dissecting an earthquake chainsaw

[Brian B.]

Thanks for the reply, guy that was so gung ho about my pp5020 now wants to re neg, people re a trip.

 

[trophyhunter]

I'm guessing your Quake cut's noticeably better than the Poulan? I have one that we use soley for "dirt" work, cutting roots and the like. The orange saws aren't allowed down in any holes in the ground. I modded the Poulan and got it running nicely but it can't pull nearly as hard in the cut as the Quakes do.

 

[Brian B.]

No, my 5020 is a real runner, just notice myself using the Quaker more often, more comfortable/ lighter, who knows... Ergonomics? Don't know what exactly it is.

 

[rspeters]

I ordered one on the moroutdoor site today. Excited to see how it runs.

 

[Lark-o]

I bought some por15 high temp paint that I'm going to try on the muffler. Ill let you guys know how it turns out. Its a bit spendy I thought but I've never used a por15 product I didn't like.

 

[Brian B.]

There are a Chinese family of saws apparently with roughly the same general construction.

If you google or ebay "52(58)cc 22" chainsaw" you will find a line of saws, some 52cc, some 58 cc that look to be from the same factory as the earthquakes. Prices on the 58cc models from the high $130's, anyone know anything about these saws?

Yeah, they are not $55 obviously, but a 58cc 22" bar saw for $140ish is still a good buy provided they are of the high quality of the Quakes.

Anyone?

 

[Brian B.]

Hey look- I got a disagree x 1 (!Yes!)

 

[Lark-o]

I wouldn't spend that much on Chinese saw specially a bigger one the quality just isn't there. You guys may disagree with me but This little Quaker is a toy in my book. It lacks quality I usually pride myself in owning with my tools. I'd rather have a piss pounded old husky or stihl or jonny off of CL for that kind of money. Something that was made and designed with pride.

 

[dswensen]

I wouldn't spend that much on Chinese saw specially a bigger one the quality just isn't there. You guys may disagree with me but This little Quaker is a toy in my book. It lacks quality I usually pride myself in owning with my tools. I'd rather have a piss pounded old husky or stihl or jonny off of CL for that kind of money. Something that was made and designed with pride.

Yep, you are right - I disagree. But we can disagree and still be friends. I think these "toys" are going to cut a BUNCH of firewood.

These saws have their purpose and that purpose is NOT to be compared feature-to-feature and built-point to build-point with a professional saw - or even a high end urban warrior saw. For the market they are intended for, they are better than one usually encounters, and that is why we like them. It's a cheap build of a good design, which in my book anyway, is better than a cheap build of a poor design. Plus, they seem to last reasonably well.

Would I pay the asking price for a new one? Nope. But as long as they are selling "parts saws" that are practically brand new for these prices - I'm in all day long.

Go Quakes!

 

[dswensen]

Just ordered another 45 for $48 and change shipped ...... CRAP - but at least it's still cheaper than drugs or cigarettes.

Well, we'll test the holiday shipping speeds and handling quality..... The way these things are packed, it will likely truly be "for parts only".

 

[Brian B.]

I can only compare to the. Two Stihls we have and I see no difference in quality... Not of I'm honest about it, the Quakes a damn good saw, the. Stihl's a damn good saw...

If the gookiackie saws I was describing are built as well as the Quales I would say its a good deal. Comparable "top shelf" brand saws with those specifications would cost many hundreds more.

I want one for fun, but would rather try to find one around a hundred, maybe a similar Quaker deal will present itself with the 58cc saws.

 

[Brian B.]

Just ordered another 45 for $48 and change shipped ...... CRAP - but at least it's still cheaper than drugs or cigarettes.

Well, we'll test the holiday shipping speeds and handling quality..... The way these things are packed, it will likely truly be "for parts only".

I'm misunderstanding your post- they DID charge you for shipping?

 

[Lark-o]

Yep, you are right - I disagree. But we can disagree and still be friends. I think these "toys" are going to cut a BUNCH of firewood.

These saws have their purpose and that purpose is NOT to be compared feature-to-feature and built-point to build-point with a professional saw - or even a high end urban warrior saw. For the market they are intended for, they are better than one usually encounters, and that is why we like them. It's a cheap build of a good design, which in my book anyway, is better than a cheap build of a poor design. Plus, they seem to last reasonably well.

Would I pay the asking price for a new one? Nope. But as long as they are selling "parts saws" that are practically brand new for these prices - I'm in all day long.

Go Quakes!

I agree with everything you said, I probably went a little over board on the toy comment but it still how I feel. The quake is a good design that's the only reason it's getting the attention it's received. I'm sick of over priced Chinese crap tools that don't work or break every time I'm force to use one. it all comes down to paying full price for a Chinese saw which I think most would probably not do.

 

[Brian B.]

To say the Chinese tools are over priced- that has some truth to it.. But by the same token the Stihls in just about anything over the MS250 are over priced. They are fine tools, but over priced. If the higher end saws were more reasonably priced there would be no market for these (impressive) chinese clones. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

 

[dswensen]

I'm misunderstanding your post- they DID charge you for shipping?

