Stihl ms 362 vs Echo 620P

[holeycow]

Dealers don’t even enter my mind, as I live in an area where pickins are slim in that regard for almost anything.

I too have stopped lusting after a 501 due to a few things I read and my wee bit of 590 experience.

It has nothing to do with the kill switch, as I don’t mind that at all. The extra-long choke knob, on the other hand...

And the brake engages a little too easily..

I can work around those small details.

The buzz is a little annoying and the power is strong-ish but flat at this point.

 

[holeycow]

Ok, so again I couldn’t help myself.

I went back up the hill to do a little more cleanup. This time I brought my new 5105.

I hadn’t had this saw buried in anything yet.

I finally cut some slots in the adjusting screws yesterday so I could fatten it up a little. It had zing, I want braap.

I found another beetle-killed pine blowdown and limbed and bucked it. Snow almost up to my ass a couple of times. Sheesh! I’ll be glad when it is gone.

The 5105 feels like it has as much power or probably more than the Echo ( they have basically the same rated hp). It certainly revs faster and has a much nicer power delivery, meaning it kind-of has a “working gear” where is just pulls harder when the going gets tougher. So far, the Echo (or the couple of Ranchers I have run briefly in the past) don’t have that.

I will pay for that.

The Dolmar is also much smoother, but unfortunately a little chubby for a 50cc saw.

When the Echo 590 is compared in the “Farm and Ranch” “category” it is in its league. When it is compared to the true professional saws, it is not.

One day I might get to run a 620. The results may be different, but I doubt it.

If Echo wants to get into the pro-market in America, they still have work to do. Lots.

It’s pretty hard to dethrone Husky and Stihl in that market.. and to a certain extent even Dolmar/Makita.

This is all just my opinion of course.

I get really tired of grossly biased opinions on here, mostly by dealers or those in the business.

That’s why I couldn’t help myself...,

The Truth Nazi.

 

[Cliff R]

I have a CS-590, CS-600P and CS-620PW. All of them had the limiter caps removed and muffler deflector opened up before they were even fired. I not going to come on here and pound my chest and claim these are the best saws I've ever owned or ran, because they are not.

Even with that said compared to what else is out there today, and the price point, the CS-590 is by far and above the best value out there in a 60cc saw or anything close to it in power, performance, and dead solid reliability. They have very good power for the cc's, certainly not a "screamer" like a 268XP or 372XP, but will run right with most professional offerings in the 55-60cc class, or close enough you woln't car because you only paid around $300 for it!......Cliff

 

[Marley5]

Echo simply produces a lot of saw for the money.

 

[holeycow]

So far, my 590 is workmanlike. Like a Rancher or perhaps a Farmboss (I haven’t run a farmboss, so ??). Boring, but effective in a slow and steady sort of a way.

A strong 50cc saw will smoke mine at this point (let’s say up to 16” wood). My 30 year old Jonny 590’s will smoke it. No ****. At least the way it runs now. Those 50cc saws all have .325 chain and 16” bars, btw. Like I already said, I had it reasonably close to running as good as it can run right now,stock except a tiny muffler mod which is simply as big a hole as I could drill straight into the goofy double-back deflector (from the bottom side with the deflector removed). Keep in mind I have only a tank and a half through it. It will likely improve some.

Mine will not run with a 60cc pro saw. Not even close. I’d say the almost new 5105 smoked it pretty good this morning. I didn’t want to embarrass it with the old Jonny 590’s too.

Workmanlike, flat, linear power.


Sorry for butchering cliff’s post;

Quote “Even with that said compared to what else is out there today, and the price point, the CS-590 is by far and above the best value out there in a 60cc saw” (other than possibly some Chinese ones, I agree)

“or anything close to it in power, performance, and dead solid reliability “ (don’t agree, as my 5105 has the same hp and maybe even torque and I paid the same for it and it is more fun to run - snappier, more aggressive).

“They have very good power for the cc's, certainly not a "screamer" like a 268XP or 372XP (why would you mention those 70cc saws?)

