Chainsaws Echo vs. Husqvarna

[Tdbo]

Was in the middle of a project yesterday, and the chainsaw died.

Decided I was not going to mess with a 10 year old Poulan, which was purchased in an emergency, when the previous chain saw died under similar circumstances. Decided to shut down for the day and do some homework on hopefully a better quality replacement.

Due to dealer availability, I have decided that it will be one of the two brands named in the title.

In honor of the two pieces of Stihl equipment that I have in my shed, I have absolutely decided that the replacement will not be a Stihl under any circumstance.

I am looking for a decent quality lighter weight chainsaw of decent quality. Budget is $250 ish. Echo options are the: CS-310, CS-352, and the CS-3510.

The Husqvarna that I have noticed is the 120, which I can get for $192. Even though I can beef up the warranty to 4 years by buying 3 qts of premix, I'm not sure than it is much more of a saw than the higher end Poulan.

I really am leaning toward one of the Echo's when I go out to buy this PM; however, I wanted to get some feedback from those who have more chain saw experience as I, a homeowner, city type user that uses one on occasion. Thanks in advance.

 

[V70tdi]

Im not familiar with the 120 but be careful and take a look so it doesent has the crankcase made of plastic. Atleast the sheeper Husqvarnas here in Sweden has a plastic body and crankcase and is not a good choice if you are going to get a long lasting chainsaw.

 

[FowVay]

Husqvarna has lost their way. They have eaten from the tree of the forbidden power supply. They're laying off massive numbers and taking for granted the U.S. consumer. I would spend my hard earned money on the Echo product.

I had one of those Poulan Wild Thing chainsaws from the early 1990's. I was sawing this spring and it locked up on me. I knew I had some sort of oil in the fuel so I set it on the bench to see what I'd done. Turns out the center electrode from the spark plug broke off and jammed itself in the exhaust port. Locked the piston up sold. I figured it was a goner. After deburring all of the metal chunks from the port and piston I just put it back together never expecting it to run again. That little sucker fired up and screams like never before. Maybe the exhaust port timing was changed enough with my heavy handed filing job that it now thinks it's a moto GP racer. I don't know... it's the ugliest little saw in the neighborhood but it still gits 'er done!

 

[Nukeman7]

Not sure what your current project entails, but I would highly suggest stretching your budget a little bit and going with the Echo CS-400 saw with the 18" bar. It will likely be the last chainsaw you will buy for anything you need to do as a homeowner. It is an excellent "pro-sumer" grade saw that is significantly above the homeowner grade saws you listed.

 

[jeepman3071]

I have a few saws, both Echo and Husqvarna. The lower end Husqvarna models are not great compared to the Echo offerings. I have an Echo CS-3510 for my small saw and it is excellent, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. My grandfather has a CS-310, which is still a great saw, but the power difference between it and the CS-3510 is a noticeable difference.

 

[IndyIan]

How did your saw die? I have a Husky 141 for 10 years now, which is Poulan grade, that won't die, but I've had to clean the carb a couple times and replace the fuel pump diaphram to keep it from leaning itself out to death. Also had to drill out the exhaust, as the cat clogged. Anyways I think its at a couple hundred hours now, with still a ton of compression...
None of them like to be run lean for long, so even with an Echo, you'll have to clean the carb if its acting up.
I second the posts above though, at the low end I think Echo is better, and getting a half decent saw is good idea too.

 

[Rand]

I love my echo cs-590 It could be abit lighter but 60cc powers through those big logs pretty good.
I have a mini electric dewalt that works fine for limbing the small stuff. would like a smaller gas chainsaw for the 5-10"

I would definitely recommend echo. The dealer might have a demo saw you could try out if you are unsure which model.

For one saw the cs-400 is a good option on the heavy side, the cs-590 you are definitely better off having 2 saws (smaller and larger)

I really want to add a 2511p to the chainsaw stable.. but those are pricy.

If you are doing mostly medium and smaller, the cs-3510 is a good medium chainsaw... about half the weight of the cs590 loaded up.

 

[E150GT]

I just bought an echo cs400. I have become an echo fanboy. I bought the chainsaw cause I needed one and my dad has the same one and he uses it very regularly and he says it works well. I've used mine once and it got the job done with ease. I lost a big tree branch in my back yard and I needed to cut it up. Only thing I don't like about it is it leaks bar oil when sitting even after emptying the oil of of the reservoir. It's in the hot garage and it will seep out. My brothers Husqvarna does the same thing so maybe it's normal.

 

[Rand]

I just bought an echo cs400. I have become an echo fanboy. I bought the chainsaw cause I needed one and my dad has the same one and he uses it very regularly and he says it works well. I've used mine once and it got the job done with ease. I lost a big tree branch in my back yard and I needed to cut it up. Only thing I don't like about it is it leaks bar oil when sitting even after emptying the oil of of the reservoir. It's in the hot garage and it will seep out. My brothers Husqvarna does the same thing so maybe it's normal.

pretty normal The oiler only runs when the blade is moving.. unlike cheap saws.. the battery dewalt I have the oil will literally pour out of it sitting
The echo doesnt leak down just makes a mess.
I keep a couple shop rags under it in the case.

 

[jeepman3071]

I just bought an echo cs400. I have become an echo fanboy. I bought the chainsaw cause I needed one and my dad has the same one and he uses it very regularly and he says it works well. I've used mine once and it got the job done with ease. I lost a big tree branch in my back yard and I needed to cut it up. Only thing I don't like about it is it leaks bar oil when sitting even after emptying the oil of of the reservoir. It's in the hot garage and it will seep out. My brothers Husqvarna does the same thing so maybe it's normal.

