Hey Daniel I’ve never used one on a 20 inch bar but if you save it for a 20+ inch tree that you’re gonna bury your bar in, i’m almost certain the principles of less drag, higher rpm and smoother cut will ring true. If you think about it swing back by and let me know. What power head would you be running it on?
@@FoothillsFirewood It helps my smaller saws like ms 290 or echo 590 stay in the power curve, my bigger saws they don't really care anyway. It's a lot faster to strike the file with half the teeth too.
I cut yellow ceder for firewood. I alway take the rakers down more than one should. Yes, it will pull you into the log if your not balanced, but it sure eats. Have been useing a 290 for a dozen years but recently bought a 400. The 290 is a rock star for a homeowner saw. Ive ran every crap oil known to man for mix, including motor oil and it still runs just as strong as it ever did. Had my muffler off recently to pull the screen so took a peck at the piston, not a single scratch or mark. It has cut well over 100 full cords of wood. I've cut spruce, hemlock, pine, alder, red ceder, and yellow ceder. Now that ive fixed my woodstove so i can shut it down all the way, i only burn yellow ceder. I aways wait unit fall to get wood for the coming winter, its cooler and no bugs. The yellow ceder can be cut and burned the same day and it burns hot, no creosote. The only time I've burned completely dry wood is when the last of the previous years wood is left in the shed. I live in southeast Alaska and heat my 2100 square foot home with only wood. I got my last load yesterday, was planning on making today my last load but the weather sucks today and ive got to go back to work tomorrow. Now the real work starts, splitting and stacking. If the shed isnt full after that I'll get another but im thinking it will be with some to spare. All long as i start nov 1st with a full shed, no matter how long or how cold the winter, im good. Burning wood, it only cost me about $300 a year to heat my home. 1 chain and gas to go 7 miles and back, 9-10 times. With the new saw, add $100 a year over 10 years, $400. At age 64 it also gets me in shape for the coming snowmobiling season. You dont quit riding because you get old, you get old because you quit riding.
@@ericoverdorff8880 Eric, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the 290. I’m with you on the motor oil. I use any oil I can get my hands on for cheap or free. I treat the bar as a wear item that can be replaced and even using used motor oil I still don’t have to replace my bars at any absurd interval. A jug of STIHL brand bar oil is 20 dollars. After ripping through 10 gallons of that I could have bought 2-3 bars. I’m honored someone from Alaska found my channel. You guys are the real authority on cold winters!! As far as your last statement, I couldn’t agree with you more.. if you don’t use it, you lose it 💪 thanks so much for the comment 👋
I run a full comp chain on a Stihl MS250 with 20 inch bar and it cuts like crazy. I keep it sharp, get the Gullet and check the Rakers with a West Coast Gauge. I just put it to work on cutting our way out from Hurricane Helene. So many trees down and it just keep making the chips fly. I'll mention the Oil that I use. Stihl oil is great, but pricey. But Castrol is actually the oil that is marketed by Stihl. So if you really want to save yourself some money, go to your local Auto Parts Store and ask for "Castrol 2T" oil. It's 2 cycle oil used in Snowmobiles, Motorcycles or any 2 stroke engine. it's the same stuff as Stihl. Same color, viscosity, etc. Thanks for sharing this about the skip chain. God Bless.
I haven't run a skip tooth chain, but I believe the advantage they have is to keep the saw's RPM up. Higher RPM will improve cutting efficiency. I would think, understanding the power your saw has, what you're cutting and how hard your saw is working to cut would be an indicator of which style of chain to use. Which style to use may come down to user experience with their particular saw or saws. The other part of the equation is to always run sharp chains. You can't really understand the power of your saw with its setup unless the chain is sharp.
@@victormarinelli5660 I definitely could have talked more about the physics/mechanics of the chain for sure but you definitely have the right idea. The entire idea is to cause less drag and keep rpms up. In big wood with a burried bar it cuts much smoother and faster than a full chisel chain. If you’re not burying the bar then you probably aren’t having a problem keeping rpms up! It is also a lot easier on the saw in general. Additionally less teeth to sharpen. I think a lot of firewood guys get hung up on the most aggressive chain with the most teeth. I cut with a full comp chain 85% of the time, but that 15% I use a skip chain, it makes EASY work out of something the full chisel would struggle on.
Good info. Do you square grind your chain or round file them ? I’m a square guy. Old school. How I was taught. I like how they square eats on 60” wood. No good for dirt but clean wood I believe hands down faster cleaner cutting.
Good to learn from someone who knows more than i, we all share knowledge in our channels. Keep cuttin' Britt!
Yeah Travis! Throw a skip chain on that pinkway and melt some of that big cedar you recently got!!
Very interesting, Im gonna buy one for my 20 inch stihl and see if i can see a difference, thanks for the great video!
Hey Daniel I’ve never used one on a 20 inch bar but if you save it for a 20+ inch tree that you’re gonna bury your bar in, i’m almost certain the principles of less drag, higher rpm and smoother cut will ring true. If you think about it swing back by and let me know. What power head would you be running it on?