I should have been more clear. I paid $48 plus some change ($0.40). For that I got the saw shipped to my door. The saw cost $48.40. Shipping was "free".

 

[Scoutillac]

1 of my 2 quakers showed up today I intend to fire this one up as it came in the box as the last one I modded the muff before I even tried to start it.. As is standard the shipping bow was beat harder than a redheaded step child. The saw looks only to have been fueled, never in wood as far as I can tell, does not even look like the bar was put on. I may wait till the other shows up then put all 3 next to each other and run a comp test to see where they are. My neighbors will hate me even more now

 

[diggers_dad]

When my 45 cc Quake showed up the first thing I did was check everything out and started modding before I even ran it. The muffler was given a second, larger port and both ports were given removable spark screens. I don't like the bright red chain brake flag so I swapped it out with the brake flag from a Ryobi 40 cc saw. It took a little adapting but worked out well. Next up was the chain adjuster. I removed the stock setup and replaced it with one that can be adjusted from the side of the saw instead of the front. The side tension adjuster was also from the little Ryobi.

I didn't want to use the 3/8ths rim so I dug around and found a .325-7 rim and appropriate 16" bar. The only chain I had was .325 chisel safety chain but it was new and sharp. After all the mods were finished I fueled and oiled the saw and headed for the wood pile.

Even with the safety chain (which wouldn't allow me to get a full bite) the little saw was impressive. It easily cut as well as any stock 50 cc saw I have ever ran. The anti-vibe was good and I had to back the oiler off a little because it was slinging so much oil. Just to see where it settled in after I had tuned it in the cut, I put the tach on it for some readings.

Idle: 3,400 rpm
WOT in the cut: 10,100 rpm
WOT no load: 13,900 rpm

Overall, I'm happy with the little saw. Would I be willing to pay $150 plus for a saw like this and have to mod it? Nope.
But for $48.40 for the saw, a few bucks for extra parts and a couple hours shop time I think it's a bargain.

 

[procarbine2k1]

I think I am going to grab a couple of the 45cc saws, just for the sake of having them. Has anyone sat these beside a redmax, or tried any parts interchangeability? Sorry if its been answered, I haven't read the quake thread from front to back, but have read most of it. I have a Redmax g5000 (similar to the 450) and would be tickled if the parts were the same. No doubt in my mind these are the best deal going right now, I bought three of the 38cc saws and was very happy about it.

 

[Scoutillac]

Tried to fire my new arrival up and was denied. Dug into it to find a twisted collapsed fuel line. There was no way this saw had ever ran. Put a new line and it runs like a stock saw, needs a muff mod bad. The felling spike on this one is HUGE, twice the size of my other one. Comp came in at 165psi. Ran it next to my modded one and there was a hell of a difference. Only thing wrong with it is that it is a leaker, gonna dig into that next. All in all I am pretty happy with #2, hope #3 is not as much of a PITA out of the box.

 

[diggers_dad]

I think I am going to grab a couple of the 45cc saws, just for the sake of having them. Has anyone sat these beside a redmax, or tried any parts interchangeability? Sorry if its been answered, I haven't read the quake thread from front to back, but have read most of it. I have a Redmax g5000 (similar to the 450) and would be tickled if the parts were the same. No doubt in my mind these are the best deal going right now, I bought three of the 38cc saws and was very happy about it.

Well, we've talked about it before and the general consensus was the 38 and 41 cc models were virtually identical to the G3800 Redmax design. There were a couple of differences here and there but nothing serious. Someone pointed out these designs started coming out of China shortly after Redmax stopped using the non-strato charged designs in favor of strato charging for better emissions and power.

Best we could tell, a number of Chinese manufacturers were copying the 40 cc non-strato engine with a few variations. They were passing emissions standards at the time by adding a lot of restriction to the muffler which heated the muffler and produced fewer emissions. Build quality was very inconsistent. The best stuff was coming out of the factory producing Earthquakes. They seemed to have better quality control than most of the other manufacturers.

I went so far as to buy some of the Zenoah engine parts (new, strato-charged stuff) and "upgrading" a couple of my little Quakes. Parts swapped without a problem and I made a couple of little sleeper saws. The crankcase is the same for the 38 / 40 / 41 cc saws. I also ordered a few parts for the Ryobi and Redmax saws which bolted right on to the Quakes.

Now, when we get to the 45cc version, it appears to be the same thing. However, I don't have a G5000 to check parts interchangeability. The G5000 would seem to be the basis for the 45 / 52 / 58 cc saws coming out of China now under several different names. Again, it would seem the plant making the Quakes is doing a better job than most of the others.

It all comes down to the question of what you're planning on doing with the saw. For me - I enjoyed opening the mufflers, opening the air intake, doing a little port work, and changing parts between strato and non-strato. It was fun, it was cheap, I learned some more about saws and got to sell one or two along the way. Would I buy one of these to depend on for my wood-cutting requirements in the future? No.

Would I buy six to try my hand at porting, muffler mods, bar and chain combos, timing changes, etc.? You betcha!

Is there ALWAYS a Quake in the bed of my truck, ready for action? Yes.

dd