changed or greased in about 2 minutes, without the hassle of disasemling the clutch. This same job takes 5 to 10 times longer on a Husky. Or a chain brake safety system that is more effective and NOT mounted in the side cover and in the way as it is on Husky. Or on some models, the spring loaded EZ starter systems, and the quick adjust tool less chain tensioner. The design differences just go on and on and on.

There is no model of Husky , big or small, that will rev up to a higher top RPM than the like model of Stihl. There is no Husky that has more compression , or more torque, or more horsepower than the equal model of Stihl. In fact, because of the single piston ring, verses the double rings in all Stihls, quite the opposite is true.

Whether we consider the under 3 cu. inch Orange Poulans/ Husky units, or the larger [over 3 cu. in] Husky units, this company is still offering essentially the same product they designed 20 years ago. If you took a Husky Rancher from 1985 and put it next to a new Husky of the same size today - what great design advance could you point out ? The only one I can think of is that the top sheild has been lengthened so that the heat of the muffler doesn't burn the knuckles on your left hand so badly that you had to wear a glove to protect yourself from it. Other than that - it's still the same machine !
This is an example of a company that has spent all its time, effort, and money on advertising and self promotion, but virtually nothing on R+D.
I am surprised you wrote all of this BS again! You wrote this in another thread and I tore apart everything you said! You have got to work for Stihl because no one can be that stupid to write this junk and believe it!!

I will not go over everything again, if anyone wants seach for the other thread!

But 1 thing you wrote that was not in your last was about power and RPM of Husky and Stihl. Stihl has never had a saw rev as high as the Husky!!! Husky top saw now revs to 14,700 RPM. What Stihl does that? Husky had a saw that was running at 15,500 RPM. No Stihl has ever reved that high!!

Edit ~ here is the thread for some of you that dont want to look it up. http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=91400
page 2 and 3 i think.

TGIB ~ try not to talk so much crap unless you really understand it. We have sold Stihl since 1975, Husky since 1987. We have MUCH les problems with the Husky than we do on the Stihl.
 
#35 ·
Saw man,
Your profile says you are 27. That just didn't add up.

I don't advertise for specific brands because:

Any manufacturer can let a lemon slip through...then I appear stupid because I touted their value

Some consumers have trouble with anything they buy, and it's always someone else's fault

The difference in most saws in the same class is not detectable to all but the most discerning of users

and I can't get a manufacturer to pay me for my endorsements.

That said, I did see some grasping at straws to prove better value or bash opposing brand in some of these posts.
 
#36 ·
Well I like to think Im 27! lol

I am not saying that Husky does not make any junk saws, and Im not saying all Stihls are bad. I just have to come in and show you all the 2 sides. Everything he said in his post is the same that the Stihl Rep. tells us to say. And most of it is just plain stupid!

That said, I will not tell you to only buy a Husky. Just let me know the models of either brand that you are compareing and I will give you my advice on which I like better, have less problems, etc.
 
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