Ryobi 10532 vs Husqvarn 435

[Cliff R]

Ran both saws yesterday most of the morning. I forgot my stopwatch so couldn't get accurate timed cuts. Simply a phenomenon of turning 50 earlier this year, I have bad cases of CRS (Can't Remember S:censored, but at least everything else still works!

I need to get a better chain for the Ryobi. The chain it comes with, even with the safety links ground down just doesn't cut smoothly.

Anyhow, I thought I post the field results from running both saws, and I'll get some timed cuts between the two saws ASAP.

The Ryobi ran flawlessly and has a LOT more power than I originally thought. I was just messing around with it initially on the woodpile cross-cutting some big chunks of Beech to get the carb settings close.

Limbing up to apprx 10" diameter material it has more than enough power, and the rpm's hardly fall off at all in the cut. I picked on some larger Cherry logs with both saws, and they are very, very close in power and cutting potential.

The Husqvarna pulls down easier as it has a much better chain, and spends more time "grunting" thru the material. The Ryobi in contrast, requires some effort and I found myself "pushing" it some to get it to cut as fast as the Husquvarna.

After about 10 minutes of heavy cutting, the Ryobi runs out of fuel. I initially thought that maybe the fuel line came up out of the fuel again, but it was right where it was supposed to be, and the tank was empty.

The Husqvarna ran twice as long on a tank of fuel. I re-filled the Ryobi and it was empty again in about 15 minutes. I checked again, and the fuel filter was in the bottom of the tank. I double checked the carb settings and they were perfect.

I'm not sure what the fuel capacity difference is between the saws, but the Ryobi will simply not run nearly as long as the Husqvarna doing the same amount of work?

The oiler on the Ryobi is excellent, and didn't show any tendencies to plug up, slow down or stop working, even when cross-cutting some pretty big material. I'm not sure what type of oiler it is, but it seems to have plenty of pressure to keep constant oil flow to the bar/chain.

The AV system of the Husqvarna is better, as it is the fit/feel (ergonomics I believe is the politically correct terminology). Part of the "roughness" of the Ryobi may be the chain, as it just doesn't "pull" into a log and cut nearly as clean as the Husqvarna's set-up. Bumper spike/dog on the Ryobi is next to useless, but there seems to be enough material there I can drill/tap and add a good one to it.

The Ryobi handles the 18" bar quite well, which may change when I get a better chain on it? I still have to admit that for $109 shipped to my door, it's an impressive little saw. I'm going to make it my tool box saw, and will throw it in the truck in case some quick cutting is needed when I'm out and about.

Lastly, I removed all of the stickers found just about everyplace on it, gives it a much "cleaner" look. Going to paint the yellow bar grey at some point as well, and put a black pull-cord handle on it. It looks like a "cheap" saw, but as Brad's evaluation/testing showed us, it uses a very well made engine under all that colorful plastic, and has great potential for a very reasonable price.....Cliff

PS: I forgot to add that the Ryobi was muffler modded by drilling straight thru the exhaust exit and first baffle with a 3/8" bit, then opened up with a carbide cutter and cleaned up with a sanding roll. The deflector and screen were put back in place. The 435 is complete stock, no mods of any kind.

 

[Taxmantoo]

Ran both saws yesterday most of the morning. I forgot my stopwatch so couldn't get accurate timed cuts.

I never forget my stopwatch.
http://www.jewelrytelevision.com/in...6*4&cm_pos=312&bca=WTC283&ptid=7362&R=2681800
http://www.worldofwatches.com/detail.asp?bo_products_variance_id=67378

Actually I wear a http://www.worldofwatches.com/detail.asp?bo_products_variance_id=71456, but that one on JTV has the same movement and is stupid cheap. They time to 1/20th of a second for up to 12 hours, which is somewhat unusual in an analog chrono.

Another deal worth looking at on a 7T92 Seiko, this one is at a known reputable dealer but the sale is only good today. This one has the solar compass feature (like a sundial in reverse). You never have to pay more than $100 for a $300 Seiko if you're patient.
http://www.worldofwatches.com/detail.asp?bo_products_variance_id=70055

My Ryobi (stock, one tank of fuel through it) ran more fuel than I expected from a strato saw. I thought maybe I left it idling too long while bucking up those fallen branches, or maybe it was because I'm running it rich to break it in. I want to run another tank through it, then lean it out for a tank or two to get a good idea of stock performance, then mod it like Brad did for Eric's son.

My 10532 came with a new black Ryobi bar and chain.
I was slightly disappointed, I wanted the ugly yellow one to match the ugly yellow pull start handle and choke knob. Doesn't really matter, I've only run mine with a 12" Carleton bar and a 16" Husky.
You need to run the Husky and the Ryobi in the same wood, with the stopwatch, with the same bar and chain.

