Overtightened sprocket snapped off ms194t, fixable or toast?

[Mparko93]

IMO, a 201t is a compliment to a 194t, not a replacement.

Agreed
There's no need to lug a 201t up the tree all the time!
Unless I'm doing a removal of some pretty large reductions there's just no need for it

 

[Mparko93]

I have a 193T and 201t/tc I haven't used the 193T since I got a 201, the weight difference is really negligible imo and the 201 performs better. I'd take the Husky 540ixp over my 193 in a heart beat even my msa161t if I was going to pair it with a 201.

What's most of the climbing you're doing? Removals, prunes etc???
And what bar chain set up did you have on the 193?

 

[Mparko93]

i never understood people with a 194

Depends on the climbing I guess.
I'm singling up a tonne of big gum trees here in Australia and having to do some funky limb walks / awkward pruning jobs and lugging a 201 up there just to take a few branches of just feels like absolute overkill for me...

The 201 is a beast and I will always use one if I'm doing a medium - large removal.
But if I'm just taking down a small tree or a medium sized palm I'll use my 194 all day! Plus after having the mods done it's really woken the saw up and it charges now!

I took down a medium sized Acacia melanoxylon last weekend for a friend and they're known for being a super hard timber but my 194 just ripped through it even with just my thinner gauge pruning chain it loved it!

 

[Mparko93]

The way I see it, the 194 is an entry level saw, for someone who isn’t working full time in trees. That’s what Stihl built it for, it’s not built to perform and last like the 201.

That's exactly why I only use it as my main large pruning saw or small removal saw!
There's no need for me to flog it on a large removal / I wouldn't want to struggle that hard

They're a great saw if they're modded and used for what they're intended to be used for.

 

[Mparko93]

100% agree its not a 201.

I think of 200/ 201t as Papa bear, 193/194t as Big Brother bear
And MS150t/ Echo 2511t as Little Brother bear.

I use my 2511t as much as reasonable. My 200t is working today, double-cutting logs on the way down.


A place for each.
If I worked all Hardwoods, my balance of use would be different.


Getting a fuel up, atm. 1 tank was a little shy.

Couldn't agree more
It'd be like running around on the ground all day with a 66 doing small - medium tree, it'd just be overkill and create unnecessary fatigue.
Every saw has it's place for sure
I work mainly with hardwoods here in Australia and my 194 loves it
Love seeing the 200t getting a good workout
What a great saw!

What's the job you're doing here in the photos?

 

[Mparko93]

@southsoundtree I'm surprised you don't use a rear handle saw for bigger wood like that, I love my 261 with a 20" bar for it, pretty light and so much faster than my 201

How's the 261 go with the 20inch on it?
Have you done any modifications to it?
Got one on lay-by!!

 

[Mparko93]

Around here, we have a 201 in every truck, and we keep a single one 51 around to send out on projects that are just pruning. We don’t really have a place for the 194, it doesn’t really fit our operation. Plus, in my experience, it just does not last like the other two.

Fair enough
I do alot of larger scale pruning work and have found it to be a great saw!
But everyone has their ways

I'm interested to see how it holds up long term

 

[Mparko93]

Same here,
for top handles its a 020T, 201T, 540I, 150 and 2511. 020 and 150 are the most reached after saws.

Haven't tried any Huskies yet but would love to!
Would love to try an echo aswell but being that my closest mechanic was stihl I just chose to stick with them!
Would love a battery husky one day but have also seen some promise with the new battery makitas!

 

[Jehinten]

Hi mate!
Thanks for the response, I've been quoted by my local shop and I'm going to go ahead and get it done.
It's a great saw, I just modified the muffler, had the timing done and a full tune up by the shop and it was running unreal until I broke it!

I'm an apprentice and I'm slowly getting my kitty of saws together, I currently own a 200t as my main removal saw so I see what you're saying with the extra power.

Personally... here in Australia I'm doing alot of spikless, soft shoe pruning work and much prefer reducing the amount of weight I have to carry and find the narrow tipped 14inch bar with the thinner gauge chain is ideal for medium to largish style pruning jobs and doesn't seem to shred the wood as much.

Plus, thinking of longevity the 194 is a great saw in terms of its power to weight ratio and goes hard after that little modifications have been made
Don't need all that added power sometimes

Just curious, how much was the cost of the repair vs the cost of a new 194? Timing and muffler mods are pretty easy parts to swap from one saw to another.

 

[Vicente]

There's only about 10 ounces weight difference between the 201 and 194, to me not a big enough weight difference to matter not going down to the 151 that's a big step. If you hop your 194 up a bunch it's also not going to last as long.
@Mparko93 I'm doing a pretty even mix of stuff, really not that many really big removals mostly prunes and smaller to mid sized removals almost all either oak or pine. My 201 is set up with a 16" light bar but it barely gets used between having my 161t and even more my 540ixp that's set up with a 14" bar. Battery saws win in the top handle category for me 95% of the time or better, I actually only just used my 201tc in the tree in probably 6 months because someone was using my 540ixp. Not having to start a saw just push a button and roll is a huge time saver and makes a way bigger difference than 10 ounces when you've gotta stand in a weird position and make a cut.

