Techtronic's 38cc "Homelite" Zenoah copy

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

I confess. I've joined the "Chinese Chainsaw Curiosity Show".
Came home from local Bunnings (In US, think Lowes) with this.



For a while I've been on the lookout - unsuccessfully - for a cheap second-hand lightweight, short bar saw, so when I saw the price reduced on this tonight, I thought, "Why not".

Homelite HBSC3530 (lower spec version of the already unglamorous Ryobi RS3840)
According to official Techtronic Specifications
Displacement: 37.2cc (35cc on the box )
Power: A "whopping" 1.5kW (2.11hp)
Dry weight w/bar & chain: 5.1kg (11.24lb)
12 months replacement warranty (Here's hoping I don't have to avail myself of this too often)
Price: AUD 68.90 (USD ~50.00)

Everything looks fine out of the box.
Test #1
Many reports of oil pools under these after use. So before I do anything, I've filled the oil tank.
Assuming it's still dry underneath tomorrow....who knows, I might even start it!

 

[Ronie]

I've got 2 of the Ryobi 38cc saws, with a good chain they don't do to bad. The ones I have don't leak oil.

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

I've got 2 of the Ryobi 38cc saws, with a good chain they don't do to bad. The ones I have don't leak oil.

Do your Ryobis have have a nylon mesh air filter or a clip-on foam one?
I ask because this Homelite's nylon mesh filter lets dust in through the hole that the cover screw goes through. I think I've fixed it by putting a small piece of oil-soaked cloth with a hole poked through the middle, in between the top of the filter and the underside of the filter cover, so that the cover screw goes through the hole.

 

[Ronie]

Mine have the mesh filters.

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

Good news! No oil leaked out overnight (didn't really expect it to).

So far, I'm more impressed with the way it's been pre-assembled than I expected to be.
Bar nuts not too tight, chain tension perfect, etc.
Put some fuel in. The manual says 2% oil but I used the 2.5% mix I use on my other saws.
Pumped the primer a few times, two pulls till it burbles, one more and it's away.
Got my pac man screwdriver ready to tune it if necessary but no need!
Idle: 2500
Full throttle: 12,500
Half a tank later and I like it more than my old Husky's would be be happy to know...if they were in fact sentient.

The supplied chain is not great. It looks like chipper with a very short straight section at the side of the cutters...but it cuts!
There's more vibration at the handles than I expected (I really hope the crank halves are properly aligned ).

 

[Ronie]

I like the black, mine are a lime green color.

 

[Streblerm]

That sure looks just like the refurbished earthquake saws that were out there a couple years back in the u.s. I’m still running one, have one for parts that quit oiling, and a “new” one in the box. It’s been a good saw after a tune, muffler mod, and base gasket delete. It’s cut a lot of wood I think mine are 38cc and if I recall they were around $40. It must be a good design if they’re still selling copies.

 

[TBS]

I've got the ryobi version, a power king 40cc, and two ryobi labeled redmaxs. They are fun to use

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

That sure looks just like the refurbished earthquake saws that were out there a couple years back in the u.s. I’m still running one, have one for parts that quit oiling, and a “new” one in the box. It’s been a good saw after a tune, muffler mod, and base gasket delete. It’s cut a lot of wood I think mine are 38cc and if I recall they were around $40. It must be a good design if they’re still selling copies.

These are new but yes, they are pretty much the same as the Earthquake "Viper".
I've always liked the Zenoah 3800/4100 on which all these copies are based.
The Zenoah is only 4.2kg net whereas all the copies are 4.4kg or more but that's still light.

 

[Streblerm]

I have a Redmax version of this saw too. It is a little lighter and is a strato engine but there isn’t a huge difference between them. It’s a GZ400, the made in China version of the 3800/4100

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

I know, I know, you're all desperate to know how my Chinese Homelite is going....well....maybe one or two of you are

Three weeks and three tanks of fuel later, the news is mostly good.
It never needs more than 3 pulls to start from cold and nothing has broken, stripped or rattled loose.
On the downside, the chain gained more length -and gained it more quickly - than any other saw chain I've used though now it seems stable. Last time I ran it, idle was lean and it coughed every time before picking up when the the throttle was opened. Quick adjustment on the Ruixing carb fixed that. I also suspect that the engineers who copied the Zenoah ignition, left out the reverse-firing protection common to most Japanese saws, because it frequently fires backwards on the second pull before starting on the third.