# What size bar will the rancher 55 handle?



## GMAN420 (Dec 25, 2006)

I received a rancher 55 for christmas. Not the saw I was planning on but after reading some the reviews here seems as though it will work for my needs. 

The manual says between 13 and 24" bar are recommended. Seems like too small a saw for a 24" bar. My saw came with a 15" .325" pitch. I'd like to replace the bar and chain with a 20" bar and keep the existing drive sprocket. Was wondreing if this saw will have enough power with a 20" bar or should I only go to 18"? One thread here talked of somebody using a 20" bar 3/8's pitch and not having any problems with it. Would .325" be more agressive and less powerful because of the extra teeth. Or work better because of the extra teeth?

I also have an old Homelite XL-12 with a 16" bar. Was going to make this my limbing saw and the 55 my felling/bucking saw. Should I be looking at keeping the 55 as a limber and put a longer bar on the homelite? 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
G


----------



## oldsaw (Dec 25, 2006)

You could probably do a 20" with a skip chain. Personally, I'd keep the 15" bar on it most of the time. It isn't going to be happy with much more.

My buddy borrowed one of those from a friend of his. Not a bad little saw. His had 3/8" chain with a 16" bar, and worked just fine.

Mark


----------



## GMAN420 (Dec 26, 2006)

Any other thoughts?


----------



## Hard Knocks (Dec 26, 2006)

Our 55 ranchers come stock with 18" bar and 3/8" chain. The max that I would recommend is a 20" with 3/8" but don't expect to make a full bar cut and have power to spare.


----------



## skip (Dec 26, 2006)

20 with a skip will work good , don't figure it could handle a 24 even with a skip


----------



## Kenskip1 (Dec 26, 2006)

*Husky Bar and Grill*

I have a 55 with a 3/8 and an 18 inch bar with an Oregon chain. It pulls well with this combination but I suspect that it would pull an 16 even better.Great old saw. Can these saws still be bought new? Ken


----------



## Hard Knocks (Dec 26, 2006)

They were available to us in Canada this year on our fall booking.


----------



## AZLOGGER (Dec 26, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> I have a 55 with a 3/8 and an 18 inch bar with an Oregon chain. It pulls well with this combination but I suspect that it would pull an 16 even better.Great old saw. Can these saws still be bought new? Ken



*YES* How many would you like? Cheaper by the dozen.


----------



## jbone (Jan 4, 2007)

I also have a question about the 55 Rancher (sorry to steal the thread). Is there any modification that can be done to it? I always see people on here modifying exhausts and what not to get more power and everything.


----------



## bump_r (Jan 4, 2007)

I cut with a dood that has a bone-stock 55 that wears a 3/8 pitch 20". It does OK, but I'd not think of going any longer, especially if full-bar cuts are expected. My Mighty MS290 outcuts his 55 on full-bar cuts, but it wears a 325 and 18", so it's not a "fair" comparison. On similar cuts under full-bar, they're pretty close. We've not direcyly "raced" but neither saw is a stand-out obviously superior speed demon.

Mod the muffler, re-tune the carbonator and stick to a 20" bar or less. To regularly and effectively pull a 24, better get more saw.


----------



## JUDGE1162 (Jan 4, 2007)

It will work fine with a 20" bar, that is what I have on mine and I cut all most 100% hardwood with no issues at all, full bar buried cuts in OAK with little issue. Yes It work better with an 18" bar but it is fine with a 20" with normal full comp chain. Avoid the 24" bar not a good idea!!! at least in hardwood in soft wood with a skip chain I would think would work OK if you needed a bar that big, but if you need a 24" bar you should get a 372 not a 455


----------



## gatkeper1 (Jan 4, 2007)

At work our most common saw is the 55. They all carry the 20" bar with 3/8" full comp chain with no problems.


----------



## computeruser (Jan 4, 2007)

I'd stick with .325" chain and run up to a 20" bar on that saw. I ran 20" .325" on the MS290 I used to own and it was a satisfactory performer in hardwood. Your 55 should be similar. Now it won't be like an 066 or 7900 with a 20", but it will be a competent performer if you don't ask it to do more than it can be reasonably expected to do.


----------



## stipton (Jan 4, 2007)

I have a 20" on mine with no power issues. Asked my dealer what the biggest recommended bar is and he said a 24" on special occasions.


----------



## asb151 (Jan 4, 2007)

Your 55 has just a bit more power than my 51. I run an 18" .325 narrow kerf. When I had no other larger saws I used to bury it in hardwood. It got the job done, but it was what I would consider.......slow. Whether or not you will be satisfied with the speed is somewhat dependent on your expectations.

