Monday, February 23, 2009

Big Dog, Many Ponies

Our old Husky, a 272XP model (the one in back) we bought in 1995, was getting a bit weak on compression, and recently the coil died. It has been a good saw, but rather than put more money into an old machine we decided to buy a new saw. Husqvarna replaced the 272XP with the 372XP, but for another $100 we could buy the next size up, a 385XP. It is rated at 6.3 horsepower, a full 1 HP more than the 372XP.
We tried it out on some black locusts that we planted in 1993, and it was exhilarating to drive the saw through one of the hardest woods as if it were butter.

I read the warning sticker while I was installing the bar and chain. I especially noticed the little picture of the saw hitting the operator in the face. The same sticker is on our old 272XP and the 346XP, but with that extra pony under the hood, I paid attention. Lots of people are injured with chainsaws, and it is usually a lack of training or disregarding safety rules that causes operators to be hurt or killed. If you are going to be running a saw, please click on the chainsaw label and read the post on Kickbacks. Be safe out there!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeepers! The likelihood of "kickback" paints a nasty picture.

Your "old" saws look almost as new as the 385. You must be pretty meticulous in your maintenance.

- gsc1039

David aka True Blue Sam said...

I need to do a post on daily rehab after you run a saw. I will start taking pictures. I got to cut down a big leaning hickory this evening for a friend. In addition to the lean, this tree was curved form one end to the other. When it hit the ground, the butt end rocked up over 8 feet; we were well back when it did that. The extra power was nice to have on a big tree.