Usually it is the oiler hose or the grommet that connects to the oil tank. I've replaced them on almost brand new saws, and other really old saws don't leak a drop and have never been touched. No rhyme or reason from what I can see across all the brands. My only guess is installation error or materials issue combined with heat cycles from use and oil degrading the rubber.

 

[RedSpider]

Not sure what your current project entails, but I would highly suggest stretching your budget a little bit and going with the Echo CS-400 saw with the 18" bar. It will likely be the last chainsaw you will buy for anything you need to do as a homeowner. It is an excellent "pro-sumer" grade saw that is significantly above the homeowner grade saws you listed.

I agree with this 100%. My first CS-400 was awesome, unfortunately I ran over it with my Kubota (I'd rather not talk about it...._).

The replacement CS-400 has been just as good. Always starts, runs strong, and has cut down some pretty good sized trees. Its a very good saw for the price.

 

[Tdbo]

Just got back.
Went Echo. I've had good lick with them, plus the 5 year warranty is hard to beat.
However, I ended up compromising.
I'd have preferred the 352 with the larger engine.
They were out (at two dealers.)
I really did not want (or need) a heavier saw.
So, I went with the CS-310 with a 16" bar (and I had to go to two dealers to get that.)
The plus is that the dealer I purchased from is family owned, and do their service in house.
About ready to go out and finish up in the yard, finally.
I think that it will do what I need.
If I need a bigger saw, I'll hire it done.

 

[jeepman3071]

Just got back.
Went Echo. I've had good lick with them, plus the 5 year warranty is hard to beat.
However, I ended up compromising.
I'd have preferred the 352 with the larger engine.
They were out (at two dealers.)
I really did not want (or need) a heavier saw.
So, I went with the CS-310 with a 16" bar (and I had to go to two dealers to get that.)
The plus is that the dealer I purchased from is family owned, and do their service in house.
About ready to go out and finish up in the yard, finally.
I think that it will do what I need.
If I need a bigger saw, I'll hire it done.

You will like the CS-310. It does take a few tanks for Echo saws to break-in, and once they do you'll notice the power increase. I gave my CS-310 to my 83 year old grandfather when his saw died, because it starts so easily.

 

[Tdbo]

How did your saw die? I have a Husky 141 for 10 years now, which is Poulan grade, that won't die, but I've had to clean the carb a couple times and replace the fuel pump diaphram to keep it from leaning itself out to death. Also had to drill out the exhaust, as the cat clogged. Anyways I think its at a couple hundred hours now, with still a ton of compression...
None of them like to be run lean for long, so even with an Echo, you'll have to clean the carb if its acting up.
I second the posts above though, at the low end I think Echo is better, and getting a half decent saw is good idea too.

As far as I can tell, the fuel line rotted out.
I have never liked the saw (see original post for circumstances of how it came to be.)
So, I decided that I wasn't going to play with it anymore.
Had a Poulan blower that died under the exact same circumstances, and I was never able to get it running again.
So I decided to go for a better quality piece of equipment.

 

[Tdbo]

You will like the CS-310. It does take a few tanks for Echo saws to break-in, and once they do you'll notice the power increase. I gave my CS-310 to my 83 year old grandfather when his saw died, because it starts so easily.

I think that it will do what I need it to do, for the little bit that I use one.
I really would have preferred the 352 with the beefier motor, but I'll probably be fine with this one.
Amazing how one still can't find what they want though.

 

[jeepman3071]

I love my echo cs-590 It could be abit lighter but 60cc powers through those big logs pretty good.
I have a mini electric dewalt that works fine for limbing the small stuff. would like a smaller gas chainsaw for the 5-10"

I would definitely recommend echo. The dealer might have a demo saw you could try out if you are unsure which model.

For one saw the cs-400 is a good option on the heavy side, the cs-590 you are definitely better off having 2 saws (smaller and larger)

I really want to add a 2511p to the chainsaw stable.. but those are pricy.

If you are doing mostly medium and smaller, the cs-3510 is a good medium chainsaw... about half the weight of the cs590 loaded up.

The CS-590 responds really well to a muffler mod. If you search on Youtube there are plenty of videos on guys modding the mufflers for a bit more airflow. The saw will be slightly louder, but with a little bit of a carb tune it will eat through wood even faster. They are heavy for their class, but pretty durable. If my CS2255 Jonsered ever dies, a CS-590 will replace it.

 

[IndyIan]

As far as I can tell, the fuel line rotted out.
I have never liked the saw (see original post for circumstances of how it came to be.)
So, I decided that I wasn't going to play with it anymore.
Had a Poulan blower that died under the exact same circumstances, and I was never able to get it running again.
So I decided to go for a better quality piece of equipment.

Yeah, they seem to be pretty tough little saws, but I can see why you want to upgrade too! Well, maybe sell/give it to someone who can get it running again.

 

[Tdbo]

Just got done out back.
Had the thing going for three hours.
Slick little saw. I like it.
I would have preferred the larger engine, but this thing was going through railroad ties like butter.
This is probably the hardest this thing will ever be used.
Only wear and tear is on the chain (dull.)
Put the spare chain on that I purchased with the saw, and will take the other out to my guy that sharpens my stuff.

 

[spasm3]

I have echo and a large husqvarna. My suggestion is if you go husky, go pro grade, not consumer. Echo makes good saws so far. i'm a bout 10 years in to a cs 450.. I will probably buy an echo 2511T for limbing.

 

[Chris142]

I know that echo parts are generally easier to find.