Choosing a new heated handle electronic saw...... Husky or Stihl

[Bill G]

That’s a beauty. That saw could pretty much do it all for me.

I am considering another one or more

 

[redneckhillbilly]

I called around and could not get any dealers to mail them, I'm planning a trip up there in the spring to see if I can buy a few and bring them back

 

[FederalQ]

You would think they would offer arctic models in a least one state. International shipping can be outrageous.

 

[redneckhillbilly]

its crazy they do not offer them in Alaska.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

It came from our good friends to the north... Canada. That is where they are. I have no idea why in the hell Stihl axed the sale of heated saws in the US. As you know you can go to the local box store...Farm and Fleet and buy a Stihl saw from a 16 year old kid at 4:30PM on a Sunday. Hell in Grafton Wisconsin they are open till 6:00PM on Sunday. So much for Stihl never selling in box stores.

They saw all the money they could make on the homeowner saws, technically they supposedly need to have a shop still to sell them and most do but doesn’t guarantee the mechanic can find his ass with both hands. Actually one of the first if not the first small chain store to get Stihl is where my wife works at l and k supply. They had 7 stores at the time throughout mn now they have 2 in Wisconsin and two in the up of Michigan. It is a good store and they actually have a shop but like everywhere keeping people is tough.

 

[Bill G]

This is what Stihl did to dealers after 48 years.....................

 

[redneckhillbilly]

husqvarna is doing the same thing to its dedicated dealers

 

[mainer_in_ak]

its crazy they do not offer them in Alaska.

Here in Interior Alaska, not having a carb heating element can be a challenge. Had a saw ice up somewhere in the metering of fuel, in the carb. 20 below zero, saw would run great, then bog in about 10 seconds of cutting. Had no place to thaw the saw out.

Thought maybe it was the felt in the fuel filter, so squeezed red bottle heat right through the fuel filter. Nope, still bogged. Smidgen of red bottle heet right in the fuel, and ice cleared out.

To keep more heat in the saws, beyond just the winter setting, gotta tape off some of the fly wheel.

During that below zero cold spell, my snowmobile carb iced up too. Wouldn't even spin the track without keeping the choke on. Again, red bottle heet cleared it right out.

People gripe about alcohol in gas, but u ain't doing sht up here, without red bottle heet. One ice crystal and you're fked.

Even with a heated carb, covering off 1/3-1/2 of the flywheel fins is still a must-do in hard below zero temps. Husq have nice bibs as an accessory.

It's insane, how badly a saw can get robbed of its proper operating temp, with a flywheel spinning 9-10k rpms in 20-30 below zero air.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Here in Interior Alaska, not having a carb heating element can be a challenge. Had a saw ice up somewhere in the metering of fuel, in the carb. 20 below zero, saw would run great, then bog in about 10 seconds of cutting. Had no place to thaw the saw out.

Thought maybe it was the felt in the fuel filter, so squeezed red bottle heat right through the fuel filter. Nope, still bogged. Smidgen of red bottle heet right in the fuel, and ice cleared out.

To keep more heat in the saws, beyond just the winter setting, gotta tape off some of the fly wheel.

During that below zero cold spell, my snowmobile carb iced up too. Wouldn't even spin the track without keeping the choke on. Again, red bottle heet cleared it right out.

People gripe about alcohol in gas, but u ain't doing sht up here, without red bottle heet. One ice crystal and you're fked.

Even with a heated carb, covering off 1/3-1/2 of the flywheel fins is still a must-do in hard below zero temps. Husq have nice bibs as an accessory.

It's insane, how badly a saw can get robbed of its proper operating temp, with a flywheel spinning 9-10k rpms in 20-30 below zero air.

Could bypass the red bottle heat and just run 89-91 octane oxygenated fuel in the real cold should do same thing. Seems heat is rarely need in a vehicle now since most states require e10 in cars. The rare occasion of needing heat is bad gas with water in it.

 

[MR_T]

So how does a guy get one shipped to the states?

 

[Bill G]

So how does a guy get one shipped to the states?

I sent you a PM.

