Fundamental reasons pro chainsaws are better than less expensive saws?

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Some cheap saws have that plastic worm gear around the drive shaft that propels the oil pump. The threads don't last. They can use a stronger made gear but they don't. Lucky if you can buy just the gear, but sometimes you have to buy the oil pump as well because it's a set. Quite a rip off because it's assured that the cheap plastic gear will go bad.
 
The only Stihl branded chain I've bought was one loop of .404 for an old Mac and the chains for my 200t's .Every so often I raid Toms trucks for his discards his idiots screwed up . He is a good filer but doesn't repair them .

Then when I find the time I cut down say a 24 for a 20 and so on .A few years back one winter I saved around 20 loops although about half of them are still on a nail to be filed .
 
I was in a big hardware store the other day, and just out of interest I picked up a couple of the top handle saws on the display as they were priced really cheap!
I run Stihl 150t, and 200t in comparison...boy oh boy those cheap top handles were HEAVY and not well balanced. There was a green on and a red one...no brand I had heard of probably Chinese.

I agree with most, the quality of build and attention to detail is just NOT the same. I worked on a friend's Talon rear handle chainsaw once, rinky dink, plastic parts, more difficult to access things.

Also I'll repeat the reliability statement, I have a set of saws that only work three months of the year, the rest of the time they sit in storage. When I take them out, fuel them up...BOOM off we go, never had any issues.

For all the years I've been running Stihl, the most frequent spares (besides chains) are sprockets, air filters, starter pawls, tank vents and fuel hoses. Easy to keep spares, easy to fix and or replace.
 
Bermy, thanks for the great review of the Stihl chainsaws versus the low end ones. Very enlightening. Thanks also for the list of parts you find are most frequently in need of repair or replacement. That is really useful information, also.

The impression I get with you is that because you live in a more remote part of the world, you've had to be more self-reliant with regard to maintaining your chainsaws than other folks might necessarily need to be, as parts and talented saw mechanics might be harder to come by. Is this a correct impression, or am I way off the mark?

If correct, do you have to order all of your parts online, and then wait for the mail to come? Which would require you to be a planner, and to make sure that you keep good track of your available spare parts, because if a part fails, and you don't have it, it could be weeks before you manage to receive another?

The big point I'm working my way up to is that I get the strong impression that the Stihl chainsaws are built from the ground up to be easy to maintain or repair, in addition to having superior design with regard to shape, balance and performance.

I went into a local saw shop a few years ago, when I was thinking of buying my first chainsaw, just to get a look at some of the models I'd been reading about. They sold both Stihl and Husky. I asked one of the counter guys what he thought of one of the Huskys, and he said something to the effect of "It's a nice saw, don't get me wrong. We can do the repairs on the Huskys when something breaks, but it's just so much easier for our saw mechanics to work on the Stihls." He kind of let out a little exasperated breath as he said it, as though the saw mechanics just hate having to work on the Huskys, versus the Stihls.

I've gone too long with this post. Thanks in advance for any comments you choose to make, Fiona.

Tim
 
No doubt. Still I find it odd though, to put one weak link in what otherwise appears to be a fairly decent product. A minor thing to fix, but they get you for the cost of the part, and to have you buy a whole new oil pump set just to get the gear is pure exploitation.
 
Ugh, that's horrible Jim!!

I've heard it said Tim, and I'm sure this changes depending on who you talk to, that if you drop a Stihl saw off at the shop you can usually come get it the next day, while if you drop a Husky off, you can wait in the showroom. Husky's are reputedly very easy saws to work on.

Cheers.
 
It changes with which model as well. I would say that the vast majority of all saws are pretty easy to work on if you are familiar with them. The Husky clamshell designs where the crankcase and cylinder are integrated, can really be a bitch, time consuming even if you know them.
 
Grendel; (Is your name Sam, or is that just who the quote is from?) Thanks for the viewpoint that is 180 degrees out from the one given by the guy at the saw shop. I guess I need to hunt for some of those "Stihl vs. Husky" threads. Funny that people's opinions can be so much different.

I'm wondering if big Al ever works on the Huskys, too, or if he's strictly a Stihl guy. Al has so much experience with rebuilding saws, it would seem to me, that his opinion would be really valuable to hear.

It makes me wonder about the saw shop guy's opinion. It could just be that the majority of the saws that his mechanics work on are Stihl's, so that is what they are used to, and they therefore find it easier. It is a really interesting question, to me.

Tim
 
woodworkingboy said:
It changes with which model as well. I would say that the vast majority of all saws are pretty easy to work on if you are familiar with them. The Husky clamshell designs where the crankcase and cylinder are integrated, can really be a bitch, time consuming even if you know them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, Jay. That might have been the type of saw I was looking at in the shop, and therefore the reason for the guy's reaction.

Tim
 
Clamshells to work on. Worst IMO stihls, husky much easier, poulan easiest.

Take working on a 455 over a 290 10 out of 10. But that is me. ;)
 
I can't say one brand is worse than another, it is mostly about practice. You learn more tricks working on a saw model frequently that makes it easier.
The 020 was a pain before you learned the first tricks..
Then there is the 334 that there no tricks to learn, still a pain in the bar cover...
Clam shell design is what it is..

If you want a saw to last you need to be able to get parts for it and help when needed.
On consumer grade saws both is hard to find.
 
