# Stihl 034 whats the biggest bar and chain?



## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

hi i just bought a stihl 034 electronic, what is the biggest bar you can get for it?


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## Grande Dog (Sep 3, 2010)

Howdy,
This is the biggest http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=BAWP+50+SS63&catID=
but, you're going to want to keep at 24" or smaller.
Regards
Gregg


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## JustinM (Sep 3, 2010)

Grande Dog said:


> Howdy,
> This is the biggest http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=BAWP+50+SS63&catID=
> but, you're going to want to keep at 24" or smaller.
> Regards
> Gregg



LOL. does anyone actually run a huge bar like that on an 034? I know its listed as compatible, but surely the oiler wouldnt even be close to being able to keep up (let alone the engine!).


I have an 036 - which is a VERY similar saw to your 34 - most of the time I actually run it with a 16" or 20" bar - it just screams. I dont have any 22-24" B&C that will fit this model, but on occasion I have used it well with a 28 (although I probably wouldnt do so for prolonged periods).


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## Plankton (Sep 3, 2010)

I have a 034 super which I just restored and have a 25"(24) Bar and full comp chain on it. I haven't put it in wood yet but I am confident of the pulling power of this thing.

I'd say throw a 24" on it and let her rip!!


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 3, 2010)

TreeCo said:


> An 18 or 20 inch bar is perfect for the 034.



 24 is way to heavy for a 034, will ruin a nice handling saw


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

*stihl 034*

okk thank you


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

*stihl 034*

but i dont understand, if the stihl company says you can run up to a 28 inch bar and chain on it, then why would i not do that?


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 3, 2010)

What stihl says you can run up to is a max, If you want a nice 034 that has power and handles you want to stick with a 18-20 anything more ,you wont have the power you want and it will handle like crap!


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## SawTroll (Sep 3, 2010)

TreeCo said:


> An 18 or 20 inch bar is perfect for the 034.



Too long imo, I would prefer 15 or 16" on that saw - maybe 18" if really needed!


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## SawTroll (Sep 3, 2010)

mowoodchopper said:


> 24 is way to heavy for a 034, will ruin a nice handling saw



Yes, definately!


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

*stihl 034*

ooo if you get a longer bar and chain it boggs it down a good amount?


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 3, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> ooo if you get a longer bar and chain it boggs it down a good amount?



YES and it makes the saw to nose heavy, I had a good 034, with a 18 inch bar 3/8 chain they are a dang good firewood saw.


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

*stihl 034*

are they? gooood, cuz i went in the saw shop today to get a 20 inch bar and chain for my stihl 056av super today. i asked if they had anyy saws they wanted to get rid of, he went out back and come up front with a stihl 034 electronic. so i said why not, and i bought it for 250


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 3, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> are they? gooood, cuz i went in the saw shop today to get a 20 inch bar and chain for my stihl 056av super today. i asked if they had anyy saws they wanted to get rid of, he went out back and come up front with a stihl 034 electronic. so i said why not, and i bought it for 250



They are a damn good saw, one of the best stihl built IMO. Not to heavy but good power and handle good. You wont find much better in the 56 cc area.


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## SawTroll (Sep 3, 2010)

mowoodchopper said:


> They are a damn good saw, one of the best stihl built IMO. Not to heavy but good power and handle good. You wont find much better in the 56 cc area.



I'd just say it is an OK saw - and that price may be a tad high, considering its age, !


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 3, 2010)

SawTroll said:


> I'd just say it is an OK saw - and that price may be a tad high, considering its age, !



DISAGREE they are way better than ok, and the price is not in ???? he bought it and they are a good saw. Way better than the NEWER 455!


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 3, 2010)

*stihl 034*

really so i got it for a good price


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## THALL10326 (Sep 3, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> really so i got it for a good price



Ya did good. I have a 034 and its not going anywhere for 250.00, hell to buy a new saw today as good would cost you 500 or more, you did good!! Stay with a 18-20in bar, best set up on it is a 18in bar and 33rsc66 chain, great firewood combination...


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## Brushwacker (Sep 3, 2010)

Of any model saw I've not put more hours on then 034, 036, 034 supers and its been a bunch. For me an 18" feels to short,they belong on an 026.
20" is easy for any of the 034-036 saws to handle efficiently in anything I cut a lot of, mostly oak. Never had an 22" on 1 but I've run 84 dl 24-25" both hardnose and sprocketnose. In white oak it felt a bit weak, but even the hardnose didn't feel bad in over mature black and pin oak. 24" is nose heavy, but for occasional use I am very satisfied using the 60cc version with it. I don't believe the 56cc will feel much differant. I've never run them side by side but currently I run an 56cc and had another and neither felt any differant then what I remember with the Supers with a 20" bar (thats without doing a direct comparison).


