what stihl to buy,

[NFG]

Presuming you are vat reg'd this is only 30 quid past your budget:

Husqvarna 550XP chainsaw (50.1cc) | F R Jones and Son and the very best you can buy in my opinion.

Yes the bar is made of swiss cheese, just replace it when it's worn or ad a sugihara bar to your order (again, the best value for money by far)

 

Or if you can stretch to 50 quid over £400 the 365 XT can be very easily modified to be a 372 XT and is the best value by far of any saw.

Husqvarna 365 X Torq chainsaw (70.7cc) | F R Jones and Son

 

Jones's have an extra discount on at the moment so good prices!

 

Hi,

 

I have a 365 with 20" bar for firewood cutting, its not a screamer like the 550 & 560s but does a very good job, solidly made and none of Stihls daft flippy cap nonsense either - really do like it & have cut some fairly decent sized Oak no probs with it.

 

N

[A Townsend]

I second the husky contingent. The new stihls do cut i admit but are in my opinion heavy and cumbersome. We run 560's on 8 tooth large 3/8 rims and full chisel stihl chains. . . .nothing comes close. A makita is a good shout also, gutsy, reliable, light, ergonomic and fair on fuel.

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

[gnfencer]

Ok folks been looking at options and looking at comparing the following three

Echo CS 450 with 45 cm bar, read good things about echo on this forums, and they offer two year guarantee.

 

Makita EA 4300F45 C ,

 

Stihl, MS 251C-BE

I have an account with a merchant who deals with all three manufacturers and I get good discounts from them so, what would the best value for money be for those three

[18 stoner]

Are you going to be happy with a small saw like those above after the rancher?

 

Out of the above I'd go for the echo or makita every day above the 251. Horrible thing.

 

 

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[SawTroll]

Ok folks been looking at options and looking at comparing the following three

Echo CS 450 with 45 cm bar, read good things about echo on this forums, and they offer two year guarantee.

 

Makita EA 4300F45 C ,

 

Stihl, MS 251C-BE

I have an account with a merchant who deals with all three manufacturers and I get good discounts from them so, what would the best value for money be for those three

 

Those are all much weaker saws than the 455 Rancher, and are not really suited as replacements. Out of those tree, the Makita clearly is preferable (but find one with a shorter bar).

Edited July 31, 2014 by SawTroll

[NFG]

Ok folks been looking at options and looking at comparing the following three

Echo CS 450 with 45 cm bar, read good things about echo on this forums, and they offer two year guarantee.

 

Makita EA 4300F45 C ,

 

Stihl, MS 251C-BE

I have an account with a merchant who deals with all three manufacturers and I get good discounts from them so, what would the best value for money be for those three

 

Hi

 

Keep your current saw as none of those is really a leg up from what you already have, when your 455 is totally knackered, replace it.

 

N

[Ian C]

Would a Makita be a good choice I cannot justify the price of a stihl 362 for all the use I'd have for it im looking to spend no more than 400

 

Pm shavey on here and get a dolmar 5105. Bloody good.

 

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[Eddy_t]

The 455 rancher is a 55cc saw, so your options for betterment are:

Husqvarna:

545/550xp, 555/560xp, 365/372xp

Stihl:

261/271/291

362/391

Makita/dolmar I'm not sure on the models, but there are no dolmar dealers in the uk yet, so the saws (and parts) have to be shipped from Germany or USA.

Personally I find the Stihls on the list gutless, heavy and slow, the huskies are good, but I would advise the non-XP models

 

 

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[shavey]

Pm shavey on here and get a dolmar 5105. Bloody good.

 

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as ian says the PS-5105 is a good alround saw lively and reliable, economical and good value for money

 

there are three other models to consider

 

dolmar PS-4605 very similar to husqvarna 346xp

 

dolmar 115 which is 50cc very reliable non cat saw been around for 25 + years proven design

 

and lastly the PS 6100 strato non cat again which was launched in the spring of this year a perfect allround saw ive been using it most days this week on a 15'' and 18''

great balance plenty of power and TORQUE like the older sachs dolmar

[wyk]

A 550 with a simple muff mod will bury that 455 and weigh significantly less. Hrm... I may have an image or two....lemme find em...

 

Here we are: