Echo Saws, are they Dependable

[LuDookie]

No 7310, but I have 2 guys running along side me with them. My only Echo’s are a 680, cs400, and a Shindaiwa 402s.

The two 40cc saws stay pretty clean in the air box. Nothing gets past the filters. The 680 gets pretty filthy in the air box but nothing gets through the filter.

I have an older MS261 that gets a lot of fines in the intake. I also run a Husqy 395 which has a great system and the air box stays amazingly clean, however I get fines in the intake.

Overall, the 3 Echo’s have the best filtration among the saws I run, including the 7310’s, which are phenomenal.

There are a couple 620p’s that I know well and they are great saws but I don’t like the air filters.

 

[IntegrityCarpentry]

No 7310, but I have 2 guys running along side me with them. My only Echo’s are a 680, cs400, and a Shindaiwa 402s.

The two 40cc saws stay pretty clean in the air box. Nothing gets past the filters. The 680 gets pretty filthy in the air box but nothing gets through the filter.

I have an older MS261 that gets a lot of fines in the intake. I also run a Husqy 395 which has a great system and the air box stays amazingly clean, however I get fines in the intake.

Overall, the 3 Echo’s have the best filtration among the saws I run, including the 7310’s, which are phenomenal.

There are a couple 620p’s that I know well and they are great saws but I don’t like the air filters.

What do you cut with the 400’s and what bar and chain setups are you using? How do you like the rest of the saw? Chain tensioner? Oiling performance, how do you like that? I would strongly consider certain echo saws just having the good filter, and air box design is a big plus.

Thanks for all the thoughts. I finally got to look at my dads 680 and it was pretty much just like you said. I blew the filter out after I looked at it.

My brother has a new to him mtronic ms261 with little use. Thanks for the heads up on fines. I will pass that on. I might have seen some aftermarket filters for it.

Thanks again.

Gabriel

 

[LuDookie]

What do you cut with the 400’s and what bar and chain setups are you using? How do you like the rest of the saw? Chain tensioner? Oiling performance, how do you like that? I would strongly consider certain echo saws just having the good filter, and air box design is a big plus.

Thanks for all the thoughts. I finally got to look at my dads 680 and it was pretty much just like you said. I blew the filter out after I looked at it.

My brother has a new to him mtronic ms261 with little use. Thanks for the heads up on fines. I will pass that on. I might have seen some aftermarket filters for it.

Thanks again.

Gabriel

I use the 40cc saws on everything that I can, usually 10” and smaller, but their 16” bars get buried quite often. They are light, durable, and just easy to run. I misspoke earlier, the Echo cs400 is actually a 370(same saw minus a few cc). I got it in 2010 and it has been used and abused beyond its capacity and it is a great testament to the durability of these Japanese machines. It still runs like new today but does get a lot of time off. The Shindaiwa is the same as a cs400 and it’s fairly new but has a good amount of hours on it and is a bit stronger than the 370.

The old 370 has a cheap Forrester bar that has been exceptional in service and a full chisel tri-link chain from the depot. I actually like those chains quite a bit and I can get at least a season of cutting with them. I just can’t fault them and have never had an issue. The Shinny has a Woodland pro bar with a Carlton semi chisel that came with it. I like to run pro chains on bars with a bigger radius on these little saws. They both have 16” bars, 3/8 low pro, 0.050.

With these saws it is an absolute must to remove the muffler and get rid of the cat. I just drilled them out and broke the rest out with pliers. Opened the muffler up a tiny bit and tuned then to about 12,000 wot. They’ll last forever this way.

I love the 680! It’s not a snazzy saw for sure, just a pure work horse. “We” also have an old gray 670 that won’t die.

My Stihl 261 is from 2013. It’s tough enough and has been good but I’ve never been fond of it, being my only strat saw. I love the old 044’s and the 461’s but compared to other saws I run, the 261(for having such an open muffler) just seems to run hot, loud, and rough. I’ve tried different things to keep it from sucking up sawdust but I’ve just not reached for it much. It’s more of a personal preference, and I’m not delusional about Stihl quality. I know they are great products.

