stihl rm vs rs chains---which one and why?

[Tiewire]

RS in green standing trees that I get to fall and cut up. RM when cutting dry wood or wood in brush piles.

 

[HD2010]

I mostly use RM because they are more forgiving in dirty wood. I have a couple loops of RS but they are just odd balls from saw purchases or something. I have been buying RM.

 

[longbowch]

I think rm might be better for noodling also. imo

 

[luckydozenfarm]

I've never noticed chisel to be any more jumpy when limbing than semi chisel. If you're using full skip then that could be the reason.

I run the RM chain with the double hump tie straps on my limbing saws.. the initial grab is considerably less than a full aggressive RS chain. Sometimes I don't have both hands on my saw when I'm tangled up in the limbs, and makes it less likely the saw will jump out of my hands or pull me off balance into the cut. I could care less how fast it cuts through limbs.

 

[mdavlee]

Never ran any of that stuff. If I get it I cut the double hump off first thing so I don't have to file it later on.

 

[luckydozenfarm]

Never ran any of that stuff. If I get it I cut the double hump off first thing so I don't have to file it later on.

I used to think that it was wussy to run that kind of chain too. I mean I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs..but I had an instance where I was directly standing on a felled tree, leaning over cutting limbs and I didn't have any rpms going on the chain when I laid into a cut. The minute I hit the trigger the RS chain bit really hard into the wood and pulled me off balance and I fell right onto the running chainsaw. Luckily the chain brake did its job and I was completely unhurt , but after that I switched over. It could have been just a freak instance but I can see the difference on the "grab-iness" of the two chains. Something I like to not have when I'm surrounded by tree limbs and not having very good footing.
I literally have thousands of hours on a chainsaw and I have cut down hundreds and hundreds of trees, and I can say I have almost been seriously hurt by them twice. Both of them have come from de-limbing felled trees by using to much testosterone in either my saw or the type of chain.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

I have a couple loops of RS. It might be a tad faster in the right conditions (IE in the tree cutting clean wood). But once the trees been felled, and thus bounced in the dirt, any advantage goes away. Any dirt trapped in bark, smeared on one side etc, dulls it too quick for it to be practical for me. With the majority of my wood coming from brush removal, or standing dead, there's just too much hard, dry, dirty wood to make it worthwhile. Maybe for a climber, or if you have lots of clean green wood. Maybe buy one and try it in your conditions comparing it back to back with semi-chisel (RM). I'd bet you'll find more often the RM is a better choice.

As a side note, I really hate Stihl's system for chains. It makes comparing between other brands far more complicated than need be. Finding the closest product of their competitors (?) is next to impossible.

 

[mdavlee]

I limb with 70-90 cc saws and make sure that rpms are up or it will pull the saw out of your hands. I've only had one loop of the stuff in the whole 13 years I've been running saws. Its not a common item at the local saw shops.

 

[Nuzzy]

If green safety chain works for ya, then by all means use it; I have no patience for it.

Cutting both hardwood in Michigan and all the offerings of the PNW, I have personally always found RS to be faster, both in cut time and daily production. Knowing how to buck carefully and keeping the chain out of the dirt goes a long ways. A tree falling on the ground doesn't pick up enough dirt to be problematic. The only times I'll pop on the RM is for logs I know have been skidded without being suspended, or for clearing dirty rotten logs that are often more soil than wood.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

For the record, both RS, and RM are available in "green" and "yellow". Always seems to be some confusion on this. Probably the root of the issue.

 

[sunfish]

As a side note, I really hate Stihl's system for chains. It makes comparing between other brands far more complicated than need be. Finding the closest product of their competitors (?) is next to impossible.

Use the chain chart on Bailey's.com.

I actually like Oregon a little better than stihl chain (Not the box store safety chain).

 

[Nuzzy]

For the record, both RS, and RM are available in "green" and "yellow". Always seems to be some confusion on this. Probably the root of the issue.

I agree, there is much confusion in the chain description world! Many independent attributes that often get muddled together...


