Husky 455 vs 353

[clearance]

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but....simply buying/using/owning a 'pro' saw doesn't make you a 'big boy', or any better than anyone else.

And no, they're not any 'lesser' or 'substandard' than a professional race car is to a ordinary 'homeowner' vehicle. Just different is all.

OK, thats why the NASCAR guys can use the same engine thats in Moms station wagon, no diff. between a 350 2 barrel with a cast crank and a balanced/ blueprinted 355 with a forged steel crank and hundreds of modifications. And you are right, falling with a 394XP doesn't make me any better of a man than someone with a 455, just smarter. Maybe I said it wrong using the big boys saws line, how about "the saws that professionals use", then come back and lets hear it.

 

[TimberPig]

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but....simply buying/using/owning a 'pro' saw doesn't make you a 'big boy', or any better than anyone else.

And no, they're not any 'lesser' or 'substandard' than a professional race car is to a ordinary 'homeowner' vehicle. Just different is all.

Keep telling yourself that, and some day you too might just believe it.

Homeowner saws are meant to be inexpensive for guys who only use them for light cutting. They aren't designed or built to be as easy to handle, maintain, use, or be as durable and reliable. They are built for a guy who uses them so little that he can live without the better design, features and exexcution present in the more expensive professional models. They are lesser in every sense, because they are designed for a user with less demanding needs, where a less powerful, slightly more difficult to service, and less durable saw is acceptable, because it will last fine for the more limited amount of use it will see. The advantage they have, is the lower quality of design and build allows them to be built and sold for a lower price, more acceptable for person who doesn't demand the best tool for the job, because they don't use it hard enough to justify the expense. For the price, they do the job fine, but to say that they are not a lesser saw than the better built, better designed professional models is ludicrous.

Professional model saws aren't race cars, they're the heavy duty trucks of the chainsaw world, versus the light duty compacts that are the homeowner models. Would you try to claim that an S-10 will outdo a 1 ton diesel, and outlast it in similar use? Thats the same thing you're saying right now on the saws.

Until you run professional model saws, to compare them to a homeowner saw, you can't truly comprehend why they are cheaper. Everything about them is designed to be less expensive, to sell for lower cost, to meet the lower demands of the average homeowner. When you're not the homeowner cutting a little firewood with his saw, stepping up to a professional saw for heavy cutting, including milling, is justified by the greater longevity and superior design of these saws.

 

[coveredinsap]

I can see that apparently you're one of those guys that marketeers love. If the Poulan Wild Thing was marketed as a 'professional saw' you'd likely have three....and be pimping them up to anyone that would listen. "But they're 'professional' saws!" LOL!

Keep right on thinking that.

Bottom line...a good saw is a good saw. The 'pro' models just make it slightly easier on the 'pros' that use them every day....at a premium price, though. Plain and simple.

 

[asb151]

The 455 is a beast, IMHO. The most underrated saw around. The performance, while looking somewhat lousy on paper, shines in real use. Plenty of low-end torque and muscle...a gutsy, heavy duty saw for getting down and dirty. Runs a 24" bar no problem too....and is a softwood milling 'machine'.

I don't know how they make the thing EPA compliant, let alone "low emmission", as it appears (and sounds) like the three exhaust holes in the muffler are bored straight thru.

For about $350, it's the best deal around...which is evidently why they fly off the shelves in agricultural areas. Made in Sweden too.

The 455 is not an impressive saw. That is just a fact. Will it be suffice for many peoples needs.....absolutely. Calling it a beast with gutsy torque is an exaggeration.....if not just plain ridiculous.

 

[Lakeside53]

It appears that the same folks that think that anything other than a 'pro' saw is somehow a lesser or substandard saw are the same kind that think that having a computer running Windows XP Pro makes their computer a 'professional' model. Not.

The primary differences between 'pro', 'semi-pro', and 'light-duty' saws from quality manufacturers appear to be the power/weight ratio (a lighter saw is better if you work with it hour after hour, day after day, week after week, year after year), easier to service (quick-release access covers because time is money and you're maybe servicing it in the field on the clock), and easier to rebuild innards (it's cheaper to rebuild a smoked motor after 6 months of constant hard use than buy an entire new saw) ...and that's about it.

If anyone can prove how the internals are substantially any different in quality ...than have at it.

I don't know where you pull your Pro to Consumer comparative information from. Last week you were expounding the virtues of your Craftsman and consumer Husky, and crapping on your (temporary) consumer Stihl. More importantly, have you ever talked to the guys that buy the pro models and ask them why they don't buy the consumer models?


You miss so much in you post, such as what make it lighter (and often not all that much lighter) is also what makes it stronger, and able to take abuse and heat.. is the magnesium casings and the basic saw design. If you'd ever looked inside a pro saw with the eye of an engineer or mechanic you'd see the differences. Have you ever run one and noticed balance, vibration levels, and torque to mention a few? Ever compare the crankshafts and bearing mounts, the flywheels, the ....?

Who do you know that burns out and rebuilds a pro work saw in 6 months? Unless due to abuse (wrong fuel mixes), expect years...

BTW, apart from a few extra utilities thrown in, the difference between XP and "PRO" is primarily the ability to secure the file systems with fine granularity; for a home user it often doesn't matter, but in the corporate world it does... but this topic is for other forums of which there are thousands out there...

 

[Lakeside53]

I
The 'pro' models just make it slightly easier on the 'pros' that use them every day....at a premium price, though. Plain and simple.

You are so self-misguided... just how big a hole are you trying to dig for yourself? Be precise now - depth, width and length....