 

[Cliff R]

"You need to run the Husky and the Ryobi in the same wood, with the stopwatch, with the same bar and chain."

Agreed, and I can already tell you that the results will be pretty close.

Cutting speed is only for bragging rights if all of the other features the saw has to offer are inferior to another very similiar sized saw with similiar power to weight.

I put this thread up as Brad's excellent test results no doubt had quite a few folks looking closely at these saws for limbing. Field test results are important. Little things like a useless oiler or vapor locking due to overheating, etc, could have been found with this saw that would make it a poor bargain despite it's excellent power to weight ratio (for example).

There would be no need for folks to toss a $100 at a saw that was nothing but a bunch of duck poop wrapped around an excellent engine assembly.

I'm going to investigate the fuel consumption thing further, as I was quite disappointed in the Ryobi being empty in less than half the cutting time as the Husqvarna. Sometimes I venture quite a ways from the truck, and it would SUCK if the saw only ran 10-15 minutes limbing a big tree and was empty, no matter how powerful it was!.....Cliff

 

[Vibes]

I replaced the bar and chain on mine with a 14'' off of an 1800 Poulan and a Woodman Pro 30LP CHAIN. Big improvement!

When you mod the muffler, do you change the carb settings?

 

[Cliff R]

I PM'd Brad and muffler modded mine before I ever fired it up. I removed the idle mixture screws in lieu of slotting them in place, and I added springs to them. They turned WAY too easy for my liking, and I wanted to make sure it held the setting(s).

I didn't reference the factory settings before removing them.

I did encounter two MAJOR problems with my saw, which is no doubt why it was still new in the box but stamped "refurbished".

The fuel line was WAY too long, and the filter was up near the gas cap and above the bottom of the tank apprx 1".

The vent was plugged. When it was assembled, the rubber check valve was pushed down too far, collapsing it and plugging up the vent hole leading to the fuel tank.

Both repairs took about 20 minutes, and I have a brand new "refurbished" saw for my efforts that runs flawlessly.

I suspect quite a few of the "refurb's" will have similiar issues, which got them returned under warrantee to start with.....Cliff

 

[Taxmantoo]

I think with Ryobi, 'refurbished' means 'they returned it, but the engine started when we tried it, so we stamped the refurb markings on it and boxed it up'. Which is fine and dandy if it was returned for stalling in a felling cut, but not if there were something seriously wrong with the saw. I wish I'd gotten in on the Home Depot closeout more than a year ago, $120 for a new saw with a case I believe.

I think mine ran about ten minutes, had maybe 1/8 tank of fuel left.
IIRC, mine was rich at idle, lean on the high end. Once or twice it managed to two stroke at idle instead of its normal rich blubbering, and then it was fast enough to fully engage the clutch. I like it much better with the idle set leaner and the idle speed set much lower.

My carb screws had powerful springs behind them and could not be removed without slotting them first. I even used a small hammer to drive a brass butt connector on one of the screws. Applied quite a bit of torque before I twisted the connector off the screw, but the screw stayed put. I strongly recommend just buying the double D driver off eBay. I did that in the end, because I could not get the screwdriver in the screw on a running/vibrating saw, and shutting the saw off to adjust the carb got old very fast.

I bet somebody took the springs off Cliff's mixture screws before he bought the saw. Just another example of the joys of buying used.

 

[howellhandmade]

I think running semi-skip to try to make an 18" bar work on a 40cc saw is cynical attempt by the manufacturer to snare ignorant buyers who judge a saw by the length of its "blade," the proper way to pull an 18" being a bigger saw. I put a 16 on my Ryobi, and wouldn't go any bigger with full comp chain. It's a bar that I just had lying around; if I were buying I'd probably get a 14.

The running out of fuel business is odd. I didn't have a clock on mine, but I think a tank lasted a lot longer than 10 minutes.

Jack

 

[HimWill]

I put this up in the other Ryobi thread,so it's old news to some.Anyway, Brad mentioned in his review that the oil and gas filler holes were small and easy to miss.I had previously posted a thread about these on/off caps when Advance Auto was closing them out for $0.99 each.There should still be some kicking around.Tractor Supply has them for about $2.
Originally designed for anti-freeze jugs,they fit gallon bar oil jugs perfectly.They give you a little extra "reach" and better control for hitting and filling the oil tank.

An added bonus............Made in U.S.A...................

Everybody needs one of these anyway,I don't care how "steady-handed" you are,everybody makes a mess sometimes.With these caps,you really have to try to make a mess.(Another poster,who shall remain nameless,was quick to point out the possibilities of "color coordinated " saw accessories since they come in various colors.) Here's a picture:

 

[Cliff R]

"I think running semi-skip to try to make an 18" bar work on a 40cc saw is cynical attempt by the manufacturer to snare ignorant buyers who judge a saw by the length of its "blade," the proper way to pull an 18" being a bigger saw."

