Newbie and looking to buy a 50-60cc saw (no brand loyalty, just looking for the best banger for the buck).

[sean donato]

While I got you guys...
1) Do you guys just search around for ethanol free gas?
2) When you put your saws in layup do you guys drain the gas reservoir then run the saw until its empty? Any other layup actions? I'm hoping the user manual sheds some light but figured I'd ask.
3) Does anyone know of a case that fits the CS-620P? the Echo site says the cases say the cases they make dont fit this model (lame).
4) Any other pointers you guys have, please share, I'll take em'!

1. No not really as untill a few weeks ago it wasn't easy to get. Having said that I never had issues with ethonal fuel to begin with.

2. This depends on what you class long term storage as.
I run fuel stabilizer in everything so I don't worry too much for my normal runners.
3 month to a year purge the pump gas out and add some canned fuel and run it. Then sit it on the shelf.
Over a year, purge with canned fuel then run it dry. Fog the engine, drain bar oil, clean the saw, spray with wd 40 or muck off.

3. Cases suck and hog up space.

4. A sharp chain and keeping sharp will be 90% of your issues. Stihl hp ultra oil is garbage. If you don't have any buy ppe.

 

[HighRidgePines]

I bought the 620 PW with the 24" bar and chain and have been incredibly happy with it. I am no expert, but keeping the chain super sharp is the best thing I have found for performance rather than bar length. I am biased to Echo. I have a 361 P and a 501 P as well. I am finding that the 501 P doesn't get as much run time now.

 

[goonybird]

Have the CS590 with the 18" bar. Powerful and light saw.
Only complaint is the oddball 72LPX64CQ chain and bar that can be a bit of a bear to find.
Reminds me that I need to get to it as not much meat left on my current bar with all of the hours I have on it.

For fuel I initially ran mixed because Echo had a deal where they extended the warranty by a few years if you bought Echo oil at the time of saw purchase. Now because the saw often sits for a few months in the winters (as do some of my other 2 stroke equipment) I'm almost exclusively using Trufuel. No seasonal storage maintenance required and ready to rip whenever I need.

my CS 590 Timber Wolf with a 20" bar has been a great saw. I use the Truefuel premix from Home Depot 50:1. Never a problem. Use it in my Ryobi 2 stroke weed wacker too. Good stuff, not expensive considering the reliability. Couple pulls and you're running, even if it sits for a few weeks. Home depot has a poly case for the saw and blade that's a little expensive but protects it and keeps all you need together. Use the HD bar oil. Best prices, reliable, I'm happy.

Get the Husky helmet with ear protection and face shield, get chaps.... get chaps! Use gloves, the work gloves with the nitrile palm coating give you a good grip when your hands get sweaty, steel toe boots... be very careful sticking the tip of the blade in anywhere.. kickback could do you in, always be prepared.

 

[Mike Kunte]

Chainsaw Acquisition Disorder.

Did you tell him that it's terminal?

 

[pistolpeta]

1. No not really as untill a few weeks ago it wasn't easy to get. Having said that I never had issues with ethonal fuel to begin with.

2. This depends on what you class long term storage as.
I run fuel stabilizer in everything so I don't worry too much for my normal runners.
3 month to a year purge the pump gas out and add some canned fuel and run it. Then sit it on the shelf.
Over a year, purge with canned fuel then run it dry. Fog the engine, drain bar oil, clean the saw, spray with wd 40 or muck off.

3. Cases suck and hog up space.

4. A sharp chain and keeping sharp will be 90% of your issues. Stihl hp ultra oil is garbage. If you don't have any buy ppe.

At the end of my last session, I ran a tank of premix e-free through it and ran it dry.
I have yet to really give it any sort of cleaning but have put about 5 tanks through it since I bought it.

Whats fogging an engine?
Taking out the spark plug and spraying a lube in there or something?

 

[dboyd351]

Ethanol free gas is hard to get in the VA Beach area, but they may have some at a marina like Long Bay Pointe marina.
Otherwise, if you drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel they have it at the Royal Farms (1st gas station on the left) or Stingrays.
If you run all the fuel out at the end of the season and don't let fuel sit for more than a month or so you probably don't need it.
Fogging is essentially what you said but can be done with an oul mixture in a spray can - hence the name fogging.

 

[sean donato]

At the end of my last session, I ran a tank of premix e-free through it and ran it dry.
I have yet to really give it any sort of cleaning but have put about 5 tanks through it since I bought it.

Whats fogging an engine?
Taking out the spark plug and spraying a lube in there or something?

It's sprayed into an running engine till it chokes out. Typically just used with 2 strokes, but anything can be fogged. We do it quite often on outboards for winter storage. I do it on whatever I know is going to be sitting for an extended period of time. Helps stave off rust more then anything.

 

[IntegrityCarpentry]

It's sprayed into an running engine till it chokes out. Typically just used with 2 strokes, but anything can be fogged. We do it quite often on outboards for winter storage. I do it on whatever I know is going to be sitting for an extended period of time. Helps stave off rust more then anything.

What products are safe or preferable to use?

 

[sean donato]

This is what I use, simply because it's what my uncle stocks at the shop.
https://www.crcindustries.com/products/engine-stor-174-fogging-oil-13-wt-oz.htmlNo reason another brand wouldn't work just as well.

Edit: I've used several other brands in the past but this is also the least offensive when starting up after storage. It smokes pretty good, but doesn't stink as bad as the stabil or scams oil stuff.

 

[OM617YOTA]

On a single cylinder engine, you can also pull it over till it comes up on compression. Then you know the cylinder is sealed. Valves closed, or piston blocking ports.

