CCs and Horsepower confusion

[AmateurSawer]

I hear people talking about "50cc class" or "70 cc class" saws.
When I look at one manufacture, they rate one 50cc saw at 3.2, another at 3.6 and another at 4.0 horsepower ratings. Both they and another brand have 60cc class saws rated around 4.7hp.
Another example would be a 59cc saw which it's manufacturer rates only .16 hp above it's best 50cc model. Still another is a model with 70cc rated only .2hp above 59cc "pro" models of both major brands.
I suppose you could only compare professional grade to like nd farm grade to like. Still, someone who is not "into" saws might buy a larger,heavier machine thinking they had more power when they might have had a lighter, easier used saw with the same power. I once bought one brand of saw partly because of a hundred dollar savings compared to the saw I intended to buy. Both were the same cc size but later I found out there was a difference of a half horsepower also.

Am I missing something here?

 

[OM617YOTA]

No different than cars or trucks. A bigger engine doesn't necessarily mean more power, and more power doesn't necessarily mean the vehicle is faster.

Only remedy, for saws or vehicles, is to do your research and proper due diligence before pulling the trigger.

 

[Evan]

And never buy smaller than 70cc. This gets rid of alot of the confusion

 

[OM617YOTA]

And never buy smaller than 70cc. This gets rid of alot of the confusion

Ridiculous.

 

[MacAttack]

Remember horsepower is a function of RPMs and Torque. A larger engine could have the same or less HP as a smaller engine but more torque if it's a slower turning engine. Torque pulls a chain through the wood.

 

[OM617YOTA]

A larger, slower spinning saw, may well cut smaller wood slower, as well.

In 10" wood, a 346 would probably smoke a 3120. Move up to 36" wood, and the 3120 will keep on pulling, while the 346 will be entirely out of it's league.

 

[user 122190]

The biggest and baddest saw -- the MS880, is a pig for cutting firewood. The chain speed is slooooooow. It excels at running BIG bars in BIG wood, and can mill without hardship (longevity).

For firewood cutting my ms461 would rip thru a 24" log far faster then the ms880. After experiencing that, and the to heavy weight of the 880, I could not sell it fast enough. Seems that everybody is smarter then me, and no one would buy it til I finally found the guy with just the right needs. Took me a year to sell that beast.

 

[computeruser]

A sharp chain is worth at least a half horsepower.

At some point the differences become mere trivia. HP and CC don’t capture throttle response, powerband characteristics, or the saw’s handling.

I’d take the 3.4hp 46cc 346xp OE over the 4.0 hp 50cc 550xp MK2 every day of the week, since I’m going to be running a 13” bar on that sort of saw for my purposes. Same “class” but different temperaments.

 

[bwalker]

A sharp chain is worth at least a half horsepower.

At some point the differences become mere trivia. HP and CC don’t capture throttle response, powerband characteristics, or the saw’s handling.

I’d take the 3.4hp 46cc 346xp OE over the 4.0 hp 50cc 550xp MK2 every day of the week, since I’m going to be running a 13” bar on that sort of saw for my purposes. Same “class” but different temperaments.

The OE 346xp was a bad ass small saw for the average firewood cutter or arborist.

 

[Dennisthemenace]

And never buy smaller than 70cc. This gets rid of alot of the confusion

Yep, and maybe a battery saw for the missus for around the garden

 

[rms61moparman]

I hear people talking about "50cc class" or "70 cc class" saws.
When I look at one manufacture, they rate one 50cc saw at 3.2, another at 3.6 and another at 4.0 horsepower ratings. Both they and another brand have 60cc class saws rated around 4.7hp.
Another example would be a 59cc saw which it's manufacturer rates only .16 hp above it's best 50cc model. Still another is a model with 70cc rated only .2hp above 59cc "pro" models of both major brands.
I suppose you could only compare professional grade to like nd farm grade to like. Still, someone who is not "into" saws might buy a larger,heavier machine thinking they had more power when they might have had a lighter, easier used saw with the same power. I once bought one brand of saw partly because of a hundred dollar savings compared to the saw I intended to buy. Both were the same cc size but later I found out there was a difference of a half horsepower also.

Am I missing something here?

One big thing I believe you are missing is intended purpose.
What are your needs for a saw?
If you are making your paycheck with a chainsaw it is a different situation than a farmer who needs to cut a downed tree off his fence, or a weekend firewood cutter who needs to stay active more than he needs to be the fastest back to the house.

I'm going to state this here (and take the flaming I expect to follow) for the vast majority of the population the difference in a 3.2hp saw and a 4.0hp saw is irrelevant. It just doesn't matter. The skill of the guy on the trigger is VASTLY more important than the speed or power of the saw.

Buy a well designed saw from a good honest dealer close to your base of operations, use it, take reasonable care of it and enjoy it.

As a very good friend from here used to say when Jeff Foxworthy was in his comedy peak, "If you need a stopwatch to see which saw is the fastest through a cut, you MIGHT be an Arboristsite junkie"!


Mike

 

[sean donato]

One big thing I believe you are missing is intended purpose.
What are your needs for a saw?
If you are making your paycheck with a chainsaw it is a different situation than a farmer who needs to cut a downed tree off his fence, or a weekend firewood cutter who needs to stay active more than he needs to be the fastest back to the house.

I'm going to state this here (and take the flaming I expect to follow) for the vast majority of the population the difference in a 3.2hp saw and a 4.0hp saw is irrelevant. It just doesn't matter. The skill of the guy on the trigger is VASTLY more important than the speed or power of the saw.

Buy a well designed saw from a good honest dealer close to your base of operations, use it, take reasonable care of it and enjoy it.

As a very good friend from here used to say when Jeff Foxworthy was in his comedy peak, "If you need a stopwatch to see which saw is the fastest through a cut, you MIGHT be an Arboristsite junkie"!


Mike

Years ago I got sent down to West Virginia to work on a Volvo loader at a log yard. Noticed when I was cleaning up they had a big mix of saw brands. I asked the owner of the place why so many different saws? He said it was the dealer not the product that made the product. All his old saws were stihl and his new saws were husqy. Said the stihl dealer closed shop, new one didn't care about the customer so he switched dealers and the new one sold husqy but worked on his stihls. I'm talking like 50+ saws were in his shop, ranging from 70-100+cc saws. Figured he knew what he was talking about and dropped my branditude.

 

[Dennisthemenace]

One big thing I believe you are missing is intended purpose.
What are your needs for a saw?
If you are making your paycheck with a chainsaw it is a different situation than a farmer who needs to cut a downed tree off his fence, or a weekend firewood cutter who needs to stay active more than he needs to be the fastest back to the house.

I'm going to state this here (and take the flaming I expect to follow) for the vast majority of the population the difference in a 3.2hp saw and a 4.0hp saw is irrelevant. It just doesn't matter. The skill of the guy on the trigger is VASTLY more important than the speed or power of the saw.

Buy a well designed saw from a good honest dealer close to your base of operations, use it, take reasonable care of it and enjoy it.

As a very good friend from here used to say when Jeff Foxworthy was in his comedy peak, "If you need a stopwatch to see which saw is the fastest through a cut, you MIGHT be an Arboristsite junkie"!


Mike

So true, if the operator keeps on hitting dirt, doesn't use wedges when necessary or cannot file it doesn't matter if he is using a 090, he will be outproduced by an experienced bloke with a 046 who knows how to avoid the pitfalls and can file pretty well on site.