Gil wrote:
On 23/09/2011 5:39 PM, HeyBub wrote:
robb wrote:
I have done the google searches. Now the internet is filled with
50/50 conflicting advice and reviews.

Does anyone her have experience with the big retailer brand gas
powered chainsaws ?

I am looking for probably 18"- 20" gas powered chainsaw to clear
and thin out some under brush, saplings, scrub oaks, limbs and
occasional downed trees from my parents wooded property ( there is
about 2 acres of overgrown wooded area they want cleaned up ) .

So, i was looking at the big box DIY stores and i see Homelight,
Poulan, ECHO, Stihl, Blue Max, Ryobi, Poulan Pro, Husqvarna with
prices from 149 - 499.

I would like to stick to lower end prices.

Is there a best of the cheap ?

thanks for helpful replies,
robb

I suspect you're considering "cheap" because of the anticipated,
rare, use. If I'm correct, consider an electric chain saw (and 200' of
extension cord*, possibly home-made). Unlike 2-cycle gas tools, an
electric tool will not rot, decay, or develop festering carbuncles
if left sitting unused for a year. Electric tools are binary - like
a computer. They either work, or they don't. Gas-powered tools are
analog: there is a wide range of functioning (works, mostly works,
sometimes works, works only in the dark of the moon or a high tide,
doesn't work, etc.). Build yourself a tote-box to carry the saw. Leave
room for a quart
of oil, spare chain, and the tools necessary to replace/tighten the
chain. ---
An acre is a square about 70' on a side. A 200' extension cord
should reach almost all of a two-acre plot. You may need a modest
generator if there is no electricity available.


No to be picky, but you guys must have 'small' acres where you come
from. Up here, an acres measures just slightly over 208' on a side.

But, I agree with your comments about the saws. My first one was a
Homelite which lasted all of about a year and a half, or about six
cords of wood. Scraped it, bought a Stihl 290 and it just keeps on
going, and going, and...


(Slaps head). You're absolutely correct on the size of an acre. 43,560 sq
ft, or a square 208 ft on a side. Therefore, depending on the configuration
of the plot, to use an electric chainsaw the lumberjack would need an
extension cord of about 300'.

If the plot was one foot wide and 90,000 feet long, he may need an extension
cord some seventeen MILES in length, but that's hardly likely.

Still, to be prepared...