Moving up to bigger trees...need a bigger saw.

[nellacire]

Need a little advise/opinion.

I have been clearing a 2 acre wood lot to expand my yard over the last 2 years with a Stihl ms211. Live in Maine, mostly pine on this lot with a few hardwoods (oak, birch, ash, maple). This year I know that I will be stepping up in tree size from 12/14 inch diameter to 18/20inch or so. I need to step up saw size appropriately, but don't want to over buy beyond my need. The 211, even with a bigger bar, won't be able to push that chain through that much tree.
I have no qualms sticking with Stihl, as my dealer is a local small business.

Also, a recommendation on a good solvent for all the pine pitch/sap I have to deal with...especially as I have another area on my property that is all straight pine that was planted forest?

Thanks ahead for any and all replies.

 

[cedarhollow]

360pro or 361 will cure what ails, I have seen a lot of rebuilt 362's at local dealer for big money. There has to be people on this site that know a lot more than I do about the new fangled carb on the 362. I guess I'm just old fashioned and like the manual stuff. But I'm just a noobee trying to absorb as much of the experts wisdom as possible

 

[bayard]

a new 440, or a good used 044.maybe a tad overkill. it will be with you forever.

 

[7sleeper]

Pricewise brandnew the Echo 590 can't be beat. If it has to be Stihl I would check out the 271/291 at your dealer. More than enough saw for your needs. No definately not a pro saw like everyone here believe is required to fell a toothpick, but all saws I mentioned will only be well broken in after your 2 acre lot. All saws I have mentioned should be more than enough up to ~24 inch trees.

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[TreeswingerPerth]

Get your self a good Husky 372 and you'll never part with it , fantastic saws . It will cover you for all but the massive stuff .

 

[stihlman27]

What size bar are you thinking on going with? If you want to go with a 20-25 inch bar and you don't want to go with a pro saw I'd say get the ms391. If you want to spend the extra money on pro then you can't beat the MS 362 c-m. I have both and I love them I retired my old 290 and bought the 362 I have about 12 tanks through it and she rips through hardwood. Both saws are good and will treat you good.

 

[Mustang71]

I'd get some version of the ms360 361 362... I don't own one but everybody on here seems to love them it sounds like it's the best all around saw.

 

[Marine5068]

 

[Mustang71]

That's the combo I want. Ms440 or 046 is next on my list.

 

[jd548esco72]

a 20" hardwood tree can be felled by about any saw above 40cc that is running right with a good sharp chain.

if i was in your shoes i would look for a deal on a used or even new echo 590 timber wolf-- they are sort of a semi-pro saw , lots of power compared to most of the box store stuff and most of the time they come with a good chain--easy to start too--

 

[JTM]

I used an ms271 with an 18" bar and it cleaned up a lot of crap just fine. The saw felled and bucked several trees between 20" and 30" diameter, hundreds of smaller trees, flush cut hundreds of stumps, and cut up the tops of about 30 very large white oaks I had logged. My point is that the saw was/is dependable and more than paid for itself. But, if I had to do it over again knowing what I know now I would get a smaller saw (hopefully 2 lbs less), have it woods ported, and use a 16" bar. I use WD40 and a scotch brite pad to clean pine sap off my bar.

 

[stihlman27]

Ms261 c-m is another option yes it's a pro saw but it will last for a while plus give you the power you need

 

[7sleeper]

... new echo 590 timber wolf-- they are sort of a semi-pro saw , lots of power compared to most of the box store stuff and most of the time they come with a good chain--easy to start too--

I would call them "detuned pro saw", because the rest is more or less equivalent to the pro model 620. I find by far one of the best buys out there and definately superior to the "farmer" line (271,291,311,391) from Stihl.

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