New 346XP by Husqvarna!

[166]

Absolutely! We need some entertainment this time of year. Is he Kimbers or RD?

Kimbers's

Has anybody run one of these yet?

Before the rumors start again ^^ This saw is Not built by Dolmar.

 

[spike60]

I haven't even seen one yet. I am curious to try one, so I hope the guy actually comes down. I wouldn't add the line though.

 

[RiverRat2]

Agreed,,,, Bwalker is very good @ math,,,

Boy, I'm missing a good one here. I'm a Husky guy, but I won't ever throw rocks at Stihl. And I too know guys who get quite a few years out of a saw. Many people are running saws that are 20 years old.

But the term "constant use" needs some kind of definition, and I think the owner of the 2 saws in question needs to check the dictionary.

But from what I think the word means, Ben's math is really indisputable. 18,000 hours? At 13,000 RPM's? That's just silly. Nobody builds 'em that good.

Without A Doubt,,,,, But not all sawyers have the same cutting styles/needs or habits and some are actually very good about doing maintenance on rainy days... and are quite adept @ putting a piston kit in a saw and maximizing their investment on equipment and yeah after a couple of piston kits it is problably not cost effective to replace anything else as the rest of the saws vitals start to give way,,,, While some guys style and needs can toast one in 6 months,,,,,, But this I am sure of just from messing with them for years,,,,Tha orange and white ones may not run as fast,,,,, but they sure have better longevity cause they flat just hold up better than the solid Orange ones...... period!!!!!

And I am Not knocking Husky's cause they are some very good saws so dont get your panties in a wad,,,,,,

 

[Urbicide]

I thought this thread was about the upgraded 346XP!:biggrinbounce2:

 

[RiverRat2]

It is,,,,,,?????

I thought this thread was about the upgraded 346XP!:biggrinbounce2:

I mentioned
A husky in my last post,,,,and the 346 XP ought to be a fiesty little snot,,,,,:jawdrop: :monkey:

 

[rbtree]

Thinking about it... 1 year is not typical out here. I have many pro customers including 4 lumber yards and one mill. The yard/mill saws are used constantly (not every second!) every day 6 days a week, and sure, after a year or two they sure look beat, but are running fine... Mostly 361 and 044. The lumber yards figure they start their saws 80 times a day... to cut big gluelams and other beams. Two of the yards have a "precision cutters" based on an 880 and a helper handle - used to cut units of 2x4 in one cut, a dozen or so times a day. Both of those saws are 3 years old and part from one unfortunate incident where diesel was put in the saw (new pistion, honed bore) , they have been super reliable.

I don't know of any local tree service that relegates a saw to backup after a year -most I see have saws new to 10 years old, and all are in use.

RBTREE - how many hours do you figure on your Husky 335/8's? your 346 and other saws?

Not that much relative to a crew that does all removals, and makes firewood out of everything. Also, I run a lot of saws. On average, even when we're busy, I'd say we only go through 5 gallons of mix a week.....so, even if we're doing three large conifer removals in a day, I'd guess the climb saw is only actually cutting wood for 1-1.5 hrs a day..so 4-6 tanks of fuel. Same for the mid size and bigger saws.

I believe it is mostly west coast loggers who tend to retire a saw after 6-12 months. They often use the same saw to fell, buck, and limb.....and typically put a lot more timber on the ground than an eastern faller, I'd guess.

 

[rbtree]

Looks like the quote from Andy I put on here fired everybody back up!

But around here "Pro" husqvarna users run their saws 1-2 years max. We've seen that with customers running Dolmar's that used huskys previously. I would say stihl's & dolmars tend to get used longer under similar conditions. Except for the 020/200T which seem to only last 1-2 years and are shot.

But I'll agree with Ben with "For a sawyer saws are cheap, messing around with a clapped out saw isnt."

I know that there are a lot of old (20-25 year old) dolmars and stihls being used on a regular basis. But how many huskys of that age are still being used on a regular basis??

Steve

I dunno about that statement, Steve. I have some old Huskys that run like tops. And see old 288's, 2100's etc still going strong. Really, since most pro saws use Mahle jugs (right?) it would be things like crank design, and bearing size, that might determine longevity.....or durability of machining and plastics, etc etc.

Overall, though, I can't disagree that old Sachs Dolmars and Stihls were great, long lasting saws.

Heh, those two new Solos are pretty!! They finally decided to get with the program and join the 21st century. Looks like their designers have been spying on Dolmar, though!! Let's see some specs!!

 

[rbtree]

WRONG! it's now 16425 - I returned a 338 to service today (god only knows why, but...)!

10000 comedians out of work and you're trying to be funny....:monkey:

What color fluid goes where, now?

 

[Lakeside53]

10000 comedians out of work and you're trying to be funny....:monkey:

What color fluid goes where, now?

The thick stuff goes in the oil hole...

