20 inch chainsaw recommendation

[5030]

I've never determined the difference between a pro saw and a consumer saw. The only difference I can determine is the price and if the saw is a clamshell design or a full casted crankcase. No matter what brand you buy, the difference between a dog and a racehorse is the loop. A dull loop makes any saw a dog whereas a sharp loop makes it a racehorse. Problem is, most owners who sharpen their own loops, bugger them up thinking they are sharpening them when in reality they aren't. Echo FYI, uses Oregon chain and it's not rinky dink either.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Not true

I'm sure you're not responsible for the really bad reputation Echo's service has.

My own experience was pretty interesting.

Went to Echo's site. Found list of repair centers. Drove to repair center. Repair center said "the guy" who repaired Echos had quit a long time ago. Echo didn't bother updating the site.

Went back to site. Drove to second repair center. They kept the saw for 6 weeks. Told me they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. They gave it back. No lie.

Went back to site. Drove to third repair center. They kept the saw for 6 weeks. I told them not to sharpen the chain. They gave it back, mostly repaired, with a chain that had its geometry ruined by their amateur grinding. Bought a new chain to avoid spending forever fixing the old one.

The oiler leaked like crazy. I found out the tube had been sliced. Replaced it without bothering the repair center. I could not wait another 6 weeks.

Found out a screw had been left out of the case.

Later on, when I knew more about saws, I realized I could have repaired the saw's original issue myself for $15.

Here's something most people don't know: some repair centers like to hold homeowner saws forever so they can suck up to pros by turning their saws around fast. This may explain why my saw stayed in the shop for so long. A warranty is useless if you're a second-class customer. I really needed my saw during the summer it was in the shop.

The place that sold me the Husqvarna is great. Turns my saws around in 10 days. That includes the Echos. I would never go to an authorized Echo place again. I'd rather pay and have my saw back in a reasonable time.

I can fix nearly any problem with a saw now, so the Husqvarna place will never see me unless something big comes up.

Something to consider: in a time when mechanics charge $100 per hour and up, it's kind of stupid to take a cheap tool like a chainsaw to one unless you have to. I have rebuild kits for all my small engines sitting in my shop, waiting, and I get help from web experts when it's something worse.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I've never determined the difference between a pro saw and a consumer saw. The only difference I can determine is the price and if the saw is a clamshell design or a full casted crankcase. No matter what brand you buy, the difference between a dog and a racehorse is the loop. A dull loop makes any saw a dog whereas a sharp loop makes it a racehorse. Problem is, most owners who sharpen their own loops, bugger them up thinking they are sharpening them when in reality they aren't. Echo FYI, uses Oregon chain and it's not rinky dink either.

There are definitely differences. Better cases. Bigger carbs without childproofing to make tuning difficult. Electronics. Better chains (Home Depot and Lowe's will not sell you a saw with a real chain). Better coils.

Pro saws are often more suited to hot-rodding, so you can undo the damage the EPA has done.

Some amateur saws are really close to pro saws. The Echo CS-4910 shares a lot of parts with the CS-501P, which is a pro model.

The chain is definitely important. A bad saw with a sharp chain will outperform a good saw with a bad chain.

I learned something interesting. A dull chain will reduce a saw's life. It makes the engine work harder, increasing the heat it generates.

 

[Hay Dude]

I thought my CS-590 was a dog until I got the correct information on taking care of it and starting it. I did some damage through ignorance, and I bought an expensive Husqvarna.

When I got the Echo figured out, I was able to turn it into a great saw. I advanced the timing. I opened up the exhaust. I started using Biobor EB instead of Sta-Bil. I tuned it to about 15,000 RPM, properly. I fixed the carb so it doesn't have a hole in the main jet. I got a real chain to replace the Romper Room chains all amateur saws come with.

It's a monster now. Put $500 into one a CS-590 and a few parts, and you can have a really nice saw without going up the food chain. The CS-590 has a metal case, so it's not all that far from a pro saw.

Don't worry about voiding the warranty, because Echo doesn't honor warranties anyway.

You aren’t the first person I heard that from.

 

[JeepHead]

Echo will do anything to get out of warrantying a saw. My dad was able to get the 590 covered under warranty once but they still charge him some sort of fee to do the work or something. That was 10 or so years ago.

 

[kenmbz]

Why I

Echo will do anything to get out of warrantying a saw. My dad was able to get the 590 covered under warranty once but they still charge him some sort of fee to do the work or something. That was 10 or so years ago.

Why I buy from a local vs. box store.
They will help if I ever needed to use the warranty, or do the work somewhat reasonably.
Dealer makes the difference.
I took my 490 back after break in and they retuned for me at no charge.
I will bring the 620p back to them too when I'm ready, but it's still running fine.

 

[xyz123]

I learned something interesting. A sharp chain will reduce a saw's life. It makes the engine work harder, increasing the heat it generates.

Hmmmmm on that one right there. SMH

What I have seen for many years is just the opposite of that. A DULL chain does that.

 

[JeepHead]

Why I

Why I buy from a local vs. box store.
They will help if I ever needed to use the warranty, or do the work somewhat reasonably.
Dealer makes the difference.
I took my 490 back after break in and they retuned for me at no charge.
I will bring the 620p back to them too when I'm ready, but it's still running fine.

Yup, definitely makes a difference. If I am buying a new saw, it only comes from a local saw shop and not from a box store. I have a really good dealer 2 miles away from home. They only deal in Echo and Stihl though so I use a different dealer for my Huskys and I have bought from them for over 20 years now. The Husky dealer will look up what he paid for it and aways cuts me a price break over what he normally sells for.

 

[xyz123]

When I buy new saws I dont buy them for no stinking warranty anyways.

I tear into brand new saws no matter the brand to set up and tune the way I want.

No matter the brands either. Husky Echo Stihl and even Makita Dolmar in the day.

I dont even trust the shops to have the right tune and most dont that I start with fresh tune before I will use.

 

[Hay Dude]

When I buy new saws I dont buy them for no stinking warranty anyways.

I tear into brand new saws no matter the brand to set up and tune the way I want.

No matter the brands either. Husky Echo Stihl and even Makita Dolmar in the day.

I dont even trust the shops to have the right tune and most dont that I start with fresh tune before I will use.

Totally respect that mindset.
Problem is, only a few of us have your chainsaw repairing/modifying capability.
So a warranty is more important to the typical owner/operator on TBN.
I have only had 1 warranty claim of Stihl and it was a FS131 weed wacker.