Looking at upgrading and would welcome advice/opinions.

[tallgrass_coyote]

Had a seasonal job after college working for the state wildlife agency. Main job was to kill trees (girdle+tordon). My boss bought a couple new ms193c with 14" bars for the project. Spent about four months running that saw all day every day and was impressed. Bought one for myself in 2018 for around the house and some light brush work. Since then my wife and I bought a house on a few acres completely overgrown with mostly cedars (up to ~24" dbh). They all must die. I've been dropping, delimbing, and bucking with it. It gets the job done, but I think I'm asking too much from it. Also getting really irritated with the esay2start assist springs mangling. Went six years with no issues, replaced 3 in the last year. Cheap and easy to fix but when I'm ready to cut I want the saw to start. Ordered a solid rope rotor the other day to delete the easy2start bs, hopefully it works. Not sure why they put assist in that little baby saw in the first place.....I digress.

I'm looking at upgrading to a commercial saw. Been looking at a 261 and wanted y'all's take. Straight 261 vs C-M? Is it going to be a good fit for the job? Overkill? Underkill? I know they're different but I have concerns about the elastostart after the issues with the easy2start. I don't expect to change elevation or anything but I do cut year round (-10° to 100°) so the m-tronic is appealing but then there's the part of me thinking, just more *s-word to go wrong. TBH I don't really know what everyone means talking about tuning the saw. Is that just adjusting the carb? Also wondering about the proper bar length. The product info page says 18" is recommended in one place and 16" in another. I've run echos and huskys and am partial to Stihl but wouldn't rule anything out.

Any advice/thoughts are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Stihlalltheway]

Elastostart is very different from the easy start, just a stretchy rubber part on the pull cord that makes life a little better. M-tronic is just automatically adjusting carb, I’ve heard a lot of good about it (I don’t own a saw with one), and will probably be fine for what you want. And yes, tuning is just adjusting the carb. A 261 will pull a 20” bar in cedar just fine, even better with a 16 or 18. If you want more bar it would probably even do a 25” if you’re nice to the rakers and run full skip and keep rpm’s high enough that it oils it. Hopefully that all helps

 

[IffykidMn]

Have several standard carb 261s run a 16" B&C and have no complaints for a 50cc saw, I tend to run short for cc bar and chains.
Good power for a 50cc saw and a good jump from a 193.
I have multiple options from 25cc-120cc both standard carb, MT and AT, my personal preference as I have options when I get around 12" or larger hardwood I am looking for a bigger saw 70cc
Will the 261 get the Cedar job done faster than your 193 yes but slower than larger saws.
If you were impressed with the 193 you will be delighted with the 261.

I believe if you relook at the product info page they might say 18" recommended and the 16" the recommended minimum and 20" recommended maximum.

 

[old saw fixer]

I use Stihl and Echo power equipment, but lately have bought Echo. I have a Stihl 261CM and would recommend it to you. The Mtronic system is fine with me, but as an auto mechanic I embraced the Metric system as far as the tools went while the older guys grumbled. You will hear some negative grumbles about a computer saw but don't let it worry you! In my case the 261 has an 18" bar and I left it in .325 chain. I have bigger saws for bigger longer bars but my 261CM gets picked up most of the time. Your conditions may lead to a different decision in which case I would check out an X series Echo in the appropriate size. You can buy all the Echo parts you need on the internet, or a complete saw if you wish!

 

[hacskaroly]

Been looking at a 261 and wanted y'all's take. Straight 261 vs C-M?

The 261 is a great saw with its power to weight ratio. Carb vs. C-M ends up being personal preference, if you like to adjust carbs (or the option to) then the carbed 261 will be the way to go, if you want to let the saw do the adjusting then C-M will work - just make sure to keep the air filter clean as the saw can only adjust itself so much before it can't. I have the C-M and really like it, I have a friend who has one and did not like it because he likes to tweak on carbs. I ended up building him a Husky 55 (about the same size as a 261) with a tweakable carb and he is extremely happy!

I run my 261 C-M with a 20" bar and 3/8" full skip chain (just did a sprocket, bar and chain swap).

Edit: Welcome to the forum!!

 

[dthieme]

I personally would consider the next size up saw if it's in your budget. The 261 is a great saw, but if you are cutting anything of size, a bigger saw makes a world of difference. A 261 was my first saw, and I hardly ever use it now that I have bigger saws. I don't have any personal experience with any new models, but I'd strongly consider the MS400, 562xp, or maybe even an Echo 620p. Best of luck

 

[Catfishclark89]

Yeah I’d go for a 362c, 400, 562c, or even the previously mentioned echo 620p. Those saws would do fine with a 20-24” b&c in cedar.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

You’ll be just fine on 24” cedars with an ms 261c and a 20” bar. Get one with a .050 light 04 20” and run the narrow kerf rs pro .325 on it. The mtronic is simple and usually has little problems, put a new orange fuel filter on once a year and keep air filter blown out. When cutting in wide variety of temps it’s nice to have a saw run well all the time. If your worried about mtronic you can buy a spare carb solenoid for 40-50$ to keep on shelf and most times if a field reset won’t work the solenoid will fix it. Takes 15-20 minutes to change.

