Chainsaw Bar Lengths

[skyhightree1]

I have 2 saws that I want to stick a longer bar on and i was wondering if anyone knew what the longest bar I could stick on these saws.
HOMELITE XL
HOMELITE XL-12
POULAN PRO 260

 

[Chris11]

Hello,

the usuall long bar question. You can fit an 100 inch bar on them and still cut styrofoam.

Christian

 

[lostone]

what kind of wood will you be cutting with the saws, hardwood or softwood?

 

[NWCS]

i have a 20" factory bar on my homelite XL12. it cuts well.. but in my opinion.. the XL12 will be great with a 16" and a super cutter with a 12". just keep in mind this example, if you have a 16 and go to a 20.. that may be 4 inches longer bar.. but thats roughly 8 inches more chain (taking into consideration 4 inches more chain on top, and 4 on the bottom) and thats a LOT of drag added! i also found an echo bar fits MUCH better than the orig homelite bar! and the oil holes match perfectly, same drive link count and all. the slot is just too sloppy on my factory homelite bar, the echo is a tight fit and leaves nearly NO up and down slop, the homelite bar has over 1.5 of up/down play at the end of the 20" bar.

for refrence, the new bar im comparing with is intended for an echo CS510, oregon power match plus.
200RNDD176
homelite bar is a Homelite "Power Tip Bar" with no numbers stamped anywhere.

 

[tony marks]

as to the 260. they are sold at lowes with more bar than should be on them to start with. this i think because people think they are getting more saw ,if the bar is longer. not.
id never run longer than 16 on it.. jmo

 

[HiOctane]

The longest avalaible from Oregon is 27 ". part #270GNDD196,needs a 93 links chain .

 

[Mountainman]

Call BS if you like, but I remember it plain as day. My father used to be Superintendent at Weyerhaeuser's Vail Camp in Washington State. He was also the last Mayor of the company town. One of the cutting crews came across a 14-foot diameter Sitka Spruce one day. The longest bar they ran was 60 inches on Stihl 090Gs. They cut the tip off one 60 inch bar, and the mount off another, welded them end-to-end, and wrapped a whole ???? BUNCH of chain around it. I wish to heck I had gotten a photo. I wasn't there when they dropped it, but I believe they had to quarter the first log or two, and they loaded the rest with the yarder, on off-highway trucks.

Those were the days....

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks guys for the input. I was just wondering. I am buying more bars and lots of chain in case we have a bad Hurricane season. During Isabelle it was almost impossible to get more chain or a bar in Richmond,Va.

 

[skyhightree1]

I will be cutting mostly hardwoods though.