Bottom dwelling saws

[Pudsy]

I have modded 50ish cc chinese zenoah clones.

I run the original Zenoah as well as having a few of these clones. imho it's a very, VERY well designed and nicely built saw (the Zenoah), so in a way an understandable and excellent choice to make clones off (if making clones is anything to approve, which is questionable to say the least).

Still, the difference between the clones and the original in quality of the parts is obvious from the moment you pick it up and start it - let alone put a screwdriver to it. The whole feel and handling is just more flimsy. I paid 50€ (used) for my Zenoah, which is less than a new clone of it. So that was pretty much a no-brainer. If I would have to replace it for some dodgy reason (tree falling on it?) I would easily hand out 100€ or more to replace it with a similar Zenoah again, rather than spending 60-80€ on a new clone.

 

[Pudsy]

To those that owned and operated them they were PRO saws in all ways.

Owning and running a few of these (XL Auto, Super XL, but also XL 925), old and worn as they are, it never crossed my mind that these would have been considered non-"Pro" in their day. Very heavy duty ...
Maybe there is a naming issue? For the little tophandle "XL" or "XL-2", I might go along with the original comment (even if these are not badly built either, just much lighter).
Those chaotic Homelite "Something-XL-whatever" designations are a thing I will never get my head around properly. Just use the model numbers ...

 

[Todd727]

One thing, for me anyway, when it comes to battery powered tools, I am heavily invested in Milwaukee. Therefore, if I go down that road, I will probably get their saw. For me, this would be a saw that lives in my equipment trailer and would only be used if I need to remove some limbs, small trees or cut those same trees into manageable pieces to haul off when doing skid steer work. It would be more of an emergency use saw and would match the impacts, ratchets and lights that are already in the toolbox.

For the local homeowner, I'd also recommend a battery saw that match the battery tools they already have.

 

[rob066]

They are good for filling the big trash bins that takes a big truck to remove and replace, not enough metal in them for scrap metal dollars.

Thats funny I have a Poulan wildthing setting on the floor. Im going to scrap it . I was thinking about how much metal was in it this morning.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Thats funny I have a Poulan wildthing setting on the floor. Im going to scrap it . I was thinking about how much metal was in it this morning.

I am very sure I could have filled a 8' X 5' X 20" high box with just Wild Things by now. I just don`t have the room for the bloody things to keep them around, I tell people not to bring them here but that does not work obviously. Just like most all of the plastic fantastic saws get the same treatment, they just are not worth my time to fix whatever ails them. There is another bunch of them sitting here that needs to find the dumpster early in the New Year, scored, lost spark, bad carbs and fuel rubber parts in all of them. Not enough metal for the scrappers to bother with either. I just had a fellow bring in one of those bright orange plastic badged Homelites with the yellow trim, he had broken off the screws that held the muffler to the cylinder and wanted me to drill out the and rethread the broken bits still in the cylinder. He was in luck, I reached under the bench and gave him a complete one ,looked brand new. He couldn`t thank me enough and I told him the same thing, I couldn`t thank him enough for taking it off my hands.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Owning and running a few of these (XL Auto, Super XL, but also XL 925), old and worn as they are, it never crossed my mind that these would have been considered non-"Pro" in their day. Very heavy duty ...
Maybe there is a naming issue? For the little tophandle "XL" or "XL-2", I might go along with the original comment (even if these are not badly built either, just much lighter).
Those chaotic Homelite "Something-XL-whatever" designations are a thing I will never get my head around properly. Just use the model numbers ...

For the uninitiated the XL designation could be problematic, too many models had that XL in the model designation. For those that ran them, owned them back in the day, well they knew what they had. My FIL just got into the 9 hundred series at the last of his woods work days ran down, I have his 922, 923 and 925 that he used in the big hardwood cuts, they were harvesting over old sugar maple woods where the trees were over 150 years old, 24 - 36" DBH for the most part, the 925 cut them like cheese.

