Specific Saw Choice Help !

Ok fellas....ive got a specific job to do..that seems never ending....and im looking for some ideas in what you guys think. I have a Husqvarna 562xp with 20" ...My wife has a Husqvarna 550xp Mark 2....just put a 20" Sugi on as well.
Also have an Echo cs-271T with a 12" bar.
We like the longer bars so we don't have to bend as far..cuz we don't do that well anymore !

We had a forester come out and give us an idea of what needs thinned out...and all that good stuff. So our saws are working great for that ! But we are taking it one step farther...and cleaning and piling all the junk already on the ground. It looks great..and helps getting around during maple syrup season !
So the stuff being cut is like 1" to maybe 4" tops....starting to deteriorate kinda stuff. So nothing big or taxing.
So I'm looking for something smaller..and light...but a 20" bar. Maybe something new..something older..idk.
Kicking around an Echo cs490.
Or is it possible to have an Echo cs 400 with 20" ? Any older Husqvarna of some sort.
Let's have fun...let me know your thoughts !

Not an option to use what we have either. We need to add a saw to the stable !!

 

Always fun to get a new saw. Stihl used here so no help.

 

How about the smaller 543xp or an electric? If I had a need like that for really small wood, I'd want the absolute most light saw possible.

 

The 550xp Mark 2

The 562xp

 

I was thinking about battery...but no experience. I like the idea. By the time the batteries get low..im probably tired enough lol !

 

Oh I'm not brand specific ! I've owned Husky. Stihl...Dolmar...Echo...Poulan..you name it ! I prefer Husky....but was even thinking abt a Stihl 170...they go on sale usually in spring for $150-$170 ish. A great option !

 

I bought a 170 during that sale a couple years ago. The only time i can bad mouth a Stihl. Had issues with it hot starting the following August. Later sold it. When i want to cut wood, i want to cut wood, not fix or curse a problematic saw. It is a nice light saw though.
Purchased this lightly used 201cm rear handle a year ago. Nice and light. Can take a 16" bar (14" on it now) Very pricey new. Also own a top handle of the same.

 

I hear you there. I had a 170...later a 180. They were both a little temperamental . I like that 201 !

Got me looking....I kinda like that style....nice and light too !


They say this lil Echo is like 8lbs. Empty. Thats kinda like our 271t !

 

I'm with buzz saw on the 170. I bought one, and had one given to me. No way to tune them right, so I put a wt215 carb on one, and traded the other for a pallet of trager pellets. I bought a echo cs490 for my daugher when she was 12 and to be honest I love that little rice burner. I did gut the muffler and rip out the limiter plugs so you can tune it up. 150 bucks brand new on ebay.

I never liked the stihl 201, the 200 is far better in my opinion, but unless you are doing more than 20 acres it probably won't matter.

 

I have one of those. I have only 3 tanks on it so far.

 

One issue you run into with the smaller saws and longer bars is making sure you can find a bar mount pattern in a 20” that will fit the saw. A smaller saw like the 543, ms170, or echo 361 will pull a 20” bar and chain but it will be slow and less powerful. Whether it’s so slow that it defeats the purpose of using a smaller saw will have to be up to you to judge. For example if it takes 2 seconds to cut a branch with the 550 and 5 seconds to make the same cut with a smaller saw have you saved any time and energy?

 

This isn't to awful far from north east Ohio I'm guessing. That said, I like that echo CS362P. I almost bought one just because but I'm trying to downsize.
STIHL MS 201C CHAINSAW REAR HANDLE SAW - farm & garden - by owner -...

 

Totally get where your coming from. Definetly something to weigh out. The stuff I'm talking abt cutting...really won't be affected by engine size. I'd rather not bend down as far !

 

I love the options so far !

 

For 1-4" stuff. I'd say top handle or one of the really small (one hand) battery saws.

 

Howdy HoneyFuzz!

Bear with me? Not trying to be a smart azz, earnestly and most seriously.


1. These masticators are becoming more and more common for exactly such cleanup:





We've had one at our place (only ONCE - using a grant) and it does a great job and is so quick it makes you wonder how long the same job would take by hand. I do not like the chips it produces that create a layer that is tougher to decompose. They can be rented or hired - maybe there is some land grant money to offset the costs???

2. Having said that, I am headed out to hand cut (Stilhl 461) and pile and burn just like it sounds you are. I have done hundreds of hand piles, and it never ends. I cover piles and light them on the best days with a drip torch.

3. My brother in law walks through his woods and breaks up decomposing limbs by hand and scatters them. The idea is to get stuff flat on the ground where it quickly rots away.

4. Other places he piles them for wildlife, and the piles eventually solved into mulch - but we have a wet marine climate.

5. I also own/use a forestry grade brush cutter like this one:

It is a solution for some things and not others. Great for small unwanted volunteer trees, vines, poison oak, etc. Not great for 4" tops that aren't made into firewood.

6. Other people say "Use goats, you won't be sorry!" They have a point - but I am resistant to the idea so far.

Good luck!!! I'd like more details on the job you have in front of you - misery loves company.

 

The saw that fits your requirements is a power pole saw. The echo unit is superior to the Stihl 131 because of pole strength and adjustable oiler. I also really like my Makita battery pole saw. Milwaukee makes a gooder one too.

 

Sounds like we indeed have about the same task at hand !!!!
I've heard great things abt forestry mulching...that may be an option for some of the more dense areas.
We are working on my families 50 acres. Had the pudding logged out of it about 40 years ago. It's going through some tough transitions in spots. Over the last decade...have taken out all the quaking aspen...and now working on the great amounts of dead and dying ash . So as I get into an area to get firewood out...I chose the ash first. Then I start picking out trash hardwood trees to cut out for firewood. Then start working on spacing.. then nit picking the crap on the ground..piling it up into piles for wildlife...or chipping some....grappling some out to open spots and burning.
We make maple syrup..so the dense sugar maple groves are manipulated to sustain that.
Now I have a stump grinder for the tractor....so I'm knocking stumps out below the ground now too. It's fun...but alot.
That forestry mulcher looks awesome!
We have the same task at hand. I'll get some pics sometime this spring !

 

The thing I don’t like about mulchers is they ding a bunch of the trees you want to keep. Dings turn into decay and the buttress is a bad place for decay.
I like brush cutters like the stihl fs560 for clearing saplings, briars and other woody brush.

 

Well that's very good to know ! That's defined not a part of our forestry plan lol. Nothing beats by hand ! Keep the good saplings for a happy healthy woods...out with the rest!