Husqvarna or Stihl for homeowner?

[OM617YOTA]

Isn't that a wifey task? Least here it is and if I do go, I'm relegated to pushing the cart and keeping my mouth shut.

Here it's equal opportunity. 99% of the time we order online, both go and pickup, and don't go in the building at all. If we need something in between trips, whoever is out already gets it.

I remember reading an old article about things that would reduce the fuel economy of your vehicle. One of the potential causes listed was having $20 worth of groceries in your trunk, which gives some idea of how old the article was.

 

[Husky Man]

Isn't that a wifey task? Least here it is and if I do go, I'm relegated to pushing the cart and keeping my mouth shut.

Dayum, sounds like She’s got you Trained Well.

Does she have your testicles in her purse , or in a jar on a High Shelf

Here it is about 17-18 miles to the nearest Safeway, or Fred Meyer (Kroger Family) stores, and about another 9 miles or so further, to Winco.

My Wife is a Hair Stylist, and her Salon is about 6 miles from the house, but the wrong direction. So yep, I will often do the shopping on the way home from work.

It would be colossally stupid not to do the shopping on the way home from work, no point in wasting her time, fuel ️ and more miles on her car, when I am literally driving past 2 of them, and Winco is only about 3 extra miles, but a whole lot cheaper.

When we are shopping together, she likes to push the cart , but definitely asks my opinion on many items

I guess that some of us look at our spouse’s as Equals, some still have a caveman mentality

From some of your previous posts, I’m pretty sure that your earlier comment was more Sarcastic, than Realistic, just mentioning it for a Friend


Doug

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

I've come to prefer the 'other' brand.... Echo.

OP already made his choice but that was my first thought as well.

Yep, it's coming back down...

That is to say, the rate of increase is lower. The increases themselves are permanent.

 

[Hermio]

Hi , I am new here..
I just wonder what chainsaw is better in quality Husky vs Stihl?
I am looking for saw for occasional use just for home, there are many choices ..
Stihl 028,029, ms271
Or Husky 450 , 455 etc ...
Any recommendations please?

How much sawing will you do? If only a minor amount, I would suggest a battery-powered saw with an 18'-20" bar. They are not as fast as most gas-powered saws, and they are actually more expensive if you buy a couple of batteries. But gasoline goes bad, especially when left in the saw. Overall, I think for occasional use, electric makes more sense. My main saw happens to be a Stihl MS500i. But I also have a Kobalt 80 volt saw that I use when I have a really small job to do, such as pruning small limbs or clearing a small amount of windfall. My wife has a 6" hand held Kobalt saw for pruning, and she loves it. One thing about electic tools: you usually choose one brand for multiple tools to save money on batteries, even if that brand is not the best in all categories.

 

[iowa_jim]

Consider the price point. An inexpensive saw won't last, regardless of the name on the saw. Echo makes a great saw, but the auto carb functions of the Stihl or husky are probably worth it for an occasional user. A 60v electric is worth considering if you don't cut a lot of wood.

 

[fields_mj]

I know its too late, but most home owners would be MUCH better off with a battery powered chainsaw. If you're not running the saw at least every 6 months, regardless of brand, you will likely end up with carb issues after a few years especially if you're using standard pump gas to make your 2 cycle mix. A good battery powered saw will last long enough with 2 batteries to wear out the average home owner, there's no fuel to fuss with, no starter rope to yank on, no carbs to rebuild, no chance for someone to accidently straight gas it for you, and they can sit on the shelf for years on end and start right up on the first pull of the trigger every time.

Now, if you're planning on cutting a couple of truck loads of wood a year, you might want to think about gas, or you might want to consider a couple of extra batteries. If you're going to need to run a saw for more than a couple of hours at a time, you'd be best served with a gas saw that has a good power to weight ratio (ie a pro grade saw) and a bar that's long enough to reach through 90% of your cuts in a single pass. The other 10% can be completed with a second cut and it's not worth carrying around the extra bar and chain weight all day just to save 30 seconds on a grand total of 6 cuts. If you're going to run a saw for 2 or 3 hours at a time, multiple times a year, every year, then home owner Stihl/Husqvarna/Echo are fine, and I'd probably lean more towards the Echo even though all my saws were designed by Stihl.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Even for gas powered saws, almost all gas saw owners should be using premix.

I know there are plenty of heavy saw users on this forum that premix doesn't make sense for, but most saw owners burn so little fuel that cost doesn't matter. A single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix all year. If they have to have a shop do it, a single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix in a decade.

Just run premix.

 

[fields_mj]

Even for gas powered saws, almost all gas saw owners should be using premix.

I know there are plenty of heavy saw users on this forum that premix doesn't make sense for, but most saw owners burn so little fuel that cost doesn't matter. A single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix all year. If they have to have a shop do it, a single carb rebuild will cost more than they spend on premix in a decade.

Just run premix.

That brings up another good point. If you're not someone who would wrench on the saw yourself, you should either buy a battery powered saw, or buy premixed fuel. That's not ment to insult anyone. It's ment to save some people some headaches that they didn't know they were signing up for.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

If you have good e free fuel near by and run good oil premix is an absolute waste of money.

 

[ZinTrees]

I know there are plenty of heavy saw users on this forum that premix doesn't make sense for, but most saw owners burn so little fuel that cost doesn't matter.