,” but will run right with most professional offerings in the 55-60cc class” (don’t think so, in the case of Husky, Stihl, or Dolmar anyway)

“or close enough you woln't car because you only paid around $300 for it!......Cliff[/QUOTE]” (possibly. It’s going to work out for me, as long as I can get some torque out of it)

 

[Cliff R]

"Mine will not run with a 60cc pro saw. Not even close"/"A strong 50cc saw will smoke mine at this point"

Something fundamentally wrong with the saw that you purchased, how it is adjusted, not reaching full throttle, defective coil, etc. I work on this stuff for a living, and have set up quite a few folks with CS-590's purchased NIB with only custom tuning and muffler deflectors opened up a tad, and everyone has been very pleased with them. One of my good friends does tree removal for a living, and his "ground saw" is a CS-590. Been FLAWLESS for him for going on 2 years now, and all of the Neanderthal's that he employs do the very best they can every single day to KILL every saw that he owns!......FWIW......Cliff

 

[holeycow]

I don’t think so. Mine runs fine. I will tune it for the mostest soon.

I will see what it’s really like after I get more hours on it.

Generally, I like it’s design and construction. That’s why I bought it. Not because I expected a powerhouse. I’m hoping it’s durable and workmanlike, is all.

To be blunt, it’s power is unimpressive compared to my other saws. I only have six. The other 5 impress me for their size. The Echo, not so much. Not after the first run, anyway.

My MS362 will clobber it. Badly. It better, it costs twice as much.

Your old 262 in your sig will clobber it.

Based on that 262 alone, you should know what the Echo 590 is.

Based on my tiny bit of experience with mine, it is being oversold by many on the web as a competitor to the best (meaning hottest, lightest, meaning Stihl 362/Husky 562) 60cc saws. Not close.

I don’t believe it is meant to be.

It is a farm saw that’s built (mostly) like a pro saw. Ya gotta like that.

It’s cheaper than Husky and Stihl farm saws, and mag not plastic. Gotta like that too.

Echo should port the 590 to be a little more sporty.

 

[James Miller]

It should get the same jug and coil as the 620 with out the unnecessary full wrap,rim drive and better bar. I do agree with cliff though somethings off with your saw if it won' run with a 362.

 

[holeycow]

Have you run an MS362? It is not the same animal as the 590.

Obviously. Sheesh.

There you's go again, trying to compare a farm-tuned saw to a pro-tuned saw.

Brrrrrrr vs braap, braap

 

[Cliff R]

"Your old 262 in your sig will clobber it.

Based on that 262 alone, you should know what the Echo 590 is."

Not so. When I first purchased the CS-600P I did some timed cutting between the 262XP and 600P and the 600P was just a tad faster!

Yes, although the power curve of the Echo is broader/flatter and not nearly as "raspy", the 600P ran equally as well during the testing beating my 262XP by just a couple of seconds for 3 cuts in a decent size log, and I repeated the testing at least 3 times.

Even with that said my CS-600P is a very early version and doesn't have the same P/C as the later 590's/600's and if it has a rev-limiter its much higher in the rpm range than the CS-590.

I'll also add that my CS-590 is a very strong runner but not having the majority of the power concentrated in the upper rpm range it doesn't "feel" as strong as my Husqvarna Pro saws when you are evaluating them. The rev-limiter is also set high enough so it's not coming in at full load, but it does come in early enough to mimic a good "H" speed screw setting making it more difficult to tune. I found myself going leaner and leaner with it to get best performance from it based on that fact.

That is why I mentioned the Husky pro saws earlier, different type of power due to the way they are ported. If you grab up my 268XPS, or my brothers 272XP, they flat ars ROCK for sure, but really not all that much faster than the CS-590 and neither one "lugs" any better when you load them enough to pull them out of their optimum power range.

All three of the Echo's, CS-590, 600P and 620PW have smooth/flat power curves, but don't be fooled IF yours is tuned correctly it isn't far off similar Pro models from the big names and the CS-620PW with 15 percent more power is super-impressive for an out of the box 60cc saw......IMHO.

I'd add here in closing that all three of the Echo's cross cut better (noodling) and refuse to plug up compared to my Husqvarna's which plug almost instantly trying to do the same thing. I find this an excellent feature as I cut a LOT of tops left over from logging operations and find myself wanting to make quite a few of the knotty pieces smaller so I can managed them without dragging the splitter to the job site or breaking my 59 year old ars with a splitting maul!.........Cliff

 

[holeycow]

the 262’s chain was dull. Or your 262 is a pos. Or you don’t appreciate a sporty saw.
Something was wrong, that’s for sure.

You are a crafty one, Mr Cliff. You are very careful in your wording.

I know exactly what I have, and how to tune it. Even with its very low revlimiter and “safety carb”.


