Posted: 11/8/2009 4:56:14 PM EDT
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I am in the market to get a dependable used 16-18" saw for general non pro use. What brand model do you use or have used?
If I can help it I would like to stay under $200. 
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Whatever brand you purchase make sure there is a good service facility nearby that can get parts or work on in a timely manner. I use Stihl  for these reasons. I needed major parts for mine, took it to the dealer tuesday and had it back on friday. Yhat's great service.
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| I just bought one of Stihl's 2 lower end models for $229. They make one that is $199, it is a basic saw and when you go up to $229 you get EZstart and then the next model up is $289 and I believe the blade adjustment is tooless and the engine is a little more powerfull. I agree you should have a decent service facility nearby and if you have a Stihl dealer you should have service. If you do not have a Stihl dealer HD carries Echo and Low carries Husquvarna I would pretty much go in that order but that is pretty much personal prefrence. I do know one thing if youy buy Stihl you buy quality. |
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If you absolutely can't spend more than $200, I had really good luck with my Poulan. I eventually upgraded, but only because i needed something a bit bigger. It was actually a really nice saw. First pull start every time, never overheated, etc. No need for Poulan when you can get a Stihl for $199. I actually found this link for the same saw for $179. You only need to buy one saw when you buy a Stihl, I know I can't afford to buy the cheapest brand. |
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I was really surprised at how good the Poulan saw did work. I live at 4000 above sea level and it has been the only saw I have not had to adjust every time I pick it up. It starts really well. it can be 20 degrees out side or 100 and it fire right up.
Stihls are really nice saws. Have used them also. Husky makes a great saw too. They are a little more pricey though. Lowes has a good deal on them. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=98738-283-P4018WTL&lpage=none http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=182191-86886-PP4218AVX&lpage=none Don't laugh, I picked this up for quick small jobs. It works pretty damn good. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=216440-70-CCS818&lpage=none Dru. |
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I was really surprised at how good the Poulan saw did work. I live at 4000 above sea level and it has been the only saw I have not had to adjust every time I pick it up. It starts really well. it can be 20 degrees out side or 100 and it fire right up. Stihls are really nice saws. Have used them also. Husky makes a great saw too. They are a little more pricey though. Lowes has a good deal on them. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=98738-283-P4018WTL&lpage=none http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=182191-86886-PP4218AVX&lpage=none Don't laugh, I picked this up for quick small jobs. It works pretty damn good. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=216440-70-CCS818&lpage=none Dru. Well I didn't want to sat Poulan was a bad saw per se it's just if you can get a Stihl for the same price you are going to be waaaaay ahead of the game. |
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I am in the market to get a dependable used 16-18" saw for general non pro use. What brand model do you use or have used? If I can help it I would like to stay under $200. My dad just bought one of the Poullan Pro's at Wal-Mart the other day. I think they have them for $200 or maybe even $150. It's got an 18" bar, and starts up and runs great. I cut up some wood with it the other day, and it seemed to work great. Cut fast, had plenty of power, and started up and idled great. Is it cheap? Yes. Would you want it for cutting trees day in and day out....NO. But for around the house, every now and then....I think it will work just fine. If I was on a farm and was going to do more cutting, I would invest in a better saw. I think the one he got was this one...but I'm not 100% sure. http://www.poulanpro.com/node4029.aspx?nid=172169 |
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I needed a saw 2 years ago and didnt have alot to spend my dad has 2 huskys that I love but they are alittle pricey so I bought an ECHO.
I will say this saw has great potenial keep it sharp and it cuts just as good as those huskeys burns about the same on fuel. Mine has cut about 15 cord and never missed a lick even cut a tree that was across the boat ramp in the water  . Husky ECHO STIHL they are all great saws if you plan on useing ur saw stay away from the cheap WAL MART saws.
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Buy once and get a Stihl. The one Stihl saw I bought had the shortest lifespan of any chain saw I have owned. It only lasted a couple of years. I know it is completely different experience from most people, but mine was a piece of junk. The cheap saw from Sears I replaced it with has out lived it. |
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I have had Homelite, Sears, Poulan, some cheap copy of a saw, it was green and had a lot of plastic.
