Looking at Husky 135 or Stihl MS181 comments welcome.

[peatff]

Hi,

 

The Husqvarna has two bolts securing the bar, the Stihl one, AFAIK.

 

 

135 only has one bolt, I never had a problem with it though.

[Joe Newton]

The Husky has the better engine, for sure (it should with the extra displacement) but is a pig to start from warm. It's the only saw I struggle with, and I'm no stranger to husqvarna. The Stihl is a solid little ground saw. Starts and runs well, is reliable, and comes with a better bar and chain than the husky.

 

To be honest though, with this type of entry level saw the differences to you will be trivial. I'd go for the best deal/dealer.

[peatff]

The Husky has the better engine, for sure (it should with the extra displacement) but is a pig to start from warm.

 

Mine was like that when I got it but I bought the splined screwdriver and richened the low screw up a bit and speeded the tick over back up and it's as good as gold now. I used to have to switch the fast idle every time to restart but now it fires and pops along nicely.

[NFG]

135 only has one bolt, I never had a problem with it though.

 

oops, should have gone to spec savers

 

 

N

[Super_Spud]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions I've had so far.

It seems pretty 50/50 between the still and husky so I've gone and had a little hands on session with a stihl. Felt ok, felt a makita too which was marginally better and about £50 cheaper!!

 

Going to have a look at a husky in the flesh this weekend.

 

If that doesn't make my mind up I'm going to go for a B&Q special

[jamie1131]

I had a "b&q special" before my MS181. It was a MAC438 and what a piece of sh!t that was. Out of the box we used it to fell three apple trees. The chain supplied with it stretched like chewing gum and went blunt faster than a pencil, it wouldn't start when hot and buy the time it was three years old it wouldn't start at all. The primer bulb when rock hard, it leaked bar oil and fuel and the motor couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding despite being bigger than my Stihl. That saw cost me £140 new and that was not money well spent, for the extra £60 I should have gone straight out and bought the MS181.

[peatff]

There's a Mac B&Q saw in my mate's shed in bits. I had a look at it and it's so badly made. The throttle cable end came off and you have difficulty getting even basic spares and the carb is not Walbro or Zama so spares for that are scarce as well.

[NFG]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions I've had so far.

It seems pretty 50/50 between the still and husky so I've gone and had a little hands on session with a stihl. Felt ok, felt a makita too which was marginally better and about £50 cheaper!!

 

Going to have a look at a husky in the flesh this weekend.

 

If that doesn't make my mind up I'm going to go for a B&Q special

 

Hi

 

The Dolmar ( Makita) is better than either, the 420 looks like an excellent saw, I may have to find room for one...

 

If you go to B&Q I hope your saw lasts longer than a friends Mac340, went round the same Husky/Stihl something else discussion eventually ignored all advice and bought a cheap one.

 

Ran for 5 minutes & engine failed (no it wasnt fuel mix) ended up costing more than worth to repair as the shop wouldn't honour the warranty despite having discovered it was actually incorrectly assembled. Could have got a nice Dolly and had a good meal out for what he spent.

 

good luck

 

 

N

[Super_Spud]

Hi

 

The Dolmar ( Makita) is better than either, the 420 looks like an excellent saw, I may have to find room for one...

 

If you go to B&Q I hope your saw lasts longer than a friends Mac340, went round the same Husky/Stihl something else discussion eventually ignored all advice and bought a cheap one.

 

Ran for 5 minutes & engine failed (no it wasnt fuel mix) ended up costing more than worth to repair as the shop wouldn't honour the warranty despite having discovered it was actually incorrectly assembled. Could have got a nice Dolly and had a good meal out for what he spent.

 

good luck

 

 

N

 

Sod it, I can't be bothered anymore.

 

Gone for the Makita. Its £50 cheaper than the Husky and £70 than the stihl!

 

Might be a bit underpowered but given the cost difference its something I could come to terms with.

 

Basically one of these (but purchased elsewhere)

 

Dolmar PS32CTLC-35 14"/35cm Petrol Chainsaw

 

Gone a bit around the houses but fairly happy

 

Thanks all!

 

Great community.

[Super_Spud]

So just thought id share some picture after collection. Needed to be assembled and ran by the shop prior to taking away.

 

Would say initial thoughts its on a par with Stihl in terms of feel in the hand, although longer term reliability is yet to be seen.

 

Features:

 

32cc engine - seems to have a nice bit of poke

1.35kw of power - RAARRR:001_tt2:

Purge button

Spring assisted starter cord - Definitely feel the assistance

Tool-less chain tensioning - not so sure about this yet, seems OK for now.

Adjustable oil flow

1.3mm chain with the 3/8 pitch - seems standard for these smaller saws.

 

Not cut anything yet.

 

A stihl ms180 also caught my eye for £40 extra.

Not sure if this would of been a better choice but didn't have purge button.

 

Perhaps i should of spent the extra £40??

 

 

here she is....