De comp valve / button ?

[Woody912]

OK guys. I'm 80 years old and did have a torn rotator cuff on my "pulling" side. The repair was not able to get all the muscles working properly so I'm in need of help with my Echo CS 490. It's a good saw and does everything I ask it to do - once it's started. So, is it possible to add a decompression valve to my saw? Or, would the cost of doing so outweigh the cost of selling this one and buying a different saw with a factory decomp valve? Many thanks, Ed

No personal experience but would those saws with the elastostart be an option?

 

[Johnwell]

No personal experience but would those saws with the elastostart be an option?

My grandfather has a stihl with that, but I’m not sure the model. He’s 88 this year and can still start it.

 

[NSEric]

Can you give me a aprox idea of where to drill?

The factory hole looks like this, drill the new hole straight across from it in the flat part the wrench goes on, if you need another hole drill into another flat part the wrench goes on.
You could have up to 6 holes but 2 or 3 is enough. If you drill too many holes the saw wont pop the decomp out and start so only add one at a time and test it.

 

[Therealrusty]

View attachment 1246398
The factory hole looks like this, drill the new hole straight across from it in the flat part the wrench goes on, if you need another hole drill into another flat part the wrench goes on.
You could have up to 6 holes but 2 or 3 is enough. If you drill too many holes the saw wont pop the decomp out and start so only add one at a time and test it.

Perfect!!
Thanks

 

[Gardiner Schneider]

I am not 100% sure but I believe that a port would have to be bored on the top of the cylinder, then threaded for the valve, and before that the fins on top would have to be milled off flat with the top of the cylinder. But I wouldnt know if the cylinder design would accept that anyway as it wasnt designed & engineered for the valve, not to mention access in the top housing cover for access to it, bottom line way to much $$ and hassle, only person that might do all that would be someone who has their own milling machine and wanted a challenge.
So I would say scrap that idea and possibly go battery powered- my neighbor loves his battery powered saw

We have two little 16" Milwaukee 18 volts at 12 amps that are nice for cutting brush and limbing. Those batts are big enough to run for twenty minutes or so and charge back up in about half an hour on the heavy duty "rapid charger" that comes with the saw. Pushing a button on the handle and pulling the trigger, and the saw spins right up and cuts. Best to have a sharp spare chain or two as leaning on it to cut when dull will kill the batt pretty quickly. They do use a fair bit of oil and am not sure that they are cheaper to run than our Husky 545 and 555 that throw a lot of chips a lot faster, whilst sounding the way a saw is supposed to sound and feel. At 81 I now have more appreciation for ease of starting.