The Homelite was total junk. Never did run worth crap. The cheap green one ran well but lasted about a year. Jut sort of fell apart. Plastic cracked and everything broke. The Poulan I have is about 5 years old. It has run well so far. I have gone through about 4 or 5 cords of wood. Plus it has cut a ton of Manzanita and scrub oak. They are some of the hardest stuff to cut. The Sears one lasted about a month. It was stolen out of my truck so I cannot say how well it worked. A friend of mine, Greg, is a tree trimmer. He will only use Stihl. There is no other saw he thinks is worth it. He gives me crap about my Poulan all the time. If I was going to use it for work, or if I was going to use it say 1 or 2 days a week, Stihl or Husky. For my once a month for a day, maybe twice a month. My Poulan meets my needs. I have used it enough to be on my second bar and 5th chain. The granite dirt up here tears up everything. I got mine for $99.99 at Wally World on close out. Hard to pass up. Dru. |
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I think a lot depends on what you are planning to use it for. I bought a cheap electric one about ten years ago. Got a fair amount of use from it, trimming trees and bushes with branches too big for the loppers. Then I got an 18V reciprocating saw and a brush cutting bit, I will probably never use the electric chain saw again. It even works pretty good at cutting firewood if the pieces are not too big in diameter, not that I cut a whole lot of firewood. Neither is useful for cutting anything much bigger then 5 or 6" in diameter.
If you are worried about an ice storm or cutting lots of firewood, I agree with the other posters about getting a good one. And get spare parts for it. Nothing worse than having a chain saw that can't be used because the chain went and you can't get to the store for a spare because you can't cut your way through the downed trees. A lesson relayed to me by a fellow in N.O. who had a chain go on his saw after Katrina and was unable to get his truck out of his own driveway until someone came by with a working saw and helped him cut a path through the downed trees in his way. And he was not even flooded. Just treed. |
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I have cut 10" logs with an 18v Dewalt recipro numerous times. If you don't need to use it too much, the recipro can be useful for other things as well.
A friend was a tree trimmer, and speaks highly of the Poulan saws. He had other nicer ones, but says they are great for occasional use. My own is an old Homelite XL12. I picked it up at a yard sale, then bought a few parts for it, and it works fine. It is heavy, burns through fuel, starts hard, and is ugly, but at least....hmmm, at least....anyway, you could go the old saw route. 
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As much as I hate to say this go to Tractor Supply and get the Poulan Pro 330 that they have on sale for $199. It is built much better than the POS Poulans sold at Wally World. Go on ArboristSite.com and read some of the recent threads about that particular saw. Do a muffler mod on them and they are supposed to wake up nicely. If you muffler mod it you do need to readjust the carburetor!
If I were looking for a real chainsaw I much prefer the Jonsered/Husky or Stihl pro models. |
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As much as I hate to say this go to Tractor Supply and get the Poulan Pro 330 that they have on sale for $199. It is built much better than the POS Poulans sold at Wally World. Go on ArboristSite.com and read some of the recent threads about that particular saw. Do a muffler mod on them and they are supposed to wake up nicely. If you muffler mod it you do need to readjust the carburetor! If I were looking for a real chainsaw I much prefer the Jonsered/Husky or Stihl pro models. Exactly and when there is a Stihl for $199 why bother with a $199 Poulan??. |
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As much as I hate to say this go to Tractor Supply and get the Poulan Pro 330 that they have on sale for $199. It is built much better than the POS Poulans sold at Wally World. Go on ArboristSite.com and read some of the recent threads about that particular saw. Do a muffler mod on them and they are supposed to wake up nicely. If you muffler mod it you do need to readjust the carburetor! If I were looking for a real chainsaw I much prefer the Jonsered/Husky or Stihl pro models. Exactly and when there is a Stihl for $199 why bother with a $199 Poulan??. Because the $199 Stihl is a piece of crap and not half the saw the Poulan 330 is. 