 

[peter399]

I can say with some certainty that no saw form any maker will last for 12 years of CONSTANT use. Most loggers get a year out of a saw give or take in my kneck of the woods.
Lets do some math. 5 days a week x 52 weeks= 260 days. 260 days x 6 hours a day=1560hours. 1560 hours x 12 years=18,720hours. There isnt a snowballs chance in heii that any saw will last for over 18,000 hours!

I didnt miss the point at all. Your observation proves my point that the majority of your customers and customers in general are idiots and wouldnt know the differance between a good saw and a POS.

I totally agree with you Ben. Unfortunately, I can't rep you by some reason.
A Pro changes saw every one to two years. Otherwise he isn't a Pro
(or he is a pro but doesn't understand that the return on investment in this case is very high..)

/Peter

 

[manual]

I totally agree with you Ben. Unfortunately, I can't rep you by some reason.
A Pro changes saw every one to two years. Otherwise he isn't a Pro
(or he is a pro but doesn't understand that the return on investment in this case is very high..)

/Peter

Yes Ben is right. 5 days a week 10 to 12 cords a day.
I know a 7900 dolmar that has 1,600 cords worth of cutting and the oil pump went out. Now how many days did that take ?

 

[TreeSwede]

Releasedates...

I talked to a lady at Husqvarna last week, and she said the 346 "New Edition" would be able to buy this week or maybe next.
If you want the version with heated handles you have to wait until August or September.
Now this is for Sweden though, I don´t know when it HITS the US...

/Johan

 

[SawTroll]

If this new say does indeed have close to 3.7 h.p., then who would ever buy the 359?

I never really understood why people bought the 359 anyway, unless when the budget was really tight, and the alternative was the MS290, or something like that.

I still remember that when it first appeared in the catolog here (2002 I believe), my immediate reaction was "this sure is a saw that I don't want".
I have learned a lot since then, but it still sticks - but of course that is based on the pricing here, and not in the US.

 

[SawTroll]

.... But as far as the amount of 031's and saws of that era are concerned, it would have to be attributed to the fact that Husky wasn't anywhere near the big player then that they are now. And Stihl certainly already was. ...

Very good point, but it seems that lots of Jonsereds 621s are still running strong, and are actually in use.

Mine still is, and is one of the first ones, from 1970 - never a major repair..
It was my father-in-laws only saw, and he used it quite extensively for most of those years (farmer mode, not pro), and took good care of it.

The 621 was one of the very first models with Nikasil coated cylinder.

It also has been run on 1:50 for a long time, even though the manual says 1:25.....

 

[Cut4fun]

David has a pretty good video of the stock 5100S, modded 346, modded 51, just passing it on to share. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMmMhNNMr3s

 

[Cedarkerf]

BKS044 might disagree with you... I just looked over his OLD 044... still in great shape... just needed a flywheel side crank seal.. I'lll let him tell you how many pro hours it's got on it...

My 044 was ran 3-4 days a week between 1995 and 2000 Bulk fire wood cutting Making log truck loads, shingle and shake bolts tree removals a conservative estimate would be 3000 hours. Made sure I used Good gas and oil clean filter and always stored indoors. I wouldn't say i am a true pro tho. Most cutting done with this saw was 24" + up to 56 inch Doug fir, Cedar, Alder and Big leaf Maple. Always wore a 28 inch bare chisel skip and full comp. Old 044 small wrist pin. Bought it in 1991 it has made me 25-30,000 dollars tho so I guess that wood be pro use. Its now my pet saw and in semi retirement want to get a 460 or a 440 to take over its work. Oh its also a great limbing saw and wrap handle.

 

[outdoortype]

I never really understood why people bought the 359 anyway, unless when the budget was really tight, and the alternative was the MS290, or something like that.

I still remember that when it first appeared in the catolog here (2002 I believe), my immediate reaction was "this sure is a saw that I don't want".
I have learned a lot since then, but it still sticks - but of course that is based on the pricing here, and not in the US.[/QUOTE
Here in the USA a 359 usually sells for $20 more than the 346 and $80-$100 less than the 357xp and MS361. I know that the 346xp is an amazing saw but in stock form it still won't run a 3/8" chain and wouldn't be an ideal choice for hardwood over 12" and your still out $400+. So with a 359 you get a saw with a mag crankcase, metal handle, etc and easily managable powerband.

 

[SawTroll]

Here in the USA a 359 usually sells for $20 more than the 346 and $80-$100 less than the 357xp and MS361. .....

I guess what I don't understand is why so many people don't want to pay those extra dollars, it isn't that much money, and the saw will probably last for quite a few years.........

 

[bwalker]

Has anybody run one of these yet?

Has anyone seen a Solo dealer? They are even more scarce than Dolmar dealers.

 

[SawTroll]

Has anyone seen a Solo dealer? They are even more scarce than Dolmar dealers.

As far as I know, we have one Dolmar dealer, and zero Solo ones, here in Norway....

...but I could be wrong.....