Anyone actually using an MS391

[djbobbins]

So, the Oleo Mac I was hoping to buy has been sold already, back to the drawing board…

 

I have seen an allegedly little-used MS391 for sale fairly nearby at £225.  Sounds cheap - but then I read a few reviews and it gets a bit panned.  
 

Thing is, what I want it for is to chug through bigger bits of firewood and maybe fell the occasional tree, but it will probably get used a few hours per day for about 10 days per year.  So I’m not fussed about it being super lightweight (I’m not 😉), just want something that will be fairly robust.  
 

Thoughts appreciated - I’m scared I am trying to talk myself into it because it sounds cheap and I like a bargain!! 

[Stubby]

7 hours ago, djbobbins said:

So, the Oleo Mac I was hoping to buy has been sold already, back to the drawing board…

 

I have seen an allegedly little-used MS391 for sale fairly nearby at £225.  Sounds cheap - but then I read a few reviews and it gets a bit panned.  
 

Thing is, what I want it for is to chug through bigger bits of firewood and maybe fell the occasional tree, but it will probably get used a few hours per day for about 10 days per year.  So I’m not fussed about it being super lightweight (I’m not 😉), just want something that will be fairly robust.  
 

Thoughts appreciated - I’m scared I am trying to talk myself into it because it sounds cheap and I like a bargain!! 

Semi pro clamshell design I believe . Never used one myself .

[GarethM]

I'm not sure if it's going to be dog rough or definitely stolen at that price.

 

Bite the bullet and get a 261, for firewood processing it's pretty hard to beat.

[Dan Maynard]

I think that's what they call a farmer saw, so might be fine for what you want.

 

Thing with any secondhand saw is you're taking the risk it's actually scrap or needs expensive repairs, so if you're prepared to throw away £200 trying then go for it. Unlikely all the saws you buy for £200 are bad, but you might end up spending a lot more than you think.

 

Commercially anyone will say buy a new 261.

[Peter 1955]

As the two chaps above me have said, the 391 ( if in good condition ) will do what you want. I believe it's roughly equivalent to the trusty 038 I recently pensioned off. I agree that the 261 will probably do everything a 391 would,  will be far nicer to use, and will handle absolutely anything you throw at it. It's 3 Kw against 3.3, but a full kilo lighter. I know it's a strain on the wallet, but it might be cheaper in the long run. 

[pleasant]

Rest assured the MS391 is nothing like the 038 range.

The MS391 is a landowner or farmer range chainsaw, designed for more intensive use than a domestic users saw but not for arborists and full time chainsaw professional users. The design is basically a beefed up domestic range chassis with the cheap to make clamshell engines fitted. Power to weight ratio is not good either.

 

They are fine if you need a saw for use as part of your work, but not if you work is solely chainsaw based, so someone like a gardener who has multiple tools for multiple tasks during a working week.

[Peter 1955]

15 minutes ago, pleasant said:

Rest assured the MS391 is nothing like the 038 range.

 

Which is why I didn't replace my 038 with a 391. Both are/were Farm saws though, and are ( allegedly ) equivalent. From what I was told here, and what I have seen myself, the 391 has been seriously downgraded compared to older Farm saws, much like other equipment from other manufacturers. My 038 is still cutting just fine at over 35 years old I believe, doesn't owe me much. 

[pleasant]

Yes, they were/are both farmer grade saws, but when the 038 range was made, they were based and designed on a more basic pro saw chassis and engine, rather than the newer/current 280/370/371/390/391 etc range which, as I say is based on a beefed up domestic design, so the quality of the old 038 is far and away better than the current farmer range- even though they are considered for the same usage.

Edited April 4, 2023 by pleasant

[pleasant]

3 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

I think that's what they call a farmer saw, so might be fine for what you want.

 

Thing with any secondhand saw is you're taking the risk it's actually scrap or needs expensive repairs, so if you're prepared to throw away £200 trying then go for it. Unlikely all the saws you buy for £200 are bad, but you might end up spending a lot more than you think.

 

Commercially anyone will say buy a new 261.

Agree....and the market for used stuff when battery is the norm, will be virtually zero. Who wants to risk buying used when the batteries cost 75% of the saw- especially if you rely on it to earn money. I am seeing it already- I don't even take battery stuff in on p/x as there's no market.....to risky. At least with a petrol saw you can run it up, and listen and see potential issues. Not with a battery.....like a light bulb. One day it will work, and later the same day it may not. No preventative maintenance with a battery. Just be a load of three or four year old ex pro stuff thats been written down and no market for it, so more landfill.

[djbobbins]

14 hours ago, GarethM said:

I'm not sure if it's going to be dog rough or definitely stolen at that price.

 

Bite the bullet and get a 261, for firewood processing it's pretty hard to beat.

I went to see it.  
 

It wasn’t in rough condition.  
 

Not sure if it was stolen.  
 

But I am sure it was about as German as I am.  A few Stihl stickers (and maybe even a Stihl bar) do not make a Stihl.  Plastic mouldings were wrong, choke looked wrong, the address turned out to be a pub car park and the guy turned up in a brand new Renault van with a heavy Irish accent.  So that definitely felt wrong.  He claimed it had been used to top some nearby trees (behind the fairground - any more cliches out there?!) but it was spotless - either someone had pressure washed it or it had never seen a tree.    
 

So much as I want a saw, £225 was not leaving my pocket to pay for some Chinese thing - I’d rather pay £100 for a saw from Aldi, which would at least have 3 years’ warranty…