Brushcutters ?

[SawTroll]

Here is some photo of Jonsered clearing-saw and brush-cutter, you can see that there is some difference, like the handle, throttle, and there is a longer rig tube on the brush cutter.

FC 2145 clearing saw

BC 2145 brush cutter

It is the same story with Stihl 450, 480 etc......

...maybe even 350, but not 200/250....

...and of course the larger Husky ones.

 

[MAG58]

And remember that a clearing-saw have higher top RPM, so you give full throttle whit the thumb throttle just when you cut, not like the brush-cutter where you can hold full throttle for longer period cos they have mush lower top RPM.

 

[Cam501]

Yep, I wouldn't want to take on numberous 4" trees with my FS200 (FS250 in the US - larger engine, but same power rating).

Troll, at one time...i think it was 2002, they sold the 200 and 250 side by side in the US. Also found it interesting that the 200 is listed on the Canadian website in loop handle bu the 250 is listed in both loop and bike.

 

[Cam501]

We have an FS85 Stihl Pro and that thing is bullet proof. They do not make that model any more. Been though whack line and blades and 5 years of blackberry, scotch broom and hawthorn removal. Oh, and grass... miles of fenceline trimming and weed-whacking. It runs and runs and runs. I just tuned it up and it is running as well as it ever has (latest issue was a caked up muffler screen).

Scotch brooms are variable in size though. It will level the smaller and medium size brooms with one of several of the blade attachments that we have (we have and use 4 different kinds, from 4 edge, 8 edge, circular saw blades, and weird looking gnasher blades). Larger brooms here (2+ inch base) need chainsawing, or ripping out by the roots with the tractor bucket with a tooth bar mounted on it. We also use a lot of Garlon here. Only way to really kill the brooms and hawthorne and poison oak and blackberries. Spray and kill, then mow them down with the brushcutter or toothbar a season later (except the poison oak which I leave for a year before pulling and putting on a non-burn slashpile that is left to rot).

Note also that you can also get a chainsaw on a stick attachment for the Stihl straight pole brushcutters for about $100. I would recommend only a straight pole brushcutter, and preferably one with the bike handles so you can use it for a longer time. Note also that they are hard on your body; we have a 2 tanks of gas limit per day brushcutting rule using it here. The vibration is pretty strong, and you have to lever the things around with your body and here we have steep hills that we have to use it on.

I'd like to know where you get that for $100. As a dealer we'd buy it from ya if we could get it for $100. Dealer cost is well over $100! Also need to mention that Stihl will void your warranty(according to our Stihl inc. owned distributor)if you put the pole saw attachment, or the hedge trimmer attachment on a bike handled trimmer. Gearbox attachments are only approved on the FS and KM 90R, 110R, and 130R (older models 85R and 76 are ok too).

 

[SawTroll]

Troll, at one time...i think it was 2002, they sold the 200 and 250 side by side in the US. Also found it interesting that the 200 is listed on the Canadian website in loop handle bu the 250 is listed in both loop and bike.

A bit odd, as I have never seen a FS200 with a loop handle here, except in the OM, bike handles only on the market.

 

[Frank Boyer]

Has anyone tried a "Beaver Blade"? It is a chain saw chain on a stainless steel disc. I use one on a Honda brush cutter and it works great. I have a Bachtold brush mower for flat work with grass/weeds and brush to 1" or so. Use the Honda for Scotch Broom to 2" on flat and hillside. My loader is the best for heavy brush and small trees on slopes lass than 3to1.

 

[Cam501]

Has anyone tried a "Beaver Blade"? It is a chain saw chain on a stainless steel disc. I use one on a Honda brush cutter and it works great. I have a Bachtold brush mower for flat work with grass/weeds and brush to 1" or so. Use the Honda for Scotch Broom to 2" on flat and hillside. My loader is the best for heavy brush and small trees on slopes lass than 3to1.

We had the beaver blades for a short while. DR distributes them, but the attorney said it was too much of a liability risk to sell them so we don't carry them.

 

[RiverRat2]

4" tree's?????

I wasn't disagreeing with you or contradicting what you said. I think we are both making the same point -- just using different words. You are absolutely right -- 4" trees are pushing a 250 too hard. I will use it on trees that size occasionally, but if there are very many I haul out my little 336.

