I saw a Stihl 041 for sale locally "for parts or repair" for a listed price of $125. The description goes on to say "did have it running a few months ago. Haven't tried it. Kill switch doesn't work if I remember correctly and choke knob is busted". I have a Stihl 026 with a 16" bar but was interested in having something a little larger to cut logs larger than 14" diameter and don't have a ton of cash to spare. Thoughts on if this would be worth pursuing? Originally I was going to save some money up and try to find a used 036 or something similar eventually but just glanced through the local ads and saw this. Just wondering if it was worth it to offer $100 and see what happens. From what I've read the 041's do have a large displacement but run slower RPM's than what is typical, and tend to be heavy.
I’d pass, save your money and wait for something better. Before I bought my 029 Super, I went to check out an old 041. It was in decent shape and ran well enough. The seller had a pile of logs there and I took a few cuts with it. Heavy is right. For the power to weight ratio I wouldn’t want to lug that around all day.
Gotcha - yeah the more I read I feel like it probably makes sense to just wait and get something with better power to weight ratio. I am not a big guy, or very strong for that matter. How does the 029 run? I was looking at those on eBay and reading online that guys put 20" or larger bars on them. What size bar do you run on yours?
I’m very happy with my 029. It’s hands down my most used saw, for everything between 10”-30”. I have an MS170 for limbing and a couple Echos as “backup” saws. The 029 normally wears an 18” bar but I do have a 20” bar for it. It runs a bit faster with the 18.
Nice, thanks for the info. Perhaps a dumb question here (I am still a newbie here) - but how do you cut something up to 30" diameter with a 20" max bar?
It’s okay... I may have wondered the same thing myself years ago You cut it from both sides. As long as the bar can reach the center of the log you can buck it. So even a 16” bar can cut through a 30” log. This is where it’s really important to have a sharp chain so the saw doesn’t walk and your cuts line up.
I have 4 of them, one being a super. I like the old school stuff is the only reason why. As others have said....heavy and slow.
