Buying my first chainsaw. Lowe's OK?

[Westwood]

Wife and I recently bought a house on ~20 acres. Its heavily wooded, has a quarter mile long driveway, and we heat primarily with wood. We'll burn maybe about five cord a year. We will order a grapple load, 9-12 cord, and cut it, split it, and stack it. I'm not looking to clear cut the place, but any trees that have fallen, we are looking to cut up and haul off in the Kubota. Just looking to do the typical homeowner stuff.

Here's the rub. I have ~$250 in Lowe's gift cards, and my Dad is a vet. With the 10% off and the gift cards I'm not looking at too much out of pocket for a Husky 455. With the house purchase and a newborn, we're pretty wiped out financially. Now I've heard mix things about the saws at "big box stores" and to avoid them. How they sell cheaper versions of the saws, etc. Is that the case? There is a Stihl dealer about 20m from me, but that is a bit out of our price range. I can score the Husky 455 from Lowe's for a bit over $100 which is feasible for us.

tl;dr - Will a Husky 455 from Lowe's hold up for a typical homeowner heating with firewood?

Thank you for your time.

 

[Ozhoo]

Welcome to AS. There's a bozillion 455's in use heating houses around the country and while there are plenty of choices, given your position, you really can't go wrong.

They come super lean out of the box so you'll need to re-tune it as it breaks in. Just keep an eye on how it runs and when it becomes slow to accelerate, come back and we'll walk you through re-tuning it.

 

[farmer steve]

first off welcome to AS. if you can do the routine maintenance and take care of it it should work ok for what you have said. lots of good info here so enjoy.

 

[Westwood]

Thank yeas.

What I have been reading is that a Husky 455 from Lowe's is different that a Husky 455 from a dealer.

Tuning a carb is easy peasy, so not really worried there. Between the 'bota, the carb'd motorcycles, log splitter, and lawn mower, maintaining equipment is all part of the game.

 

[Blstr88]

For what you're doing I think most guys here would recommend stepping up to a pro saw, either a Stihl 261 or 362, or maybe a Husqvarna 562xp...but if the 455 from Lowes is whats in your budget right now I say go for it. If nothing else it'll get you by for a couple years as you figure out what works for you and what doesnt.

I am basically in the same situation as you, own 40 acres and I cut/split/stack an entire grapple load each year too (about 8-9 cord). Started with a pretty beat up 260 and now have a 261 and 562xp, so theres nothing saying you cant upgrade as you go. I say go with the 455 if its in your budget, it'll serve you well for a good long while!

Have you thought about what you'll do for a splitter? Planning to just use an axe for all of it?

 

[Ozhoo]

What I have been reading is that a Husky 455 from Lowe's is different that a Husky 455 from a dealer.

Where did you hear that? That's not how manufacturing works. Same saw, but walk-up dealers will likely tune it for you.

 

[Westwood]

For what you're doing I think most guys here would recommend stepping up to a pro saw, either a Stihl 261 or 362, or maybe a Husqvarna 562xp...but if the 455 from Lowes is whats in your budget right now I say go for it. If nothing else it'll get you by for a couple years as you figure out what works for you and what doesnt.

I am basically in the same situation as you, own 40 acres and I cut/split/stack an entire grapple load each year too (about 8-9 cord). Started with a pretty beat up 260 and now have a 261 and 562xp, so theres nothing saying you cant upgrade as you go. I say go with the 455 if its in your budget, it'll serve you well for a good long while!

Have you thought about what you'll do for a splitter? Planning to just use an axe for all of it?

Hey man. Greetings from ENH. I actually bought a hunk of 2x3 from you awhile back for my 4x4 buggy. Small [internet] world.

I picked up a cheapo County-Line for $700. Only has one cord through it.

Where did you hear that? That's not how manufacturing works. Same saw, but walk-up dealers will likely tune it for you.

I've been looking around for a few days, and it comes up from time to time. Like how Walmart sells cheaper made TVs for Black Friday n' such.

 

[s sidewall]

Husky should hold up real well for what you are going to be doing.