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## fields_mj (Sep 4, 2010)

For every day use, I agree with the others. 18"~20" is great. You could go up to a 28" on occasion if you really needed to, but you're probably not going to like it with that set up. 

As far as the saw goes, I agree, probably one of the best saws Stihl ever made. Good enough that they never really did away with them, they just let them evolve into the 036, 360, 361, and now the 362. I still like the older 034 through 036 better for some reason. And Troll doesn't know what he's talking about on this one. Nothing wrong with running a 16" bar on an 034, but it will pull an 18" just as fast and just as strong, and a 20" isn't that far behind it. I run my 036 with a 9 pin rim and a .325 chain on a 18" bar, and love it. I knock the rakers down on a couple of chains that I use for bucking, and I just love to bury the bar in a nice piece of white oak or ash. It all just depends on whether you want another 2" of bar and chain weight to carry around out on the end. 

Mark


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 4, 2010)

fields_mj said:


> For every day use, I agree with the others. 18"~20" is great. You could go up to a 28" on occasion if you really needed to, but you're probably not going to like it with that set up.
> 
> As far as the saw goes, I agree, probably one of the best saws Stihl ever made. Good enough that they never really did away with them, they just let them evolve into the 036, 360, 361, and now the 362. I still like the older 034 through 036 better for some reason. And Troll doesn't know what he's talking about on this one. Nothing wrong with running a 16" bar on an 034, but it will pull an 18" just as fast and just as strong, and a 20" isn't that far behind it. I run my 036 with a 9 pin rim and a .325 chain on a 18" bar, and love it. I knock the rakers down on a couple of chains that I use for bucking, and I just love to bury the bar in a nice piece of white oak or ash. It all just depends on whether you want another 2" of bar and chain weight to carry around out on the end.
> 
> Mark



:agree2: 100% Mark hit the nail on the head!!!!


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## Brushwacker (Sep 4, 2010)

I am not saying this to be critical but for me that 2" bar length multiplied by 3 or 4 hours of use with the chainsaw = much less bending of the back and knees + the 2" of reach saves me very many steps in the course of that much time meaning I am stationary with the chainsaw more of the time then I would be with 2" less while cutting the same wood. Saves time moving around also meaning the saw spends less time getting to the cuts and more time in cuts verses time being moved from cut to cut by the feet. Usually am moving in a tangled mess, sometimes uneven ground which makes the foot work more difficult then walking on flat clear ground. My body notices it a lot processing trees such as grow in my area into firewood from felling to limbing and bucking. If I were just bucking logs lttle or no bigger then the bar I am sure it wouldn't be as significant but my back would be doing some extra bending still. There are situations where a short bar has significant advantages and if your build is 2" shorter then mine I could see why you might prefer 2" shorter. I'm 6' and a 22" bar fits me just about perfect with Stihls standing straight up bucking wood on the ground and the tip just missing the ground. Been that way ever since I started cutting wood for sale in my early 20's, with the big old Homelites. I tryed shorter bars then and it felt like more work for me just like it does today . Presently I run a 22" on an 044 and 20" on an 034, have 026's with 16 & 18". I run 25" , 28", 32 " on my 660 depending on how big the wood is. 24-25" would be my second favorite on most any Stihl saw that pulls it well in all around felling bucking and limbing. I have an Efco 165 I use mostly as a back up with a 24", pretty near the same power as an 034. 20 or 22 would probably better suit it for its power but I like it well this way when I have a lot of reaching high limbs.


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## amateur cutter (Sep 4, 2010)

THALL10326 said:


> Ya did good. I have a 034 and its not going anywhere for 250.00, hell to buy a new saw today as good would cost you 500 or more, you did good!! Stay with a 18-20in bar, best set up on it is a 18in bar and 33rsc66 chain, great firewood combination...



I couldn't agree more, I run an 034 AV Super with 18" & 3/8 rsc chain. Great combo, handles nice, makes good power, & the oiler is far superior to some of the newer saws imo. $ 250.00 isn't a bad price for a decent cond. 034. A C


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## Plankton (Sep 4, 2010)

I ran my recently restored 034 super today for the first time. I have a 24" bar w/ full comp 3/8 chain on it. It pulled just fine through 20" falling cuts all day, was still high enough RPM's for quick limbing without leaning over too much. 

