Help me out gentlemen.  Looking to purchase a chainsaw.  I don't need anything too extravagant, just a reliable machine for trimming trees half a dozen times per year or so on my farm and at my grandmothers home.  Max tree size would probably be around a foot, so a bar length of 16-18 inches should be good.  My old man has a 20 year old stihl that has been stupid reliable, but I am open to any brand.

Stihl

An orange one with a dealer local. Do not buy from big box store.

Stihl


i run an 034 Super....runs like a bat out of hell.  


says made in "west Germany" on it

Can't go wrong with Stihl, I like my 044.  Husky and Johnsered also make nice machines.

my Grandfathers Stihl still runs

so does my dads and mine too - i guess you could say we are still in the product testing phase

Need a choice? Echo, CS400 5 yr warranty. Got 3 Echos. love them.

Husky or a Stihl if you want something for some decent cutting to heavy use. Ive had my Husky for 20 years and beat the living shit out of it and it still fires up on the second pull.

If all you're doing is trimming and small work, it'd be tough to beat a Stihl 180 series with a 14" bar. I love mine.

I will 2nd that.  And as long as you keep the motor spun up and the chain sharp, that little saw can really throw some chips.  If you want something a hair bigger but still fairly lightweight, a MS250 would be a great candidate.  

I sold my 290 and just bought a used 361, but my grandfather has a 250 and 180, and they are damn good saws.

 

Stihl

I've always used Stihl's but got a heck of a deal on a Husqvarna (not Poulan one), and it works great but leaks oil (whole oil reservoir) when sitting.  My Stihl's never do this.

I have the CS 400 also and it is great, perfect power to weight ratio. It has given me several hundred hours of  trouble free service over the last 6 years. I do a lot  of cutting on our farm and it  is handy and light enough to use all day long without wearing out your arms and shoulder. It handles 90% of  what I need to cut. I use the 590 on the big trees.

I have a Stihl 048 I bought in 1983. Still running strong and has never given me any problems.

Stihl MS261 for general purpose use

Stihl or Husquvarna would be my choice.  I know a lot of people that have Stihl saws that are 10-20 years old and running, I know a few that have the Husquvarna saws and they have held up well.

Stihl or Husqvarna.

I have run the ever loving shit out of my Husqy and it just keeps coming back for more.

J-

I've owned a Stihl 290 Farm Boss and now I have a Stihl MS362.

I second the 261 recommendation. It's a pro-grade saw, better construction than the Farm Boss, and it will do everything you need it to.

I've taken some big trees with my saw, and I bought one a bit bigger than I thought I'd need.

I highly recommend you buy from an actual Stihl dealer. You cannot go wrong.

Get a few files and learn to sharpen the chain every single time you use it. Also, turn the oiler up as high as it will go, you want the bar oil tank to be empty when it runs out of gas.

Every time I run through a tank of fuel, I fill the fuel, the bar oil, and I run 3 drags across each tooth on the chain with a file. Takes about 10 minutes total, gives my back a good rest, and keeps my saw running great. Do not use any ethanol fuel at all. Buy non-ethanol fuel and the pro-grade oil mix. Stihl often will extend the warranty for a year if you buy a 6 pack of the oil at the time of purchasing the saw. I run pre-mixed fuel exclusively now; it's more expensive but it can sit in the saw year round, and I haven't had to rebuild any carburetors.

I run an ms210 stihl. Good homeowner grade saw. I replaced the spark plug this year because it had some rust on the top. No other issues. Great saw.

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It's hard to beat Stihl... I'm a lifelong fan... That being said, I'm going to throw out a lesser known option if you're looking for a larger saw...

Dolmar is a reputable saw manufacturer the likes of Stihl and Husky, they just don't have a good dealer network so they aren't well-known. They make real-deal professional quality stuff though and the 6401-7901 saws (64-79 cc) are known as some of the best out there... Makita owns Dolmar and sells Dolmar saws in Makita clothing (different color of plastic), Home Depot buys these Dolkita (Dolmar in Makita clothing) saws to use in their tool rental department. After a couple years they rotate them out, selling off the used rental saw DIRT CHEAP and replacing it with a new one. If you're patient you can pick up a real-deal 64cc pro-saw for $200-300 and often times they come with a new chain and sometimes a new bar as well...