Steve

 

[jackjcc]

The new edition 455 feel like good saws. When I saw they updated them with A/V similar to the 550 they looked a lot better. The mufflers look choked up but I haven’t owned one. I don’t think you will go wrong with that saw for real cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jakethesnake]

I’ve got pro saws and some not... haven’t killed my 455 yet. Been bulletproof really

 

[jakethesnake]

There’s a cheap one in the trading post here. I wouldn’t be afraid to buy used here either. I’ve bought from some of these guys.

 

[Modifiedmark]

The only issue I have with the 455 saws are the oilers.

The plastic gears don't hold up very well in cold weather, if you use heavy thick bar oil, they will strip out regularly. If you use them in cold temps just make sure to thin the bar oil considerably.

The other thing is that they are very stingy oilers and don't put out very much. I have modded the oilers on them, its very easy to do and they put out lots more when done. You might as well pickup the clutch tool for them if you get one, makes removing the clutch very easy

The design of the oilers with 2 holes straight through the pump body also lets them leak some oil when setting. Not a big deal to me to put something under the saw but some folks cry like babies about a saw leaking a bit of oil when not in use.

I don't know about the newer models and if they have a cat muffler but older type mufflers are easy to find and mod.

Personally if your getting a 455 for $100 I would see if I could scrape up another $100 and get the 460. The extra power would be welcome.

 

[Evan]

372 460 461.

If i realined on wood to heat my home theres no way id get a 455.

70cc saw. 20" 25" maube 32"

Out on right bar for the job

 

[milkman]

I heat with wood and the saws I use are a 38cc and a 50cc, don't want anything heavier.

 

[SteveinUT]

With a limited budget, you'll be doing fine with a 455. I had a 460 Rancher for a few years and it was a very reliable firewood saw. Don't let folks talk you into buying more saw than you need. Would you be better off with a pro saw? Yes. But do you NEED it? No.

 

[Westwood]

Cool beans. Thanks guys. Good group of folks you got here.

 

[Tin-knocker]

372 460 461.

If i realined on wood to heat my home theres no way id get a 455.

70cc saw. 20" 25" maube 32"

Out on right bar for the job

I rely on wood to heat my house although winters where I live aren't really winter. Low 20s early morning is cold for us . But I'm able to keep my kids warm with a little echo cs352 (34cc if I remember correctly) with a 16" bar. Yes bigger would be better but I couldn't afford to drop that kind of money. It definitely wasn't the fastest way to go about it but it got the job done. Everyone has their dream saw but sometimes you gotta put that on hold to get something RIGHT NOW that will keep the family warm. So I'd say go for that lowes saw. Later down the road if that saw isn't working out then at least it put some heat in the house and didn't cost you an arm and a leg.

 

[jakethesnake]

For what it’s worth I ran my 455 6 days a week cutting 20plus inch trees for the first winter of its life. Pretty close to commercial. It’s still goin I’m thinking 11 Years I’ve had it. Recoil acts up when it’s super cold. Likely dirty. Needs a new primer bulb that cracked this year.
That’s all. Not a bad saw. Doesn’t owe me anything.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Where did you hear that? That's not how manufacturing works. Same saw, but walk-up dealers will likely tune it for you.

Before you buy it at Lowes, make sure that your local Husky dealer wants your business.

I was recently at my local Stihl and Echo dealer (1 dealer that carries both lines) and they had a sign on their door "We will no longer service equipment purchased at the big box stores." I guess they got tired of dealing with and explaining to Joe "straight gas" Homeowner why his $400 Echo (that he just bought at Home Depot) burned up. I can understand the desire to not want to deal with "the unwashed", but to flat turn them away is just plain rude and arrogant **.

** This is the same dealer that tried to sell me a Stihl when I went in looking for an Echo, "Why do you want Echo? Stihl is better...", so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Modifiedmark]

372 460 461.

If i realined on wood to heat my home theres no way id get a 455.

70cc saw. 20" 25" maube 32"

Out on right bar for the job

You didn't bother to read the OP's situation at all and your post is pretty stupid anyway. You must not be much of a saw man if you have to have a 372 or 461 to cut firewood.