Bunnings have them for $229 and $199 respectively. I went to them for a price match and beat it down to $166 for cs370. That's equivalent to 25% of Bunnings regular price. They said they would update the price for the whole store. But price appears the same when I check their website this morning.
For the price match, they have stores in qld,nsw and ACT. They also offer free postage at least to brisbane.
I can upload my receipt if needed.
LOL, good luck price matching at Bunnings. They will give all reasons not to price match.
You'd think with a business called "PED" there'd be stores in Essendon and Cronulla
They did spend nearly ten minutes trying to find reason not to. After finding out they offer local pickup, free oz wide postage and goods in stock, they happily give 10% beat and told me they will change their price. Yet to see that on their website yet. Btw, any quality concern with McCullouch? Seems to be a decent brand.
Btw, any quality concern with McCullouch? Seems to be a decent brand.
Nope, they're extremely unreliable rubbish IME. I suppose the only advantage here is that if you buy from Bunnings they do have a generous return policy…you'll need it!
The mccullouch is like a rusty knife to a piece of butter.
Once you used a Stihl or husqvarna you will never go back to those bunnings sold brands. They cut like a hot knife through butter.
It's like comparing dial up to broadband.
I've got a Stihl which I have been generally happy with.
But a couple of weeks ago it just kept stalling when cutting through a fibrous palm that had a 500mm wide base.
I wanted to hire a saw to finish the job, but found I could buy an 18" McCulloch for not much more than a days hire.
Bought the saw from Bunnings, it started on the 2nd pull out of the box and easily took care the palm.
Obviously it's only a couple of weeks old, but very happy with it so far.
Note the model curently shown on the bunnings website looks diffent to what I purchased only a couple of weeks ago.
Maybe they have changed over time, but I've had one for about 10 years, never failed me, sliced and diced various types of trees including palms. I'm not doing it every day, but for the occasional user, I think it's OK. Also, its great fun! :-)
Btw, any quality concern with McCullouch? Seems to be a decent brand.
Yes, lots of concerns with McCulloch. They're anything but a decent brand. Poorly made, unrepairable, utter garbage. They're built like Mitsubishi (car) engines - they'll run ok for a while but once they die they're pretty much unrepairable.
If you're in the market for a chainsaw (and not just randomly bargain hunting which is in itself a worthy pursuit) then your choices for brands should be (1) Stihl, (2) Stihl, and (3) Stihl. They're proper professional repairable machines.
Source: the pile of broken McCulloch saws at the back of my Dad's shop, watching mechanics break the "sorry mate, she's dead" news to customers over and over again.
hmmm, got the point. Stihl is good at professional level. For general household usage, is it worth to spent that extra $300 bucks(entry level of stihl). I don't use it very often and I don't live in a rush area. most of the trees are at a max of 25cm wide. opinions are highly appreciated.
to be honest, I looked into some even cheaper solutions like ozito but decided to keep away from them and chose a mcculloch. bad choice for casual user still???
As you asked for opinions…
Used to live on acreage, and my Stihl chainsaw lasted 20+ years - made it a bargain.
Parts were readily available too.
With age, I prefer to avoid climbing trees or ladders.
And no longer live in the bush.
So now use Stihl electric-pole-chainsaw.
They can cope with suburbia use, are quieter (useful when stealth-trim neighbours trees), and require much less maintenance.
Can get hedge trimmer attachment.
Good quality stuff is a pleasure to own & use.
Expect it will see me out.
bad choice for casual user still???
Sadly, I'd have to say yes it's still a bad choice.
TBH, I'd actually choose generics like Aldi or Ozito; or even ebay ones; over McCulloch. I've never seen a good McCulloch saw, every one has had issues. My brother bought one against my advice & it didn't even make it through a single cut (after spending an entire morning trying to get it to even start at all) before dying & returning it to Bunnies for a swap…he ended up with a Homelite, which is not a well regarded saw nowadays either, but was still vastly better than the McCulloch.