I'm with you Rick,,,,I've got a little chain saw just right for that....Its a crapsman branded, pullon... Call me crazy if ya want to....... I'm not about swinging no brush cutter @ any 4" trees


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BDawson1234]

Death to underbrush!

I LOVE my husky 345rx. Ya'll do what you wanna do, but I've done some brush clearing in my day. I offended 9 Shihl chain saws by putting my first Husky on the rig. The money has been well worth it. I wish I had one 10 years ago. I like the bever blade too. I cut an 8in pine tree with impunity. But I'm thinkin the 22tooth saw style blades are more forgiving in the dirt.

 

[enjoys cutting]

bought a jonsered rs 52 clearing saw works great.cut some brush and a few cherry and apple trees up to4" made short work of them.plenty of cutting power and well balanced.

 

[frankyslog]

tired of bending over

shindaiwa makes very nice balanced brush cutters with very good power to weight ratios!!!. expecially the b/450 model at 41.5 cc it does not have any rivals except red max (zenoah komatsu) as far as power and weight are concerned although i am not brand bias and all manufacturers are worthy of building a capable unit i guess it boils down to what cc class you want.as for power and performance in the over 40 cc class this is one fine machine. shindaiwas build tolerances are( second to knowbody in the small bore, 2 stroke industry!!) i strongly recomend the tornado blade system in 6 or 12 tooth versions that use a conventional saw type tooth for cutting longevity and without all of the burning associated with standard type blades these blades knife through 4 inch caliper hard wood trunks just as your saw would. these blade can adapt to any common arbor size of machine . i hope this helps you out im speaking from honest experience.good luck to you

 

[Four Paws]

Pictures

Here are a few photos of my equipment.

Husqvarna 232R brushcutter and Husqvarna 39R clearing saw. I have a trimmer head for my 232R, and have removed the catalyst from the muffler. It is a much happier machine now - runs cooler and with more power.

 

[A100HVA]

you got a purfect brush saw set-up.
265rx if you are not too tall:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[MAG58]

Well I do more and more work whit Clearing Saw and Brush Cutter here on the farm and on some other project. I have a Husky 232RD (whit muffler mod) but it was a bit to small, so I have ended up whit 2 new one's, one Jred FC 2145 that you have seen in one other thread, and now one Jred BC 2145. There is many differences in this 2 even if they seem as almost the same. The main difference is that the Clearing Saw have a top RPM at 13500 and the Brush Cutter have a top RPM at 12500.

BC 2145 Brush Cutter

FC 2145 Clearing Saw

 

[Four Paws]

Nice saws, MAG58. Are they the sisters of the 345RX and 345 FX Husky? Some expensive equipment in these parts!

 

[MAG58]

Nice saws, MAG58. Are they the sisters of the 345RX and 345 FX Husky? Some expensive equipment in these parts!

They are expensive here to, but the BC 2145 was on campaign so I save some money.
The BC 2145 is the sister to Husky 345 Rx, and the FC 2145 is the sister to Husky 343 F, the engine in this two are 45cc 2.7Hp

 

[MAG58]

The new Brush Cutter haven't seen mush work yet, but I have tested it in grass and small brushes, and going from the Husky 232RD to the Jred BC 2145 is a BIG difference bigger then you will imagine, the BC 2145 is really a strong Brush Cutter.

Here is some photo of the Jred's side by side

 

[MAG58]

About the blades that you can get for the Clearing Saw, there is a hole lot of them, different type, same type but different names and so on, it's a jungle out there. The most known types/names are Scarlett, Maxi, and Opti for Clearing Saw's, but some producers use different names so it can be confusing some times. And there is more types then the most known one's.

This is a Scarlett blade, or EIA that some call it.

This is a Maxi blade.

This is a XRT blade, a special blade for small engines, the cutter's are more like the cutter's on a chainsaw chain.

This is another version of the XRT blade, Cobra blade, a special blade for difficult cutting.

This is a RIP blade, and you get them whit many number version of the teeth, I have seen them from 30 to 80 teeth.

Sorry but I don't have any photo of Opti blade.

 

[MAG58]

The blades for Brush Cutters are more easy to see the difference, but you can get them in different size so you can get the right one for your cutter.

3 blade

4 blade

4 blade, another version

8 blade

8 blade, another version

 

[stckciv]

Depending on the arbor size you have you can get some nice blades. Honda actually has some nice blades for very cheap. Check them out.

I have the 232L and love it. I dont have a use for the blades but the machine should last me the rest of miy life!