In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Where’s the Stihl 400?

Discussion in 'Chainsaws and Power Equipment' started by Chud, Feb 26, 2021.

  1. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Looking at your sig line i would sell either the 460 or 660 or both and get a 261 and 400. Ive never run anything bigger than my 500. I imagine it is fun to cut big wood with the 660 though. Rare i get anything big enough to justify owning one.
    After using the 500i i myself wish the 400 was FI as i would buy one. When i put the 500 away with the other saws the 460 gives it dirty looks! I have two 024's and am selling one plus my little Husky top handle. I do enjoy running my top handles and little saws.
    Just my 2c worth.
     
  2. SAWMIKAZE

    SAWMIKAZE

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    I held them both today and other than price I see no reason to get a 400, I kicked around the idea of buying one but it feels so similar to my 462s I doubt I'll buy one.
     
  3. Dakota Hoarder

    Dakota Hoarder

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    Good info eipo a vote for the 400! Leaning that way for the minute!
     
  4. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Stopped by my local OPE that had two 400's on the shelf a while back. They stillhad them. talked to the counter guy and he said they got six and two are left. No room on the $909.99 price with 20" bar.
    Still tempted.
     
  5. Chud

    Chud

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    You definitely need a 67 or 72cc saw in your collection. At $900 you might as well kick in another $200 for the 462, or get both for the ultimate new era Stihl lineup. Just saying
     
  6. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    The thought of the 462 for the extra 200 did cross my mind. The 400 at 67cc's is a perfect fit in between in my mind. I thought of a 461 before the 500i came on the scene. I like having new saws as have never had an issue with any Stihl ive bought new.

    Using the 201 rear handle today and im starting to like the Mtronics.
     
  7. Lastmohecken

    Lastmohecken

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    I did a bunch of cutting today. I used three different saws, and had 4 saws with me. I was just going to go cut for a couple of hours or so, late this afternoon. I am not cutting firewood today. I am clearing a pond bank, overgrown with big and small cedars, mostly with the occasional other species. Picture a long pond bank, totally covered with trees, like a jungle, and it has a barbed wire fence running on top of the bank, which I build 30 years ago, and that's how long it's taken to become as overgrown as it is. I am wanting to remove most all of the trees because I suspect they use up a lot of the available pond water, leaving less for my cattle to drink. I am also removing the old fence which is a trick, with the trees grown up all through it.

    I started with the 362 with 24" lightweight bar. This worked pretty good, not to heavy and a fair amount of reach as I was cutting overhead a lot, too, trying to work my way into the fence, so I can remove all of the wire and posts, then finish cutting the bank off. It's a pretty big chore, and will probably take me a week to do, off and on, then I will have to pile it up and burn the brush piles, later. It's a lot of work, and those cedars are terrible, plus I am trying to avoid falling any trees into the pond. Had to wedge/bang a couple over, but so far none in the pond.

    Anyway, I used the 362 for most of it today, with a converted to square filed, Carlton full house chain. I cut a lot of limbs, and felled quite a few trees. And while I was cutting I was thinking to myself, I have a 24" bar on it but I know/sure feel like it will pull a 28" just fine with the new higher output oilier on it, and give me 4" more reach. This is where a light saw with lots of reach is the ticket. I finally ran out of gas in that saw, and had to switch to my 462CM with 28" bar and freshly sharpened but mostly wore out Skip Tooth, semi-chisel chain on it. It did pretty good, until I got in a bind on a multiple overhead cut, and threw my chain off.

    I was getting tired, and almost quit for the day, but just wasn't where I wanted to be, for a stopping point, So, I grabbed up the 461 with 32 inch bar and Skip tooth square grind chain. It already had a couple of tanks of gas on the chain since last sharpened, and I wondered how it would do. Short story is it did fine and I finished the day with it. It's my heaviest saw, but the longer bar, allowed me to brace the saw lower and still reach the limbs I needed to cut, with the longer bar on it, but I did do some more high overhead cutting with it also. I know overhead cutting is dangerous, but you really can't get around it on this kind of work, very easily. Keep in mind I also had to do a lot of surgical cuts, between the strands of barbed wire, also.

    Ok, sorry for the long story, but I posted it to paint a picture of what I was doing and the saws I was using. I had my 261C in reserve and it would have been sweet to use, except, I wanted a longer then 20" bar for the reach. So, this brings me to thinking how would a 400C or a 500i fit into my line up?