Hey Tim,

You are pretty on the mark, I try to stay self sufficient. I do have dealers I can go to in both places I work, but both of them are EXPENSIVE and one is a 2 hr round trip away. Besides what pro wants to be running to the shop for stuff they can do themselves :)
So far in 14 years of doing tree work, I have not had to take my saws to the shop for repairs. I keep up on the maintenance and change things when they need it, not when they break.

Every now and then a problem comes up that is a bit more than basic, and a bit of common sense combined with the EXCELLENT resource of the Tree House saw gurus I have been able to fix them myself.
1. New 250 stopped oiling, got shop manual and IPL through the forums and fixed it myself...clogged oil pump and oil tank vent
2. Old 021 wouldn't run without choke then would die...perished fuel hose, then perished fuel tank vent hose a few years later, not a fault of the saw...just age and environment!
3. Same 021 broke chainbrake band after 11 years
4. 200t would start to hesitate and die after about 10 mins cutting...again shop manual and IPL from forum...clogged fuel tank breather, replaced it myself, done again on another 200t
5. 200t - throttle interlock trigger spring broke refer to shop manual AND Al's amazing photographs for re-assembling top handle components
6. 200t- Stop switch wire broke, again Al's photos for re-assembly!

So far I have not had any MAJOR problems, nothing I couldn't manage with the shop manual and advice from the TH.
But compared to most guys here, I don't have as many hrs on my saws.

I keep a supply of some spares ready
Starter Pawls
Side cover nuts
Cup washers and circlips for the sprockets
At least one sprocket for the 200 and the 150
Air filters
Starter cord

In Tassie I can go online and order aftermarket spares for anything and they'll get here in a day or two.
 
Tim_B. said:
The big point I'm working my way up to is that I get the strong impression that the Stihl chainsaws are built from the ground up to be easy to maintain or repair, in addition to having superior design with regard to shape, balance and performance.

I went into a local saw shop a few years ago, when I was thinking of buying my first chainsaw, just to get a look at some of the models I'd been reading about. They sold both Stihl and Husky. I asked one of the counter guys what he thought of one of the Huskys, and he said something to the effect of "It's a nice saw, don't get me wrong. We can do the repairs on the Huskys when something breaks, but it's just so much easier for our saw mechanics to work on the Stihls." He kind of let out a little exasperated breath as he said it, as though the saw mechanics just hate having to work on the Huskys, versus the Stihls.

I've gone too long with this post. Thanks in advance for any comments you choose to make, Fiona.

Tim
Click to expand...
Not exactly true... Stihl makes homeowner saws and pro saws, just like Husky. If the crankcase is plastic, that's a sure sign that it's not a pro saw. A pro saw typically has better port work from the factory and they tend to be more powerful and weigh less than a similar sized homeowner saw. Just because a saw says Stihl or Husky on the side, that doesn't always mean it's better than one that doesn't.

Certain models of Stihls are quite easy to work on, and others are a total pain in the ass (441, or 362 come to mind), and the same can be said for Husky or any other brand.
 
I personally like working on 3-series huskies, 2-series huskies, Dolmar 6400-7900, and some of the pro model Stihls... 026, 036, 044/46, and 064/66. 5-series Huskies and some of the newer Stihls, I typically pass on to other people, along with clamshells of pretty much any brand. If I walked into a shop and they said they hate working on certain brands over others, regardless of model, I'd probably take my stuff to a different shop.
 
There's a lot of merit in being able to get parts .More so for those who make a living with a chainsaw .

Myself being merely a casual user it's not such a big deal but every so often you get into uncharted territory on some models .As I type in my garage are two rather rare models being a pair of Partner p100 saws .One sold under the McCulloch name of Super Pro 1000 the other Partner P100 Super .I know next to nothing about them so it's a learning process and a hunt for parts .

Restoration type stuff is not for everyone just a few of us gearheads who might be totally insane .That's my story and I'm sticking to it :D
 
I only know of one J-red 1020 and that's in the collection of Rick Helsel .Strangely Partner was not a popular Chainsaw brand in this area but the concrete saws were .

In keeping with the topic of this thread I find them to be well made considering the time period .
 
There is some 1020's in some areas. As it was export only here is none.

Partner Used same engines in cut of saws as in chainsaws. Later in time (after elux) there is some differences.
R11 was thought of as the first rescue saw.
The Partner cut of saws was superior for many, many years. At the end they are sold under Husqvarna brand and now it is no Partner designed saws left I think. Just Husqvarna designed saws. Brand is now in bottom draw, no more saws made as Partner. Some pop up in box stores but they were built a couple years ago before brand was killed.

The saws from Partner was very well built in engine. No rattling, vibrations or noise unless something was broken.
When you have a engine like that running it is as close to music you can come with a engine. All you hear is combustion.
The 65cc was extremely durable. Have many customers with them around here. As long as there is spark they run. If they had points they would last for ever.
The more Elux/HVA got involved they changed to HVA.
 
I think any 100 cc and larger saws are rare to find for the simple fact they were expensive and weren't needed in most cases .
 
Even though they are not common I would not say they are rare as they can be found if they were sold in the area.
Rare to me is a handful saws, not hundreds or in most cases thousands.

In USA there was thousands 1020's sold, as well as in Europe. They pop up now and then in the areas they were sold in.
 
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