New Echo 620PW

[Squidward]

Picked up new Echo 620 PW this week. I work full time 30 miles north of my little farm, so not much chance to use it yet.

Already have Echo 7310, little 2511T and an old Stihl Farm Boss, MS 290, with 20+ years on it.
Farm Boss has leaky fuel tank, scored piston (Possibly from being loaned out? Don't loan your saws, I learned hard way). Still runs, but to start it cold you basically need to squirt starter fluid in spark plug hole.

So this is my in-between saw, for stuff too big for 2511 but not big enough to lug the 7310 around.

Also, who ever felt like they had too many saws?

I considered the Stihl MS 261, same price point, lighter. I have not seen many side-by-side videos which may tell you something, Usually the 620 gets compared to a Stihl at a couple hundred dollar higher price point.
Husky-- nothing against them. I'm kind of intrigued by their really large displacement saws. But--dealers are very, very few. where I am at. And I've heard bad things from an outgoing Husky dealer about service.
And it would be rare for me to need something bigger than the 7310. But never say never.

Back to the Echo 620. Controls similar to 7310. Echos are heavy relative to Stihl. But lighter on your wallet for the same power. I'm 61 years old now, and if I had to wag the thing all through the woods to make a living, I might have opted for the Stihl. Echo is kind of dodgy about their power rating, but I've heard or read somewhere around 4.5 HP on the 620 PW. I believe it. The Farm Boss was around 3.9, and the 620 seems to cut quicker.

I ordered with 20" bar. Thought about longer bar; my 7310 has a 24", but going with this for now. It pulls the 20" with authority.

Cut up a decent diameter hardwood chopping block that I had in the house yard. Most likely ash; it had been deadfall when we bought the place.

I'm not anti-Stihl; previously had a 460 Magnum. But Stihl kinda ticked me off when their dealer charged me over a hundred dollars to adjust valves on backpack blower that was pretty new.
Told 'em at the time that was a good argument for Echo, they took my money and let me go out the door. And I am a man of my word, mostly.
I bought a Stihl hand auger, and it is well-designed and runs good. Other than that, all my purchases since the blower deal have been Echos.

I'm not great with uploading pictures or videos, but if I get some, I'll try in a future post.

 

[sean donato]

Comparing the 620p to a ms290 isn't really an apples to apples. Echos "pro" saw vs a stihl farm/rancher saw. The ms 362, ms400 or husqy 562xp. The latter 2 will smoke the 620 bad. 362 would be the most even comparison. Not knocking the 620, good saw for its price. Heavy and slow, but we'll built, decent av and good filtration. Excellent warranty if you ever need it and have a dealer willing to use it.
Not certain why a husqy dealer would be saying anything about having service issues from husqy. You can get whatever parts you need off the web and are dead simple to work on. Moat get hung up in the auto tune or mtronic but truthfully it's a carb with a fuel seliniod on it. Not rocket science to work on.

 

[damifino]

I have a Echo 4910 and love it. Ordered a new Echo 590 but cancelled the order because of bad vibes from supplier. Still want a 590 bad, although I don't need it. Good luck, I think Echo is best bang for the buck.

 

[oldbuzzard]

If you have a 620PW I don’t know why you would want a 590?

 

[damifino]

I don't have a 620. I was just giving Squidward a pat on back for his purchase of a 620. I own 4 saws and only one is Echo but have become a big fan of Echo saws.

 

[Squidward]

I don't hate on Stihl, like I say, I did own a 460 Magnum until my own mistake with a bush hog did it in. That said, the Stihl 400 is not apples to apples either.
I looked at it. It costs $390 more than I paid for the 620. It should outrun the 620. If I sprang for one, I'd be disappointed if it didn't.

At $1079 out the door, give or take, I don't believe the 400 would outrun my 7310, which cost a little less, if both were bone stock, with similar sharp chains.
If you modded one but not the other, then its not apples to apples. I will likely keep my Echos stock. I have heard they respond well to mods for some folks.

Those who say the Echos are heavy, I totally agree. Slow, I dunno. Maybe if you are measuring rpm, seem to top out slower. But Echos in my limited but real experience cut pretty darn fast with a sharp chain. They seem to have more low end torque/ "grunt" than some other brands.

I take videos for what they are worth, often a fan of one saw brand is trying to prove a point. I have never used a Stihl 500i. If someone gifted me a 500i, I'd be proud to have it. But all that said, you don't see a lot of videos of the very expensive bone stock 500i completely dusting a bone stock 7310.

Husky does not have a lot of dealers around SW Ohio/ N Kentucky for their professional grade stuff. I know of one, and I could get to three Stihl dealers and one Echo dealer quicker. My story about their customer service is admittedly a limited sample size, but I saw a guy wagging one into our local hardware store, unhappy with it, only to find out that store was no longer a dealer.

If I ever did spring for a Husky, it would probably be one of their larger displacement saws--bigger than 70ish cc. Not sure I'd wind up using it much just being truthful, as I'm not a logger.

 

[Squidward]

I see it shows me as living in Houston... I actually live in Northern Kentucky.

