Redleicester

Hmmm. 362 looks appealing particularly as my two nearest dealers / repair places are Stihl not Husky.

Righty, thank you. So I want light, masses of power and the moon on a stick please

What would be the Stihl equivalents of the Husky 357 / 365? The MS291 seems a little underpowered, the 361 is closer?

I think my experience with the MS280 Bears that out! My local forge has endless stocks of Stihl bits and none of them would fit the 280 hence the egregious cost. My tractor and mower are both ex-council and I agree whilst they may have been tatty, under the hood they're well maintained and not had too hard a life. Well except the mower but that's a John Deere so it falls apart by design. I shall have a look at your stock.

Which?

Id certainly not want to go smaller than 18" on the "main" saw which is what I've been used to. Happy to have an ickle 12-14" for limbing though.

And a very fair thought too. I'm not up to the level of you chaps, so I suppose I was thinking if the 357 was enough of a step up from the MS280 then it'd date my desire for something a little larger and then further down the line I could add something much smaller and lighter for limbing / tidying work. Please do shout if I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Ah but do they have heated handles?

Aha, that would be the chap! And he just so happens to have a 357XPG...

That would be a worry - yes it's cheap but it's already 1hp down on the Stihl out of the box, particularly as I was thinking of going bigger not smaller!

Thanks chaps, and especially for not declaring "gerroff the bigger saws and pick up a toy one from B&Q!" Totally agree with the caution over Ebay - my worst concern would be something stolen, slightly battered I can deal with. There's one particular seller I've already I've had an HS45 and FS450 from both of which have been in very good nick - ex-FC/EA or council machines. I'm sure they'd be done to death by a pro, but for my use they've been pretty much bob on. To be honest it's one of the things that has infuriated me with this MS280 failure - on all the other gear, including the tractor and mowers I've been able to source and fit parts / filters etc cheaply and either sort them myself or get one of the lads from the farm next door to help me. That was what I was hoping for with Stihl, but it seems out of all the choice in front of me I picked the wrong model! Appreciate the input, keep the answers coming...

Oh to add, I'm assuming whatever I pick up from Fleabay would want for a new bar, but assuming I stick with .325 and 18", I guess I can carry on using the stack of Oregon chains I had made up for the MS280?

Chaps, just heard from my local farm place that my poorly saw I took in last week is rather more than just poorly. It's taken to dumping the contents of the oil tank all over the first log it gets anywhere near. It's an MS280, which appears to be the bastard step-child of the pro and domestic ranges, and has thoroughly split. They're quoting £400+vat to repair, so are advising junking it and getting a new one... I haven't yet had the time to go down and have a look and a chat through with the mechanic, but the oil tank had certainly split right through and it's clearly done some damage along the way too. The mech is frustrated as he prides himself on fixing everything and anything, and we're out in the sticks so it's proper farmer-fix-everything-with-baler-twine territory. So, the question is, what do I replace it with... I don't have the funds or inclination right now to go for a new saw. At the time the 280 seemed to fit the bill rather neatly - I'm a homeowner, not a pro, but I have 18 acres, and a biomass boiler so I churn through 8-10t of wood a year. This is a combination of stuff I fell in the woods (pine/spruce/beech), clearing and storm fall (willow, alder, oak) and then we have also taken to buying in bulk loads (27t the last one) which arrives as laaaaarge logs. The 280 with an 18" bar has suited well, though it's been a pain on the larger trunks obviously. It's not too heavy, handles nicely though my biggest criticism is at times it's felt down on power. On the one hand it's felt not man enough, other times I've longed for something smaller. In the end, I suspect I can see myself having two saws - a light weight thing for limbing and tidying and something a bit bigger than the 280 for logging. Thus at the moment I'm trawling the Bay of Fleas for options.... and I'm wondering about going down the Husky route with a 357XPG, assuming it's a step up from the 346 which seems around the same weight and power as the 280.... Or I could just get another 280..... or something else.... Around £300-350 seems to offer a variety of options, and vastly preferable at present to £600+ for a new one. Whaddya think?!