55 Rancher or MS290?

[YUKON 659]

I'm sure the comparison has been made somewhere, but I'm too lazy to do the search. I'm trying to talk my neighbor into a 55 Rancher...better yet a left over 55. I've read a lot of good "stuff" on both of these saws. Anyway, he seems to be set on a MS290. The price of these saws are are about as much as his is willing to part with. What's your opinion? He's having about 50 red oaks removed from his property and he said the logger will leave behind about 100 face cords of tops!!!

Jeff

 

[DDM]

I Have never ran a 55 But However it Runs has to be better than a 290 Farm Boss What a Dog! its like cutting with a lawnmower No power my 260 Runs circles around it. But i did sell the 290 on ebay for 50.00 more than i paid new for it.

 

[treeclimber165]

Either saw will serve him well. If you had both side-by-side, the one with the sharpest chain would cut faster. The operator is more important than the saw.

Either saw will run much better and cooler with muffler work. EPA mufflers make muffler work mandatory on any new saw bought today.

Buy the brand best represented by a good dealership nearby.

(I'd take a used 026 before a new 55 though)

 

[Fish]

Tell him to go with the 55

 

[Newfie]

Good advice from all but go with the Husky.

Sounds like an awful lot of wood from the "tops" of 50 trees? Those must be some pretty big trees. 100 face cords is about 33 full cords, right? That's a lot of top. Wish I could get that much cordwood outta my tops.

 

[treeclimber165]

When I first read this, I thought it was a 260, not 290. The 290 is a piece of crap, anything would be better. Even an Electrolux.

 

[tony marks]

that sounds like some big trees ,if there will be that much leave.
not knocking those in the timber buisiness as theres honest and dishonest in everything. but here in nc , ive come to the opinion that u better research the heck out of the contractor.of the outfits i know 2 are such that i wouldnt let them on my place. its just there way of doing buisiness to rook u in ways they know u will have a hard time keeping up with.
on the other hand the one i know personaly ,,is just somebody that anybody in the area ,will tell u . hes a strait up man.unfortunately i didnt find him until too late.also i might mention
that the other two i mentioned,were well know for what they do.word gets around ,but the typical landowner,sometimes dont know who to ask. point, the guy better not cancel his firewood order
ps im not too familar with red oak. is it
a bigger tree than the white oak.

 

[buckwheat]

Red oak and white oak can be comparable in size, however the red oak has a more dense grain and is almost the perfect firewood, next to hedge apple. i cut down several white and one red last winter, and i've been hand splitting over this summer. i was amazed at how much heavier the pieces of red are. it sounds strange to say it, but i'm looking forward to a cold snap so i can fire up the stove and put some in.

 

[rbtree]

Another vote here for the 55

http://www.arboristsite.com//showthread.php?s=&threadid=5121&highlight=55+Rancher

http://www.arboristsite.com//showthread.php?s=&threadid=5261&highlight=55+Rancher

 

[Tony Snyder]

Does he realize the R 55 has the metal crankcase?

They are going for $329 at the Sears store in T.H. Indiana.

I would take the R55.

 

[HUSKYMAN]

55 has a magnesium crankcase, 290 has plastic.

55 weighs 2lbs less, almost same amount of power

If you shop around the 55 can be found for the same price as the 290

55 can be souped up if desired (i.e. Walkerized, Power Ported, Power Tuned, whatever) a saw tuner will laugh you out of his shop if you try to tune a 290

The ONLY thing the 290 has going for it is it seems to be fairly durable, other than that it is a waste of space on this planet

 

[Dennis]

Huskyman...are you saying I shouldnt pipe my Realtree Camo Poulan that is on the way to me???

 

[John in MA]

Good thing that Poulan is camo. Aren't all your other saws going to try to find it and beat it up?

 

[jokers]

Naw, Poulan`s are just the b*stard children of Husky, the Huskies will just pretend that they don`t exist.

 

[YUKON 659]

Sounds like I had the right idea trying to steer him toward the 55....whats the difference between the 55 rancher and the original 55?
Newfie, I haven't seen the trees...only going by what the logger told him. Hopefully there is that much wood....prolly half of it will be going in my woodshed!

Jeff

 

[YUKON 659]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I did talk to him about muffler mods. and like most of the people around here (when you talk saw mods.) they look at me and say "what...why...just buy a bigger saw" I guess until you do it, it prolly just doesn't make any sense. Oh well their loss!!!

Jeff

 

[bwiesner]

Actually the 55 Rancher is the original saw. They came out with the 55 later but have now dropped it. The 55 had a closed ported cylinder, a compression release, and .325 pitch chain. The specs. are the same on both saws, never quite figured out why they would do it like that. It's like the 55 with the better cylinder was detuned. They should have made the 55 with the closed ported cylinder an XP model. All they would have had to do was make it where it would turn about 14,000 RPM's. Go figure. Dennis and Ken have you ever done a 55? Closed ported cylinder and not the Rancher? If so what were the results. Later Butch

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Yukon I recommend running .325 on the 55. It will cut as fast as the 3/8 because .325 will allow you to keep the speed of the chain up in the saws power band instead of bogging it down. My 55 has a modified muff and just sings with full chisel .325.

Butch actually the 55 made .1hp more but you are right it should have been an XP.

 

[jokers]

Hey Jeff, I just picked up a brand new 55R w/18" bar off ebay from ****`s Pawn for $217 + $15 shipping for a buddy of mine. The saw is perfect, included everything, and was delivered within four days. They (****`s) tell me that they have more, might be worth watching for. Russ

PS, when`s the next time you`re coming out this way?

 

[YUKON 659]

Russ, I'll let him know. He seems to be leaning toward a local purchase....he's concerned about service. Anyway that's a great price! I saw one for $250.00 and thought that was a deal.
My 2 boys and I were going to go to Tupper this weekend (workbee at hunting camp) my oldest has to work, so I'm not sure what's going on. If were passing through I'll let you know.

Jeff