Chainsaw Purchase

[Fordiesel69]

Found out the budget is $600 max for this year as he needs a splitter purchase as well which we have secured. Got it down to a few models so far:

50cc Class:
Husky 545 Mark II $350 - used in near mint shape locally
Echo CS-4910 - $379 New - Old style with mag case, lower HP than the CS-4920 but more durable.

-would prefer to avoid husky 455/460 ranchers even though I do like them.

60cc Class:
Echo CS-590 $439
Echo CS-620 $639

-cannot find anything decent that is used in the 60cc class.

 

[burbguy82]

It's amazing how quickly the ground dulls chains.

you got that right

 

[burbguy82]

https://www.echo-usa.com/chainsaws/cs-590-timber-wolf

 

[spasm3]

How often, and how many years are you going to cut?

If its a lot, and often. I would consider 2 saws. I have 3.

I would get a small echo saw for limbing as its light and easy to maneuver. Limbing with a 60-70cc saw will wear you out. then for speed, a pro saw in the 60-70cc class. A bigger saw cuts fast and saves your back vs grinding on a log with a small saw.

The echo 1125 is a really light saw that cuts well.

Here are my saws. Echo 1125T, an echo cs450 ( probably 15 years old i think) and an 89cc Husky 390xp. The XP is heavy but cuts really fast, even with the 32 inch bar.

 

[nwjones18]

How often, and how many years are you going to cut?

If its a lot, and often. I would consider 2 saws. I have 3.

I would get a small echo saw for limbing as its light and easy to maneuver. Limbing with a 60-70cc saw will wear you out. then for speed, a pro saw in the 60-70cc class. A bigger saw cuts fast and saves your back vs grinding on a log with a small saw.

The echo 1125 is a really light saw that cuts well.

Here are my saws. Echo 1125T, an echo cs450 ( probably 15 years old i think) and an 89cc Husky 390xp. The XP is heavy but cuts really fast, even with the 32 inch bar.

View attachment 262228

I like those little top handle Echo's. I have an old Stihl 009l that just won't die though.

 

[E150GT]

The key to keeping the saw in good shape….don’t touch the ground with the blade and run non-ethanol mix.

The best advice I would say. And don't cut yourself.

 

[martinq]

Have a friend that aquired a new 20+ acre fully wooded property. Has a blend of oak, some pine and spuce, a few beach, birch, red maple, and im sure other varietys native to Erie, PA. Good news is the pine trees are not plentiful. What I noticed is the way the land is, all trees are small diameter trunks with 12" to 18" diameter but are very tall starting at 30 upwards of 50 feet. Trees are very dense.

The goal is to pick a chainsaw for the purpose of felling, and cutting up to use for firewood. Has existing residential Husky 435 that can be used for de-limbing.

Torn between 50cc or 60cc.
Torn between 18" bar vs 20" bar.

No stihl, just husky and echo.

I sell and repair Stihl so I'm biased but my suggestion would be to go small on the bar size. Too many people buy based on CC and bar size, what you should look at is usability. Smaller bars are lighter and cut faster. What I don't want from a saw is weight, vibration, noise and imbalance.

Aside from price my main concerns are:

Comfort / ergonomics
Power / performance
Weight
Repairability / cost of ownership

I've worked on enough saws to be glad we sell Stihl but a good saw is a good saw and every brand has issues somewhere.

 

[martinq]

If he does end up cutting regularly I'd look into buying the tools to make your own chains from a spool. The saw is only as good as the chain and having excellent & affordable spare chains on hand makes a big difference.

If you're careful or lucky your felling & limbing saws will use the same chain type. Stihl & Oregon are both good chain.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Ended up picking up a really good deal on a new open box Echo Timberwolf Cs-590 w/ 20in bar. Had to travel a little bit to pick it up but my gamble did pay off. I examined the cylinder thru the spark plug hole, and it looked new. I allowed it to pop off but did not run it at the sellers location as the fuel looked like straight gas.

Got home and dumped the fuel, pulled the muffler and was greeted with a perfect piston and cylinder. That looked just like factory fired but not run. Runs good but you can tell it needs to break in and it needs a muffler mod very badly. Too quiet.

 

[TazzySpazzy]

A lot of muffler mods are just ways to make the saw sound louder. Not all saws benefit much from a muffler mod. I find that spending time sharpening and keeping your chain razor sharp adds much more performance to the cutting experience. Grind the teeth occasionally just to reset everything to equal length and touch up regularly with a fresh file--if the chain doesn't self-feed then it's not really sharp. Files are cheap and too many people keep sawing away with a dull file. Try dropping the rakers/depth gauges to around .030. Use as short a bar as needed to help keep chain speed from dropping. I currently run an MS261 with a.325 20" but an 18" would cover the vast majority of situations where a 50cc saw is appropriate.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I got home and did a side by side comparison to my 2021 Husky 555 which has the 2nd revision auto tune, and the difference is staggering. Im not sure why some youtube videos show the 555 and CS-590 close in speed. Simply not the case. 555 is a ripper, with zippy throttle response, and a very high RPM cut speed, that sounds like it is running on the edge of lean or right on point. The echo 590 on the other hand is slower to rev to top speed, and it does not cut fast. Rather it is a torque monster, you can push into it and let the engine do the work at what I would guess as 1000RPM less. It also sounds like it runs rich or has a throttle limiter on the coil (which I did confirm it does). Both saws carry their weight and balance very well with their 20" bars. Both are enjoyable to operate.

