Farmertec ms440 for firewood saw?

[JoshNY]

I'm really thinking about pulling the trigger on a Farmertec ms440 kit to build as my firewood saw.
Currently have a ms290.
Have a lot of big ash and maple in the woods and was thinking the ms440 would work better.
Anyone that has built one of the farmertec ms440's have any tips or advice?
How are these holding up?

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[Ryan'smilling]

The kit 660s were supposed to be pretty good. Other than from @MustangMike, who's built serval if the 440s and figured out the bird, I've heard nothing but bad news about the kit 440s.

 

[gary courtney]

I'm really thinking about pulling the trigger on a Farmertec ms440 kit to build as my firewood saw.
Currently have a ms290.
Have a lot of big ash and maple in the woods and was thinking the ms440 would work better.
Anyone that has built one of the farmertec ms440's have any tips or advice?
How are these holding up?

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I have a holzforma 660 blue saw that has far exceeded my expectations. Finished up a 660 kit last night. OEM bearings where everything required a bearing,OEM seals,cylinder,piston,circlips,chain adjuster,impulse,gas lines,decomp and 48 carb. Fired up 2nd. pull and ran 1 tank through. I would lean towards 660.

 

[hamish]

I have a holzforma 660 blue saw that has far exceeded my expectations. Finished up a 660 kit last night. OEM bearings where everything required a bearing,OEM seals,cylinder,piston,circlips,chain adjuster,impulse,gas lines,decomp and 48 carb. Fired up 2nd. pull and ran 1 tank through. I would lean towards 660.

In using all those OEM parts what was your over cost savings vs just buying a new OEM 660?

 

[gary courtney]

In using all those OEM parts what was your over cost savings vs just buying a new OEM 660?

Had the p/c.$500 vs $1200 kit $218 delivered to door

 

[gary courtney]

also put h/o oiler piston and bolt

 

[JoshNY]

Wouldn't the 660 be a bit overkill for a firewood saw?
I'm not sure what the weight difference is between the 2. Don't want something to heavy if I'm out in the woods cutting all weekend with it.

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[JoshNY]

Looks like the weights are as follows
My ms290 is 13lbs and 3.8hp
Ms440 is 13.8lbs and 5.4hp
Ms660 is 16.3lbs and 7.1hp

The 440 would be just slightly heavier than my current saw and have substantially more power.
The 660 has even more power but over 3 lbs heavier than my current saw, plus the extra bar weight.

The 660 is tempting, because the farmertec kit are very little price difference between the 440 and 660.

I am a scrawny guy though! The extra weight concerns me a bit.

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[gary courtney]

I have ever size saw one could imagine but I have a 20 in bar a 25 inch bar and a 28 inch bar on three different 660s I just always go to my 660

 

[jltrent]

Get one of the Jred CS2171 new OEM 71cc and have a good saw . Stay away from the China junk I have had no luck with them. I got my azz burn on a couple cylinders that maybe would do 130 lbs. compression new.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PRO-Jo...m=362569433668&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

 

[Patrick62]

The 440 was arguably one of the BEST saws Stihl ever produced. Best power to weight, balance, etc.
My buddy has a 362, doesn't seem unhappy with it, my 440 would out run it tho...
I don't know about farmertec, can't weigh in on that one...

 

[Derf]

A Farmertec 440 is not the same as a Stihl 440 except in name and looks. As is, out of the box, reliability wise it sucks. You need to change out a bunch of the Chinese copy parts for OEM parts to get them to run right and be reliable. That changes the price point, makes you dependent on a Stihl dealer, and can cause lots of headaches and frustration. Of course, some people already frequent the Stihl dealer and think of the kit saw as a challenge, or a puzzle. Different strokes for different folks. Even then, some things you may have trouble getting to fit, or you may have to mod a part to work. The quality isn't the same. It would be like buying a Daewoo car that looks like a Mazerati ...

 

[Allar]

Just get one of those Jonsered's from ebay or an Echo. I would stay away from these chinise saws.

 

[JoshNY]

Let's please keep this on topic. Not interested in a jonsered or echo.
Looking for people with experiences with farmertec ms440's , and how they would be in general as a firewood saw.
It seems since the parts are clones of a stihl ms440, the performance would be similar as far as cutting and power. I wouldn't be surprised if the clones are a touch down on power compared to a real stihl.
How do the stihl ms440 owners like them, and do you like them for a firewood saw?

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[MustangMike]

I have built several of the 44o kits, mostly as big bores or Hybrids, and love em, but they are more work than the 660 kits. If you want to do one, I can post up all the problems I have encountered, and my solutions. If you are willing to learn to do some port work, they can run real darn nice, and are much lighter than a 660. That said, for bucking large wood, or milling, the 660 is real nice, and the Blue Cover kits seem to have fixed most of the prior problems.

I have not yet built a Blue 440 kit, so I don't know if they made any improvements.

The carbs on the 440 kits sucked, but D Dave sells a Walbro knockoffs made by ZAMA that works real well for just over $20 bucks. Things like that can make your day.

 

[JoshNY]

Thanks Mustangmike, that is the kind of feedback I was looking for!
I see most of the 440 kits come with the blue plastics.
You are saying the blue kits may have improvements over the orange plastic ones?

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[DSW]

Do you specifically want to build a saw?

Used 440's and 460's pop up here and go for 4-500.

Unless you like to work on things, which it sounds like they will need a bit of, you'd be ahead to just buy used. It'll hold resale better. I don't care to build saws, I run saws so my perspective is biased.

 

[JoshNY]

Yes I do think it would be fun to build a saw. I enjoy working with small engines,and these look like a pretty straight forward saw to build.
From the build threads I have read on these Farmertec ms440's, it looks like the only issues people seemed to encounter were pretty minor. Wrong size brake drum spring, missing throttle linkage, ect.
The quality of the crank, case and piston and cylinder seem to be pretty good by most accounts.
That's what is important to me.
A $250 kit, it I have to go spend $50 ON a few minor parts from the stihl dealer, that's fine, I'm still in a ms440 with all new parts for $300 or less.

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[Ryan'smilling]

Yes I do think it would be fun to build a saw. I enjoy working with small engines,and these look like a pretty straight forward saw to build.
From the build threads I have read on these Farmertec ms440's, it looks like the only issues people seemed to encounter were pretty minor. Wrong size brake drum spring, missing throttle linkage, ect.
The quality of the crank, case and piston and cylinder seem to be pretty good by most accounts.
That's what is important to me.
A $250 kit, it I have to go spend $50 ON a few minor parts from the stihl dealer, that's fine, I'm still in a ms440 with all new parts for $300 or less.

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Well, you're not really "in a 440" for under $300. More like you have a replica 440 for $300.

I play volleyball every Wednesday all summer. A good ball lasts a long time and feels good to play with. They're not cheap though. I was looking at the balls they sell at in the sporting section at fleet farm last year. They said "replica tournament ball". Cheap, but looked like junk. I can't imagine it'd be fun to play with. YMMV

 

[MustangMike]

I'm going to partially agree with both of you. OEM is the best quality, but if you do the right stuff with these AM kits, they run strong and are pretty reliable. Maybe better for firewood cutters than for everyday pros, but they have their place.

Around here I can find used 460s and 461s, but 044/440s are very difficult to find, and a properly modded BB kit will out run them.