They've never been any good either, I don't know how they're still in business! I've told the story on OzB before, but many years ago I watched my boss throw a brand new McCulloch saw into the bush & tell us all to just leave it there, he was that pissed off with it!!! ;)
For me, I think for general household usage is good for Stihl or any other professional chainsaws.
As they still work perfectly after storing it for long periods of time.
Where as if you picked up a cheapo, leave it stored away, the chances of turning it on 1 year later is close to 0, then you bring it to the chainsaw repairs and they tell you "too bad, its dead".
There goes your $200 go buy another one to use once off.
I've had similar experiences with Poulan which Bunnings said was the best, however kept having heaps of issues, wasn't repairable. Got the Stihl, their serivce is impeccable.
According to Bunnings, the current version they have are made in the US. Not sure what that means nowadays anyway but its worth noting maybe. Not sure a Husky variant, considering they are owned by the same company is worth the extra money, likely to be the same item, part for part at the price point (its almost $100 dearer). This saw is not comparable to the $500 or $600 dollar version of Huskies or Stihl. Comparing these light duty saws to pro or farm duty is not really a fair comparison.
The Stihls, you really need to need a chainsaw to justify the cost. It will require fixing if left to sit for long periods of time, just as a car should not sit years without being started with fresh fuel and old fuel being drained. Infrequency of use is part of the reason these types of tools fail. If you need a FarmBoss, go get the trade quality for a thousand bucks. If you just need it around the yard, once a year, get something cheap, or hire one.
Stihls current domestic range is not worlds better in reality, its not going to be FarmBoss duty anyway. What I keep reading is 'my 10 yrs old, 20 yr old x brand', and farm or trade quality raves, but thats not what we're looking at. I cant buy a new 20 yr old Stihl, nor do I want to outlay a grand more for trade stuff. At $1000, I wouldnt bother with a chainsaw at all, Id just pay someone to do it, or hire one. I have not seen anyone say how much the cheap nasty Stihl is better, or if they even are better. Sure the Farm Boss is a workhorse, but they arent anywhere near $200.
Anyway, beat it by 10% at Bunnings, came to $165 and some change. From what Ive read, just go slightly heavier on the 2 stroke oil, run something like 30:1 , not 40:1 and ensure its mixed before starting. Just up the maintenance on the plug to compensate for the richer oil mix. Dont let it sit for years without starting it. Never let it starve for fuel, as its starving for oil too (ie: never run out). Should be fine. Ive had a cheap Victa 4 stroke mower for maybe 5 years, it still starts and cuts fine, deck has some holes though as the paint came off with a hosing lol.
From what Ive read, just go slightly heavier on the 2 stroke oil, run something like 30:1 , not 40:1 and ensure its mixed before starting.
Never, EVER, do this to a 2-stroke engine…you are not helping anything, it is not providing more lubrication…all you are actually doing is risking damage to the engine by leaning out the fuel/air ratio, depriving it of fuel & causing it to run hotter resulting in premature failure!
Several points to note:
Do you have a recommendation on ratio? Please, dont say manufacturer spec as oil makers have a role too.
Stihl site says mix their oil at 50:1 in Stihl machines and for every other brands machine at 25:1, no reference to the makers guidelines, blanket 25:1. Go figure. http://www.stihl.com.au/mixing-2-stroke-fuel.aspx Is Stihl resorting to sabotage? They might be liable for that if they were. My guess is they arent stupid enough to put it in print if they were out to sabotage competition machines.
It may not be necessary Ill grant you, but given concerns about its ability to run without dying in the first place, it can only help to make sure its well lubed. I doubt they are over lubed to start with at 40:1 so any fault can only be a result of under oiling. The consensus is that they mixed oil right, so one can only assume its light on oil at 40:1. If theres a concern, see how that works? I plan to run Stihl oil, at the 25:1 they suggest. Ill hold Stihl liable if they are wrong.