Echo CS-590:
Pros:
-Good ergonomics weight / balance.
-Inboard clutch with a very good chain brake
-Excellent build quality
-Has fully adjustable carb (once limiters are removed)
-Large air filter (Husky has a tiny filter on the 555)
-Excellent engine torque
-Engine has no metallic noises and sounds "fluid smooth". (Huskys have a metallic rattle, all youtube videos demonstrate this well)
-My opinion is this may have the potential to last longer.

Cons:
-Has a rimless clutch sprocket so the outer clutch will wear over time and need replaced.
-Ign coil has an RPM limiter on it as compared to the 620.
-Engine seems to run on the rich side even with jet turned in. (will try to lean it more once it breaks in)
-Air filter is large, but its poor fitment to the carburetor will allow some small dirt entry. (Husky seals better)
-Lacks the quick zippy thottle response of a comparable auto tune variant.
-Estimated 1k rpm slower in the cut compared to other brands.
-I feel like it would need a muffler mod out of the box. I do not feel like the husky needs one out of the box but may benefit anyways.

 

[TazzySpazzy]

Since I use my saws to generate income I am a bit biased towards Husqvarna or Stihl since they are very durable and both companies make great pro-level saws with very few legit turds. Only real complaint about Stihl is needing a good dealer nearby for parts, but then again I almost never need parts so there's that.
I don't watch very many "which saw cuts faster?" videos but I always wonder if they are using identical brand-new out of the box chains in order to have a fair comparison since anything else wouldn't count for much. Even a small battery saw can feel like a little ripper with a factory edge new Stihl chain on it.

 

[martinq]

Since I use my saws to generate income I am a bit biased towards Husqvarna or Stihl since they are very durable and both companies make great pro-level saws with very few legit turds. Only real complaint about Stihl is needing a good dealer nearby for parts, but then again I almost never need parts so there's that.
I don't watch very many "which saw cuts faster?" videos but I always wonder if they are using identical brand-new out of the box chains in order to have a fair comparison since anything else wouldn't count for much. Even a small battery saw can feel like a little ripper with a factory edge new Stihl chain on it.

Agreed. If you're going to compare saws it should be with the same bar & chain or on the dyno.

 

[Zaedock]

@Fordiesel69
The 590 is a nice powersaw. I would probably have chosen the 620P, but it's hard to pass up a good deal on an open box.
Stihl chains are nice, but out of the box (without having to touch it up), I find the Oregon EXL's to be the best out there.

BTW - just noticed you and I joined here on the same day, almost 20 years ago. Time flies!

 

[doitmyself]

A lot of muffler mods are just ways to make the saw sound louder. Not all saws benefit much from a muffler mod. I find that spending time sharpening and keeping your chain razor sharp adds much more performance to the cutting experience. Grind the teeth occasionally just to reset everything to equal length and touch up regularly with a fresh file--if the chain doesn't self-feed then it's not really sharp. Files are cheap and too many people keep sawing away with a dull file. Try dropping the rakers/depth gauges to around .030. Use as short a bar as needed to help keep chain speed from dropping. I currently run an MS261 with a.325 20" but an 18" would cover the vast majority of situations where a 50cc saw is appropriate.

Goof stuff TazzySpazzy. It's easy to pick out pro comments vs weekend warrior. We run our MS260's with 16 inch bars.

 

[wlk]

I bought a cheap Huyosen 62cc 20"bar saw the other year and it runs like a top. Used it around the property on large mulberry and black locust with no issues.
My other saw us a 23yr old 14" 38cc Shindaiwa, can run up to 18" bar, that never misses a beat.
I would run the Husky over the Echo personally. When I had a landscaping business years ago I was just never really a fan of Echo. Sure they both would be fine probably but I'd take the Husky.

 

[jeepman3071]

The 590 is a nice saw and would definitely benefit from a muffler mod. There are a few youtube videos showing the improvement with just a muffler mod and carb tune. There are also some o-ring upgrade kits out there to help improve the air filter. With those cheap upgrades it is a really great saw for the money.

 

[Fordiesel69]

The 590 is a nice saw and would definitely benefit from a muffler mod. There are a few youtube videos showing the improvement with just a muffler mod and carb tune. There are also some o-ring upgrade kits out there to help improve the air filter. With those cheap upgrades it is a really great saw for the money.

Plan is to put 3 tanks thru it as is, then delimit the carb, install an advance key on flywheel and do a muffler mod.

I wonder how much an advance key would benefit and if it would reduce the life of the saw.

 

[Sumboodie]

This is the correct answer for a guy my size. About 5-10, 200 fairly strong. Health issues aside, I really can't use a bigger saw than that without getting too tired.

From a technical side, tall trees require HP, it's good to be near 5HP for that.

As you know I love my modded 50cc 346XP, a lightweight ripper. But it's not 5HP, and won't blaze through a thick trunk without gagging. It's a dream on 10 inch trees, a struggle on 2 foot pines.

20 acres of woods is a really nice size!!! Totally jelly!

572 is heavy for the power.
Around 2.5lbs per horse power

MS500i is about same weight and almost 2hp more.

I've run 660, 500i, 460, 362, 361, 2100xp, 395, 372, and many others I can't remember.

Currently have a 500i and a 460.

Used to do 350-400 cords a year, but just do it as a hobby now. Did about 80 cords last year.

 

[Zaedock]

572 is heavy for the power.
Around 2.5lbs per horse power

MS500i is about same weight and almost 2hp more.

I've run 500i, 460, 362, 361, 2100xp, 395, 372, and many others I can't remember.

Currently have a 500i and a 460.

I wouldn't say a 572XP is "heavy" for the horsepower. IMO, it's crisp, nimble and balanced with a 28" Light bar. I can run it all day without issue. The 500i is great for an 80cc class saw, but you certainly pay for the weight savings and 1 HP difference.