New to Chainsaws / Storm Clean-up / Husqvarna 435, Echo CS-3510, CS-4010, other?

[Cool Breeze]

I've been really needing a chainsaw for storm clean up on my property and not really sure what the best way to go about this is. My only reference is that my neighbor used a Stihl MS170 to help me and it seemed good on delimbing but had a bit of trouble through trunks. That being said, that was one of the bigger trees on the property and it eventually got through and did fine. Trees range from approx. 75% at or below 12-14 inches wide at the base and the rest over (I can go measure if it helps).

Anyways, I've been looking to spend $300 to $400 on a saw. I've got Husqvarna and Echo dealers around me and looking at the Echo CS-3510, Echo CS-4010, or a Husqvarna 435 but open to other models from those brands. It would be my first real chainsaw and I have little experiences besides an electric Dewalt Polesaw I've been using along with some help of neighbors. I don't have any experience with real chain saws.

Am I in the neighborhood of what would be an appropriate size saw for this task given my circumstances? I'm partial to Husqvarna for other 2 stroke engines as I love my 525 LS string trimmer. That being said, I am not sure if that translates into chainsaws. Probably my main concern is the non-power factors that I don't see get talked about much - such as the design of the unit, reliability, ease of maintenance, low vibration, ease of start, ease of tuning, etc. - you know all the "quality of life" features that can either drive you crazy or not add to the chaos of trying to get a job done after the stress of a big storm. Thanks in advance, I really appreciate your help.

 

[huskydave]

I would go with the CS 4010. This is a great saw for a homeowner/weekend warrior, If funds allow step up to the CS 590. The Echo has a 5 year warranty. You could also look for a decent used saw around 50cc-60cc from Husqvarna Echo or Stihl and they all would do the job nicely. Call around, sometimes they have sales on some models. Go handle the saws and see how they feel to you, you may prefer one over another.

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

For the money you’re looking to spend I’d be looking at the CS-4910. If your local dealer doesn’t have that model there’s plenty available online.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

Stay away from the 435. They are not that good. Now the 445 is a better option, or the 455/460. New carb for example 435 is $90 and for the 445 is $50. For whatever reason the 435 seams to be kinda a lemon. Stihl 251 might be a good option as well. I have the older 250 it’s a good quad saw

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

You didn't say how big the trees are but I am thinking the 4910 would suit you. It's just about the best homeowner deal out there. Personally, I would pick the older 4910 over the newer 4920. That goes for the 400 vs 4010 as well. I like the last gen models more than the newer ones.
If the MS170 wasn't enough saw then the 3510 wont be much better. Your neighbor can limb with the MS170 while you tackle the logs with the 4910.

 

[Cool Breeze]

Stay away from the 435. They are not that good. Now the 445 is a better option, or the 455/460. New carb for example 435 is $90 and for the 445 is $50. For whatever reason the 435 seams to be kinda a lemon. Stihl 251 might be a good option as well. I have the older 250 it’s a good quad saw

I haven't been able to find a lot of info on the 435. It is interesting that you don't like the 435 compared to the higher models. It looks like just the little brother of the 445/455 but maybe that is not the case. Are there any other differences worth noting on it? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Cool Breeze]

You didn't say how big the trees are but I am thinking the 4910 would suit you. It's just about the best homeowner deal out there. Personally, I would pick the older 4910 over the newer 4920. That goes for the 400 vs 4010 as well. I like the last gen models more than the newer ones.
If the MS170 wasn't enough saw then the 3510 wont be much better. Your neighbor can limb with the MS170 while you tackle the logs with the 4910.

Another vote for the 4910. Do you like the older models based on lower price or is there something mechanically (and significantly different) with the 4910/4920. The 400 and 4010 seem like completely different saws for sure.

