Help in deciding between Stihl MS 462 and 500i Chainsaw

[JRM]

I'll make you a deal on a good running 460. That way I can go buy my own 500

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I've never put it on a scale, but the 500i with a wrap handle feels lighter than my 460 Arctic.

 

[Sierra_rider]

I've never put it on a scale, but the 500i with a wrap handle feels lighter than my 460 Arctic.

It is...on the scale my wrap handle 500i is lighter than my wrap handle 044s.

Here's a weight list I did awhile back on all my saws, full fuel and oil, all but the climbing saws are wrap handles:

• 880: 26lbs, 2.6oz
• 066: 19lbs, 7.4oz
• 372xt: 17lbs, 10oz
• 044: 17lbs, 2.2oz
• 500i: 16lbs, 13.6oz
• 462R: 16lb, 2.4oz
• ms400: 15lbs, 11.4oz
• 550xp: 12lbs, 15oz
• 201tc-m: 9lbs, 5.2oz
• 2511t: 5lbs, 15.2oz

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Agree with many of the above comments, thanks to all who took the time to write. The more I rethink this , the more my head spins...
Leaning towards the 500i, even though it's about $250 more. I just think of I go with the 462, I'll always wonder "what if" with not buying the fuel injection.
Still on the bubble between bar lengths. In measuring the ash trees recently, the larger trees are between 20-30" in diameter. So , torn between 25 0r 28" bars.
Luckily I have a decent dealer, helpful, a little drive as local stores say they can't get them, back order etc...

For me, the 28" bar is perfect. I'm 5'11" and it lets me reach the ground without bending over.

The only time I run a bar shorter than 28 is when I run a small saw like my 261. The only time I ever run that is when I'm doing a TON of limbing. Most of the time for most trees I simply fall, limb, and buck with the 500i. With the 28" bar, not bending over, and learning to let the saws weight rest as much as possible on the tree...I can work many hours with the 500i without becoming fatigued.

I've never wished I had a shorter bar while running my 28". Growing up in the mid-west. The longest bar MOST people ran was a 24" and that was ONLY when working in very large burr oak. I never really thought about having something longer than that until I got online and started reading what other people do. I started running a 28 as a 'general use' bar and never looked back.

 

[Stud Duck]

I've never put it on a scale, but the 500i with a wrap handle feels lighter than my 460 Arctic.

I'm new and a novice, so go easy. What is the purpose of a wrap handle?

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

661.

 

[user 122190]

I'm new and a novice, so go easy. What is the purpose of a wrap handle?

Dropping trees, when you're in a tight position where the saw needs to be flipped to cut. Usually large trees where the chip exhaust needs to flow out the back. On a large tree and you try and get by with chips out the front you'll jam up the chain.

Its a specialty, but nice to have. IMO also a PITA.

 

[Abbeville TSI]

I thought I "needed" a saw larger than my 036Pro when I had a leaning towards the house rotten white oak taken down. I had heard of the 500i and was interested in it but it was not available at the time in my area. I bought a 462CM with a 25" bar and later converted it to a full house 462R with Stihl parts and a WCS suspension kit. No, I don't need an wrap handle but you know how things happen. I don't burn wood personally but family does. I use my saws for timber stand improvement and keeping the logging roads open, just something to keep an old man busy...

 

[ElevatorGuy]

It is...on the scale my wrap handle 500i is lighter than my wrap handle 044s.

Here's a weight list I did awhile back on all my saws, full fuel and oil, all but the climbing saws are wrap handles:

• 880: 26lbs, 2.6oz
• 066: 19lbs, 7.4oz
• 372xt: 17lbs, 10oz
• 044: 17lbs, 2.2oz
• 500i: 16lbs, 13.6oz
• 462R: 16lb, 2.4oz
• ms400: 15lbs, 11.4oz
• 550xp: 12lbs, 15oz
• 201tc-m: 9lbs, 5.2oz
• 2511t: 5lbs, 15.2oz

Pho weights? That 880 yikes! Bad little 2511 too!

