Banditracer, forgot to turn on my sarcasm sign LOL. And what do you know, most people that posted here that still have their OLD saws, seems to show that they don't make them like they used to. Well made stuff. Even happy to hear your craftsman/poulan lasted that long.
I was happy enough with it, did everything I asked. Might end up with another , who knows. Just thought I might step up a little this time. I buy my firewood cut and split so it's only for light duty at camp and to have " just in case ", bad storm takes a tree down at the house etc.
I have a few stihls and a poulan for a loaner/stump swa lol. 362, 034 (2), 028, 170, all work great and have their intended uses. I probably use the smallest 170 the most though as I don't get loads of logs for firewood anymore, and my most use is for brush cutting and limbing. You could say I'm a stihl guy, but as with anything nowadays it's the ford vs chevy vs dodge debate. They all make good stuff, and being you have an echo dealer just up the road I'd lean that way. I know a few tree guys that say echo make the best climbing saws. Edit, you'd probably be fine to pick up another poulan/johnsered again too, and they're not actually bad saws for occasional work. Mine has cut a LOT of wood, and is still going.
Lots of good info/advice on here so far. Working in this industry, for one of the mentioned manufacturers I am of course biased to that one, but I don't work in sales so I'm gonna say it like it is and you can make your own decision on what to buy. First off, Stihl and Husqvarna are absolutely the 2 leaders in the chainsaw industry. If anyone tells you "nah, Echo or some other brand is one of the main too!", they're wrong and you should stop listening to them at that point. Echo is a main competitor in the landscaping power tools market, but not for chain saws. Neither Stihl or Husqvarna even care what Echo does in that department, they only look at each other to try to 1-up each other. With that said, for what you said your application is, pretty much anything that's halfway decent (basically anything that's not some knockoff chinese saw) will do just fine. Key thing, like others have said, is using a good fuel, non-ethanol, a good oil, and mixing them at the correct recommended mix ratio. I've seen a lot of good saws seize in a short amount of time that was the result of either bad gas, bad oil (or no oil at all!), wrong mix ratio, or running without a filter thinking they're going to get a bit more power out of it. If you're going to use it at least once every couple weeks or so, it'll be fine. However if you don't expect to use it much, and have periods of times that it won't be used at all, for example like several months. I would honestly recommend a battery saw. There are no professional grade battery saws out there yet, but there are plenty of homeowner grade saws in that category and they are actually pretty damn good. As long as you don't plan on cutting whole trees down or bucking trees that are over like 12" in diameter, a battery saw would be great for you. You'll never have to deal with fuel, oils, replacing spark plugs, filters, carbs, etc. And if you stick to the same brand, you might later on get a trimmer or blower or some other tool that uses the same battery, so you can save more money down the road, even if you have to pay a bit more upfront when buying the first one. At home all I have is battery tools, all using the same type of battery. Only thing that's not battery is my Honda push mower, but as soon as that dies I'm getting a battery push mower too. Overall, when it comes to the homeowner grade tools, whether it's gas powered or battery powered, there are a lot of good options out there. Echo, Husqvarna, Stihl, Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Poulan, etc. they all make good stuff. I hear the comment that "They're not what they used to be" quite a lot, and in some ways that's true. Most are still really good quality as long as you treat it right, but back in the day saws seemed to be a bit more resilient to abuse. You can thank the EPA for some of that. None of the saws made more than like 15 years ago can pass the current emission standards so manufacturers have had to adapt. In many cases that means restricting the motor resulting in less power. Then people complain it's not powerful enough. Then you make it more powerful while still maintaining emissions, but now reliability goes down. Then it might be too heavy, so then they complain it's heavier than before. So now you put more magnesium in it which makes it more expensive, or more plastic which makes it less durable. Then people complain it's either too expensive or it doesn't last long enough. It's a never ending cycle and manufacturers are always fighting to reach a good enough balance between performance, reliability, weight/handling, and cost. You can't have it all. It's no different than in the auto or motorcycle industry.
No man's garage is complete without a chainsaw. I have a 16″ Stihl. If the tree is big, I'll plunge cut. If it's under water, I'll bury the bar up to the engine to make the cut. If the tree is a monster oak that would take 2.5 people with arms wrapped around the trunk to touch hands and 4-5 guys to cut it down and section it, I'm the last guy still cutting at the end of the day. The thing does not quit. Is it a handy size? I climb ladders into the trees to one-arm broken branches when I have to. Any bigger of a saw and that would be impossible for me...I'm not that big. Trees on my property are old growth, 75' - 100'+ tall. I get a lot of deadfall. If I have to take a tree down due to storm damage, whatever, after it hits the ground I can spend a few hours finishing it off to splitter size and not feel like my arms are gonna fall off. I recently bought a new bar and, aside from a few chains over the years, it's the only part I've needed to replace...I'll put it on one of these days. The bar replacement is an indicator of the abuse my saw has suffered and tolerated over the 10+ years I've been usin' it to tear shit up.