If you don't mind leaning over and have small trees to fall/buck then by all means go for a 18" bar. But if you want to run a long bar on it you definitely can.

On a side note, the oiler ROCKS! It has no problem oiling a 24" bar with some to spare on max. I had it just below max all day today and it kept my bar cool.


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## woodyman (Sep 4, 2010)

I was thinking 16" to 18" for an 034 and up to 20" for an 034 Super.I sold my 034AV which I ran an 18" bar on.You want a bigger bar get a bigger saw.I run an 20" on my 7900 for most of my cutting.Is this what your saw looks like?







I don't know if mine had the stiff AV on it but it sure vibrated compared to my 346 and 7900.


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## bbplayer546 (Sep 5, 2010)

*stihl 034*

yea thats what it looks like, and i ran the saw yesterday and was cutting witha 20inch bar and skip tooth chain. prob one of the best firewood saws i have. and i have a 

Husky 338xpt
Husky 345
Husky 450
Stihl 011AV
Stihl 045AV
Stihl 045AV Pro 5 electronic
Stihl 056AV Super


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## Brushwacker (Sep 6, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> yea thats what it looks like, and i ran the saw yesterday and was cutting witha 20inch bar and skip tooth chain. prob one of the best firewood saws i have. and i have a
> 
> Husky 338xpt
> Husky 345
> ...



:agree2: 034's are very verstaile limbing,felling or bucking average trees. They don't take a lot of space in the truck or tool box making it easiar to pack another saw along. Works good along with a smaller saw when its mostly limbing and smaller wood or its powerful enough to have as a backup for a bigger saw on tougher jobs. 
Vibration dampning isn't the best, but if you keep it maintained I find it adequately comfortable to run well over a few hours a day with no problems.


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 6, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> yea thats what it looks like, and i ran the saw yesterday and was cutting witha 20inch bar and skip tooth chain. prob one of the best firewood saws i have. and i have a
> 
> Husky 338xpt
> Husky 345
> ...



That 450 husky is a sweet little saw too, smooth and torquey , I sold mine and my 346. I dont miss the 346 but I do the 450, hell of a saw for the money!


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## Kwdog75 (Sep 6, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> but i dont understand, if the stihl company says you can run up to a 28 inch bar and chain on it, then why would i not do that?



They say say you can run up to a 28 inch bar so you can kill that saw and have to buy another one. Call it, job security for Stihl employees. I will be running an 18 inch b/c one mine.


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## sunfish (Sep 6, 2010)

bbplayer546 said:


> but i dont understand, if the stihl company says you can run up to a 28 inch bar and chain on it, then *why would i not do that*?



My question to you, is why would you want a bar that long????????


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## mowoodchopper (Sep 6, 2010)

sunfish said:


> My question to you, is why would you want a bar that long????????



My wife always ask me the same thing, I dont have an answer, except to show it off!


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## sunfish (Sep 6, 2010)

mowoodchopper said:


> My wife always ask me the same thing, I dont have an answer, except to show it off!


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## quikduk (Oct 23, 2010)

Mine came with a Stihl 28" bar and I didn't know it should be shorter till now. It does give you arm pump after a day or so...:greenchainsaw:


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## ms290 (Oct 23, 2010)

i ran an 034 with a 20 inch but that was in with .325 pitch chain. it pulled that like a friggin monster. very nasty with that combo. made my 290 i used to have feel like a joke. but i have since moved up and now run a 441. i just got my 066 build done so moving up agian. when my friend gets the parts for his 034 i will build it as well and when its complete i will put on the 25 inch 3/8 bar and see how it pulls it.


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## mowoodchopper (Oct 24, 2010)

ms290 said:


> i ran an 034 with a 20 inch but that was in with .325 pitch chain. it pulled that like a friggin monster. very nasty with that combo. made my 290 i used to have feel like a joke. but i have since moved up and now run a 441. i just got my 066 build done so moving up agian. when my friend gets the parts for his 034 i will build it as well and when its complete i will put on the 25 inch 3/8 bar and see how it pulls it.[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> It wont pull it worth a ####, even a 20 inch with 3/8 is very marginal on a 034


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## Wilfman825 (Oct 8, 2018)

bbplayer546 said:


> hi i just bought a stihl 034 electronic, what is the biggest bar you can get for it?


Hi I also own an 034super I'm currently running an 18in bar on mine I'm gonna have to say a 20 inch bar and a pro chain is the biggest everday used saw you will get excellant results from this saw I love mine I also have an Ms 170 stihl but this is my limb / trim saw but I'm very satisfied with both my stihls I won't run any thing else for my money imo good luck to you.


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