The 590 is a farm saw, A firewood saw.It is tuned to be that, quite simply.Team Echo around here should sell it as such. The corporation themselves do that, why won’t Team Echo on the US web just be straight?

And the pup trying to tell me it should run with a 362. Sheesh. Apples and oranges, just about.

If the Echo 60cc platform wants to compete with Stihl and Husky’s pro models, they have to do more than just mag cases. Corporate knows that. Team Echo should know that too.

As competition to the Rancher and Farmboss, the Timberwolf is a great option, perhaps even the best one. That’s why I bought mine.

The next time I review anything, I will be just as crafty as Mr Cliff.

Or maybe you Echo boys don’t know what you’re selling, or what your competition is?

That’s possible too, I guess.

 

[tdiguy]

Ok, so again I couldn’t help myself.

I went back up the hill to do a little more cleanup. This time I brought my new 5105.

I hadn’t had this saw buried in anything yet.

I finally cut some slots in the adjusting screws yesterday so I could fatten it up a little. It had zing, I want braap.

I found another beetle-killed pine blowdown and limbed and bucked it. Snow almost up to my ass a couple of times. Sheesh! I’ll be glad when it is gone.

The 5105 feels like it has as much power or probably more than the Echo ( they have basically the same rated hp). It certainly revs faster and has a much nicer power delivery, meaning it kind-of has a “working gear” where is just pulls harder when the going gets tougher. So far, the Echo (or the couple of Ranchers I have run briefly in the past) don’t have that.

I will pay for that.

The Dolmar is also much smoother, but unfortunately a little chubby for a 50cc saw.

When the Echo 590 is compared in the “Farm and Ranch” “category” it is in its league. When it is compared to the true professional saws, it is not.

One day I might get to run a 620. The results may be different, but I doubt it.

If Echo wants to get into the pro-market in America, they still have work to do. Lots.

It’s pretty hard to dethrone Husky and Stihl in that market.. and to a certain extent even Dolmar/Makita.

This is all just my opinion of course.

I get really tired of grossly biased opinions on here, mostly by dealers or those in the business.

That’s why I couldn’t help myself...,

The Truth Nazi.

Similar results for me, but with ea5001 Malika and cs600p. It will be interesting to see the difference between my red lever 036 and the cs600p.

 

[holeycow]

Yup, no question.

That’s not a bad thing, just an observation.

I bought the Echo to be a long lasting torquer, not a light sabre. A farm saw. A firewood saw. You know, .. what it is.

 

[Cliff R]

"You are a crafty one, Mr Cliff. You are very careful in your wording."

Really, you've got one CS-590 that isn't making the grade and you want to throw a little personal insult in my direction. I'm thinking at this point you either don't know how to tune one or need to put the chain on in the right direction!

Good luck with your "weak" CS-590, if you can't get it figured out drop it off here if you are ever in the neighborhood and I'll set it up correctly free of charge......Cliff

 

[holeycow]

My saw is not weak. It is flat. Just like it’s supposed to be.

You have a 262. One of the all-time sports-car saws and it doesn’t blow your 590 away?

Maybe you should send me that 262 so I can get it running right for you. Or I could sharpen the chain or something...

 

[holeycow]

Ps, that was not an insult. That was an observation.

 

[Sagetown]

I seriously considered the echo saws, but when it came down to the line - - - - -

 

[Cope1024]

I've always liked Echo, but other than a blower, all of my O P E has been Stihl. In the past year or so I've added three new Echos to my inventory, and every time I start/use them, I like them more. That said, I don't regret buying mo 025 or MS362CM. There are good and bad points about all brands.

 

[porsche965]

I like zip. And torque. With the 20% off list price on a CS620 I'm tempted to see what all the commotion is about.

Echo makes very dependable equipment as long as they are not too lean. Zip can be replaced with torque to make the same speed through a cut, just not as exciting and takes more tugging on the handle. There is the 6100, 562 and 362 here to compare the CS620 to.

The one thing that really bugs me about Echo chainsaws is the resale. You might as figure almost half off once you start it. That just don't seem right on a dependable piece of equipment.

 

[holeycow]

I ran my Echo 590 for the second time yesterday. I leaned it out a little and it is now bordering on snappy, kind-of maybe.. It has a very nice running engine, but is a bulky feeling 60cc saw. A bucker, not a limber.

I liked it better this second time around. It showed the promise of that lazy torque I’m looking for.