Is the latest 550XP a reliable saw?

bwalker · Jul 3, 2022

I know Husky had alotnof issues with the early 550's. Have these been sorted out?

Backstage · Jul 3, 2022

The 550xp mk2 is a different model almost entirely. Not sure why they insisted on keeping the number.

We have one. I can’t speak for the original 550, but our 550xp mk2 gave us a lot of problems at first. Of course, it turned out the new guy somehow got assigned to mixing the gas and apparently it doesn’t really like 20:1.

GusGus2020 · Jul 4, 2022

We have one at work - nice saw, no problems that I could tell. We usually use the non- ethanol 50:1, no cold or hot start issues. Good power running a 20 inch bar. I run a 545 mk2 At home, with no problems to speak of - essentially the same design/chassis as the 550.

Colonel428 · Jul 4, 2022

I hope it's a good saw. I bought a new one a couple of months ago...lol. I did a lot of research and talked to some very knowledgeable people who convinced me the latest 550xp was good to go. And as mentioned above the mark II is a complete redesign from the original 550xp, which was fraught with problems (hot restart issues very often). I really like the saw so far...

ballisticdoughnut · Jul 4, 2022

GusGus2020 said:
We have one at work - nice saw, no problems that I could tell. We usually use the non- ethanol 50:1, no cold or hot start issues. Good power running a 20 inch bar. I run a 545 mk2 At home, with no problems to speak of - essentially the same design/chassis as the 550.

I’ve got a 545 mark 2 as well, haven’t had any problems with it. Great running saw.

Lionsfan · Jul 4, 2022

This is a tough sub-forum to get a good response as I believe a lot of pro's tend to ignore it and leave it for the home owners. With that being said, mine has been dead nuts reliable after two seasons of firewooding, property maintenance and yard projects. The only dislike I have is the outboard clutch compared to the 261's inboard design, but it's not a big deal.