I'm estimating that my trees range from approx. 75% at or below 12-14 inches wide at the base and the rest over that number around the 7 to 9 inch range. I'm not sure if that changes the recommendation.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

I have both the 400 and the 4010. I'll give you the major differences:
4010 has spring AV, 400 is just rubber. Does that matter in a 40cc saw? 4010 is strato, 400 is conventional. Strato should be better fuel efficiency for the same or slightly better power. I would call it a wash. 4010 has a paddle style momentary kill switch while the 400 has that tiny Echo toggle. I think most people will be happier with the momentary switch. I am used to the toggle. The plastics seem a little cheaper and bulkier on the 4010. I like the 400's air filter way better. Stealth edit: the 4010 gets the clear gas tank which I didn't think I cared about but its nice.
I don't run a 4910 but aside from the AV I think everything I said about the 400/4010 is also true with the 4910/4920. (This is not true see my next post below.)
If I had to sum it up I would say the new gen saws look and feel a little cheaper, while the strato engine is probably a net positive.
Pull the limiters and mod the mufflers and they both cut great

Now as for how big of a saw you need, it sounds like the 400/4010 will do everything you need. Then again, the 4910/4920 is not a whole lot heavier and you will never feel under gunned. I think you with the 50cc saw and your neighbor with the MS170 will be a fast and efficient team. If you want the bonus testosterone boost go with the 590.

 

[Paul Bunions]

As a fellow amateur, I'll tell you a couple of things most wood-clearing amateurs need to know. Took me a long time to find these things out. A typical amateur's jobs are different from pro jobs, so I think our needs are different. The jobs are usually shorter, the wood is usually smaller, we use our saws less often, and we are more likely to get in trouble with safety errors.

1. A good 10" cordless pole saw is actually better for most jobs amateurs think they need chainsaws for. Sometimes I go out with a cheap 8" pole saw and a real chainsaw, and I never start the chainsaw. A polesaw will be fine for anything up to 12" thick. It will let you get farther from the work so you are safer if something falls the wrong way. It will let you cut things above your head safely; not recommended with a chainsaw. It will let you cut from a ladder safely; really bad idea with a chainsaw. It's very hard to cut yourself with a pole saw.

It will let you cut without ear protection. It will never refuse to start because of ethanol gas because you only cut wood a few times a year. A chainsaw can be faster for a lot of things, but amateurs need all the help with safety they can get, even if it means taking a little longer, and most amateurs don't have enough work to make time a big problem.

A pole saw will also throw less wood on you because of the distance.

2. The sharper your chain is, the less saw you need. If you stay on top of sharpening your chain, you may find that your saw is a lot more capable than you thought. Also, a dull saw can make a saw overheat and ruin it.

As for the Husqvarna 435, I have the Jonsered version, and it has worked well for me, but it is no fun whatsoever to work on. I have a Makita XCU04 which is much better, but big jobs mean lots of expensive batteries.

For trees a foot or less across, I would get a good cordless pole saw, several batteries, and a 20" gas chainsaw sold by the nearest sales-and-service shop that isn't run by a moron. A good mechanic who turns jobs around fast is like gold. I would also get a sharpening system, a bar grease gun, several wedges, a hatchet, and maybe a timberjack. A timberjack is a real force multiplier for a one-man crew, even if you have a tractor. Rolling a 400-pound log over and lifting it to be cut is no problem.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

Actually I just remembered the major difference between the 4910and the 4920. The 4910 is a true mag cased engine while the 4920 is a clamshell. They aren't even in the same league.

 

[esean]

Another vote for the CS-4910. Barely heavier than the 40cc options and significantly more power.

 

[Seachaser]

We cleaned up after Hurricane Michael. We had a 65cc. Most of the time I wished for a bigger, and bigger saw. Lesson learned. After Idalia, I had a 500i and neighbor a 661. Lots easier. 30-45 inch diameter trees take no prisoners.

 

[stihltech]

What is available at a dealer near you?

 

[fields_mj]

How many trees are you needing to clean up, and how much time do you have to get the work done?