 

[Full Skip]

Full Skip, its evident you haven't run many professional model saws. They are lighter, faster, stronger, and tougher. Not to mention, that for something that weighs as much as a 455, they put out about twice the power.

Try running a 70cc pro saw, and then see what you have to say about the 455. It weighs just about as much as an 044/440 or a 372, but with less power. I'm sure you'll quickly realize why I say that claiming the 455 is a great saw by comparing it to a 390, is like being the tallest man on Pygmy Island. You might be the tallest on the island, but in the rest of the world, you come up short.

I think that what's obvious is that a lot of people haven't run a 455.

I've run 70cc+ pro saws and I still like the 455. I own a 385. It blows through trees. That's what you expect an 85cc saw to do. What's does the 385 weigh? 16 pounds?

The 455 is a little over 12 pounds. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. If you told someone a 12 pound 55cc saw was too much weight for you a decade or so ago, they'd probably call you some sort of fruitcake.

The 455 is a good saw that does everything Husqvarna claims it does and the dealers around me sell a ton of them. I call that a success and I think that a lot of people would be surprised by this saw if they tried it.

That's part of the problem. If you're used to a pro saw, someone would pretty much have to give you one like in my case.

 

[Freakingstang]

I think that what's obvious is that a lot of people haven't run a 455.

I've run 70cc+ pro saws and I still like the 455. I own a 385. It blows through trees. That's what you expect an 85cc saw to do. What's does the 385 weigh? 16 pounds?

The 455 is a little over 12 pounds. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. If you told someone a 12 pound 55cc saw was too much weight for you a decade or so ago, they'd probably call you some sort of fruitcake.

The 455 is a good saw that does everything Husqvarna claims it does and the dealers around me sell a ton of them. I call that a success and I think that a lot of people would be surprised by this saw if they tried it.

That's part of the problem. If you're used to a pro saw, someone would pretty much have to give you one like in my case.

That was a good post. I am familiar with the 55 Rancher, as I had one for years, then got the 365's. I just aquired a 55 about 6 months ago and use it quite a bit for odd jobs around the house. It is also a great loaner saw (speaking of that, I need to get it back). You just have to take into account what it actually is. It isn't a pro saw. It has a decent power to weight ratio and is intended for minimun use. That to me sounds like a great homeowner saw. Hence the rancher name, more use than a standard homeowner, but not near the use of an everyday pro saw.

 

[kallaste]

slinging crap!!

I dont know or care about pro/nonpro Yada yada yada stuff. I have a 455 w/a 24" bar on it. It powers thrue osage orange in logs that the bar doesnt even reach out the other side. It does this without complaint day after day. If you call it a homeowner saw great .If you call it a pro saw great. If you call it a rancher, great. But no one can call it a bad saw. Some saws may be more user friendly or more poweful, but it does what its designed to do.CUT WOOD!! Osage orange is very hard wood.

 

[spacemule]

Yugos are great cars too.

 

[Andyshine77]

Osage orange, what's that some kind of wood.:deadhorse:

 

[kallaste]

osage orange

Osage orange, what's that some kind of wood.:deadhorse:

Lay terms.... Hedge apple.

 

[Andyshine77]

I know, I was just messing with you.

 

[kallaste]

burning hedge

I know, I was just messing with you.

Some people say its the hotest burning wood available and will warp a plenium if not careful.

 

[Andyshine77]

It's very dense wood. The best firewood I know of.

 

[SawTroll]

..... The 455 is a little over 12 pounds. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. ....

It is not a little over 12 lbs, it is closer to 13 - and that is what it should not have been. :censored:

Anyway, I wonder when the 460 referred to in the

IPLs

turn up - hopefully it will have more power without added weight.

 

[coveredinsap]

It is not a little over 12 lbs, it is closer to 13 - and that is what it should not have been.

Anyway, I wonder when the 460 referred to in the IPL's turn up

The 455 appears to be heavy because it is beefier than the stock models, meaning that compared to the other models, it is 'ruggedized'. It is even beefy compared to the old 55 Rancher, which I also examined.
If you examine the 455 Rancher next to even the 359, the 455 seems like a sturdier built saw. I'm not saying that it necessarily is sturdier, only that it seems to be.

If you've ever seen a ruggedized laptop computer, such as the Panasonic 'Toughbook' ....or some of the military laptops, then you know what I'm talking about.

And yeah, I wondered what the 460 was too.

 

[TimberPig]

The 455 appears to be heavy because it is beefier than the stock models, meaning that compared to the other models, it is 'ruggedized'. It is even beefy compared to the old 55 Rancher, which I also examined.
If you examine the 455 Rancher next to even the 359, the 455 seems like a sturdier built saw. I'm not saying that it necessarily is sturdier, only that it seems to be.

If you've ever seen a ruggedized laptop computer, such as the Panasonic 'Toughbook' ....or some of the military laptops, then you know what I'm talking about.

And yeah, I wondered what the 460 was too.

It takes less magnesium to build a crankcase to the withstand the same forces as it does with plastic. In order to build it out of plastic to withstand the same use, they had to use a lot more plastic. Hence why it is such a heavy saw for the size and power output. It has nothing to do with being built more rugged than the more expensive, better designed models intended for professional use, it has to do with building a saw cheaply enough to sell at a price that homeowners and farmers won't balk at, while offering decent reliability and toughness to moderate duty use.

 

[Andyshine77]

:notrolls2:

 

[SawTroll]

Timberpig got it right, and coveredinsap got it wrong.

... simple as that!

I just found something more on the 460 - here it is.

It looks like it is the same as the 455, but with a .2 mm larger bore = 60.3 cc, 2.7 kW/3.7 hp.

Not impressive at all, but nobody expected than anyway, I believe.