In an effort to keep this post from being three pages long, here is the bare bones. I have two saws, neither do quite what I want, and I am considering buying a 3rd saw.
I have two totally stock Stihls, an MS290 with a 20" bar, and an MS661-CM with a 36" bar. I use these saws solely for firewood to heat my house, which can include felling smallish trees (18-24") and bucking as big as 50".
The 290 is dead reliable but underpowered. The 661 is not so reliable (won't hot start sometimes) and underpowered for the size bar I am running. I am open to basically ANY solution to get a saw(s) that perform "well" in all hardwoods up to 50" diameter.
One consideration I had was putting a smaller bar on the 661 and using it for my primary bucking saw, and getting a larger, or highly modified saw to run the 36" bar. Is that nuts?
Then I saw there is a "new" 462 that weighs exactly the same as my 290...but has nearly double the power. That sounds too good to be true.
Things that are important to me, in order, are:
Reliability!
Torque
Antivibe stuff...I have nerve problems.
I don't have any preconceived notions about much of anything, I am too green. I have no brand loyalty, but do have access to a Stihl dealer that gives very decent pricing. I have been doing the firewood thing since 2011, but thats all the experience I have. Please feel free to enlighten me if I do not seem to grasp something, I am not very well versed in this stuff. I am also happy to share more information, I just wanted to keep this short for you guys.
Thanks in advance,
FTM