Peter 1955

I get the impression that you'd struggle to sell it to Mick. 😉

Oh I've been around quite a while, but I'm a relatively new arrival here. 😉 I asked on here for a good replacement for an aging 038, and I'm sorry, but the 391 was never suggested as a contender.

From what folk on here tell me, I'd back my thirty year old 038 against a 391! 😂

It's always cold and dark up there in the Frozen North Les, what else is there to do? 🤔

Well, in all honesty, at least the salesman would have had the chance to assess the parameters somewhat. I will forever be indebted to a salesman who refused to sell me a power unit! I was very green, and had ordered one locally from a general tool store, which didn't turn up. Good old Yellow Pages ( yeah, that long ago ) turned up a company half an hour away, with them in stock. It was a Kombi unit, to be my first, and I arrived at the dealer, fondled the assorted bits, and said I would buy it. The salesman asked me what I was going to do with it, and I replied that I was going to make my fortune, cutting grass and hedges all over East Yorkshire. He promptly refused to sell it to me! The thing was, I was looking at the domestic power unit, not the Pro. I owe that salesman a drink, he was absolutely correct, in this case.

I wish you all the best, and can assure you that it's possible to carry on after such things. Mind you, they did open me up and stick five new bits of piping in that they salvaged from my leg. The good news is that they sent me out with a ten year unlimited mileage warranty. 🙂

I heard about an expensive one the other day. A fire broke out in a cornfield, and a big posh tractor was sent with a set of discs or similar to create a fire break. Basically, the machine decided it was too hot, and for safety, it needed to shut itself down totally. Not really the best course of action. The one that really irks me is on the forklifts and similar when you overload the lift, and it locks up. Why doesn't it let you lower the boom to release the overload?

Okay, serious from the off here. I pretty much agree entirely with you. I have an MS 250 that I have hated from day one. Unless it's my son, or his boss that's the hire/borrow saw. If it dies, I wouldn't shed many tears, it owes me nothing. Re newer saw reliability, well I really don't expect my current ones to even come close to matching my 0 series for lifespan, it's the nature of the beast. As for what the OP should buy, he's had every recommendation from £50 to £1500 ( well he would have done, if I'd suggested the MSA 300 as a battery saw )! 🤣 🤣 One of us must be right!

Whaaat? I sincerely hope you are jesting! Why, my 038 in the shed will still fire up and do a day's work, and it's nearly 40 years old, I think. Surely a Pro saw will outlast a Farm saw? 😉 Mind you, even if it only does a couple more years, it might outlast me! 😂😂 OK, whimsy over, it's big money, but a 261 is small enough to handle, and big enough to pull an 18" bar if needed.

As a worker in the night time economy, it irks me somewhat to see the matrix signs instructing me to slow down because of congestion ahead, on an empty motorway at 3am! And don't get me started about those lane closures/speed restrictions where there are allegedly men working! 🤬

Sorry, but I disagree. Trump has shown only " appeasement ". I hope and believe that Europe will do what Trump is seemingly afraid to do.

Trump's behaviour in this matter has been appalling. Seemingly, his " Peace Plan " is heavily loaded in favour of Russia. It's basically going to bar Ukraine from defending itself in the future. Heaven knows, I'm not a seasoned political analyst, but how hard can it be to see that Russia ( under Putin ) is intent on grabbing land. I'm hoping that European leaders are beginning to realise that the way forward is to marginalise Trump, and support Zelensky. Bringing Russia to its knees would end the war.

Really difficult to compare battery/petrol. I have both versions in chainsaw/Kombi, and I'd say that deep down, petrol has more low down guts. For use with a strimmer head, I'll pick up the battery every single time. Saw blade, unless we're cutting big stuff, battery wins for ease of use. Pole saw, well it's probably even closer, but petrol shades it for sheer grunt. However, being able to demand power at the press of a button, in near silence................................... Sorry, I have no knowledge of proper pole saws, I'm down here with amateur status. My son has a battery pole saw at his place of work, which I want to wave about, as well as the cow horn strimmer.

Oh no you wouldn't! Against all advice on here, I bought the MSA 300 Stihl. It suits my needs, but it's not a pleasure to use, whereas the 261 brings a smile to your face every time you pick it up.

Not entirely the same, but I put a 12" Rotatech chain on my Kombi pole saw. It was noticeably not cutting smoothly, but bouncing about a lot. I have a second attachment with a 16" bar from an 023 fitted to it, with a Stihl chain. That's much smoother, so I may check raker height. Interesting.