Stihl MS441CRM-Tronic Ported Work Saw Review

[CR500]

The 441 is looking like it is going to be the new saw to my arsenal. I mean the 461 is not out yet but if it is not a CM based model The 441 is the winner.

 

[Stihlman441]

Ha John

460 is one year old and at a guess would be over 150 tanks of fuel (work horse at the moment)

441C 12 tanks 4.6hrs (felling saw) (the 4.6hrs on the works tach is not correct or rpm because of the electronic control system)

660 BB Kit 6 tanks 3.1 hrs (mainly milling saw or dry Redgum blocking)

660 Snellerized 10 tanks 5.6 hrs (blocking large rounds)

 

[Stihlman441]

The 441 is looking like it is going to be the new saw to my arsenal. I mean the 461 is not out yet but if it is not a CM based model The 441 is the winner.

I'm thinking the 461 will not be a M-Tronic,if is is they will not sell many 441 M-tronic.

 

[Bill Becker]

just go's to show you how good a stock 460 is , it was up against bigger cc or beter technology and ported at that and only up to 8 seconds slower and andrew thats a top vid thanks

Ditto on both points.

 

[Officer's Match]

The 441 is looking like it is going to be the new saw to my arsenal. I mean the 461 is not out yet but if it is not a CM based model The 441 is the winner.

Just did a little cutting with my new-to-me Snellerized 441R C-M. It flatout rips, just snorts with attitude. I even noodled some big chunks of black walnut and it just yanks like its angry as hell. I really like this one.

 

[blsnelling]

Hey, I like this kind of video. Nice job cutting too! Only thing I'd like to see is you pushing more on the 660 I did for you. I think you could get it under 30 seconds. BTW, I'd love to go back in the cylinder some day I've got some ideas I'm going to work out for this 660 build-off. If it pans out, I think there's more in your saw. BTW, you had me setting on the edge of my seat hoping the 660 put in a good time, lol:msp_ohmy:

What this video shows once again, is that the 70cc class saw is the best saw out there until the wood gets really big. Even the stock 460 was right in the mix.

 

[blsnelling]

Just did a little cutting with my new-to-me Snellerized 441R C-M. It flatout rips, just snorts with attitude. I even noodled some big chunks of black walnut and it just yanks like its angry as hell. I really like this one.

Excellent. I'd love to hear a full review after you put some time on it. Post up some vids.

 

[Officer's Match]

Excellent. I'd love to hear a full review after you put some time on it. Post up some vids.

I will Brad, after I get my ES Light on it. The 20" Duramatic on it now isn't giving it much challenge. Thanks for the primo job on this one, I just love the responsiveness. I think I'm going to be looking for bigger logs more than ever now.

 

[Slamm]

Andrew, I talked with a guy at Work Connection and he is pretty sure he can get it to work with the Mtronic system. It will be mid week next week before I get back with them, but I will let you know if there is something that can be done with them.

I thought you would have had more tanks on your 441, I'm on my 11th, and will hopefully be cutting in a few days again. Will learn more about it as we get more time on them. So far so good though, it sure is hard to want to pick up another saw. By Wednesday, I'll have all 3 regular, modded 441's up and going strong, and I'll see which one, gets fondled the most, LOL. I have another batch of mini tachs in and will mount them on everything and check fuel mileage.

I'm going to check it based on actual volume of gas used and not just tanks, as that varies too much, for me anyways, sometimes it really empty, sometimes not so much. My 2nd to last tank on the Mtronics was trying to get a pretty good amount cut in that tank, but then I was done for the day.

Later,

Sam

 

[Officer's Match]

Good, anxious to hear if the WC tach can be made to work.

 

[Stihlman441]

Good stuff Sam,i dont even think the hrs are reading correctly as well.
The reason i have not got more hrs on the 441 C is my wood season has really finished for the year so i am not doing as much,but i dont find it hard to run it when ever i can,on the other hand its not easy to get another one so its a bit special if ya know what i mean.
I made another vid today but the video camera is playing up cant get it to work at the moment.:msp_angry:

 

[MCW]

My cutter was wanting to get a 3rd saw for a backup to a backup, I asked him if he was going to get a Dolmar 7900 his responding text was "WTF is that?????", LOL.