 

[LuDookie]

What do you cut with the 400’s and what bar and chain setups are you using? How do you like the rest of the saw? Chain tensioner? Oiling performance, how do you like that? I would strongly consider certain echo saws just having the good filter, and air box design is a big plus.

Thanks for all the thoughts. I finally got to look at my dads 680 and it was pretty much just like you said. I blew the filter out after I looked at it.

My brother has a new to him mtronic ms261 with little use. Thanks for the heads up on fines. I will pass that on. I might have seen some aftermarket filters for it.

Thanks again.

Gabriel

To answer your other questions… I like everything about the echo 40cc saws. The tensioners always work and have never broke ( but I’ve never broke a tensioner on anything) and the oiling performance is typical of echo, meaning everything gets slathered in oil. Lol. I have come to like that.

They are also EASY to disassemble.

Which reminds me… that’s another complaint about the MS261… if it oiled better, I’d use it more. Echo saws always seem to oil a ton. And the 680 has a manual oiler-priceless.

 

[IntegrityCarpentry]

To answer your other questions… I like everything about the echo 40cc saws. The tensioners always work and have never broke ( but I’ve never broke a tensioner on anything) and the oiling performance is typical of echo, meaning everything gets slathered in oil. Lol. I have come to like that.

They are also EASY to disassemble.

Which reminds me… that’s another complaint about the MS261… if it oiled better, I’d use it more. Echo saws always seem to oil a ton. And the 680 has a manual oiler-priceless.

Thanks for sharing again! My dad loves his manual oiler as well on 680.

On 261, does that one have adjustable oiler? And you have it turned all the way up and it’s still not enough?

Do any of the guys have a 620? I have a question about the oiler.

 

[ATpro]

Thanks for sharing again! My dad loves his manual oiler as well on 680.

A feature I truly miss on the newer saws. My 4000 and 4200 poulan has auto and manual oilers, both has bow bars, a real back saver when bucking firewood.

 

[LuDookie]

Thanks for sharing again! My dad loves his manual oiler as well on 680.

On 261, does that one have adjustable oiler? And you have it turned all the way up and it’s still not enough?

Do any of the guys have a 620? I have a question about the oiler.

Yes, the 261 has an adjustment on the oil pump. I keep it wide open and run a 18” bar. It’s very stingy if you’re use to the Echo saws.

 

[kenmbz]

Thanks for sharing again! My dad loves his manual oiler as well on 680.

On 261, does that one have adjustable oiler? And you have it turned all the way up and it’s still not enough?

Do any of the guys have a 620? I have a question about the oiler.

I have a 620p, what do you need to know?

 

[IntegrityCarpentry]

I have a 620p, what do you need to know?

So the main saws I have ran, when I put the bar tip of saw up near wood and rev, I can get a pretty far line of bar oil. My 272 with 20” or 24” would do that.

On the 620 I have oiler turned all the way up, and I get little spits of oil. I went to a thinner oil and it improved marginally. I opened the oil port up a wee bit and that helped marginally. I am running a 28” bar that came stock on it. I have not run thinner oil in the summer yet as I got this later in the year. Does this saw distribute oil differently? There are some slots in tensioner holes that are not there on my oregon bars for husky. Could my bar be too long? Is the saw defective? I have little to moderate knowledge, am a carpenter and only been running saws for firewood 5-6 years. Thank you for being willing to help.

 

[LuDookie]

So the main saws I have ran, when I put the bar tip of saw up near wood and rev, I can get a pretty far line of bar oil. My 272 with 20” or 24” would do that.

On the 620 I have oiler turned all the way up, and I get little spits of oil. I went to a thinner oil and it improved marginally. I opened the oil port up a wee bit and that helped marginally. I am running a 28” bar that came stock on it. I have not run thinner oil in the summer yet as I got this later in the year. Does this saw distribute oil differently? There are some slots in tensioner holes that are not there on my oregon bars for husky. Could my bar be too long? Is the saw defective? I have little to moderate knowledge, am a carpenter and only been running saws for firewood 5-6 years. Thank you for being willing to help.