I'd say your initial impressions are correct. The MS180 is decent at limbing, but for most of us it would be painfully slow for cutting anything with any size to it. Depending on the answer to the above question, you're likely looking for a 50cc saw. They aren't terribly heavy, and are normally capable of running up to a 20" bar, but are normally best suited with an 18". That's plenty long enough to get through trees that are over 30" across. Like the MS180, a 50cc saw will be really slow if you're cutting through a big 32" oak, but they are pretty efficient in the 8" to 16" range.

As far as which 50cc saw to get, that depends on how much you plan on running it on a given day. Normally, if you're cutting firewood for heat, you might run through a couple tanks of fuel per day which isn't a lot. Almost any homeowner grade saw will work just fine for that. If you're working at it all day long because you need to get the work done in a timely manor, then I'd look at a professional grade saw like an MS261 because you'll get more power with less weight, and better anti-vibe. Basically the pro-saws aren't has hard on your body as a homeowner grade saw with the same power output.

If you're only working on 1 or 2 trees, and the likely hood of needing the saw again in the next 12 to 24 months is slim, I'd look for a battery powered saw, and I'd pick one that's the same brand as my favorite cordless power tools or lawn tools for the purpose of using the same batteries. Functionally, a good battery powered saw is pretty close in performance to a 50cc 2 stroke saw. The advantage is that there's no carburetor to get all clogged up from using ethanol fuel or from letting fuel set in it for a year or more. In other words, MUCH lower maintenance. Charge the batteries, keep the chain sharp, fill up the bar oil, and squeeze the trigger. Easy peasy. The draw back is that the run time on the batteries isn't great. I've never used one, but it seems like a 2 stroke will run about twice as long on a single tank of fuel, and it does take a while to charge the batteries. The answer to that is to have multiple batteries, but they are expensive (thus the reason for using a common platform as your other cordless lawn tools or power tools). The other answer is to go out, run the saw until the batteries are dead, put the battery on the charger, pick up what you've cut, then go take a break until the batteries are charged.

 

[echomeister]

cs-3510 punches above its weight. I have had mine with the bar buried with no problems. Easy on fuel also.
You will need to remove the limiter caps and tune it soon after purchase. Or get it from a dealer and let them do it.

For reliability if you can still find them a CS-400 is the king. Some Home Depots still have a few. Turfland in Lexington is showing three in stock.

 

[wilsonhs]

I started buying reconditioned 16-inch bar Husky 435s on Ebay for about $150 in 2012. They now cost about $205. I have a 560-acre tree farm and use them for pre-commercial thinning (PCT), brush clearing and cutting up to 22-inch logs. I've bought five 435s over the years. One died at 100 tanks of gas and the other four are still going strong. The most used saw has used 198 tanks of gas. I find them to get great saws. They are relatively light and have good power. I'm 73 years old so saw weight is an issue, especially with PCT where you are always supporting the weight of the saw when you cut. I also have two Husky 440s ( now about $235 on Ebay), which is basically the same as a 435 but with a little more power. The parts of all saws are interchangeable so when a saw dies, I have spare parts. Additionally, I only have to learn how to maintain and repair one model of saw.

 

[Cool Breeze]

cs-3510 punches above its weight. I have had mine with the bar buried with no problems. Easy on fuel also.
You will need to remove the limiter caps and tune it soon after purchase. Or get it from a dealer and let them do it.

For reliability if you can still find them a CS-400 is the king. Some Home Depots still have a few. Turfland in Lexington is showing three in stock.

This is a tempting option! I'm partial to going to a dealer just in case I have issues and I'm trying to buy a ready-saw instead of having to muffler mod. That being said, the cs-400 seems to be lauded on the forum and I certainly take note of that kind of reliability.

On another note - do you have any preference for echo dealers / service centers in the area. I'm equal distant to Lex / Georgetown / Frankfort. Thank you!