 

[Bill G]

husqvarna is doing the same thing to its dedicated dealers

I understand that and agree with you. In my area they did it a lot sooner than Stihl. In 1984 when Case and IH were merged a lot of farm equipment dealerships were closed. There was a IH dealership 20 miles north of me in Iowa. The owner shut down and opened a OPE dealership in a larger town just across the river. It was pretty successful and he provided good service. He sold a wide array of product lines but his saws bounced from Husqvarna to Jonsereds depending on what the distributor was forcing him to do. He later sold the dealership to a young guy and it has now expanded. Well I say young guy but he is not young anymore. They sell Husqvarna but their main business like most, is lawn equipment. He gets the service work of the Husqvarna stuff sold at the box stores. When the last Stihl dealer in town shut down I asked if they would take it on. He had a expletive for me. Then we talked a bit and he said he could not find qualified techs to deal with more items.

 

[hacskaroly]

Then we talked a bit and he said he could not find qualified techs to deal with more items.

The company I worked for had a really good tech and he was overwhelmed. They tried to bring on a second tech several times, but they just did not pan out. The really good tech used to build dragsters and was really good around engines. I learned a lot from him just over the phone!

 

[full chizel]

This is what Stihl did to dealers after 48 years.....................

View attachment 446436

Just like gun stores, the mom and pop shops priced themselves right out of business compared to the big stores.

 

[EchoShindaiwaMakitaDolmar]

Just like gun stores, the mom and pop shops priced themselves right out of business compared to the big stores.

It's just as likely Stihl and Husky priced small shops out by only giving good wholesale prices to big box store and national hardware chain competitors.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Just like gun stores, the mom and pop shops priced themselves right out of business compared to the big stores.

Not true on Stihl so much that is why they had a set advertising msrp per region to keep the big stores from running a sale and driving the others out. Not saying it’s a perfect system but wasn’t a free for all like husky was, obviously some dealers worked with customers in person on price some/ add ons but they couldn’t advertise it. And yes they do have tiers for shops at Stihl with different wholesale prices I believe which is a problem in my opinion. Shouldn’t matter if you sell 500 saws or 5000 saws a year the dealers price should be the same otherwise your giving the box store more room to come down on a saw to get a sale which isn’t fair.

 

[EchoShindaiwaMakitaDolmar]

So how does a guy get one shipped to the states?

If I were back in a "cold winters" state I'd want one too, purchased direct from a Kanada retail source- without any "middleman" bringing it across the northern border and marking up the price.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

If I were back in a "cold winters" state I'd want one too, purchased direct from a Kanada retail source- without any "middleman" bringing it across the northern border and marking up the price.

I can probably drive 2 hours and find one in Canada but just haven’t. Besides Stihl and husky don’t need heated handles because they don’t hold up in the cold with plastic cage bearings. Or so I’ve been told, thinking about it chainsaws seem like a ton of work between the needing to know if your saw has good bearings, inspections yearly and then damn electric carbs might not be worth buying anything but 70’s and 80’s model saws. They’re built heavy enough to not crack when you pop your wedge out with the bar either.

 

[Bill G]

Just like gun stores, the mom and pop shops priced themselves right out of business compared to the big stores.

Not even close but Ok if that is what you believe.

 

[mainer_in_ak]

Could bypass the red bottle heat and just run 89-91 octane oxygenated fuel in the real cold should do same thing. Seems heat is rarely need in a vehicle now since most states require e10 in cars. The rare occasion of needing heat is bad gas with water in it.

There is no alcohol in the gas up here. All we have is 87, 88 and 90 octane fuel.

All gas tanks breath in a sense. Even fresh fuel not contaminated with water. Moisture in the air builds up in a tank overtime until water forms.
I know you understand this, theres really no need to spell this out.

Right around September, everybody up here gets in the habit of getting that red bottle heet in the gas tanks before things ice up. Every auto parts store sells it by the box. Thousands of boxes of the stuff is sold in the winter up here.

I do run a few ounces per 5 gallons of red bottle heat in the winter chain saw gas. And of course a few ounces of it in every fill up on the snowmobile. Sometimes I forget, and theres always trouble when I do.