If you have a .325 set up now on your 55 and want to keep the same sprocket then I'd say try a 20" NK. I have run the Woodsman Pro and Oregon. I like them both. I find the Oregon (95VP) smoother but the Woodsman holds an edge longer.

I did muffler mod the 51 and clearly noticed the difference. You should get a similar benefit from the 55.


----------



## Freakingstang (Jan 4, 2007)

I always ran 16" 3/8 on my old ranchers. They would handle an 18 or 20, but they won't be the fastest thing. I would venture to say that .325 would be better suited for constant 18 or 20" use. I have heard of guys running 24" bars with skip chain on them around here, but I never got to experience that thrill with my own two hands


----------



## rickyrooster (Jan 4, 2007)

*husky 55*

I run a 16" .325 on mine and I think it is perfect setup for smaller stuff. when I need more I grab the jonsered 630 super with a 3/8 20" or a bigger saw.opcorn:


----------



## GMAN420 (Jan 5, 2007)

Thanks Guys, I put a 20" .325 Oregon bar and chain on my saw shortly after christmas and have cut a little over a cord with the saw so far. Some of the biggest stuff was about 24" diameter. The saw works great, I have to hold it back a little in the big stuff, but overall I'm impressed with saw.


----------



## troutfisher (Jan 5, 2007)

i used to have a 55 with a 20" bar, 3/8 square chain (round filed), it worked good. I used this setup as a second saw because the same chain fit my 372xp, so my spare chains and files would be the same.


----------



## Mike mike (Jan 1, 2022)

jbone said:


> I also have a question about the 55 Rancher (sorry to steal the thread). Is there any modification that can be done to it? I always see people on here modifying exhausts and what not to get more power and everythin Yes you can do a muffler mod second port and tune the carb big difference with an 18-in bar


----------



## Mike mike (Jan 1, 2022)

Yes you can You can open up a port And get the baffle out of the inside of the muffler in the
part of the muffler and tune the carburetor look inside the exhaust port and the intake port on the cylinder If there's any burrs clean them out there's any gunk clean it out I'm running an 18-in bar skip tooth with more than enough power to go full bar in the log in red oak and cherry


----------



## irhunter (Jan 1, 2022)

GMAN420 said:


> I received a rancher 55 for christmas.
> 
> The manual says between 13 and 24" bar are recommended.


Wow. The FSM I have for the 55 says, max of 20".

I would think, max of 20" .325".......but, better with 18" .325".

Roy


----------



## Mike mike (Jan 2, 2022)

Mike mike said:


> Yes you can You can open up a port And get the baffle out of the inside of the muffler in theView attachment 952877
> part of the muffler and tune the carburetor look inside the exhaust port and the intake port on the cylinder If there's any burrs clean them out there's any gunk clean it out I'm running an 18-in bar skip tooth with more than enough power to go full bar in the log in red oak and cherry


18"3/8 050. Chain most effective


----------



## grizz55chev (Jan 2, 2022)

14 yr old thread, pretty sure most if not all these previous posters have moved on. You can go to Google and type in your question, and go down the rabbit hole, lots of good reading.


----------



## link (Jan 2, 2022)

GMAN420 said:


> I received a rancher 55 for christmas. Not the saw I was planning on but after reading some the reviews here seems as though it will work for my needs.
> 
> The manual says between 13 and 24" bar are recommended. Seems like too small a saw for a 24" bar. My saw came with a 15" .325" pitch. I'd like to replace the bar and chain with a 20" bar and keep the existing drive sprocket. Was wondreing if this saw will have enough power with a 20" bar or should I only go to 18"? One thread here talked of somebody using a 20" bar 3/8's pitch and not having any problems with it. Would .325" be more agressive and less powerful because of the extra teeth. Or work better because of the extra teeth?
> 
> ...


Thats a 15" with plenty. If you go beond that - its not plenty. At 18" a 72cc would be plenty.


----------



## link (Jan 2, 2022)

2006 resurrection,


----------



## BrettS (Jan 3, 2022)

grizz55chev said:


> 14 yr old thread, pretty sure most if not all these previous posters have moved on. You can go to Google and type in your question, and go down the rabbit hole, lots of good reading.


Yet you still chose to comment.


----------



## grizz55chev (Jan 3, 2022)

BrettS said:


> Yet you still chose to comment.


I saw that he was a new guy, might not have realized that it was a dormant post. I was new here a while back, always appreciated a helping hand, right?


----------