My Mom lives in Houston though, and I got a pretty good workout cleaning up hurricane deadfall in July.

 

[EchovsStihl63]

The 620 is dang hard to beat for the money, I love mine, when I am in the woods cutting firewood I am not racing, not sure how it stacks up by the fraction of the second but I do not see much difference between it and the old 044 that I have. I am sure that if I dogged them down in some real hard white oak or ash then the 044 would pull ahead and I hope that it would as it is 10 more cc.

Had a guy get in an argument with me that my 044 must be sick, but its not. The reality is unless you are full tilt boogie running these saws with the bar buried, they are not going to feel a whole lot different with a good sharp chain.

I agree with you on the statement that Echo seems to have more bottom end grunt, even back into the old VL series. My dad has a 702VL Echo which is 70cc, it won't out speed the 044, but when you get down with the bar fully sunk into some hardwood it'll out pull it every time, where the 044 has a tendency to stall out unless you've really got it humming. 2 different saws with 2 different characteristics, that is what makes owning a bunch of different ones fun.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Coming from a guy that has run 044`s and MS440`s since the early 90`s I would like someone to place a 60 cc class Echo in my hands that will out cut a Stihl 044. I had a Echo 670 loaned to me that was rumored to be the most badass Stihl killer on the planet, couldn`t come close. I ended up with three of those supercharged 670`s, meh, never ran or used a Echo 620 but can`t see one coming in that much more powerful. We were on a 2000+ acre select cut testing the Echo`s out and they did ok but bat a 044, not even close. We were running 20" bars and Stihl chisel chain on every saw, the Husqvarna 65 Special and 372XP made excellent power and speed, the Stihl saws just stayed together and lost no parts like muffler bolts and gaskets.

 

[sean donato]

I don't hate on Stihl, like I say, I did own a 460 Magnum until my own mistake with a bush hog did it in. That said, the Stihl 400 is not apples to apples either.
I looked at it. It costs $390 more than I paid for the 620. It should outrun the 620. If I sprang for one, I'd be disappointed if it didn't.

At $1079 out the door, give or take, I don't believe the 400 would outrun my 7310, which cost a little less, if both were bone stock, with similar sharp chains.
If you modded one but not the other, then its not apples to apples. I will likely keep my Echos stock. I have heard they respond well to mods for some folks.

Those who say the Echos are heavy, I totally agree. Slow, I dunno. Maybe if you are measuring rpm, seem to top out slower. But Echos in my limited but real experience cut pretty darn fast with a sharp chain. They seem to have more low end torque/ "grunt" than some other brands.

I take videos for what they are worth, often a fan of one saw brand is trying to prove a point. I have never used a Stihl 500i. If someone gifted me a 500i, I'd be proud to have it. But all that said, you don't see a lot of videos of the very expensive bone stock 500i completely dusting a bone stock 7310.

Husky does not have a lot of dealers around SW Ohio/ N Kentucky for their professional grade stuff. I know of one, and I could get to three Stihl dealers and one Echo dealer quicker. My story about their customer service is admittedly a limited sample size, but I saw a guy wagging one into our local hardware store, unhappy with it, only to find out that store was no longer a dealer.

If I ever did spring for a Husky, it would probably be one of their larger displacement saws--bigger than 70ish cc. Not sure I'd wind up using it much just being truthful, as I'm not a logger.

The ms400 is pretty comparable, price aside. Neighbor has a 590 and a 670 echo I've cut with side by side for years now. Let alone all the stihls and husqys I've ran working with my logging buddy. The 620 is basically a "pro" version of the 590. Few upgraded parts and a different carb if memory serves me. Again, not bad saws and I'm not bashing them, but compared to the equivalent stihl or husqy they are heavy and slow. Very reliable and good otherwise.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I haven’t run a 7310 echo but with the way echo is, heavy on weight, lower on power and price vs the competition, I’d bet on the 400.

 

[EchovsStihl63]

Coming from a guy that has run 044`s and MS440`s since the early 90`s I would like someone to place a 60 cc class Echo in my hands that will out cut a Stihl 044. I had a Echo 670 loaned to me that was rumored to be the most badass Stihl killer on the planet, couldn`t come close. I ended up with three of those supercharged 670`s, meh, never ran or used a Echo 620 but can`t see one coming in that much more powerful. We were on a 2000+ acre select cut testing the Echo`s out and they did ok but bat a 044, not even close. We were running 20" bars and Stihl chisel chain on every saw, the Husqvarna 65 Special and 372XP made excellent power and speed, the Stihl saws just stayed together and lost no parts like muffler bolts and gaskets.

I never said that the 620 would out cut an 044. I said in the manner that I use them it is hard to tell a difference for general fire wood cutting, which does not put either saw against its limit with a 20in bar. Put the stop watch on them and its a no brainer that a 70cc saw is gonna come out on top, it better anyway.

The 044, being 30 some years old and in very good shape with low hours, would probably sell today for almost, maybe more than, what I bought the 620 new for. Had I not inherited the 044, I would not spend that kind of money on it for what I would use my saws for.