Ms 290 Stihl

[rjh245]

Can a MS 290 STIHL handle a 20 inch bar with 3/8 chain on it. It would be used for light trimming and cutting about a face cord of wood a year. My father inlaw wanted a 390 for christmas but decided a 290 would be ok. I would hate to get him a saw he did not like. I am not sure if that saw has the power to run a 3/8 inch chain on a 20 inch bar. Any stihl fans out there who have 290 who can help me?
Rob

 

[bump_r]

I have a 290 and run an 18" bar and .325 chain. this combo works for me. From what I gather on here, the 3/8 chain is a bit much for the 290, but is will cut. I'd stick with the .325

I may add - this is a lot of saw (weight-wise at least) for this little work. May want to look into a smaller unit.

 

[pbuehning]

I am currently running a 16" bar with .325 chisel and the saw rips. It lets me do all I want and also work on my skills - you can cut allot of wood with 16" if you know how to use it. That said I, also have a 20" bar and .325 chisel waiting in the wings until after I break this saw in ( I've only got 3-4 tanks thru it). If the wood gets real large and difficult I still reach for my Homey Super XL-AO with the 20" bar and chisel and then we're really sawing. These are two completely different saws.

Stihl MS-290
Stihl 030 AV
Homelight SXL-AO
2 small Poulans for limbing

 

[stihlIT]

GEt him a 310 with a 20" bar thats what I got and It works dandy expecially after you MOD the muffler it really cuts fast compared to stock

 

[davefr]

I'd reconsider that purchase.

An MS290 is about $330, weighs a whopping 13 lbs, and only produces 3.8HP.

Direct him towards a Dolmar PS5100. It weighs 11 lbs, produces 4.0HP and is only about $50 more expensive. The PS5100 does 18" just fine so he could probably do 20" if wanted to. The Dolmar is a much better designed saw IMHO.

 

[serussell]

GEt him a 310 with a 20" bar thats what I got and It works dandy expecially after you MOD the muffler it really cuts fast compared to stock

I will agree with that, don't even think you need to mod it, I didn't and it is fine with a 20"

 

[Gark]

I agree with what bump_r and davefr said: the MS290 might not be optimum with a 20" bar and 3/8 chain. I have MS290 with .325 on 18" bar and when totally sunk into hardwood, it keeps cutting but ya can tell it's working awfully hard. The 13+ lbs. weight is a bit heavy for its output. And even at full bar-lube flow, it's a weak oiler. On the plus side, my MS290 DOES keep cutting without complaint and I'm confidant it will outlast me.

 

[Lakeside53]

20 inch is fine... It has MUCH more to do with the diameter of the WOOD than the length of the bar... How often are you cutting 20+ inch wood? Also, 3/8 works great out here...

 

[SawTroll]

I'd reconsider that purchase.

An MS290 is about $330, weighs a whopping 13 lbs, and only produces 3.8HP.

Direct him towards a Dolmar PS5100. It weighs 11 lbs, produces 4.0HP and is only about $50 more expensive. ..... The Dolmar is a much better designed saw IMHO.

Ditto, best advice so far in this tread!

 

[bump_r]

"Light trimming and a face cord a year" - a 310 with mods? Wow. A face cord is 8' x 4' - with 6" logs, that's 16 logs wide by 8 logs high, or 128 logs in the face cord. OK, let's fill the voids in the stack, figure in another 20%, that's 154 logs, or so. Figure 10 seconds (0.17 minutes) per cut, and we are looking at less than half an hour of cutting per year, not counting his "light trimming". Me? I'd break out my 170 for this work.

 

[GASoline71]

20 inch is fine... It has MUCH more to do with the diameter of the WOOD than the length of the bar... How often are you cutting 20+ inch wood? Also, 3/8 works great out here...

I agree here with Lakeside53, I run a 20" bar on my 028 with a 3/8" full skip chain with no probs. I am cuttin' mostly soft woods that are anywhere from 12" to maybe a smidge over 20". But it rips through the wood just fine.

Gary

 

[Lakeside53]

I see many posts talking about lengths of bars - not just on this thread.

To amplify what I stated previously:

It really doens't matter what bar you run within a reasonable range. We're not racing these saws, just cutting wood... Does anyone really think a saw like a 290 cuts say a 12 inch log MATERIALLY any different if it has a 16, 18, 20 or 24 inch bar installed? There may be some MINOR frictional losses due to chain length/bar, but they are really minor as a percentage of available power.

Personally, I run the shortest bar most of the time, and mount a longer bar when I need it. Short bars/chains cost less, weigh less, and are more maneuverable and quicker to sharpen (the chain).