I go through anywhere from half to 2 gallons a day roughly on mix gas
I also quit mixing my own over a year ago! all I buy is VP Premix, yeah its wicked expensive BUT all my saws start on the 3rd pull even after sitting for weeks, the cans fit nicely in the toolbox on the truck (or a milk crate with my laundry detergent bar oil bottle)

basically $120 a week in saw fuel, but it pays for itself in convenience and reliability, plus the VP burns super clean!
I suggest any homeowner be using premix in everything, beware MOTOMIX is total garbage, as is trufuel

 

[TheJollyLogger]

If you have good e free fuel near by and run good oil premix is an absolute waste of money.

Depending on your usage, that is true. If you aren't running more than a few tanks a month, chasing down e free fuel and mixing it yourself is an absolute waste of time... and time is money...

 

[Pjohnson]

I feel like I'm living dangerous for 50 years I've run non e fuel, used stihl oil and have never had a fuel problem. My string trimmers sit full of fuel all winter. My saws sit for months fill em with gas and go. Paying big bucks for premix is total bs in my book.

 

[ZinTrees]

f

I feel like I'm living dangerous for 50 years I've run non e fuel, used stihl oil and have never had a fuel problem. My string trimmers sit full of fuel all winter. My saws sit for months fill em with gas and go. Paying big bucks for premix is total bs in my book.

I NEVER drain gas, once those lines fill with air is when issues start
however, I pay extra for convenience, it cost me less in the long run to buy a case of premix than it does to mix my own, especially when im on a job and ran out of fuel, my hour rate is insane compared to a case of fuel

YMMV but if you work with your saws for money, you see why its important to be back running ASAP, minutes count on big jobs

 

[TheJollyLogger]

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I NEVER drain gas, once those lines fill with air is when issues start
however, I pay extra for convenience, it cost me less in the long run to buy a case of premix than it does to mix my own, especially when im on a job and ran out of fuel, my hour rate is insane compared to a case of fuel

YMMV but if you work with your saws for money, you see why its important to be back running ASAP, minutes count on big jobs

It's the difference between a pro and a homeowner, once you find a winning combination, stick with it, because the most expensive thing for a pro is downtime.

 

[ZinTrees]

It's the difference between a pro and a homeowner, once you find a winning combination, stick with it, because the most expensive thing for a pro is downtime.

exactly
it sure ain't cheap, but I can buy 12 gallons of mix fuel and be back on a job, and still cost less than sending one of my guys to go buy 5 gallons of gas then mixing it
again, ymmv, just what ive been doing for well over a year and its been working so I ain't gonna fix it

 

[jcquade]

I am a homeowner, play with my chainsaw around the yard and have a weedeater during the summer. I have time on my hands to play and thus my plan is to mix 1/2 gallon of non e fuel, add oil, and some stabil for fun. Then I mark my paper when I mix it and make sure it is all gone within 3 months. If not, then it is dumped out. Everyone is probably rolling their eyes, but it is all just a hobby for me and gives me something to spend time on. I agree for the small amount I really use in a year, premix would be a better option for saving time.

 

[fields_mj]

I am a homeowner, play with my chainsaw around the yard and have a weedeater during the summer. I have time on my hands to play and thus my plan is to mix 1/2 gallon of non e fuel, add oil, and some stabil for fun. Then I mark my paper when I mix it and make sure it is all gone within 3 months. If not, then it is dumped out. Everyone is probably rolling their eyes, but it is all just a hobby for me and gives me something to spend time on. I agree for the small amount I really use in a year, premix would be a better option for saving time.

FWIW, I've ran +1 year old fuel more times that I could count and I don't have issues with it. I have three 5 gal cans that I fill with Rec 90 as needed. They feed my tiller, log splitter, and now a generator in addition to being used to supply my 2 cycle mix. I won't go into detail, but the generator was bought at the end of last June and ran for 8 days straight. The last time I bought Rec 90 was on that 8th day. I mixed a new 2.5 gal batch of 2 cycle fuel in November, and the saws are still starting and running just fine. I'm not sure if I've ever used any that was more than 2 years old, but I'm sure I've run fuel that was at least 18 months. If you're worried about fuel going bad, I'd switch to AV fuel.

One other thing I'll mention. Many years ago, on a whim (and before switching to non-E fuel), I decided to try stabil in several of my engines
(ATV, 25hp commercial ZTR, and 2 tillers). Within 24 months of that point, all 4 engines seized on me. Those are the only 4 engines I've ever had seize up. Mentioned it to my dad after the last one, and he went on an absolute tirade about stabil. At the time (before he retired) he literally had a small fleet of small engines that he maintained, and had a very similar experience a few years prior. I know people who swear by it and have no problems. I've heard from a few people who've had similar experiences to mine. I have no proof that stabil caused my issues. After switching to non-e gas, I no longer have carb issues in any of my engines and have no need to risk putting stabil in them.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Does she have your testicles in her purse , or in a jar on a High Shelf

At my age, my testicles aren't worth anything, anyway, FYI.

 

[fields_mj]

At my age, my testicles aren't worth anything, anyway, FYI.

Hey now, I resemble that comment...

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Either brand - whatever has better support.

I won’t go husky for a few reasons, parts are so difficult to get here in Australia these last few years (dealers have saws on the shelf for months waiting for parts that are not coming in),

I don’t have a good local dealer,

I don’t like hex bolts, (not sure if they’re Torx now?)

I don’t like outboard clutches

From the Aussi’s I have spoken to, stihl have more torque while huskies rev higher. Of course i’ve not experienced it as I don’t own one, but I trust them. Torque is needed in our timber not rpm.

I don’t like the direction they are going with stopping gas powered mowers and other garden power equipment.