    The 400C would be a little more powerful then the 362, but it's still just rated for a 24" bar. I like the idea of it, except, I really would prefer it to be rated for at least a 28" bar, which the 462C handles just fine, with more power but a little more weight. The 500i will handle a longer bar, but I am wondering if it's that much of a leap over the 462C which I already own, not to mention the 461,which I keep a 32" bar on it. So, when I look at the saws I already own, I feel like I would just be splitting hairs between the saws I have and plugging in either one of those. However, if either one of those came with a west coast full wrap handle, without the extra $250/$300 price penalty, I might be tempted.

    Now, a 400C with a full warp handle, and running a 28" bar, that would tempt me! And might make me foolish enough to part with with the green, if they could keep it under a thousand dollars. Wishful thinking, I guess. Plus, I have read that the 400C doesn't even oil a 24" adequately. Light weight, with enough power, and a long bar, seems to be an elusive animal, at least in stock form.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2021
  8. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    How large were the trees you were cutting, diameter wise? I dont do a lot of overhead, reaching type of cutting, but wielding any of those saws with long bars would wear me out fast. I see a top handle with a 16" in your future. May not have the reach or the grunt but start using one for limbing/clearing brush and youll wonder how you lived without it. Dont get me wrong i love cutting with my bigger saws.
    Have you ever tried a top handle? I was running my 201 rear handle yesterday and forgot how much i love the saw (just bought in January)
     
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  9. Lastmohecken

    Lastmohecken

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    I can't run a top handle saw, well, I can, I guess, but I am left handed, and will run a saw with either hand but a top handle is pretty much a right handed or one handed saw, IMHO, anyway, and after handling them in the store I have pretty much decided they are not for me. The trees range from 4" diameter up to a few being 2ft in diameter, maybe but most are gnarled up multi-stumped things. High limbing: maybe up to 6-7 inches, most smaller. I like the long bars, because it keeps me farther back, out of harms way. It's a safety thing. A high percentage of my cutting is of trees with large tops, and often the butt will be 6ft in the air after falling, because it will roll, and the top flips it up in the air. The long bars have saved me on several occasion from getting hit. A small saw forces you to get in close to your work, which I don't like to do, a lot of the time.
    And I think or find that a big saw with a longer bar is safer when it comes to kickbacks, and if a falling limb takes you saw down with it, the long bar will hit the dirt, out in front of you, before it hits your leg. It doesn't happen to me often but that's my take on it.
     
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  10. grandgourmand

    grandgourmand

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    Can we close this thread? I’m gonna report to the mods for excessive CAD encouragement.

    :thumbs:
     
  11. SAWMIKAZE

    SAWMIKAZE

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    You have a 500.

    I wouldn't buy a 400 or a 462.

    201 rear handles are the shizz. Great for their intended purpose.
     
  12. Lastmohecken

    Lastmohecken

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    When I was at my closest dealer today. They know me better up there, and I have bought a couple of saws off of them. I saw a 400 and asked the price, he quoted me $700 and change. That's kind of tempting. He had a 661 also, and quoted it to me for a little over a thousand, which I think was quite a bit cheaper then the bigger dealer, I go to, who always has a better inventory.
     
  13. Chud

    Chud

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    You should have grabbed it for $700. $900 is the price I’ve seen the most on here and at the saw shop.
     
  14. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    Have you bought a new saw yet? :saw::popcorn:
     
  15. buZZsaw BRAD

    buZZsaw BRAD

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    X2. $909 here. 20" bar. Only have seen them at one of the 3 OPE dealers a haunt!
     
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  16. Dakota Hoarder

    Dakota Hoarder

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    $700! I’d be tempted to by 2 at that price!
     
  17. grandgourmand

    grandgourmand

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    ask me no questions i tell you no lies
     
  18. Lastmohecken

    Lastmohecken

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    Yep, it does sound like a good deal. I am tempted. Trying not to think about it too much. I remember he gave me a great deal at the time on my 362, last year. I bought it for at least $100 cheaper then I could get it, at another local dealer, and that dealer didn't even have one in stock at the time.

    But I keep thinking: how many saws do I really need? I know, it ain't about need as much as want. :)
     
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  19. Chud

    Chud

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    I thought I had enough than another saw appears that sparks my interest. Variety is the spice of life. :saw:
     
  20. T.Jeff Veal

    T.Jeff Veal

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    We have to hoard saws like wood...
     
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