Sam

Yeah I heard that most cutters are flat out getting their IQ into triple digits Sam

 

[Slamm]

Yeah I heard that most cutters are flat out getting their IQ into triple digits Sam

Yeah I heard that most cutters are flat out getting their IQ into triple digits Sam

LOL, he's working on it, LOL.

He's from Wisconsin and he is currently on the fence between the 372, 576AT and the 441CM. I kinda want him to get the 576AT and we modd it. I told him I can get him any of them for cost or less, so he's thinking ....... (thats a good thing). This kid is a speed freak, everything he has, has to be modded or something, and I was wondering why on earth he didn't just get the 7900, so I texted him that very question ........... well, "WTF is a 7900?????" was his response, I just laughed and said nevermind. I do what I can to help others, LOL.

Sam

 

[mdavlee]

Sam the 576 was stronger than a 7300 and a 681 when we ran it up around 3500 ft. It was really surprising to say the least. I think you guys would really like the 576.

 

[Slamm]

Sam the 576 was stronger than a 7300 and a 681 when we ran it up around 3500 ft. It was really surprising to say the least. I think you guys would really like the 576.

Yeah, I want to run one, but only for CAD reasons, as it isn't likely it runs so much faster or has that much better mileage, as to have one duck in a flock of swans, LOL, but I do want to try it, to check its mileage and powerband from my working point of view. The problem with getting a foreigner into or around my stable of Stihls is sometimes prices and a lot of parts/chain issues. Everything I have fits everything else, and I have my own stock pile and all for very cheap. Thats why for my setup things have to be really outstanding, before I would change anything, and if I change it, its all getting changed, and usually they have to be different by a decent amount in the MPG or speed area (with quality a given). I am quite adaptable to "feel" of a saw, and I don't give in to 1-2 second cookie cutting differences, so something will have to be really good, before I have any desire to look at it. Here on Arboristsite, nobody cares about efficiency, they just all flock to the latest .4 second faster saw, irregardless of build quality or efficiency. A modded 441 has been the one of the most efficient wood cutting saws, if not the most efficient wood cutting saws, that I have tried out or look into extensively from a timber fallers point of view, it is lightweight, fast and gets mileage out of this world for its speed. No other saw is in its class in all areas.

That said, as soon as the 441 Mtronic came out I wanted to swap every 441 to that system, when the 576AT shows up, and runs with it, then I want to check its mileage mostly, because I think these Mtronic/Autotuned Strato saws are where its at for higher production cutting. I don't think Husky has the build quality of Stihl to the Nth degree, but they are quite good and dependable for the pro, the 576AT is in the same league as far as speed, so for me there is just checking the mileage, for me to have the thing "wrung out", from the point of view that efficiency would have.

I want Stihl to win, but I want it to always have some stiff competition, to keep them thinking, LOL, and I think the 576AT is right there and maybe surpased it by a little, but other than the 576AT, I see the rest of the 70cc competition quite a ways back.

I really wonder about this new 461, if it doesn't have the AV and good MPG engine, I don't see it taking the 441Mtronic in efficiency, it will beat it in sales, but Stihl has to make a saw for those blind followers of the 460 that think just because its been around for 100 years its the best, when that isn't the case, its reliable as all get out, but its very inefficient.

They are likely making the 461 non-strato so that the saleman can tell the "stuck in a rut" logger "NO", when he asks if its "One of those damm, new, fangled Strato saws." That alone will bring the 460 followers over to the 461. I do think if the 461 doesn't have a strato'd engine it will be hard to beat in efficiency, as the engine design that we think they went with is tops.

The second old feature will be the rubber mounted AV, for all of those that can't adjust to the feel of the Steel spring AV systems. I never understood, that one, steels springs are a better system, there are millions of Husky operators that have "adjusted" to it, yet when it comes to the same (or better) version of it on the 441, suddenly we can't "adjust to the feel of it".

Anyways, I think the future is looking bright for the new saw tech, the 441CM and 576AT will likely keep each other sharp, and it will be interesting to see what comes out different on the 461, and from what I've heard the 661 is already a winner in working circles, just have to get it into production, which Stihl should do and does consistently do a great job of ironing out the wrinkles before they introduce a new model.