I have a Stihl and a Milwaukee electric. I am just a home owner not a logger. Most of the time the Stihl takes longer to start than it would take to do the job. The Milwaukee starts every time and is so quite. I also have the Milwaukee pole saw, so nice for trimming trees and cutting off branches once the tree is down. I would avoid the Dewalt cordless due to the plastic ratcheting bar adjuster thing. My Milwaukee will get through a tree easy on one battery cutting it up in to pieces ready to split. Also if you have property the bush trimmer(hedge trimmer?) thing that attaches to the pole saw can be used like a sickle to clear a path it is super nice to clear brush up to a finger thick. I use it to clear around my wife’s wild berries so she can pick them. I also use it to trim the grass in the ditch(where the zero turn gets stuck) when it gets like knee high, so much faster and less mess or hassle than a weed wacker. One caution on the electric they are so quite people and pets do not know you are cutting and will walk up while you are falling a tree. But you can also hear the tree starting to creak so you know it is moving much earlier.
I sell a ton of used stihls, echos and huskys. The 310 is a solid work horse. I’d recommend a look at the 455 rancher too if that’s the saw you’re looking at by echo.
For 200 bucks, the little echo work pretty damn well. You kinda get what you pay for in these tools. Do not use ethanol gas. Keep chains sharp. There's some funny stuff here.
I cut, split and stack 10 (full) cords a year (mostly red oak and ash) to heat my house and for campfires and such. I'm a believer in Stihl though the Husky's are good too. Life is too short to screw around with inferior equipment. The last thing I want to do is grab my saw only to find it has a problem. The real key is to have sharp chains, it reduces the load on the saw (and my back) by a factor of 2. I put a freshly sharpened chain on my saw every day and often touch it up once or twice a day.
I do take trees down with it but it's mostly smallish stuff 8 - 16 inch and it's pine so easy sawing. Our camp land is a stand of pine that was replanted after a forest fire in the early 50's. So it's rows and they were planted too close together, 10 - 12 ft. between them in both directions. So I keep taking down the smaller ones that aren't doing well plus cleaning up whatever mother nature takes down, have had a few ice storms and wicked wind that have taken some down. We always have a big ass fire when we're up there, that's where it all goes.
Work bought us a couple 60 volt DeWalt electric chainsaws that i was quick to talk shit about but now im contemplating buying one. It's a fast cutting torque monster for sure. If they were cheaper they would be perfect for homeowner use.
But, those Echo's, you keep hearing the name, over and over again, and it gets a little fainter/quieter everytime you hear it!
I've had a CS-310 for nearly 10 yrs now. Has done anything I ever needed out of it. Kept chain sharp, purchased a couple of chains over the years, and it starts/runs reliably. I did have to change out the worm gear that oils the chain, but it was a cheap part and simple task. I have always ran 100% gas and the Echo 2-stroke oil in it. As said above, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value. If mine ever breaks, I'll replace it with another one without hesitation.
What “sbk 1198” says about things changing, especially emissions, is why I left Stihl. I have two 55 series pieces of equipment. They’re good stuff. In 2014, I bought 55 series string trimmer. It would, either, idle or run WFO; it wouldn’t run at part-throttle. I cleaned the carb, got a warranty carb, got a carb off an older 55, and the thing simply wouldn’t run at part-throttle. I surmise, they moved the port or changed the shape for emissions and ruined the running ability. I replaced it with an equivalent Echo and it was loads better. But, it was noisy and required too much rpm to engage the clutch, which doesn’t work with intricate trimming. Bought a Dolmar 245.4, with an Efco head, and its one piece I’ll never sell. Carlton chains are THE best chain I’ve ever used. Others have commented on the way they cut, when seeing me butcher wood. As mentioned before, the Greenworks 82V commercial saws are VERY impressive. Give one a try, if a gas saw doesn’t fit one’s needs.
Well I'm now thinking going to a battery saw really makes the most sense, of coarse there's a million choices. I get the impression the Greenworks stuff is good ? I'm trying to not spend much more than a couple hundred ish on this, I'm poor. Does anybody have any experience with this ? At Harbor Freight, has great reviews. Found the same saw on Amazon branded differently and a little more $. https://www.harborfreight.com/40v-lithium-14-in-cordless-chain-saw-63287.html
When we loaded up to come back to Abaco after the hurricane, we brought a half dozen Stihl 170’s. They’re all doing great!
Battery is all Greenworks does. If you buy their saw, that battery fits all their commercial lineup. It seems like they have a deal going with free extras or something. Let me check with my dealer buddy (down in NC) on the program and I’ll post back. Hopefully, you’ll have a dealer close to you. What sets Greenworks apart is the 82V system. You’re looking at double the power of the HF stuff. They’re incredibly powerful and have a long run time. Initially, I was a skeptic. But, after seeing them in my buddy’s store, I’m certain they have their place, especially around commercial properties and institutional campuses.
Loooove my Echo! Don't listen to 'only Stihl' BS, unless you're a professional tree guy or do a shit ton of cutting. I've had my Echo for about 4 yrs now, no regrets, starts within 2 pulls every time! Now those Poulans are a different story, they're the biggest pieces of shit I've ever spent money on, never again! That POS nearly broke my hand/fingers more than once while trying to start it. If you're serious about going electric, HF just came out with a new line called Atlas, it's an 80V system, think I saw a 16" & 18"....vs that lil Lynx you linked, which is likely getting phased out.
There was a tree trimming crew for the electric company that came by the house a few weeks back and all of their guys had electric saws though I couldn't see what they were. Not only were there no chainsaws screaming but the workers weren't yelling at one another to speak. Now if they could only quiet down the chipper, although they at least ran it only intermittently.