 

[Sierra_rider]

Pho weights? That 880 yikes! Bad little 2511 too!

All weighed on a digital scale I have, power head only, full tanks.

That's why I climb with the 2511 most of the time. It may be slower in big cuts that the 201, but I'm faster+more efficient everywhere else with it.

 

[Campbellcontractlogging]

I’d get a 462 the 500i has a clutch drum that’s as thin as a soda can

 

[link]

but I’ll almost always recommend the higher displacement.

In working long hours - I would always recommend the lightest weight.
That's based on my own experience, off course "you" might be a unicorn with "God" like physics.

 

[Bango Skank]

In working long hours - I would always recommend the lightest weight.
That's based on my own experience, off course "you" might be a unicorn with "God" like physics.

The weight difference between the two is around three quarters of a pound. Not negligible, but probably not terribly significant even for those that aren’t god like unicorns. The 462 would serve him very well too I’m sure.

Unless they’re just too big, I’d probably have at those ash with the MS361 he already owns, but far be it from me to talk a guy out of a new saw purchase.

 

[OM617YOTA]

The weight difference between the two is around three quarters of a pound. Not negligible, but probably not terribly significant even for those that aren’t god like unicorns. The 462 would serve him very well too I’m sure.

Unless they’re just too big, I’d probably have at those ash with the MS361 he already owns, but far be it from me to talk a guy out of a new saw purchase.

I took apart a couple ~5ft diameter cottonwoods, and turned them into firewood, with an 034S and an 18" bar. Great grand daddy of the 362.

30" maples would be completely doable.

 

[link]

The weight difference between the two is around three quarters of a pound. Not negligible

I would way prefer a 241cm to a 261, that 0.5kg means everything in the world to me.
Above 5kg power head I get exhausted pretty quick - soaking wet by sweat like I just made a dive in the lake - in a about an hour. With the 241 I don't get those problems, the weight difference is not that much - but the result is plenty.
So; what you really need ? Something to impress your neighbors or something that does the job ?

 

[link]

I consider a 72cc best suited with a 20", with the possibility of 24".
I consider a 79cc best suited with a 20", with the the possibility of 28".
I consider the most important; light overall weight and maneuverability - but 90% of your daily needs might be different...

 

[thomasinvancouver]

For me, the 28" bar is perfect. I'm 5'11" and it lets me reach the ground without bending over.

The only time I run a bar shorter than 28 is when I run a small saw like my 261. The only time I ever run that is when I'm doing a TON of limbing. Most of the time for most trees I simply fall, limb, and buck with the 500i. With the 28" bar, not bending over, and learning to let the saws weight rest as much as possible on the tree...I can work many hours with the 500i without becoming fatigued.

I've never wished I had a shorter bar while running my 28". Growing up in the mid-west. The longest bar MOST people ran was a 24" and that was ONLY when working in very large burr oak. I never really thought about having something longer than that until I got online and started reading what other people do. I started running a 28 as a 'general use' bar and never looked back.

I haven’t used my 20” since I bought a 25”. I haven’t used my 25” since I bought a 28”. This is all on a 362. The 462 has a 32”.

 

[Bearcat22lr]

I’d go for a 661. That’d be a better 2 saw plan. Big 90cc and the 60cc for the small stuff. Love my 661. Go big and don’t look back

Agreed
Jonsered 2260 and Husky 592xp here.
60cc saws will cover most bases.

 

[064AV]

Long term maintenance may be a concern. I've got a 500i in the shop that needs an injection module at $435. A carb for a 462 should be about $150 with less labor to change. I love my 462, but I don't cut hardwood, so others here can tell you better if a 462 is up to your task.

 

[bwalker]

The 500I to me has to much electronic crap that doesn't net me anything. I'd take the 462.