What older model chainsaw has the most durable engine?

[HuskyShepherd2016]

From an Operators point of view a very silly question because it is nearly impossible to answer. For sure an average person can not begin to wear out a saw. I started using saws when I was fourteen and now am seventy. In the eighties I bought a nice Stihl 011 to do limbing and just limbing. It is and was the lowest performing saw that I could find. It does not have impressive power or RPMs but is pretty reliable. I started with it when I had a timber sale in the early eighties. It was used for several years about six months a year four hours a day. It went along for close to ten years when it really gave up. Yes it was really wore out. How many people can say they have used a saw that much. Many professional climbers never give a saw a chance to wear out. I have a 056 that has cut several hundred cords and wore out several bars. It did get many new parts a few years ago but is still running and I use it plenty. So how would one know what saw will last a hundred or two hours longer than the next. Good maintenance with good care will cause a saw to last well past their lives. Thanks

Why is that a silly question, might I ask? I was not expecting the answer to be easy, nor exactly cut and dry either. But I did reach out to anyone who might actually have some real data on how which brand might have the most durable internal parts, not just opinions. But I’m also welcoming that too. Based on most of these replies, people have definitely had similar thoughts and may have wondered the same thing from time to time in their lives before.

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

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The only thing I wish was just a tad different about my Husky 480cd was that I wish it was a 2100 instead.

 

[Squareground3691]

The only thing I wish was just a tad different about my Husky 480cd was that I wish it was a 2100 instead.

She still rips ,

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

That orange meanie is in great shape! There’s a ported either L65 or a. L77 on YouTube that I like to watch when I get bored. It eats logs like candy!

 

[rocketnorton]

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[Ted Jenkins]

Why is that a silly question, might I ask? I was not expecting the answer to be easy, nor exactly cut and dry either. But I did reach out to anyone who might actually have some real data on how which brand might have the most durable internal parts, not just opinions. But I’m also welcoming that too. Based on most of these replies, people have definitely had similar thoughts and may have wondered the same thing from time to time in their lives before.

My point is that it is a silly question based upon my experience and data. From your point you would like to know the facts that are as you perceive them. Take the best or worse saw that was manufactured twenty years ago or thirty years ago they are pretty much all the same. If it was a major manufacture they will last longer than many professionals could wear them out. Pros today do not want a older saw because of all the modern features available. If you could find some older saws that were meticulously rebuilt they would last many years beyond what most people could ever put them through, So the question is what based upon what I suggested. Does not mean you are silly for thinking of a question but upon what I have done with saws for nearly sixty years. Thanks

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

I’m by far not the only person who has wondered that. My question was not necessarily all about power, torque, saw speed or special features. It’s pretty much strictly a question of parts durability as far as materials used….how well built a tool is. That being said, If the end product of the build quality carries over to better performance and power, that is a plus for sure.

 

[Jay Hansen]

Cantdog mentioned the old J'red 621s and 80s he has seen that have almost no paint left on them but are still running just fine, I've noticed that with those two models too as well as an assortment of other saws. After being around saws for a good number of years and paying attention to that kind of "data", patterns begin to emerge and I think it's valid to conclude that some models last very well indeed. From that perspective, I don't think the question is unanswerable or silly.

 

[president]

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i CONCUR ,PETE!

 

[fields_mj]

I've never personally seen a Stihl 041 die. I know a couple of people who owned them and ran them a fair amount, including my dad. The were all still running when they found a new home. Same thing with the Stihl 028. I think a lot of saws from the 90s and early 2000s would make the same list if they never had ethanol fuel in them. The combination of Zama carbs and ethanol fuel have made saws from that time period a little more frustrating to keep running (or maybe to just get started). That's my opinion anyway. I don't really have any experience with other brands, but I suspect that there are some similarities.

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

I've never personally seen a Stihl 041 die. I know a couple of people who owned them and ran them a fair amount, including my dad. The were all still running when they found a new home. Same thing with the Stihl 028. I think a lot of saws from the 90s and early 2000s would make the same list if they never had ethanol fuel in them. The combination of Zama carbs and ethanol fuel have made saws from that time period a little more frustrating to keep running (or maybe to just get started). That's my opinion anyway. I don't really have any experience with other brands, but I suspect that there are some similarities.

You’re making me really glad that I’ve got a couple of 041’s! One’s a super and the other one is a cherry condition 041AV, that I have a 041 super cylinder for that I am going to get my local Stihl dealer/mechanic install on it. Both have chain brakes too…that’s a plus!

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

Not even close to a "older model" saw

Really? The 61 was new here when I was 21. You must be really really old

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Really? The 61 was new here when I was 21. You must be really really old

Then you grew up in the "good saw" era and have still converted oxygen to carbon dioxide for over half a Century.

Any old saw is only as durable as the mistakes its human operator makes, the hours of work under its belt and the availability of new parts to replace wear items.

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

Really? The 61 was new here when I was 21. You must be really really old

I have a Husqvarna 51 with a 61 jug and piston in it. It was a really snazzy little saw that could seriously rip logs up to 16 inches…..but I hated and I mean HATED the place that they put the exhaust outlet. It melted the chain brake and the top of the clutch cover. And the muffler mounting bolts would constantly break from the heat. I’d be sawing like everything was just fine and dandy and then the front of the muffler would just fly off. I sadly finally got sick of constantly replacing those parts and now it is in my junk saw pile with a bunch of old 36 & 38cc garbage box store Poulans. I might rebuild that saw and put on a clutch cover without a chain brake…or if it’s possible to acquire an older clutch cover with a metal chain brake handle, that would help a bunch.

 

[Bill G]

Really? The 61 was new here when I was 21. You must be really really old

This is an old saw. In actuality it looks older than it is.

 

[president]

I've never personally seen a Stihl 041 die. I know a couple of people who owned them and ran them a fair amount, including my dad. The were all still running when they found a new home. Same thing with the Stihl 028. I think a lot of saws from the 90s and early 2000s would make the same list if they never had ethanol fuel in them. The combination of Zama carbs and ethanol fuel have made saws from that time period a little more frustrating to keep running (or maybe to just get started). That's my opinion anyway. I don't really have any experience with other brands, but I suspect that there are some similarities.

Zama carbs are the worst !

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

I apologize for not being very clear when I said older saws in the Original Post. I’m referring to saws from the era of the mid 60’s, the 70’s to maybe the late 80’s to early 1990’s.

 

[GenXer]

I have an old 78 162se that's a good runner here. Original piston

 

[benz66]

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Those new Macs sure are pretty. the old Macs of the 40s and 50s were king of the (western) mountains back then. Maybe King of the Hill. I started out at 12 or so with one of those big old macs. (That was a long time ago) It never quit. I'd define "old" as before 1950 or 60. The Blue Homelites I consider new, as the new lightweight designs were revolutionary at the time.

 

[2StrokeFondler]

Throwing Sithl 07 and 08 in the ring