A safety chain generally has extra tie strap humps
A chain can be semi chisel or full chisel (cutter shape)
A chain can be full house, full comp, half skip, or full skip (teeth configuration to tie straps)
A chain can be square ground or round ground (type of file used)

Obviously not everything can work together, but more so than not, you could pull at random the options above out of a fish bowl and a chain would exist that fits.

 

[memory]

For the record, both RS, and RM are available in "green" and "yellow". Always seems to be some confusion on this. Probably the root of the issue.

Well crap, I didn't realize this. I just went to my local Stihl dealer/hardware store and picked up a 25" loop of 33 RM3 84 for my Stihl 441. I got home, took it out of the package and realized it has the safety hump and is labeled green. I didn't know this chain is available in both yellow and green, the salesman didn't ask either. I assume it would be worth a trip to return this chain for the yellow semi chisel.

I decided to try semi chisel because 99% of the wood we cut is dirty, mostly from being drug on the ground.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

Well crap, I didn't realize this. I just went to my local Stihl dealer/hardware store and picked up a 25" loop of 33 RM3 84 for my Stihl 441. I got home, took it out of the package and realized it has the safety hump and is labeled green. I didn't know this chain is available in both yellow and green, the salesman didn't ask either. I assume it would be worth a trip to return this chain for the yellow semi chisel.

I decided to try semi chisel because 99% of the wood we cut is dirty, mostly from being drug on the ground.

Fresh out of the box, yellow and green versions will cut similarly. Exception being that yellow will plunge cut much better, and you'll have less metal to remove when lowering rakers. If you hand file, lowering the extra hump on the green chain is the biggest drawback.

If you limb with that saw you would be safer with green. If you occasionally bore cut, get a yellow.

 

[memory]

I do limb with this saw but not up in a tree, it is all done on the ground. I rarely ever had to do a bore cut, maybe every once in a while but not to often.

I do hand file so it would probably be worth it to get a yellow. I just have a feeling that he will not have a yellow semi chisel in stock, I only seen one place for 25" semi chisel on the shelf.

 

[Nuzzy]

Well crap, I didn't realize this. I just went to my local Stihl dealer/hardware store and picked up a 25" loop of 33 RM3 84 for my Stihl 441. I got home, took it out of the package and realized it has the safety hump and is labeled green. I didn't know this chain is available in both yellow and green, the salesman didn't ask either. I assume it would be worth a trip to return this chain for the yellow semi chisel.

I decided to try semi chisel because 99% of the wood we cut is dirty, mostly from being drug on the ground.

RM3 is the green version
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rmc3/

"STIHL RAPID™ Micro™ 3 is the low-kickback version of STIHL RAPID™ Micro™ saw chain. RM3 retains all the performance of STIHL RM chain, with the added benefit of low kickback to reduce the risk of kickback injury. "


I believe RM is always yellow.
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rm/

 

[Nuzzy]

I do hand file so it would probably be worth it to get a yellow. I just have a feeling that he will not have a yellow semi chisel in stock, I only seen one place for 25" semi chisel on the shelf.

I've found going into a dealer (or wherever) knowing the exact part number/chain type you want is really the only safe guard. My closest Stihl dealer used to be a John Deere dealership; holy hell those guys behind the parts counter knew nothing pertinent to chainsaws other than the very basic...

 

[Nuzzy]

For the record, both RS, and RM are available in "green" and "yellow". Always seems to be some confusion on this. Probably the root of the issue.

And to clarify further:

RS and RM are yellow
RS3 and RM3 are the green low kickback versions

 

[GrassGuerilla]

And to clarify further:

RS and RM are yellow
RS3 and RM3 are the green low kickback versions

Despite having an IQ well over room temperature I still won't remember that next time I need chains. Did I mention that I like Stihl chains, but hate their terminology?

 

[memory]

When I saw I was the chain was labeled RM3, I asked the guy what the 3 meant and he didn't know. So if that tells you anything, I don't think I would trust them to work on my saw. I did see someone dropping off a saw to be worked on.

Something I don't understand, why does that extra hump affect how it cuts? I mean, if both humps are the same height, why would it affect how it cuts?