Stihl 500i

I guess you can send it to me if you need to unload some saws. I am not sure how the Sweds will receive the Germans but I'll try and keep the peace. They have accepted the 200t, HT101, and BR600 as part of the pack so hopefully the peace will be upheld. :)
 
You would think that they could work out an electric ignition for this, the "i' would double for injection and ignition. No more pull start, just an on/off button.
 
The gents from Stuttgart Germany can make what you suggest no doubt ; the question is will folks pay the additional cost ? Kinda like the toilet where the hand comes up and wipes your ass
 
I would really like to try a 500i for the day,felling and limbing some timber.I cannot justify another saw currently as I have more than enough of them,the 441's have served us really well and provide the perfect sized saw for most of what we do.The 661 is perfect for the rest.

In old money,what sized saw has the 500i replaced? The 064 for example or the 046?
 
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  • #105
046.
But not replaced..........................surpassed by FAR.
 
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  • #107
Really?

I thought I made it clear.

I FRIGGING LOVE IT!

Best saw I ever run, bar none.

Used it for firewood again today.
At one time, it had been sitting for almost 2 hours, and just to test it, I pulled the handle without priming it first.
Had to pull twice, then we were up and running.

Some of the logs I have are too heavy for me to lift 20" sections on the splitter, so I simply rip them.
That is a good way to put a saw to the test, full bar length ripping cuts.
This thing just never bogs down. It is uncanny.

I still want to take it logging, Mick.
All this cookie cutting is fine, but it is how it handles the real stuff that matters to me.
That is probably what you see as " Fence sitting".

Ask me again next thursday, when I've put in a couple of days in the woods with it.

I'm pretty sure, the answer will be the same.





I am NOT giving this demo saw back to the dealer.
 
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  • #111
I didn't expect this to ever happen..................................ever!

Got me fair and square:lol:

I have a vertical splitter.
It is faster to just rip the chunks about half way down, then use a maul on them.

I usually split most of my wood by hand.
If you know how, it is faster.
But not when you have Leukemia and your blood count is way low.

First year I'm doing it all with the splitter.
Swinging the maul really takes it out of me.
 
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  • #113
I just used to like it.
It is a nice skill.
 
It is sorta therapeutic and satisfying. Getting spoiled with so much ash wood too, so easy and clean to split.

Good practice to win the little lady the BIG Kewpie doll too.
test-of-strength-at-coney-island-in-brooklyn-new-york-DAYHPB.jpg
 
I have a kinetic splitter for lots of split work , for hand work the fiskars x27 axe and fiskars isocore maul are the ticket ... lifetime warranty ! Here’s a video of me using the maul ... https://youtu.be/nacDENAgoW8 ...
 
haha �� you mean THIS splitter ? ....
https://youtu.be/_zIJRozvSj8.... with 3 men and machine never thirsting for wood we’ve banged out 7 face in an hour (of straight clean 12-18” ash...) WITH a 15 minute Union-break ; now very few men can keep that pace up all day so take with a grain of salt ...
 
I checked other videos I had seen before, and they are about the same, they are just a lot slower than I remember, but then my 35 ton hydraulic is faster than I remember (I hadn't used it in a couple years until now). I used to think I'd want a KE splitter for its speed in small wood, but not any more. I did witness a first in 15 years of using the 35 ton Hydraulic: it stopped in oak. It was kind of exciting, it just kept going slower until a snail could outrun it, then I looked really close to see if it would stop. It finally did, but I kept the pressure on for another 5 seconds, and nothing. I had to back it out and oil the wedge to finish that split. I think it was all the right circumstances coming together including friction where I imagine the majority of the force goes.
 
Yah , kinetic is for production ... knotty pcs get tossed aside as they WILL stop the rack ... I’ve had 250+lb oak 24” rounds (crane assisted) and shell go thru ... trick is to use the machine like you would swing a maul ... you wouldn’t try to hit dead center rather off to the side... once the “pressure” is released it’s off to The races! 6-20” is the sweet-spot for these machines , unfortunately I don’t have a 500i or I wood just dice em up lol
 
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  • #120
So I finally got to put two days of oak logging in, then the winter season ended.

I didn't get to run the saw at all, yesterday.
Everybody and their grandmother wanted to try it out.

Now, I don't know about Grandma, but everybody else loved it.

Not enough to swap their 1 year old 462s out for one, but enough that they'll buy one next time.

I'm keeping mine.
I'll ( Just for fun) clean it up, then take it back to the dealer and thank him for letting me try it out, bullshit about it a bit, then ask what a used one goes for.

Got a 441 he'll have to give me a fair price for in trade.
Shouldn't be a problem, never has been before.
I've shopped at his place for 26 years, we know each other well.
I know damned well the reason he let me try this one out, is that I'm really well known in the logging community here, so me buying it will be a good adverticement.

I enjoyed logging oak with it, like one of the guys said:" That thing doesn't know when to stop"

That was after he got it stuck in a log bind.
Usually you can tell when a log starts binding, either visually or because it puts pressure on the sides of the chain, causing the saw to slow down.
Time to set a wedge or ream your saw loose.
He said the 500i simply never slowed down, so he didn't recognize the bind untill it was too late.

Something else; The simplicity of starting this saw is wonderful.
No choke, ½ gas, nothing.
In the morning you prime it, rest of the day, just pull the cord and it starts up.
I took a fall today,got my feet tangled up in some brambles, on the way down I put my finger on the big square stop button and landed with a shut off saw.

So I haven't found anything not to like about it.

Apart from the usual Stihl bullshit, selling a pro saw with just the inner dog.

I told my dealer to talk to them about it.
You pay 1300$ for a saw, then you have to order a 10 dollar outer dog.

Ridiculous.
 
At least it still has a screw. What size bar? Hopefully it isn't too hard to modify the oiler. How full is the oil tank after a tank of gas?
 
20 inch bar. Still some oil left in but just seems to be running really hot. Cleaned the bar groove more than once to check. Wondered if anyone else had noticed it too
 
20 inch bar. Still some oil left in but just seems to be running really hot. Cleaned the bar groove more than once to check. Wondered if anyone else had noticed it too
Hmmm ... on the 462c there is a pin that MUST be knocked-in to allow the screw to reach the Full oil position ... If the 500i is similar use a “suitable tool “ (as per STIHL manual) and drive in the small pin ... this will allow you to get max oil ...it should bathe a 20” bar in oil maxed out ... hope this helps
 
Stig,

Thank you for the review. I am anxious to look this saw over when it comes to the Pacific northwest. I would be even more interested in a 90cc version, or even 100cc if it's the right weight. As a life long husky guy it would be hard for me to switch, but if it's that much better I will certainly consider it.
 
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