Considering a 550xp, are the new ones "fixed"?

[holeycow]

EPA go away. Come back when you’ve given your head a good shake.

Some of us just won’t buy that ****.

Yet.

 

[ScooterInWI]

As said above, putting 20"3/8 on a stock 550 will make the saw bog easily.

I think you should get a 562.

But the two have different purposes.

The 562 is a general purpose felling and bucking saw.

The 550 is a small tree and limb zipper.

You really want both.

And a 395.

I'm moving away from putting the 20" on a 550. I have a 371 that I use for my general purpose, and was looking for something lighter for small trees & little stuff. I was leaning towards a 562, but that weighs almost as much as my 371. So now I'm thinking 550 with a 16" or 18". I'll leave the 20 on the 371.

 

[sunfish]

I'm moving away from putting the 20" on a 550. I have a 371 that I use for my general purpose, and was looking for something lighter for small trees & little stuff. I was leaning towards a 562, but that weighs almost as much as my 371. So now I'm thinking 550 with a 16" or 18". I'll leave the 20 on the 371.

That sure makes more sense. But a 562 does feel smaller & lighter in the hand than a 371.

 

[CR888]

I bought a 550xp off Mesupra in about 2014, its a great little saw that's given me NO trouble. I have a few MS261's too, I like both saws for different reasons. I'll say this though the throttle response on a 550 is faster than any 50cc saw I've run, its size is the smallest & its agility the best. Its not perfect no saw is but given the purpose or design intention for a 50cc saw, the 5 series has been ahead of the pack since its release 6+ years ago. It will be interesting when husky releases a new 50cc pro saw. I'd buy another without question but I also understand my experience is not everyone's.

 

[holeycow]

People should talk in hours used, not years.

Years owned means nothing.

I have a 2011 ms362 that is still basically new. It has proven nothing to me except that it is a very nice saw. It is still in diapers and has not proven anything wrt reliability to me.

If you want a report to be credible, it has to talk hours in service and conditions of service.

No disrespect intended to anyone, just something I noticed years ago here.

Ps, to me about 100hrs is basically new..

 

[Allen miller]

I'm moving away from putting the 20" on a 550. I have a 371 that I use for my general purpose, and was looking for something lighter for small trees & little stuff. I was leaning towards a 562, but that weighs almost as much as my 371. So now I'm thinking 550 with a 16" or 18". I'll leave the 20 on the 371.

550xp is a awesome saw you're not going to regretted it at all. 18" bar all you need. You get in any bigger I just grab a different saw like a 044 , 046 and a 660 that what I have. Been a stihl guy but really like husqvarna small saws I've already started building me a 372xp to tryout.

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[Brent Nowell]

Well tried an Oregon 20” 3/8 058 bar and full chisel chain with oregon rim and it pulls the same if not cute faster than .325nk.

However...

If the rpms aren’t high enough she will bog... but I noticed the same thing with .325nk.
Oiler can def keep up

Balance is def off, front heavy and with Oregon pro light bar, front heavy which Im not sure I like.

I’ll post more after I use it more but for 18” d pine it does fine if you don’t push on it

 

[ScooterInWI]

Thanks for all the info and advice everyone. Just ordered a 550 18". Can't wait to give it a try!

 

[svk]

You should enjoy it!

I have an early 2015 build 550. Never a single bog issue except when I ran 32:1 mix. Went right back to running great when I switched to 40:1. I know that shouldn’t make a difference but it did. And I tried it multiple times to make sure that was the issue.

I had it ported in the fall of 2016. I sold my 562 as it never was used after the 550 was ported. Eventually I’d like to get a 2260 and port that so I can swap bars but I don’t cut much wood over 20” diameter so a larger saw is really unnecessary with ported 550 and 346 in the house.

 

[Brent Nowell]

You should enjoy it!

I have an early 2015 build 550. Never a single bog issue except when I ran 32:1 mix. Went right back to running great when I switched to 40:1. I know that shouldn’t make a difference but it did. And I tried it multiple times to make sure that was the issue.

I had it ported in the fall of 2016. I sold my 562 as it never was used after the 550 was ported. Eventually I’d like to get a 2260 and port that so I can swap bars but I don’t cut much wood over 20” diameter so a larger saw is really unnecessary with ported 550 and 346 in the house.

I asked the guy at the store how these saws determine fuel quality, he told me there was some kind of light sensor that fuel passed through to determine if they had pre mix or not or the right type. He told me they eventually took the feature out cause some kid wasn’t responding well with the sensor, maybe that was your 32:1 issue?
I say this cause I’m running 32:1 and no problems.
Can anyone account for this light sensor thing?

 

[Allen miller]

You should enjoy it!

I have an early 2015 build 550. Never a single bog issue except when I ran 32:1 mix. Went right back to running great when I switched to 40:1. I know that shouldn’t make a difference but it did. And I tried it multiple times to make sure that was the issue.

I had it ported in the fall of 2016. I sold my 562 as it never was used after the 550 was ported. Eventually I’d like to get a 2260 and port that so I can swap bars but I don’t cut much wood over 20” diameter so a larger saw is really unnecessary with ported 550 and 346 in the house.