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I needed a saw 2 years ago and didnt have alot to spend my dad has 2 huskys that I love but they are alittle pricey so I bought an ECHO. I will say this saw has great potenial keep it sharp and it cuts just as good as those huskeys burns about the same on fuel. Mine has cut about 15 cord and never missed a lick even cut a tree that was across the boat ramp in the water .Yup. Echo's are underrated, often overlooked saws. Bump the price-point up just a hair and the OP could get himself a great little saw that'll go head to head with any Stihl or Husky of equivalent size. |
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anything under 200$ is going to be a low end model. i think the base line sthil and husqvarna's are 249ish. save another 100$ and buy something around 350$. they are much more reliable and with that extra money you are moving away from the cheapo throw away models to the more dependable models. get something with a 20" bar and something that runs 3/8 .050 chain. that stuff is pretty common. also a saw with an external removable sprocket is nice. much cheaper to replace than the entire clutch drum. |
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You could also look around for a used Stihl or Husky, try craigslist, etc and see what you come up with.
the Princess bought me a Stihl 029 Farm Boss for Christmas 12 years ago. Runs great, starts fairly easily and cuts like hell. The modern version is the MS290, get an 18" or 20" bar and never buy another one. Ops |
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I posted this same question in the WAHTF less than a week ago. I will be buying a Stihl next week. Here is the fruit of my research:
Home Depot: Echo: I looked at the 18' model for $299.99, looked and felt solid, the tag shows lots of good features, yet could not start it or cut with it. Homelite: 16" $169.99 model, felt and looked cheap, plastic was loose and cheesy. The clerk at Home Depot was a "plumbing" dept. guy covering the outdoor guys lunch. He was no help and could only tell me that the Homelife was a good one because it always seemed to be one sale. Lowes: Husqvarna: 18" $319.00 and the 20" $419.00, both again looked really nice, reviews are good. I am a little leary of the parts availability if I need them. Redmond Agrishop: Stihl MS-250 $359.99: the sales guys at the Agrishop listened to my needs (light cutting of firewood, pruning, clearing my property) he asked my what my level of saw experience was, I told him it was limited. I did tell him that I wanted either a 16" to 20" bar. He let me pick up and try each, I fired up the 20" and made some cuts, then the 18". I was sold. |
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That budget is a killer. You won't be able to buy anything new but a throwaway saw. Most saws in that price range are meant to be used until something major breaks, then chucked out, because the repair is going to cost more than a new saw in the same range. Usually the important things like the carbeurator will be buried into assemblies that require way too much dissassembly to be practical, and most repair shops are charging in the 50-75 buck an hour range for repairs. Doesn't take too many hours of work to outprice a new saw. This is intentional. The manufacturers know that when the cost of repair starts creeping up anywhere close to the original purchase price of the saw, they create a new sales opportunity for the saw shop to upgrade the guy. This is even true of Stihl and Husqvarna.
When you get up into the pro-series saws, you get a saw that is designed for long, hard use and regular maintenance. These saws will be more readily broken down for routine maintenance and major repair. Avoid things like EZ start and tool-less chain tension adjustment, these things are prone to failure. Keep it simple, though tension adjustment through the side of the bar is a superior option typically found on pro-grade saws. Buy ONLY premium grade gas for your small engines and use the highest grade 2-cycle oil, typically synthetic. These fuel oils will have the additives needed to lock up the ethanol and prevent the formation of carbeurator killing acids. Also, marine grade fuel stabilizer should be used in stored gas to keep it from getting nasty from the damned ethanol. Learn how to properly sharpen your saw. One of the young men who works for the company I work for, had a chainsaw accident a week or so ago. Dullish saw, kicked up, caught him in the cheekbone and missed his eye by only a centimeter on one side and a significant artery one centimeter off to the other side. 80+ stitches from the plastic surgeon to close the gash. Safety gear is an absolute must. Chaps, steel toed boots, proper hearing protection and a helmet with faceshield and safety glasses are not just a matter of lawyers covering companies asses. |
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If yuou buy something under 200 you will be cussing and spitting that pos. I was once at a landfill and I bought a budget saw...after I cleard out the pile of brush I saw that damn homelite sitting ther and tossed it too!
Then I bought a Sthil...this was in 1983..I still own it and not a bit of problems I have talked to loggers they say Stihl or " Husky's" are the best saws. Try to find a used sthil at a pawn shop...I would rather have a used sthil than a new "whatever" saw from some home imporvement store catering to weekend DIY's |
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I purchased a Stihl MS170 for about $180 a year ago.
Here it is... No issues at all, great saw. Really handy when weight is an issue. |