Full skip and 20" bars on all my saws.
@@Tonnsfabrication that’s awesome to hear! I’ve never ran a full skip on a 20inch but I can only imagine it rips!
@@FoothillsFirewood It helps my smaller saws like ms 290 or echo 590 stay in the power curve, my bigger saws they don't really care anyway. It's a lot faster to strike the file with half the teeth too.
@@Tonnsfabrication bingo! I’m really surprised more people don’t know about/use this application.
I cut yellow ceder for firewood. I alway take the rakers down more than one should. Yes, it will pull you into the log if your not balanced, but it sure eats. Have been useing a 290 for a dozen years but recently bought a 400. The 290 is a rock star for a homeowner saw. Ive ran every crap oil known to man for mix, including motor oil and it still runs just as strong as it ever did. Had my muffler off recently to pull the screen so took a peck at the piston, not a single scratch or mark. It has cut well over 100 full cords of wood. I've cut spruce, hemlock, pine, alder, red ceder, and yellow ceder. Now that ive fixed my woodstove so i can shut it down all the way, i only burn yellow ceder. I aways wait unit fall to get wood for the coming winter, its cooler and no bugs. The yellow ceder can be cut and burned the same day and it burns hot, no creosote. The only time I've burned completely dry wood is when the last of the previous years wood is left in the shed. I live in southeast Alaska and heat my 2100 square foot home with only wood. I got my last load yesterday, was planning on making today my last load but the weather sucks today and ive got to go back to work tomorrow. Now the real work starts, splitting and stacking. If the shed isnt full after that I'll get another but im thinking it will be with some to spare. All long as i start nov 1st with a full shed, no matter how long or how cold the winter, im good. Burning wood, it only cost me about $300 a year to heat my home. 1 chain and gas to go 7 miles and back, 9-10 times. With the new saw, add $100 a year over 10 years, $400. At age 64 it also gets me in shape for the coming snowmobiling season. You dont quit riding because you get old, you get old because you quit riding.
@@ericoverdorff8880 Eric, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the 290. I’m with you on the motor oil. I use any oil I can get my hands on for cheap or free. I treat the bar as a wear item that can be replaced and even using used motor oil I still don’t have to replace my bars at any absurd interval. A jug of STIHL brand bar oil is 20 dollars. After ripping through 10 gallons of that I could have bought 2-3 bars. I’m honored someone from Alaska found my channel. You guys are the real authority on cold winters!! As far as your last statement, I couldn’t agree with you more.. if you don’t use it, you lose it 💪 thanks so much for the comment 👋
I run a full comp chain on a Stihl MS250 with 20 inch bar and it cuts like crazy. I keep it sharp, get the Gullet and check the Rakers with a West Coast Gauge. I just put it to work on cutting our way out from Hurricane Helene. So many trees down and it just keep making the chips fly. I'll mention the Oil that I use. Stihl oil is great, but pricey. But Castrol is actually the oil that is marketed by Stihl. So if you really want to save yourself some money, go to your local Auto Parts Store and ask for "Castrol 2T" oil. It's 2 cycle oil used in Snowmobiles, Motorcycles or any 2 stroke engine. it's the same stuff as Stihl. Same color, viscosity, etc. Thanks for sharing this about the skip chain. God Bless.
@@stephenhair5501 thanks for watching, and Sharing! I’ve got a couple ms250s and I love running those saws!
I haven't run a skip tooth chain, but I believe the advantage they have is to keep the saw's RPM up. Higher RPM will improve cutting efficiency. I would think, understanding the power your saw has, what you're cutting and how hard your saw is working to cut would be an indicator of which style of chain to use. Which style to use may come down to user experience with their particular saw or saws. The other part of the equation is to always run sharp chains. You can't really understand the power of your saw with its setup unless the chain is sharp.
@@victormarinelli5660 I definitely could have talked more about the physics/mechanics of the chain for sure but you definitely have the right idea. The entire idea is to cause less drag and keep rpms up. In big wood with a burried bar it cuts much smoother and faster than a full chisel chain. If you’re not burying the bar then you probably aren’t having a problem keeping rpms up! It is also a lot easier on the saw in general. Additionally less teeth to sharpen. I think a lot of firewood guys get hung up on the most aggressive chain with the most teeth. I cut with a full comp chain 85% of the time, but that 15% I use a skip chain, it makes EASY work out of something the full chisel would struggle on.
52years ago I sold fire wood for 35 dollars a cord split stacked and deliverd. I was 13years old, it was a good tlme.
@@hudson8865 35 a cord split stacked and delivered! That sounds amazing. The cost of everything is through the roof nowadays. What area are you from?
@@FoothillsFirewood front range of colorado, Palmer lake.
Good info. Do you square grind your chain or round file them ? I’m a square guy. Old school. How I was taught. I like how they square eats on 60” wood. No good for dirt but clean wood I believe hands down faster cleaner cutting.
Hey my name is Britt , nice to meet ya.
@@hudson8865 nice to meet you, thanks for stopping by!