Theory is that 40:1 is for US markets, and the ratio was not designed for Aus fuels or oils, nor Aus emissions nonsense and no corrections have been made. I have read up on the brand, and the faults that have been raised like no longer running by the second use, and how they should be overcome.
Do you have a recommendation on ratio? Please, dont say manufacturer spec as oil makers have a role too.
You've answered your own question…different ratios for different oils…and you're obviously not going to run synthetics at the same ratio as mineral oils…it's just commonsense mate. There is no such thing as additional lubrication, there is only waste in your example. Manufacturers will give ratios basically for the lowest common denominator, depending on the market…25:1 is usually just the middle of the road for dummies bearing in mind the most readily accessible (read:cheap) mineral 2-stroke oils.
Let's not forget, the issue here is not the recommended ratios, it's YOU advocating completely ignoring them to add additional oil to provide non-existent 'extra protection', when the practice is actually known to be counterproductive.
Now, you've had the practical scientific rationale for not willingly using too much oil in the mix explained to you, that's cool; and if you wish to continue the practice in your own engines & run the risks , then good for you; but don't go giving this foolish advice to other OzBargainers as if it's come from a mechanic, because it's categorically & demonstrably wrong. Just google it, FFS…
Ill hold Stihl liable if they are wrong.
Let us know how that works out for you…maybe if you get a bush lawyer they can defend your bush mechanic! ;)
So its an exacting science? Do I need a beaker and syringe for accuracy? Should I have my fuel container calibrated? The lines that mark the sides, is it the bottom of the line, on the line, top of the line? Yeah, probably not an exact science then is it?
Too much is better than not enough, and as long as its reasonable, too much wont harm anything. 40:1, 30:1 is well within tolerances. Yes you displace a tiny amount of fuel with the oil, but its is tiny, and the oil burns anyway albeit not as well as fuel but it is mixed.
But more importantly, now I recommend you google fu reviews on this machine. I already did, before I bought, or posted here. Then maybe you will see why 40:1 was viewed as lean in the first place, not an overestimate by the maker as you suggest. A number of people have complained that the motor will never run the second use some months after the initial use (actual owners, not armchair warriors). They take them in for warranty and are told the ratio was lean and its obvious from the condition of the internals they failed to use enough oil. See where Im going here? These people claim to know how to mix oil at 40:1, 25:1 or 50:1 or any number:1 just fine and they have been doing it for years without issue. And lets face it, its not rocket science, at least some of them likely do know how to mix oil and fuel.
Moreover, an arborist, not a mechanic Ill grant you but someone with some degree of knowledge of a saw in general, stated these particular saws are fine as domestic chainsaws, just up the oil to 25:1 and they will run fine for a long time, drain fuel before storage and mix fresh each use. They were designed with a harsh US emissions law in mind and the 40:1 ratio was never changed for this or any other market. So if thats correct, and I have no reason to doubt it, then the ratio of 40:1 is do gooder nonsense, and not sound mechanics in the first place.
However directly in your face. 30:1 in place of 40:1 will do no harm. I did google it. Now you show me the link that says that ratio is bad. Not 10:1 in place of 50:1, or 100:1 in place of 25:1. But 30:1 in place of 40:1.
Thanks for all the comments guys. Now I'm sad that I have picked up a wrong bargain. Back years ago, I used to laugh why people pay $$$ for a dyson but now I enjoy my dyson every single second. I'll see if I can fork out another a couple of hundred $$$ for a stihl. Plus I have to purchase a hedge trimmer as well. None of them comes cheap. I need another pay raise now :)
I'm using a stihl miniboss right now which is pretty good.
Cost around $400 i think i paid for it about 2yrs ago.
Just wait for a Stihl sale, they do them every now and then, check their website and log into their stores to see if there is a sale.
Current Sales:
http://www.stihl.com.au/p/media/download/au-en/STIHL_Spring_…
Hi Gents,
A lot of you mentioned that I should drain the mixed oil before storage. do you mean drain it back to a bottle so that I can use it again or drain it to the drainage?
FWIW, friends don't let friends buy McCulloch…