Sam

 

[mdavlee]

The 576 does get some great mileage a tank. I kept checking it the day we were bucking firewood and it had plenty left until we were pretty much done. I didn't keep track of what we cut and split that day but it seemed like a whole lot for one tank. I can see your problem with the bars/chains and extra parts interchange making it harder to switch over. For a long time I woulnd't run husky saws either and then I came on here adn ended up with a 372xpw. Now that's mostly what I run.

 

[Slamm]

The 576 does get some great mileage a tank. I kept checking it the day we were bucking firewood and it had plenty left until we were pretty much done. I didn't keep track of what we cut and split that day but it seemed like a whole lot for one tank.

That is a good sign for the 576AT, as when you keep looking into the tank and it keeps showing that you have longer to cut, its a good sign of mileage, I love saws like that, provided the speed and power is there that is just more wood on the ground.

When you use a 460, you don't usually have this problem, LOL.

The 361 is one of the best at that little trick, you cut and cut and cut, and check the tank and you used 1/8. Then you cut for longer and piles of wood, and then check again and its at 1/2 tank, LOL.

I remember was first got me onto the kick of running efficient saws was when I was logging a horribly steep sidehill in Wisconsin. The 660 was getting about 4ish trees cut and topped per tank. By afternoon, I was so tired, that I just grabbed the 361 just to keep cutting something, and not loose the day. Well, I cut and topped 14ish trees, sometimes upwards of 16 trees per tank and thats what started me thinking that cookie cutting speed isn't always that answer if you will just see past your nose a little. That little 361 had me ending the day without my tongue hanging out of my mouth, as like previous days, because there was a balance of cutting speed and "lightweightness" that was matched with how I liked to work, which is full on running in an efficient manner.

When you figure that cutting a tree over is only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time spent on that tree, you begin to realize that raw, ineffecient power does not always allow you to cut more wood in a day's time, because there is more to production cutting than just pulling the trigger, you have to carry that thing around and fuel it up and hold it.............. sidehills make these other variables quite apparent in a big way.

I am thankful for that horrible job on nothing but a steep sidehill for the whole job, because then I wouldn't have the experience to want to find another way, other than just repeating after everyone else in the area or career choice, that the 660 is the only answer. I tried the 460 and it was lighter, but drinks gas too much and no AV. The obvious choice in Stihl's line up at the time was the 441, but we knew the power wasn't right, so modding it was the key to a perfect compromise of power, efficiency and comfort.

Such a combination makes for consistent wood cutting production that is very repeatable and dependable, in most situations. I do enjoy running the modded 660 on flat ground in big trees, but it doesn't put anymore on the ground per hour all day than the modded 441. In the morning, sometimes yes, but if you are hoofing it pretty quickly all day, then no.

I have other good cutters check this out, guys that are paid on production, and they try the two and they find the same thing, as Bert would say, "I would walk a 1/2 mile past that modded 660 just to run that modded 441 all day." He knows what is more efficient and what tool helps him be more efficient at making money.

As to other brands or models of 70cc saws, they are usually missing something in the total package. This 576AT is likely to finally give the 441CM a good run for it, and then it will truly be a toss up to which brand of dealer you like or if one falls apart faster or not .................... years from now. I happen to know the durability of the 441 chasis, as I know how abusive I am on saws, and I have broken the AV mounts on 660's and 460's due to over zealous pulling during a pinch, never have I broke a 441 anything during normal or harsh use, for years now. The only thing that has slowed them down in service is getting smashed by trees or other true "wonders" in operator/employee error, LOL, which isn't the 441's fault.

Sam

 

[Officer's Match]

Glad to hear of that type of durability Sam. I'm thinking a little bit of weight is a reasonable tradeoff in that case.

 

[Stihlman441]

Just did a little cutting with my new-to-me Snellerized 441R C-M. It flatout rips, just snorts with attitude. I even noodled some big chunks of black walnut and it just yanks like its angry as hell. I really like this one.

The more ya use it the more your going to like it,they are as you say feel angry and willing and a pleasure to use.
Get some vids up if ya can.

 

[Meadow Beaver]

Sam the 576 was stronger than a 7300 and a 681 when we ran it up around 3500 ft. It was really surprising to say the least. I think you guys would really like the 576.

Your 576 would have been stronger witha raised exhaust port.