If you need to reach, or don't want to bend over, mount a longer bar. Obviously don't try to cut in excess of what the saw can do.


..and yes, the 290 is a fine saw... and has a dealer network behind it.

 

[pinus]

Surely MS290 can drive 20" bar. Even MS270 is driving 18" bar easily, when Im cuting stumps down with it. But it is heavier wit it and most from the weight is siting on left hand

 

[GASoline71]

I'm not Hercules, but at an advertised weight of 13 pounds for the 290 seems light to me. Am I thinkin' too far outside the box here:bang: ? Especially in a homeowner/firewood application the weight of that saw is really not that heavy.

Gary

 

[bvaught]

Buy your friend an MS 260.

 

[Lakeside53]

I'm not Hercules, but at an advertised weight of 13 pounds for the 290 seems light to me. Am I thinkin' too far outside the box here:bang: ? Especially in a homeowner/firewood application the weight of that saw is really not that heavy.

Gary

You're right - it's not "heavy". I guess some of the guys want feather light/max power (and the heaviest/longest bar available), or just a reason to b???ch at Stihl or whoever the target of the day is.. Maybe if a few more of those that comment actually went out and used the "heavy" saws instead of just comparing paper data, we'd have a lot less to talk about on AS!

 

[GASoline71]

My 041FB with the 24" bar is almost 30 pounds. My 028 is roughly the same in size and weight as an MS290, and with a 20" bar is very managable.

Boy Lakeside you hit 'er right on the head with that post. I agree 100%. If people would stop worrying about a 2 pound diff in the weight of a saw, there would be a lot more saws sold.

Gary

 

[16gauge]

I'd reconsider that purchase.

An MS290 is about $330, weighs a whopping 13 lbs, and only produces 3.8HP.

Direct him towards a Dolmar PS5100. It weighs 11 lbs, produces 4.0HP and is only about $50 more expensive. The PS5100 does 18" just fine so he could probably do 20" if wanted to. The Dolmar is a much better designed saw IMHO.

I guess the Dolmars are the best power to weight saws in this category right? I also guess that the pros will be more concerned with P/W ratios and stuff. For a homeowner (may use a saw 5 or 10 or 20 hours per year) the price vs. performance is far more important than power to weight. Despite my keen interest in the PS5100, until dealer support improves in my neck of the woods the Stihl and Echo products will get my saw bucks.

 

[bump_r]

Lakeside, check my sig... I have some time behind my MS290. It DOES get heavy after a while, especially when using it for small-limb clean-up or overhead cuts. I, for one, was not bench-racing; just commenting on the subject at hand BASED ON MY ACTUAL experiences. In hardwood, trudging through snow, cutting overhead, pulling my 18" bar (.325 RS shop-fresh chain) through 28"+ locust and oak, the saw did get heavy, did bog, and is fast becoming my mid-range machine. I'm not looking to lay down $800+ of beer money on a 460 for sh!ts and grins - I found the upper limits of where I'm comfortable running the 290.

Did I slam the saw? No, I actually like mine for what I use it for, I just think it's a bit much for the stated career path.

Based on my experience, it's NOT a "face cord a year and light clean-up" saw, and I stated just that.

Sorry to step on you "pro-toes" I was just answering what was asked. Dayam.

 

[davefr]

I guess the Dolmars are the best power to weight saws in this category right? I also guess that the pros will be more concerned with P/W ratios and stuff. For a homeowner (may use a saw 5 or 10 or 20 hours per year) the price vs. performance is far more important than power to weight. Despite my keen interest in the PS5100, until dealer support improves in my neck of the woods the Stihl and Echo products will get my saw bucks.

Power to weight ratio concerns shouldn't be limited to the Pros. I actually think the Pros are better conditioned since this is there livelyhood. The average homeowner should be equally concerned. Less weight for a given performance saw means less chance of fatigue. (correlates to safety)

My own philosophy is that I want maximum performance for a given weight saw and I prefer to do most cutting with 50cc/10-11lb saws. For tasks that require a big saw, I also want to maximize performance.

If I'm willing to conside a 13 lb saw like the MS290, then I want much more then the modest 3.8HP it provides. Or if 3.8HP is fine, then I'll go for reduced weight.

As far a dealer support, I've never put it that high on my list since I work on my own saws. The one time I needed Dolmar/Makita parts it was easy to get them online. The one time I needed Stihl parts I had the waist gas driving to a B&M dealer across town, order parts, and then drive back after they came in. If you rely on the dealer channel for maintainence and repair then Dolmar can be a poor choice.