Agreed, I ordered a new bar and chain and it should be here in a few days, another reason I wasn't heartbroken that I forgot my stopwatch and couldnt' do any timed cuts.

I have no experience with these "skip" chains, but the 18" set-up these saws show up with is not well matched to the saw, it would be WAY better with a 14" or 16" bar and full comp chain.

As far as springs on the mixtures screws, it didn't look like they were set-up for them, but I put them there anyhow. There wasn't much of a shoulder on the upper section of the screws to catch the springs. I just happened to have some springs here that I could clip to length that would work.....Cliff

PS: good info on the filler jug small tops as well. IMHO you can't post good information too many times, as many folks do not read every post on long threads anyhow, or even read every thread, I know that I don't.

 

[HimWill]

Have you thought anymore about the "air tight" carb box.I am going to run the saw without the top cover,when I find a suitable nut to run down on the air filter.Might be a day or two before I get the chance.I wonder if the gas mileage question is somehow related,or just a smaller tank on the Ryobi (10.4 oz. according to the book).

 

[outdoortype]

Keep it coming Cliff

Thanks for the reviews. Before reading your review I wouldn't have considered a 435 or equivalent but it might be my next saw. Let me ask you this, is comparable to your 51 in smaller wood say 6" or less?

 

[rburg]

The redmax gz4000 I have came with an 18" bar. With 91vx chain, the 18" bar works fairly well. I have cut some 10 to 12" hickory with it and it worked fine. Does the 435 use .325 chain? I believe I would like to try one of these saws next.

 

[Cliff R]

"Thanks for the reviews. Before reading your review I wouldn't have considered a 435 or equivalent but it might be my next saw. Let me ask you this, is comparable to your 51 in smaller wood say 6" or less?"

The Husqvarna 435 is a remarkable powerful saw for 41cc. If I could fault it anyplace, it would be that the .325" chain it comes with is just a tad too "aggressive" and it grabs on occassion and stalls the engine down.

This is no longer a problem now that I've sharpened the chain a few times, got the engine broken in and well tuned. They are set just a tad lean out of the box, which hurts mid-range power some, although it didn't seem to hurt the power at really high rpms. I tuned the 435 by going rich with the "H" screw, then leaning it up while making a cut after each setting. I'm not sure if the 435 has a rev limiting coil or not, so I was pretty careful to set it for best power without it acting lean anyplace in the speed/load range.

I just happened to take the 51 along the other day with the Ryobi and the 435 Husky, and I would say the 435 is easily as fast as the 51 in smaller material, less than apprx 10" diameter.

I couldn't make a fair comparison for the Ryobi as the chain it uses requires the user to "push" it some, even when limbing. The chain just sort of bounces across the wood, even though it still cuts pretty well, it's not nearly as smooth as the 16" .325" set-up the 435 uses.

I haven't investigated opening up the airbox on the Ryobi. Keep in mind that it really doesn't take huge openings in an airbox to delivery a saw with plenty of intake air. As long as the total surface area would be equal to the surface area of the throat just above the venturi area of the carburetor and the two strato-charged port openings, it would be sufficient. One must also consider that if placed in the wrong area, they could suck in considerable saw dust and wood chips. I'm not an expert on this, but will look at some of my other saws closely to see where they get intake air from, before adding any holes anyplace on the Ryobi.

I didn't check the specs in the operators manual and compare fuel capacity with the 435, but I can say for certain that the Husqvarna will cut apprx twice as long as the Ryobi on a full tank of fuel.

I would also comment that the Husqvarna 435 uses the strato-charged engine technology, but it is in a "clam-shell" design, not a split case with bolt on cylinder like the Ryobi. This would make modifications much more difficult, even though the 435 has PLENTY of power as delivered and doesn't even act like it's deficient in exhaust flow. I really doubt if a muffler mod would do much for it, and I'm not going to venture down that path not having much experience with this new strato-charged stuff........Cliff

 

[HimWill]

The subject of tank capacity between the two saws has been brought up,the Husky site has an error in tank capacity.The tank is listed at 0.18 pints which must be wrong since that converts to 85 ml. approx.The Australian Husky site repeats the error but also gives capacity as 0.37L. or 370 ml.That's more like it.
The Ryobi manual lists tank capacity at 10.4 oz.,converts to 307ml.Therefore the Husky has about 20% more fuel per tank.
The oil tanks are 7.1 oz./210ml. for the Ryobi and 8.45 oz,/250ml. for the Husky.Still about 20% more for the Husky.