I did a lot of research last week on the newest line of the Echo Top handle saws and from what I read Echo seems to be on top right now for top handle saws. This would be of course factoring in cost, warranty, parts etc... As soon as funds are available I will be buying the Echo 2155t, not a do it all top handle but certainly an amazing limbing saw. 200T is a great saw from what people say but its also a big climbing saw. I've never been one to jump on the band wagon until I've thoroughly researched the topic. Personally I would buy the Echo 355T if I need that size of top handle.
Like someone else said on here, many people probably just enjoy building the saw, not necessarily doing it to save the money. I can definitely understand that.
If you are planning on the 2511T, put a dawg on the saw to improve handling per Hotsaws101's video (
) . I would have bought the 2511T myself and be done before I stumbled on AS and contracted CAD.
Back to the topic, the Farmertec MS200T I have is pre-Huztl kit assembled back July this year. Considering my 90% Farmertec with 10% OEM cost about $440 to assemble to date, the current Huztl kit is a great deal.
The visual quality of Farmertec parts were very impressive, the crank case, crank, cylinder and piston were all really well made, significantly nicer than I had anticipated.
Only issues I had so far are:
- carburetor will not idle - had to rebuild a used OEM and plug the accelerator pump.
- fitment of the plastic covers over the brake, clutch and oiler were off - had to trim fit with a dremel
- oil pump failed, had to get that replaced.
- oil line kinks easy as Bedford has shown in his video.
- Intake boot melted ... still diagnosing issues.
- screws are very soft and I have striped or snapped the heads off one.
I list these issues just to see if the some of you can track if Farmertec has made any improvements with the Huztl kit.
On the plus side, everything else fit together perfect, and the seals and bearings are holding up well.
Curiously, I ordered replacement parts recently and noticed that some of the parts received this week were slightly lower in quality from the one received in June. These were the chain catcher which had horrible finish and fuel vent line being too long and kinks. However, I should also mention that the spare crank I bought for my MS461 looks a lot better machined than the OEM crank in my case. Come to show that its hard to generalize Farmertec part's quality.
The Farmertec parts has some minor problems, but it also has promise for keeping the MS200T and other legacy saws genre alive and working. It is definitely not Stihl consistent quality which the pros can rely on and abuse for most part, but for the hobbyist or homeowners who is not running the saws everyday, what you get is a lot more than what you pay.