The new MS441C

[stig]

Richard and I bought the new 441C this morning.
Fully computerized, no screws to fiddle with.

We ran it ½ a day each, alternating with our "normal" 441s.

Verdict: it is a great running saw. Very torquey compared to the old models. Doesn't seem to go as high in the RPMs, but has plenty of low end power.
We used it on some big beech, too big for the saw, to tell the truth, and it handled itself just fine.

It has no throttle lock, so it takes a little getting used to. Just put on the choke, pull the starter rope and let it idle for a while.
Then flip the choke off ( running with the choke on doesn't flood it, it simply adjusts itself) and go logging.

When it runs out of gas, it shuts off. So after refilling, you pull once and it starts.
No more pulling 17 times, trying to start a saw that has emptied the carb.

That is a great feature for someone like me, who runs saws a lot of hours.

It has the same air filter as the new 261, we test drove a while ago. ( I still have a cool t-shirt from Stihl that says: "MS 261 testpilot" that they gave us) and the same great prefiltration.

The last ( or first if the uploading works as well as it usually does!) picture shows the air filter after a full day of logging beech wood.

Richard and I are gonna be fighting over this one, fer sure.

 

[Burnham]

Sounds sweet, Stig. Thanks for the review.

 

[stig]

We were talking about how it was a little wasted on Denmark, where the biggest elevation difference is less than 900 feet.
Then I told the boys about your working conditions and we agreed that it would be a fine saw for your area.
That way you wouldn't have to adjust every time you went up or down the mountain.

Time will tell how good this saw actually is, but we were impressed with its first day performance.

 

[woodworkingboy]

It's advertised as having more torque and less fuel consumption. Bet it rips with a 20" bar on it.
Wonder how those would respond to modification, if added fuel availability would happen, or the computer goes tilt?

 

[Jed]

Congrats Stig: Nothin' like a new tool in the toy box.

 

[Tucker943]

Id like to give it a try. I felt after logging with a 441 for a month tht it was a worthless turd. Hopefully this one wets my whistle and I might buy one.

 

[arborworks1]

Sounds like this saw is the real deal. Seems like it would take to a good port job!

 

[Old Monkey]

Would it? You need to adjust the carb after a porting job. What would the inboard computer make of porting?

 

[arborworks1]

Supposedly it auto adjusts to all conditions.

 

[Old Monkey]

I am just wondering if that would take the advantage out of porting.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Starving for gas would take the advantage out of porting, but presumably the carburetor would end up supplying more than when stock, likely a good thing to supplement the better gas flow that porting allows.

 

[dastevoe]

I can see it now............aftermarket high performance computer chips for your chainsaw !! I wonder if the "high tech" dudes are already turning that one over in their minds

Steve

 

[forestryworks]

Looks like a great saw. I'd like to try one here. I cut from 3,500' to 8,200'. Sure would beat having to adjust the carb.

I had a regular 441 when it first came out, but sold it and got the 440, which is my go-to saw for most trees here.

 

[treebogan]

Its strange that some people in the US had trouble with the first 441's.What where the problems that you had with them? I have two and I rate them as excellent Saws,one is four Years old.I don't do alot of logging but if a saw is a turd,four years of a couple of days a week probably would have made some problems arise?

 

[Burnham]

When the 441 was first released, I had a couple of pre-commercial thinning crews of twelve each working for me. They had been running 044s and 440s for many years with great success. The first two 441s in the mix both succumbed to scored pistons/cylinders, seemingly from excess heat, and died within a few weeks. They were fueled from the same containers as all the rest of the saws, and no other similar failures occured...indicating that poor fuel mixing was not the cause.

After that initial experience, one can imagine the reluctance to try any more, even if warranty covers the repairs/replacements, but all saws wear out, especially in that type of work, so eventually more 441s were put to the task as the fleet of older models grew thin. Those subsequent 441s held up fine.

 

[forestryworks]

Its strange that some people in the US had trouble with the first 441's.What where the problems that you had with them? I have two and I rate them as excellent Saws,one is four Years old.I don't do alot of logging but if a saw is a turd,four years of a couple of days a week probably would have made some problems arise?

The only problem I had with mine was vapor lock.

 

[squisher]

The problem I had with mine, besides my employee whacking it with a spar is it was absolutely gutless compared to a 460. While it was in the line-up I affectionately referred to it as the sewing machine. Ever since the handlbars been bent its sat for only that reason. I'll probably fix it this winter I guess.

I don't see this new saw modding very well without some type of a 'flash' or something for the electronic part of it. I'll bet it throws everything way off and that it won't actually compensate for the increased flow/fuel. That it'd be way outside of it's parameters.

 

[woodworkingboy]

My 046 is the only saw in the lineup that isn't modded, besides the 020. A guy dropped it off one day, not much used, said he knew I would take good care of it. It made my day! I guess I could mod it, but he didn't officially say he was giving it to me. Too heavy and bad knees is why he brought it over, and I used to work on his saws when he was doing more in the woods. It's been a couple of years and his knees are probably worse off, I seriously doubt that he will want it back. The muffler on the ones sold here was pretty open to begin with, a weird shaped thing, but I did take off the screen. I dunno, I might mod it one day, it runs ok stock, just not up to potential. I like being a depository for saws.

 

[squisher]

I've got two 46's and a modded 460. A 46 is a solid saw in stock form imo, nice decent power for the weight. As I've mentioned many times though, modded well it's a truly beautiful piece of machinery. I bucked up a decent sized birch spar with it today, just pulling like a freight train it was. The raker, to sharpness, to wood hardness was all in perfect harmony.

 

[HolmenTree]

not that long ago when I bought my first Stihl 064 in 1986 was one of my most favorite saws. 14.1 lbs [about the weight of a 046] and 85cc. With a 20" bar you couldn't find a better faster light logging saw at the time.
But using it today the vibes are quite noticeable after using todays spring av saws.

 

[squisher]

I will say the 441 is smooth I'll give it that. Not smooth enough to make me want to run it though.

 

[stig]

If you are comparing it to a modded 460, NO FAIR!

I had a 460 when I bought my first 441 and yes, the 460 was a bit more agressive, but not enough to keep it from being relegated to back-up saw.

We had the muffler off Richard's 441 recently. It has made it through 3 logging seasons and will be handed over to the new apprentice before being junked.
After running maybe 3-4000 hrs on alkylate fuel, the piston top and cylinder walls looked like they would on a new saw.
No carbon deposits and absolutely no scratches, marks etc.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I'm not clear on what Alkylate fuel is, but I have yet to see a piston top on a heavily run saw that was free of carbon. The cylinder walls and piston sides, yeah, but never the top. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that I would like to see it. Even high polishing the piston tops doesn't seem to make much difference, and I run 100 octane with the highest grade 2 cycle oil.

 

[stig]

I'm not saying it was free of carbon, just that there was no build-up.
It was just a light brown very thin layer.

Alkylate is the stuff we have to run in the state forests here, costs a bundle: 16$ a gallon, but burns really clean, with no smell or smoke at all. If you run a CAT saw, you can't smell anything at all, ance the catalysator is warmed up.

And it doesn't get stale, one can leave a saw sitting with ½ a tank of it for a year, and start it right up.

The price hurts, though, even if it is deductable.

 

[Cobleskill]

Can you burn a gallon a day when you are logging?