Alpina Chainsaws....

[RED-85-Z51]

Anyone know anything about this saw manufacturer?

Ive heard it is very good, but info on them is sparse.

As best I can tell, at the acres site, they have lists of their saws, but NO info.

 

[Just Mow]

If it was any good you would know who they were.
Answer your question....:jawdrop:

 

[RED-85-Z51]

If it was any good you would know who they were.
Answer your question....:jawdrop:

So Alpina = Junk?

 

[lesorubcheek]

I've never ran an Alpina, so I can't comment on them as far as quality, but I do like the design of their saws. From simply looking at manuals, the saws appear to be well engineered, but then again I think the MAC 110s have a neat design. Doesn't Sap have an Alpina now? Maybe he and others can tell us some details about them.

Dan

 

[manual]

I've never ran an Alpina, so I can't comment on them as far as quality, but I do like the design of their saws. From simply looking at manuals, the saws appear to be well engineered, but then again I think the MAC 110s have a neat design. Doesn't Sap have an Alpina now? Maybe he and others can tell us some details about them.

Dan

Yea I'm all for it. I am a bit interested too.
I'll get the camp fire going so can get started. opcorn:

 

[Just Mow]

So Alpina = Junk?

I'm not sure. I would like to hear about them from people who know. We don't have any here so it's hard to say. I was just having fun.

 

[Justsaws]

Red, some of the larger Alpinas are pretty nice. I have only used one and I do not remember the model number. I liked it for what it was. Had many different colors on it, red, yellow, black, maybe more. It was smooth. I used to have a couple of the smaller Alpinas that were almost identical to the Remington Limb Master I. Little 32cc things, I think. They were not impressive. I do not see many Alpinas around here, ever. Maybe, 4 in the last 5 years.

 

[sawinredneck]

FRIGGIN SAP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seems he is winning a lot lately, I have even been eying that sucker he got
Andy

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Anyone know if the engines in them are any good?

Ive heard that they are smooth and torquey...but Ive never run one.

 

[Uwharrie]

They made some of the Remington Chainsaws and some I think may have been sold under the John Deere label. I have a 40 or 45cc model and it's a great running saw. I have always wanted to run one so when i found one on ebay a few years ago I bought it. I would sell it to you Red for a hundred dollar bill plus shipping of course. As I recall the group that owns Stiga now owns Alpina. If you look up Stiga under google you should find some saws listed.

 

[Stumper]

They were made in Italy. There is a connection betwixt Alpina-Olympyk - Efco The Italian maker(s) have mostly just evolved into different company names. The saws are mostly solidly built and well designed but are not quite the equals of the Swedish and German made saws.

 

[Mr Paul]

These saws are made in Italy and have Emak engines. The engines are made in Piano Italy. I have owned and used a fair few. The only ones that are in my opinion are any good are those above 49cc. The smaller ones struggle and get bogged down too easy... The ones above 49cc have an impressive power to weight ratio. They offer torque and power, being a pleasure to use. You have to keep an eye on the bolts, as they can come loose on the handle and be very careful with the fuel mix as they are not forgiving. A thoroughly good saw if you look after it. Expect 2-5years use, not the 10 with a stihl 26varieties, however much lighter and enjoyable to use.

 

[user 139871]

My first saw was a 56cc alpina, second hand, rebuilt. Cut a lot of wood with it in 10 years, no problems, until I ran it a bit lean. Another rebuild and it is running nicely. It is old technology, so it is heavy, but solid.

 

[Little Al]

So Alpina = Junk?

Their Prof saws are NOT JUNK IN AN ANY WAY the Prof 55 070S & 090& 120 would hold their own with the comparable models from the big 2 they had several good features the best probably only oiling the chain when revolving They were not quite the screamers of some of the others & were a bit heavier as they were over engineered but were on par in the grunt dept the badged brands were Castor & Bullcraft The models I'm referring too are the older MAG models not the present day plastic offerings the reason for not being known in the US was the output was small & mainly in Europe Now days spares are few & far between a feature of all the models was the high compression my prof 55 shows over 200psi on the gauge just because there is not much info out there has no bearing on them being no good

 

[Little Al]

These saws are made in Italy and have Emak engines. The engines are made in Piano Italy. I have owned and used a fair few. The only ones that are in my opinion are any good are those above 49cc. The smaller ones struggle and get bogged down too easy... The ones above 49cc have an impressive power to weight ratio. They offer torque and power, being a pleasure to use. You have to keep an eye on the bolts, as they can come loose on the handle and be very careful with the fuel mix as they are not forgiving. A thoroughly good saw if you look after it. Expect 2-5years use, not the 10 with a stihl 26varieties, however much lighter and enjoyable to use.

The older Mag models were produced by the Societa per Azioni in Conegliano Italy Emak only came in with the home owner plastic saws using 32/1 mix you should have no bother The ones I have & the ones flipped the life span & usage was comparable to the big 2 Spares availability is now the stumbling blockI have a pro 55 that I bought new in 85 & have cut hundreds of cubic metres of fire wood & it's still in use & going stong

 

[Little Al]

They were made in Italy. There is a connection betwixt Alpina-Olympyk - Efco The Italian maker(s) have mostly just evolved into different company names. The saws are mostly solidly built and well designed but are not quite the equals of the Swedish and German made saws.

Alpina didn't & don't have any tie up with Oleo Mac the prof model of their day were of better manufacture than the big 2 their production #'s & dealer base was minute though

 

[Conquistador3]

Alpina's are a mixed bag.
Generally speaking the older (pre-2008) yellow models are not bad (think same period Echo's but a tad more performing and a tad less reliable), but recent yellow ones are just mediocre, old black ones are bad and white ones should be avoided at all costs.
Most recent models are not genuine designs but rebranded "generic Chinese" chainsaws with a big price hike. They used to have some good officially licensed Stratocharged designs but as they were the same price as Zenoah they weren't a success.

The chief problem these days is getting spares, especially cylinders, flywheels and ignition modules. There's not much aftermarket for them and GGP, the brand owner, has been cutting on post-sales like crazy as they seem to be more interested in getting big box store business than serving old-fashioned agri/forestry places. Stihl, Husqvarna and Yamabiko are coming to own that segment.

 

[njdaveskiing]

I'm not sure. I would like to hear about them from people who know. We don't have any here so it's hard to say. I was just having fun.

I know a little about the old Alpina chainsaws of the 1980s. I had a Alpina 070s with a 20 " bar. It is 70cc and has a lot of torque. This particular saw does not have compression release, but has anti vibe, auto and manual oiler. Let me tell you this saw has a lot of power in the form of torque and is made very well. It's not my large go to saw because of no compression release(bad shoulder).

 

[Allar]

Yes they are junk, most of them are rebranded Stiga's. Alpina is something that is sold on a big box stores and have a terrible reputation of being cheap chinise turds.
Don't waste your money on those.

 

[SoylentGreenThumb]

Anyone know anything about this saw manufacturer?

Ive heard it is very good, but info on them is sparse.

As best I can tell, at the acres site, they have lists of their saws, but NO info.

I've used them in logging operations.
Reliability was model specific. The 540 had an issue with a bellows between the cylinder and carb that would fail, cause a vacuum leak leading to operator tizzy fits until discovered.
They are akin to a sports car among implements. Performance is rather high across all models. They'd get you through a job faster than most.
The trade off was that they used themselves up faster as well. Not to say this is good or bad, but rather a different interpretation of what constitutes a good tool. And they are that.