Longest Bar to use everyday on Husvarna xp 550 or equivalent t

[JaySmith]

I’ve got a mk1 550. I had an 18 on it to start with but tend to run the shortest bar on my saws. Changed it to a 16 with 3/8 and also got Spud to port it, now you have to hold on for dear life! For me the 16 is the best compromise and it’s a little ripper for chogging down when moving up from a 12 inch 200.

[Khriss]

15" on my 550 Mk 2, not had problems. Think manual say they go up to 18" but that comment on the  AV n clutch is spot on. K

[MattyF]

I like an 18" on 3/8th bar , nice for snedding , does not make your back ache and prefer a wider chain to avoid pinching but lacks a bit for felling.

[difflock]

9 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Definitely, when I only had one saw I would take a sharp axe too in case I got stuck but later I would always take two just in case something went wrong.

Why would you take a blunt axe btw?

[openspaceman]

21 minutes ago, difflock said:

Why would you take a blunt axe btw?

Marcus, Marcus quite contrary how does your garden grow?

[difflock]

Ma dyslexia precluded me desire to be a proofreader!

[cessna]

Thanks for your replies much appreciated

[neiln]

If it's only occasionally, and the op takes it steady I'd think the saw might pull 20", maybe use skip chain. The question is whether it's worth it as more cuts with the shorter bar may be as quick.  Ie, what the saw can manage, and what the saw can usefully manage, aren't quite the same.

 

Can you borrow a 20" bar and chain for a few hours ?

[carlos]

you could try a thinner guage long bar, i have a thin gauge 18" bar on my 346xp and its ok.

i would of thought an 18" would be long enough for the 550.

[Joe Newton]

The narrow kerf chain (95TXL) is the way to go if you want to push the limits of what you can run on a small powerhead.

 

It's all a trade off. The Narrow Kerf chain cuts significantly quicker than standard .325 but you definitely need to be accurate with your sharpening if you want it to stay that way. 

 

There's a full chisel NK offering these days too, which will be quicker again and even more fiddly to sharpen