 

[sean donato]

On a single cylinder engine, you can also pull it over till it comes up on compression. Then you know the cylinder is sealed. Valves closed, or piston blocking ports.

Just remember a lot of them have a compression release in them so just past TDC would be best.

 

[pistolpeta]

So just spray it in the intake until it chokes out?
Sorry, I'm new to this stuff.

 

[Hatchville Homesteader]

MS261 C-M w/20" B&C

 

[sean donato]

So just spray it in the intake until it chokes out?
Sorry, I'm new to this stuff.

Yep.

 

[Gratewhitehuntr]

Thoughts on fogging.
For outboards I developed the strategy of running the kicker on a 6gal non-ethanol with some stabilizer and fancy oil.
2 stroke outboards guzzle fuel, divide the engine HP rating by 10, that is approx how many gallons of fuel they use per hour at WOT.
But the kicker only takes a whiff of fumes, maybe a gallon all day, at just above idle.
During the ride back in, I switch the big engine over to this small tank and spend 5 mins blasting the ethanol containing fuel out of the crankcase and carbs. Best of both worlds, minimal additional cost.

For fogging a saw... meh... I run it dry then add a cap full of 2 stroke oil to the intake and pull it over until it hydrolocks WITHOUT breaking the rope. TCW-3 seems to burn off at a lower temp, I use any variety.
Lately I've been experimenting with GDI intake cleaner in a spray can, and feel like it does a nice job softening carbon with the greatly extended soak time of (look around at the saw hoarders here, ask how often they run EVERY saw) while also re-starting with less herky jerky.
Just my thoughts as a 2 stroke fan. YMMV.

 

[Gratewhitehuntr]

I'd like to retract this but cannot edit. My experimentation should not be viewed as advice.

Lately I've been experimenting with GDI intake cleaner in a spray can, and feel like it does a nice job softening carbon with the greatly extended soak time of

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I remember pouring a bunch of oil into the fuel, running at WOT until it started smoking, kill it, pouring the fuel out and restarting to run dry. That was before we had stuff in a can. I shortened it to simply pouring in a cap of oil and pulling a few times.
Meh. This matters a lot more, in mind mind, fogging matters a LOT more in water cooled engines, due to the increased difficulty in cooking off water. With ethanol fuel, I can see the value of trying to flush it out a bit before storage.

 

[sean donato]

I'd like to retract this but cannot edit. My experimentation should not be viewed as advice.

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I remember pouring a bunch of oil into the fuel, running at WOT until it started smoking, kill it, pouring the fuel out and restarting to run dry. That was before we had stuff in a can. I shortened it to simply pouring in a cap of oil and pulling a few times.
Meh. This matters a lot more, in mind mind, fogging matters a LOT more in water cooled engines, due to the increased difficulty in cooking off water. With ethanol fuel, I can see the value of trying to flush it out a bit before storage.

Fogging an engine for storage has zero to do with air cooled or water cooled. It has everything to do with long term protection of engine internals. This is especially important since moat people don't store their equipment in a temperature/humidity controlled environment and don't regularly use their equipment. However this extends to any engine that sits for a long period. Regular oils, weather 2 stroke or 4 stroke don't have the anti corrosion and rust inhibitors fogging and storage oils do.
To add to this you can simply look up just about any manufacturers storage procedures. You will typically find they all have a few things in common, which include periodically running the engine or adding more oil and physically turning the engine over. Most of which is by large and far not done. Hence the extra protection using a quality fogging gives.

 

[rarefish383]

Fogging an engine for storage has zero to do with air cooled or water cooled. It has everything to do with long term protection of engine internals. This is especially important since moat people don't store their equipment in a temperature/humidity controlled environment and don't regularly use their equipment. However this extends to any engine that sits for a long period. Regular oils, weather 2 stroke or 4 stroke don't have the anti corrosion and rust inhibitors fogging and storage oils do.
To add to this you can simply look up just about any manufacturers storage procedures. You will typically find they all have a few things in common, which include periodically running the engine or adding more oil and physically turning the engine over. Most of which is by large and far not done. Hence the extra protection using a quality fogging gives.

I'm guilty. I bought my 68 Cuda Formula S in 1999. Drove it a couple years and took it apart. After about 5 years it looked like I had the money to get it restored, so I sent the engine out to be rebuilt. Life got in the way and the car still isn't done. I used to turn the engine over now and then, but I bet it's been ten years since I spun it over. Maybe I'll go out right now and see if it will still spin. I did shoot it with fogging oil last time.

I have a hard time keeping 5-6 of my saws running. Last year I got two new, old, saws. Both sat since the 70's. A Mac 1-40 and a Sachs KMS4. Put a shot of mix in the carb and they both fired up. Both tanks were spotless so I put half a tank of mix in them. Primed them a couple more times and they both started drawing from the tank and ran great. Funny how saws with leaded non ethanol fuel could set for almost 50 years, and not get all clogged up.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Echo

Echo ~

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I think a 24 inch bar on the Echo 620 as your only bar is asking a bit much. A 20 inch on a 60cc saw is more realistic. Maybe an occasional 24 inch bar. But I am no expert.

I like Echo. I am loving the idea of a ported 4910; it would not cost a whole lot more than your price on a new 620 and you'll have the saw for decades. Now THAT might pull a 24 inch bar/chain.

EDIT: Echo runs a 15% sale annually and you might find such a sale in your area soon. I would rather buy from a dealer, not HD.

me, too... i am ing the area...