I don’t own a 620 but I have access to them… I’m wondering if it is a clutch driven oiler. My Echos are not. They spit oil constantly. A quick google search will probably tell whether it is or not and that would explain it not oiling like older Echo models. I have a Husqvarna 395 that has a clutch driven oiler but it seems very adequate even with a 42” bar.

 

[LuDookie]

Looks like the newer Echos including the 620p have clutch driven oilers. I like to idle my saws to warm them up a bit and cool them down but not enough to ever desire a clutch driven oiler.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Looks like the newer Echos including the 620p have clutch driven oilers. I like to idle my saws to warm them up a bit and cool them down but not enough to ever desire a clutch driven oiler.

What's wrong with a clutch driven oiler?

 

[Captain Bruce]

Thanks for sharing again! My dad loves his manual oiler as well on 680.

On 261, does that one have adjustable oiler? And you have it turned all the way up and it’s still not enough?

Do any of the guys have a 620? I have a question about the oiler.

ECHO makes a fine machine, regardless. Their chainsaws fall into the homeowner/big box models, and than the pro models found at dealers.....

 

[ATpro]

pro models = big bucks for the dealers, hard to overcharge on saws with competitive pricing.

 

[LuDookie]

What's wrong with a clutch driven oiler?

Nothing at all. They make the most sense. I just feel like with as little as my saws sit around idling, it’s nice to have them pumping oil and there being an excess of oil puddled around the sprocket when I go to cut. I know it’s happened but I seldom run out of oil before fuel. I just like a lot of oil on the bar when I cut. I’m not interested in splitting hairs about what the perfect amount is. Excess is the perfect amount!

 

[JRenna]

ECHO makes a fine machine, regardless. Their chainsaws fall into the homeowner/big box models, and than the pro models found at dealers.....

For those of us new to chainsaws, what objectively qualifies a saw as a “pro” saw and the same for a “homeowner” saw? Let’s say top 3 things:

1.
2.
3.

 

[Kel71]

1. Magnesium cases
2. hp to weight ratio
3. pro saws last longer because of better quality parts both materials and design

 

[LuDookie]

For those of us new to chainsaws, what objectively qualifies a saw as a “pro” saw and the same for a “homeowner” saw? Let’s say top 3 things:

1.
2.
3.

The number 1 answer you’ll get here amongst the experts is the vertically split, metal crankcase with easily removable/replaceable top end. While this is accurate in terms of how they are marketed, it causes people to think the other designs are crap.

Most pro saws have a 300hr EPA rating but many that fall into the farm and ranch category have that these days and can run on their original piston/cylinder every bit as long as a pro saw.

Other things are the sprocket set up… rim vs spur, and often pro grade will come off the shelf with higher grade of bar and chain on them.

Most pro models are lighter and faster for their range of displacement. This is where Echo usually comes in third… not always.

Echo claims all of their saws are pro grade and don’t split the categories up the way the other 2 does, although lately they have started marketing the X SERIES and have some 150 hour saws.

I feel for anyone new to chainsaws and just starting to sift through all this mess. Put on your crap detector and your rubber boots for this one.

 

[JRenna]

Ok so most would agree on magnesium case.

What would be the minimum hp/weight ratio for a pro saw? How much hp per pound?

Which parts? Made by whom?

 

[LuDookie]

Ok so most would agree on magnesium case.

What would be the minimum hp/weight ratio for a pro saw? How much hp per pound?

Which parts? Made by whom?

This is all subjective. There are no ratios, only categories. There are different grades and styles of different parts made everywhere from Germany to China on pro saws. If the Stihl/Husqy website says it’s a pro saw, it’s a pro saw with a more serviceable engine, good performance, higher end cutting components.