re: Need a chainsaw reccomendation

quote:

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Likely true, but is husky dealer support very good in the south?

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I guess it depends. I am in the upstate of SC (most of the year) and have a full line Stihl and Husky dealer about 5 miles from my house and drive by an Echo dealer to get to them. There is a lot of pulpwood logging in the general area and although most of their cutting is by heavy machinery they still need saws and from what I can gather they almost all use the dealer I go to though they use a different level of saw and a companies upper line does not directly indicate their lower line's quality. When I went into the shops to check them out the Stihl and Husky dealer was much bigger and more professional and I specifically sought out the mechanic and his choice was the Husky in the prosumer line but Stihl in the true pro line, so I have a Husky.

Though I sound like a broken record I think dealer support is the key to choosing a saw brand at least between the three this thread has been discussing. Saws tend to break when you are using them...duh...so even when you are just a weekend warrior you don't want to be driving an hour or more to get good service or grab a part to finish your project.


As an aside to the OP since I am not sure of his chainsaw experience (he could be a rookie and he could be an old hand that just hasn't bought a new saw in decades):

1. buy at least one extra chain switching is far quicker than sharpening when you are in the middle of a job
2. learn to sharpen your chains
3. use proper PPE I admit to not being a huge PPE user for a lot of my life but ears, a face shield and a set of chainsaw chaps is more important than the brand of saw you buy especially for most of use that don't use a saw regularly as there aren't a lot of small chainsaw accidents

If you go with the Stihl make sure you get the air cooled oil to mix with your gas. If you use water cooled oil it will gum up and not start. You can learn it on your own or for a 75.00 service fee Stihl will be happy to show you.