I'm a firewood burner/cutter, I have 2 saws for that purpose: I have the aforementioned Dolkita 6401 from HD. That saw is used for bucking the large stuff generally, but it's heavy (13 lbs IIRC) and will fatigue you after a while of running it.

My favorite saw in a Stihl MS170. It is light and nimble; I can run it all day and not fatigue like I would with a larger, heavier pro-saw. It cuts small wood just as fast as my large saw does. It sips fuel/oil. It's easy to work on... shall I continue? Yes, yes, the MS170 is a "homeowner saw". The "homeowner saw" is a bunch of BS; the engine is the exact same quality as any other Stihl engine. But, but, it's a clamshell design; that's also a bunch of BS. The "clamshell" is only a factor if/when the engine needs rebuilt or you want to modify the squish etc. If you're leaving the engine stock there is NOTHING wrong or inferior about the clamshell engines. What are the difference with homeowner vs higher end lines? Most homeowner saws don't have a fully adjustable carb; that is only a problem if you're well versed in the proper adjustment of the carb AND you want to squeeze every bit of power you can out of the saw by adjusting it for atmospheric conditions each morning etc. For a casual user the non adjustable carb will work just fine. Other differences include non-adjustable oilers (not necessary until you get into putting unusual bar/chain combinations on your saw) and less robust housings/handles etc. If you don't abuse a homeowner saw it will last for decades just the same as a pro-saw. The pro-saws give the user MORE ability to modify/tweak/change the saw and also more resistance to the abuse a pro-saw would see on a daily basis. My MS170 was acquired used off craigslist for $75 and has been chugging along as my go-to saw for 6 years now. In that time I've probably cut at least 30 cords of wood with it...

Whatever saw you buy this ^

Another plug for a Stihl, we have the MS250.  Not too heavy but decent power.

Stihl.  My 20 year old 026 is a hoss.

Oh the horror...

FWIW, I occasionally run ethanol blends in my saws and other OPE and the fuel sits in them year round and I've never had to rebuild the carbs either... I used to run ethanol blends all the time, the only reason I run non-ethanol fuels is for the higher BTU content in newer engines with limit tabs on the carb. I still run ethanol occasionally so the ethanol can work it's magic and keep any varnish or deposits from e-free gas broken down and moving through the system.

I run ethanol gas in all my small engines including generators, weed eater, lawn mower, and chainsaws.  I have no issues and my chainsaws sit for many months at a time with fuel in them.  They start fine every time.

Carbs will eventually have to be cleaned and rebuilt no matter what kind of fuel is used.  That's just the nature of a carb....it's a highly technical, precision made device....that doesn't work very well.

This, word for word, excellent advice!  I have a MS361 and just noticed at my local dealer the pricing now is 750ish for a new one (362).  If you are going for the low price point go with the Farm Boss, but if you can swing a little more the 261 looks like a great saw.  And if you can spend more, the 36x is awesome.

Stihl or husky

 

Good luck with running ethanol fuel, fellas. I have used it, and both my old chainsaw and Stihl weedeater ran like absolute shit, wouldn't start, and had to have the carbs pulled and rebuilt.

My new saw, I've used nothing but the pre-mix. It's slightly more expensive than regular mixed gas, but not more expensive than the time and trouble of doing a full carb rebuild every season.

To each their own.

That was my thought process. An MS290 Farm Boss is over $400 now. I jumped up to $700 and got the 362, a much better and more powerful saw. I also had some serious trees that needed to be cut up (storm damage, 5' base oak tree in my yard from the neighbor's yard)

A 261 would be perfect for most homeowner uses.

I guess some people need lots of luck to run ethanol blends. OTOH, some people are smart enough to properly store it, only use it in engines with compatible fuel systems, and properly adjust the AFR for the reduced BTU content in ethanol blends.

I appreciate the good luck wishes but I don't need "luck" to run my engines on ethanol.