My ms 261 are both great I have the electric controlled and older style one. Pulls the 20" chain pretty well in most of the oak and the eucalyptus I've done, I run square ground chisel chain sharpened to a pretty fine edge so it cuts really well as long as I don't hit a rock.

 

[Mparko93]

Just curious, how much was the cost of the repair vs the cost of a new 194? Timing and muffler mods are pretty easy parts to swap from one saw to another.

The cost of the repair is gonna be around 300aud and the saw was about 800aud new but probably another 100aud for the mods etc...

 

[Mparko93]

There's only about 10 ounces weight difference between the 201 and 194, to me not a big enough weight difference to matter not going down to the 151 that's a big step. If you hop your 194 up a bunch it's also not going to last as long.
@Mparko93 I'm doing a pretty even mix of stuff, really not that many really big removals mostly prunes and smaller to mid sized removals almost all either oak or pine. My 201 is set up with a 16" light bar but it barely gets used between having my 161t and even more my 540ixp that's set up with a 14" bar. Battery saws win in the top handle category for me 95% of the time or better, I actually only just used my 201tc in the tree in probably 6 months because someone was using my 540ixp. Not having to start a saw just push a button and roll is a huge time saver and makes a way bigger difference than 10 ounces when you've gotta stand in a weird position and make a cut.

My ms 261 are both great I have the electric controlled and older style one. Pulls the 20" chain pretty well in most of the oak and the eucalyptus I've done, I run square ground chisel chain sharpened to a pretty fine edge so it cuts really well as long as I don't hit a rock.

Yep, can totally see where you're coming from
I'm loving my 194t with the smaller gauge chain and 14inch narrow tipped pruning bar, just makes tricky cuts a little easier Plus i've got a 12inch .050 bar and chain I put on it for small removals

yessss, the 201tc feels like it's weighted better to me with a 16inch bar, I plan on getting one down the track once I'm doing bigger removals!
I have a 14inch on my 200t which is bomber and I love that set up atm!

Yehhhh, I'd love a battery set up but wasn't in my budget for now plus would be hard with chargers etc as I'm switching up trucks everyday relevant to what crew my manager puts me on
We have a contract climber at work who uses the battery husky and I've seen him do some serious removals with it, pretty impressive stuff!

Well ok
I might have to give that chain set up a go once I get my 261!
Honestly just think I've got the chainsaw buzz at the moment!

 

[southsoundtree]

@southsoundtree I'm surprised you don't use a rear handle saw for bigger wood like that, I love my 261 with a 20" bar for it, pretty light and so much faster than my 201

Sometimes it's just because I have it running in the tree.

Sometimes it's because I'm running solo.

Sometimes it's to keep double- cutting skills sharp.


Yesterday, it was waiting on my employee to arrive within minutes, using the gas in the tank.
My last log was partially face-cut, i would have been double- cutting or chasing the cut a bid good bit with my ms261/20".
I like light saws, so I had the 200t refilled rather than getting the 362 that was ready in the tailgate, just because...

 

[Vicente]

Yehhhh, I'd love a battery set up but wasn't in my budget for now plus would be hard with chargers etc as I'm switching up trucks everyday relevant to what crew my manager puts me on
We have a contract climber at work who uses the battery husky and I've seen him do some serious removals with it, pretty impressive stuff!

I wouldn't worry too much about having to keep chargers handy, I've only killed batteries on one tree a couple times maybe and not 2 in the same day so I just take them home and charge them after work.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I guess the title really explains it,

What did you break? Do you have pictures?

 

[southsoundtree]

There's only about 10 ounces weight difference between the 201 and 194, to me not a big enough weight difference to matter not going down to the 151 that's a big step. If you hop your 194 up a bunch it's also not going to last as long.
@Mparko93 I'm doing a pretty even mix of stuff, really not that many really big removals mostly prunes and smaller to mid sized removals almost all either oak or pine. My 201 is set up with a 16" light bar but it barely gets used between having my 161t and even more my 540ixp that's set up with a 14" bar. Battery saws win in the top handle category for me 95% of the time or better, I actually only just used my 201tc in the tree in probably 6 months because someone was using my 540ixp. Not having to start a saw just push a button and roll is a huge time saver and makes a way bigger difference than 10 ounces when you've gotta stand in a weird position and make a cut.

My ms 261 are both great I have the electric controlled and older style one. Pulls the 20" chain pretty well in most of the oak and the eucalyptus I've done, I run square ground chisel chain sharpened to a pretty fine edge so it cuts really well as long as I don't hit a rock.

Which bar and chain are you using on the 201t?

 

[islandarb]

Well I use .050" gauge 14" bar. Non safety. Would not have it any other way. Stihl makes great chains..

 

[Vicente]

Which bar and chain are you using on the 201t?

16" s light the normal stock chain size square filed square chain. My weight difference is power head only pulled from stihls site obviously you can put a smaller bar and chain on to save weight on a 193/194T. I have kicked around the idea of putting the speed cut nano on my 193 just to up the bar to 16".

Well I use .050" gauge 14" bar. Non safety. Would not have it any other way. Stihl makes great chains..

I agree, the others I've used don't compare with stihls edge retention imo.