Amazing 550xp

Helped a friend with a really big oak tree which was uprooted during Hurricane Sandy. Before going out to his house I decided the sharpen up the 550xp and perform a muffler mod. For the muffler mod, I just removed the muffler, removed the screen and drilled a 3/8" hole next to the original hole. Make sure you get all the shavings out of the muffler and then reinstall.

Holy crap. This small mod makes this saw a beast! Over the weekend I ran about 20+ tanks through this beast and it is absolutely ridiculous. It is lightweight but has massive power. My buddy was cutting with a MS290 Farm Boss and was having bogging issues. The air filter on his saw kept getting plugged. I said "try this" and tossed him my 550xp for a few cuts...he was like WTF?? This thing is just violent. With the 18" bar, it is almost impossible to bog it. We borrowed a 24" 460 rancher but the 550xp is definitely more powerful even though it is less displacement.

I can't say enough good things about this saw and its features, light weight, and massive power (especially after a mild muffler mod). Here are pics. Oh yeah, the root ball stood the trunk straight up when we made the final cut about 10 feet from the rootball (as expected). Woodsplitter we used in vertical mode just to wack the huge rounds in chunks we can toss in a truck. I will split them to log size later.







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A muffler mod is the key to performance on a 550. Actually, I'm not sure they're worth porting, especially for $250. Mod the muffler and you have a saw that runs like it's ported, for free.

Nice firewood score, although i am sure it was a nice tree when standing. I am more of a stihl guy myself, but I think the 550xp is definently ahead of the pack from reviews on AS. I will pick up one when the budget allows. Looks to be most likely the perfect midsize firewood saw! I will have a hard time with those husky outboard clutches though, they just seem to be ridiculously in the way.

blsnelling said:

A muffler mod is the key to performance on a 550. Actually, I'm not sure they're worth porting, especially for $250. Mod the muffler and you have a saw that runs like it's ported, for free.

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I'd like to find a way to have a bit quieter saw while not sacrificing too much performance. Did the mm really turn up the volume, or was it not too bad?

That's alot of tree for any 50ish cc saw , and it looks like you did just fine ....... Impressive .

Nice tree, good pictures. Of course you do know that you can't cut that size wood with anything less than a 70cc saw.:msp_rolleyes::msp_biggrin:

The volume increase from a single 3/8" hole wasn't that much louder really. It just sounds more like a healthy dirt bike. The autotune rocks, the saw has adjusted and you hear the "four stroking" loud and clear when you are through the wood. It is like it is saying to you "all done, that was easy..what's next?"

I read from others on here that opening the port up too much just makes it louder so I wanted to go for a modest increase. I feel the single hole is perfect and a 20% gain in power is probably accurate. Plus when you put the screen back over it, it looks just like stock.

I found myself this weekend just saying to myself, "Holy ####!" - this thing is ridic! Braaap braaaaaaap - done. Repeat. Cutting 12-16" pieces of oak in seconds. Not bogging down at all with full chisel buried in the wood. Limbing the canopy was easy. Made the farm boss look like a toy plus that farm boss air filter just sucks (figuratively and literally!) and clogs so easy. I was getting almost double the cutting performance in the same wood as a stock MS290. After 20+ tanks this weekend alone my 550xp air filter looked like brand new, not a spec of anything in it...great design on the husky here.

We had the following saws - MS250, MS290 (x2), MS170, 460 Rancher, 550XP. The 550xp was the "go - to" saw for just about all of it. When others were just bogging the 550xp made the wood its #####.

I did go back and forth between MS261 and the 550XP, but I am REALLY glad I went with this Husky.

gcdible1: I like the outboard clutch for balance however the only bad thing about it is that if you do get the saw stuck it is a lot easier on a Stihl to just unbolt the bar and chain and walk away. I did get it jammed only a few times trying to saw though some of those huge pieces. With the Husky it is also slightly more difficult to get the chain on the drive sprocket when changing chains. I will take those minor negatives for the great balance, light weight, and superb power to weight ratio.

If you are on the fence about a new kick-ass 50cc saw this is the one to get by far.

milkman said:

Nice tree, good pictures. Of course you do know that you can't cut that size wood with anything less than a 70cc saw.:msp_rolleyes::msp_biggrin:

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Haha. I know, I was telling my buddy (who's house that was) that I NEED a 372XP with at least a 24" bar on it. He ran up to his uncle's and grabbed the 460 but it was very dissapointing. It had a 24" bar on it but not nearly the power that the 550xp has. Maybe the chain was a pos? The rakers were on the same link as the cutter..which is new to me.

We kept joking that this was probably about a $3000 job so he should buy about $3000 worth of chinese food and maybe toss in a 372xp.

Proves that you can cut some massive wood with a very powerful 50cc saw and only an 18" bar. We are still working on chunking up some of the larger wood.

I found myself this weekend just saying to myself, "Holy ####!" - this thing is ridic!

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I found my self doing the very exact thing. After saying it I would keep checking the wood to see if it was hallow or rotten. Trying to find a reason it was cutting to smooth or fast! Good wright up by the way!!

I've cut a bunch of wood that size with the little old 45cc 346xp...
Even though I'm not supposed to use so small a saw. :msp_biggrin:

Looks like the 550 is the saw everyone is claiming it is...