Efco 152 long term test

[Stihl Crazy]

More pics. Found a broken wire. Saw ran good in the cut but it ran like it had a limited coil, over 13,800 it would cut out. Should work better now.

 

[PA Plumber]

Just curious, and maybe I missed it, does the 152 have two piston rings or one?
Pretty impressive all the same.

I have a friend of mine nearly talked into trying one of these.
He's kicking around a Stihl 270 and a 152.
From this thread, I'd like to see him get the Efco.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Just curious, and maybe I missed it, does the 152 have two piston rings or one?
Pretty impressive all the same.

I have a friend of mine nearly talked into trying one of these.
He's kicking around a Stihl 270 and a 152.
From this thread, I'd like to see him get the Efco.

Yes it has a 2 ring piston. I have one here that I can take a pic of.

 

[Coloradobum]

Yes it has a 2 ring piston. I have one here that I can take a pic of.

When I was looking for a 50cc saw it came down to the 152 and a Redmax 5300. I ended up with the Redmax because I found a good deal. Both brands don't get nearly the respect they deserve.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Here is an aftermarket piston for the 152.

 

[8433jeff]

There are OEM pistons available, I will get a quote early next week. Rings for my 481 were less than $5 retail. What brand aftermarket do you go with?

 

[PA Plumber]

Thanks for all the pics, SC.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

There are OEM pistons available, I will get a quote early next week. Rings for my 481 were less than $5 retail. What brand aftermarket do you go with?

Espian pistons. I am an Efco dealer so OEM is no problem. Just brought in some aftermarket to give the guys another option. Thanks anyway.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Thanks for all the pics, SC.

Your welcome. Have the tank airing out now. Will pull the cylinder next.

 

[8433jeff]

Espian pistons. I am an Efco dealer so OEM is no problem. Just brought in some aftermarket to give the guys another option. Thanks anyway.

I knew that. I'm, although not doing as good a job as you, trying to let people know these saws will compete with the big brands, and one of the knocks against Efco is parts availability. Just letting folks know they are, and at a lot less than said big brands. Rings for my Stihl 011 (41cc) projects were about $24 a saw after shipping; rings for my Olympyk 481 (81cc) were $12 retail after shipping.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

Had a JD cs62 waiting for me when I came home from work today. I like the green colour.

 

[slipknot]

I priced OEM (vertex) pistons $45.11 vs Episan $31.99 Which do you prefer SC? Will you be selling the episan kits online or just in your store front. My supplier isnt selling them anymore, I sure would like to find another supplier just for security...Im not buying the kit off of baileys..its oem and it takes too long...baileys doesnt stock them...they get them for you. I like my 152's that much...i will buy another when i can afford it....The epa will kill this saw soon.....they will soon be a MT5200 with a cat muffler.......BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!:angrysoapbox:

 

[Echo Kid]

Our local Husqvarna saw shop has Efco's also. They don't seem very eager to sell an Efco. I don't know why. Perhaps the margins are not as good or perhaps it is because they don't have the long term experience with them.

They have 10 times more Husqvarna's in the store than they have Efco's.

I don't have much saw experience except for 35-40 years of homeowner/personel firewood cutting, but from what I can see the Efco is second to none in build quality and design. They seem to be a little heavier construction in some areas, such as the clutch cover/chain guide plates than many of the saws I own. My litle 152 has a very user friendly power curve with decent max power and is one of the easiest starting saws I have ever used. My best friend has a Husky 445 and a 357XP. They are both much less eager to start when cold than my Efco.

I hope you do well selling the Efco's. I think they are a very good product.

Our local saw shop has a variety efcos,stihls,huskys,echos alot of efcos

 

[Pipeliner542]

looking for a 40cc limb saw for my 72 yr old father who still cuts and splits 7-9 cords a year how do you think the smaller efcos would hold up maybe a 140 thanks sc i was looking at redmax 3800 but could see trying an efco because of this thread thanks

 

[Vibes]

how do you think the smaller efcos would hold up maybe a 140 thanks

I had the 39cc John Deere, which I sold, and would have taken it over my Red Max GZ4000. I can't speak on the long term aspects of either one because I didn't have them that long. The JD was a simpler design, and IMO ran better.

Do a search on here for the Cub Cadet version of this saw.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

looking for a 40cc limb saw for my 72 yr old father who still cuts and splits 7-9 cords a year how do you think the smaller efcos would hold up maybe a 140 thanks sc i was looking at redmax 3800 but could see trying an efco because of this thread thanks

Long term I can't address. I only have one homeowner Efco in use. A MT 3700. The guy has a 266 and wanted a smaller saw also. He has cut 5 cords of small wood with it so far. He likes it. The 5 years warranty sold him on Efco.

That said, the Redmax 3800 is not junk either.

 

[8433jeff]

If you are going to warranty something for five years, you better make it right, or hope the owner has a short memory so he forgets that it has a five year warranty, or where you are at, or have a bunch of parts ready. I think they have made them right and parts are available for them. The shop has sold 7-8 of these with no problems; and has had a warranty claim for an oiler and one for bad setup from the box stores around us. Buy it and worry not, and CS 40's/CS 46's are fairly common new on the ebay. Sometimes you will find the Efco versions also found there.

 

[Machold]

I picked up some oak yesterday; the guy who cut it asked me about my saws; I mentioned the efco 165 and how I 'd like to highten the mix. He said, don't touch it, just add a drop more of oil to your fuel to get a 45:1 ratio. Is this right?

 

[Brushwacker]

I picked up some oak yesterday; the guy who cut it asked me about my saws; I mentioned the efco 165 and how I 'd like to highten the mix. He said, don't touch it, just add a drop more of oil to your fuel to get a 45:1 ratio. Is this right?

Whatever ratio you run, make sure your carb is adjusted to the mix you use. More oil means your fuel mix is thicker and flows slower so often the carb screw adjustments need opened up a bit to compensate. I run 5 oz. to the gallon, 28 to 1 in my 165. It run terribly lean and hot until I moved the limiter caps where I could adjust it 1/2 more turn out and added another exhaust outlet. Most don't run that much oil in their mix these days but I run mostly well used saws other then this Efco and find I have excellant results using this mixture . I am finicky on carb adjustments and keeping the air filters from plugging up though. Don't void your warranty if you might want to use it, otherwise I'd run a bit more then 50 to 1 with premium gas. At 50 to 1 I would use a good synthetic oil also.

 

[Pipeliner542]

I have tried a 3800 redmax that was ported/muffler modded and it has cut lots of wood seem like it wont die... i was told it is not made anymore or should say that model was discontinued. Might just try the efco a little scared about the homeowner quality but i guess that is exactly what it being used for. i have as of lately started to change my opinion of what quality is. I have spent lots of money buying better made item only to have them break just out of warranty or fail just as quickly but thank goodness I paid a good bit for it. Overall quality in everything is going down on high end items..IMHO was at stihl shop looking for a 260 and all three shops i called they were gone.. After reading this thread I dont know why i would even be looking for anything other than trying an efco.