 

[Cool Breeze]

As a fellow amateur, I'll tell you a couple of things most wood-clearing amateurs need to know. Took me a long time to find these things out. A typical amateur's jobs are different from pro jobs, so I think our needs are different. The jobs are usually shorter, the wood is usually smaller, we use our saws less often, and we are more likely to get in trouble with safety errors.

1. A good 10" cordless pole saw is actually better for most jobs amateurs think they need chainsaws for. Sometimes I go out with a cheap 8" pole saw and a real chainsaw, and I never start the chainsaw. A polesaw will be fine for anything up to 12" thick. It will let you get farther from the work so you are safer if something falls the wrong way. It will let you cut things above your head safely; not recommended with a chainsaw. It will let you cut from a ladder safely; really bad idea with a chainsaw. It's very hard to cut yourself with a pole saw.

It will let you cut without ear protection. It will never refuse to start because of ethanol gas because you only cut wood a few times a year. A chainsaw can be faster for a lot of things, but amateurs need all the help with safety they can get, even if it means taking a little longer, and most amateurs don't have enough work to make time a big problem.

A pole saw will also throw less wood on you because of the distance.

2. The sharper your chain is, the less saw you need. If you stay on top of sharpening your chain, you may find that your saw is a lot more capable than you thought. Also, a dull saw can make a saw overheat and ruin it.

As for the Husqvarna 435, I have the Jonsered version, and it has worked well for me, but it is no fun whatsoever to work on. I have a Makita XCU04 which is much better, but big jobs mean lots of expensive batteries.

For trees a foot or less across, I would get a good cordless pole saw, several batteries, and a 20" gas chainsaw sold by the nearest sales-and-service shop that isn't run by a moron. A good mechanic who turns jobs around fast is like gold. I would also get a sharpening system, a bar grease gun, several wedges, a hatchet, and maybe a timberjack. A timberjack is a real force multiplier for a one-man crew, even if you have a tractor. Rolling a 400-pound log over and lifting it to be cut is no problem.

I appreciate your comment and I think it deserves some merit. I’ve been doing something similar with my Dewalt 8 inch pole saw for a little over a year. I’ve been using the big 4 and 5 amp 20v batteries and have 3 of them. That being said, I have found that yes it can get through something 12 inch thick – it takes a considerable amount of time to do so. I think it’s wheelhouse is around 6 inches. I also agree about the merits of working further away from the cutting area and the increased safety.

I don’t have the specifics, but I had two similar size trees go down last year and this year. The one last year was not even a full tree but it split – and it took me a couple hours per night across 4 to 6 nights to process the whole thing with the pole saw. The trunk was a real pain at approx. 16+ inches. Also the angled head of the Dewalt is nice for things above you, it sucks for logs that are on the ground and are difficult to role. As I mentioned, a full tree of similar size fell last week and even with the tiny ms170 we were done in a couple hours including dragging everything to the street for removal.

Additionally, when the storm hit last week, we lost power for over a day (in the past its been up to 6 days), and I was through the batteries and the power wasn’t even back on yet -not to mention the issue with the larger logs. I’ve definitely maxed out its potential and I think it’s a great tool, but I was hoping for something that can really speed up the process as its terribly exhausting and time consuming. That said, I am concerned about getting too much saw and the safety. I am not sure how to approach that size question just yet. I always use PPE but not sure how much is too much saw for a newbie.

I really appreciate the ancillary equipment you mentioned too – I’m currently researching sharpening, grease bar gun, etc. The timberjack was not even on my radar and it could have helped me a ton over the past year. I didn’t eve know that was made. Thanks again!

 

[Paul Bunions]

Hope my advice helps. The timberjack I bought was made by Woodchuck. I don't know anything about other brands. If you get one from Woodchuck, put Loctite on the nuts so they don't fall out.

 

[echomeister]

Have bought saws from Lexington Outdoor Power Equipment on Winchester road in Lexington. They seem like good guys.