 

[tallgrass_coyote]

I personally would consider the next size up saw if it's in your budget. The 261 is a great saw, but if you are cutting anything of size, a bigger saw makes a world of difference. A 261 was my first saw, and I hardly ever use it now that I have bigger saws. I don't have any personal experience with any new models, but I'd strongly consider the MS400, 562xp, or maybe even an Echo 620p. Best of luck

I personally would consider the next size up saw if it's in your budget. The 261 is a great saw, but if you are cutting anything of size, a bigger saw makes a world of difference. A 261 was my first saw, and I hardly ever use it now that I have bigger saws. I don't have any personal experience with any new models, but I'd strongly consider the MS400, 562xp, or maybe even an Echo 620p. Best of luck

Thanks for replying. I definitely thought about going bigger, but I need to prioritize maneuverability and stamina. Are thinking not enough ass in the 261?

I can't overstate how friggin dense the trees are and every pound counts fighting that wooly crap all day. The average tree is probably 6-8" dbh with scattered bigger ones and lots of spindley little ones I'll continue to use my 193 on.

Another thing I'm thinking about is our ground is extremely steep and rocky. I'm thinking something with a bigger bar will be more prone to punching out the far side and hitting rocks when I'm trying to cut the stumps flush to the ground.

Looked at the specs on that 400 looks like a beast but I'm not sure if the price difference would be worth the benefits for my needs.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Thanks for replying. I definitely thought about going bigger, but I need to prioritize maneuverability and stamina. Are thinking not enough ass in the 261?

I can't overstate how friggin dense the trees are and every pound counts fighting that wooly crap all day. The average tree is probably 6-8" dbh with scattered bigger ones and lots of spindley little ones I'll continue to use my 193 on.

Another thing I'm thinking about is our ground is extremely steep and rocky. I'm thinking something with a bigger bar will be more prone to punching out the far side and hitting rocks when I'm trying to cut the stumps flush to the ground.

Looked at the specs on that 400 looks like a beast but I'm not sure if the price difference would be worth the benefits for my needs.

If majority are 6-10” cedars the 261 is plenty fine and a bigger saw won’t even seem that much faster honestly. Even a 24”+ won’t make it seem slow honestly because it’s fairly soft.

 

[Bill G]

The 261is the best choice for the job.

 

[jeffkrib]

Steep rocky ground, cutting mainly small stuff, the 261 is ideal. If you are mainly cutting 24" stuff then 60cc would be the go.
You will absolutely love a pro 50cc saw over the 193. No need to go bigger.

 

[IffykidMn]

The way I took your first post it sounded more like the average was 24" not 6-8"

261 with carb of choice will get it done.

 

[Jusgunn3]

Id go for the 400c if you’re a Stihl guy, plenty of power and not much heavier to carry around. Run a 24” for reach and you can handle it all.

 

[tallgrass_coyote]

I feel like if I go big I'm just buyiing a 261 and taping 500 to the handle. So I'm going for it.

Now let's talk bars and chains.

Bars: Is the middle (18") the sweet spot for the stock motor? Don't have plans to modify during the warranty. Is shorter better? I've been running a 14 like a psychopath, even a 16 would be a huge improvement on the bs I've had to pull off.

I've been lurking for a week reading, researching, learning but y'all still keep losing me talking about bars and chains. Yellows and greens, half chisel full chisel, 3/8 (.375) vs .325 (kerf widths?). Do the different chains need different bars (like groove width)? Pros and cons? Other than 20 inch bar, what is ".050 light 04 20"? Laminated vs (idk, solid?). Farm boss is bad (maybe a running joke?).

Don't even get me started on mods....but I'm interested!

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I feel like if I go big I'm just buyiing a 261 and taping 500 to the handle. So I'm going for it.

Now let's talk bars and chains.

Bars: Is the middle (18") the sweet spot for the stock motor? Don't have plans to modify during the warranty. Is shorter better? I've been running a 14 like a psychopath, even a 16 would be a huge improvement on the bs I've had to pull off.

I've been lurking for a week reading, researching, learning but y'all still keep losing me talking about bars and chains. Yellows and greens, half chisel full chisel, 3/8 (.375) vs .325 (kerf widths?). Do the different chains need different bars (like groove width)? Pros and cons? Other than 20 inch bar, what is ".050 light 04 20"? Laminated vs (idk, solid?). Farm boss is bad (maybe a running joke?).

Don't even get me started on mods....but I'm interested!

The light 04 is a laminated bar and slightly lighter per length than the old rollomatic es they replaced. The 261 has no issues with a 20” .325 and I only suggested the .050 narrow kerf bar and chain because it cuts faster. I still have my 026 red lever my dad bought me when I was 14 so it’s 35 years old now. The 026 doesn’t have the power of the 261 and it has no issues with and 18-20” .325 in ash. I’ve cut 100’s of chords of firewood with it at least if not more.