I topped this oak tree then cut all the tree top with my 550xp in 95 degree weather was a hot ass weekend. Had no problems . Then cut down with my old 066 .

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[ScooterInWI]

The Old & The New. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks again for all the comments and advise!

 

[Brent Nowell]

Tried the 20” 3/8 chain and pro lite bar combo again on the 550 and with the muffler mod it’s definitely keeping up power wise.

I said the balance was off but it really isn’t that much, with one finger on the top bar holding the saw up it only leans forward just a tiny bit.

 

[William Balaska]

I owned two, no issues other than difficult cold starts at times. I now have a 562 and it's absolutely awesome. I would say it's like a 70cc class saw, in a 50cc package.

 

[flyinfinn]

The Old & The New. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks again for all the comments and advise!
View attachment 674514

The perfect “two saw” package!

 

[chipper1]

The Old & The New. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks again for all the comments and advise!
View attachment 674514

Nice combo!
How do you like the captive nuts, the front tensioner, flippy caps ....

 

[newforest]

I run a 550XP a whole lot. It is past 600 hours now. I also own a 562 and previously ran a 346 XP a whole lot.

I run 3/8” on the 550 and I like it that way. But I really can’t remember why I originally started switching 50cc saws from .325 to 3/8”. I think it was because the Husqy 55 came with 3/8” stock, and since my Dad had several of those and I had one as a back-up saw, it was just easier to keep all the spare everythings the same. Some day I might learn the +/- of 3/8” vs .325. Or maybe not.

I occasionally put a 20” bar on the 550. Generally only when a friend needs a few cuts (the classic tree falling on the driveway scenario). I don’t need a 20 for the work I do, but the 550 can run it if needed. I wouldn’t do it every day, I don’t expect...

So I bought a 562. And then put a 16” bar on it, which is straight weird. But that is because it’s most likely scenario is a 1-2 day run covering for an illness on the 550, in the small stuff I cut while working, or if an extra helper miraculously appears to cut with me. But when the bext big log appears in a buddy’s yard, I will reach for the 562 (and the 20” bar), and also this winter when I finally have a job with some bigger diameters going up over 10” for a change. Def. looking forward to some days with the 562 in hand.

The 550 has had a couple illnesses along the way. The clutch cover portions of the brake mechanism has always been wonky. It finally froze up completely. I bought it from the highest volume dealer in my state and they reported “never seen this problem before” and just replaced it for me.

This summer I managed to plug up the bar oil filter. (This has nothing to do with the 550 itself). I hate cheap bar oil. Something always seems to happen with it... the only stuff I could get (not from the Swedes) was OK as bar oil. But the jug it came in was cheaply made and strips of plastic stripped off the cap/jug threaded connection and these plugged up the little filter on the oil pump. I really wish it wasn’t so hard to buy the quality manufacturer recommended bar oil. Dealer after dealer I visit just won’t sell it any more. I often work a 20-30 minute drive from an actual ‘public’ road, another 15 minutes to pavement, and maybe 45+ more minutes to an actual saw shop. I’m not into “just give me the cheap stuff”.

The result of the plugged oil pump was a tour around the woods for my trusty old 346 XP, with a brand new carb for it’s coming decade as my go-to daily just-in-case backup saw, and the one I will take with me to the way out there fishing holes I like to visit, just-in-case.

I was quite looking forward to a day with a favorite old saw. And was then quite amazed at how much more fuel efficient the 550 XP is, vs. the 346. I ran an extra tank on the 346, both days, on the same job site cutting the same material. I was certainly impressed by the Auto-Tune in this regard.

Fuel efficiency might not mean much when you are just cutting firewood 30’ from your truck and a tank of fuel is less than a buck each. But when you have to cover several acres of ground a day, I know I would not go back to running a 346 even if someone gave me a Sunday Driver one still almost brand new. I would sell it to someone here, and stick with my 550.

One last note on “the sequence” - you get used to this and don’t even think about it. I don’t mind letting a saw warm up a little - you should never run a saw maniacally, trying to maximize every second of operation as fast-forward speed as possible. It’s a chainsaw; think about what you are doing at all times.

That said, I did delete the de-compression button altogether and haven’t missed it. I could never get the use of the button synced-up correctly with “the sequence” and it was sometimes hard to tell if it had been pushed already, given how the rubber dust sleeve on it would sit. And then I would push it in when I would wish I hadn’t, somehow screw up “the sequence” and actually manage to flood a saw with Artificial Intelligence. Hasn’t been a problem without having the button at all.

The only real delay in running my 550 that I see isn’t a warm-up issue. If you run it really, really dry of fuel, it will take a little extra time on the start of a new tank before you can bring up the RPMs for a cut, without a stall. This is just air bubbles in the fuel line, even after using the squeeze bulb. That’s just the fuel sys. workings on this saw, and that sometimes costs me 45 seconds or a minute of wait time. No big deal, just gives me time to plan out the next few cuts and body movements. It’s a chain saw, not a race.

 

[Frank Rizzo]

Yeah... lack of dealer interest with answering simple questions? Buy an ms261.

Or a ported 241c

 

[ammoaddict]

Do you still have a carbureted vehicle with crank windows and manual locks too?

I do. 87 Toyota truck

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