 

[chipper1]

We didn't get our trash out for a couple weeks a few yrs ago, I filled the bin with plastic saws.
I bought a splitter earlier this yr, the guy gave me a husky 141 or 142, it sat on a rock in our landscaping for a couple months. I finally got a minute and tossed it in the shed iirc, I'll give it to someone looking for a project or parts sooner or later.
I remember buying my first husky, a 142, I thought that it was sweet. Then when I started having problems with it and researched it I realized it was a poulan in an orange wrapper . I learned a lot about saws after that, my next saw was a 346 ne .

 

[John Lyngdal]

In terms of a new saw, the choices are pretty limited in $200 range as you can well imagine. I had an old Mac 3818 that I purchased in the late 90's that despite being a sub $100 saw at the time of purchase was a reliable easy to use saw. I recently gifted it to my nephew as his starter saw and if he takes good care of it I'll send a Stihl or Husky pro saw his way.
Before I purchased a Makita/Dolmar EA4300, my light duty limbing saw was a MS180. A MS180 sharp chain it will cut a full bar length of oak, as long as you don't lean on. The clutch is pretty soft and you can overheat it and melt the surrounding plastic if you work it too hard. I gave my wife the easy start version MS180 for taking horse camping as it is truly easy to start and is a nice size for cutting camp wood.
If you're considering a Stihl, spend a little extra an purchase a 180, rather than the 170.

 

[Parkerpusher]

In terms of a new saw, the choices are pretty limited in $200 range as you can well imagine. I had an old Mac 3818 that I purchased in the late 90's that despite being a sub $100 saw at the time of purchase was a reliable easy to use saw. I recently gifted it to my nephew as his starter saw and if he takes good care of it I'll send a Stihl or Husky pro saw his way.
Before I purchased a Makita/Dolmar EA4300, my light duty limbing saw was a MS180. A MS180 sharp chain it will cut a full bar length of oak, as long as you don't lean on. The clutch is pretty soft and you can overheat it and melt the surrounding plastic if you work it too hard. I gave my wife the easy start version MS180 for taking horse camping as it is truly easy to start and is a nice size for cutting camp wood.
If you're considering a Stihl, spend a little extra an purchase a 180, rather than the 170.

This is my vote too. Even though the OP mentioned 40cc saws the 180 will easily cut with it out cut a cheap 40cc saw and both last longer and be more enjoyable to use.

 

[michaeln]

I have had good success with all my echo equipment and dealer support in my area.

Me too. I have a small local dealer who sells Husky and Echo. I have bought one of each from them and they are fantastic, both the saws and the dealer..

On the other hand, the Stihl dealers around here are terrible (ACE hardware) with completely clueless employees and inflated prices. I've bought two Stihls from them and... never again.

 

[Dangerous]

Best new Bottom Dwelling saw light yet adequate in my humble opinion is a CS 352 Echo Home Depot 16 inch . Practice with the crap original equipment Ecco chain and blade then upgrade to an Oregon blade and more aggressive Oregon aggressive chain.
If you’re not afraid of a little bumpy ride that cuts faster reducing your fatigue of holding the song very light weight hi output small engine. Not not a commercial grade chainsaw but should be adequate for most occasional users.
A good deal for the money but not anywhere close to a commercial grade moneymaking chainsaw.

I checked the specs at the time and the ECHO CS 352 had slightly better horsepower and was Lighter than the next larger Echo chainsaw.
Did run better after A few tankfuls never played with a mixture screws tried to run pure gas no ethanol and I was very satisfied with it. The additional weight of a bigger wider and heavier chain was not needed it was a good starter chainsaw . I used it to drop trees and learn not to kill myself . The weight of the chainsaw was a big factor also I’m strong but I’m still a lightweight and older 65+ idid everything with CS 352 bigger jobs falling trees larger than the blade 16 inches required planning and though. Had to Learn how to make a Plunge in a hurry after learning about How to prevent a Barber chair from removing me from this earth .
A bigger stronger saw may have just been a fast trip to the emergency room for me. I learned how to sharpen the blades the chains keep it lubricated and take my time chain cleaning and Lubrication . Oregon blade and A more aggressive Oregon chain. Forced me learn basic chain sharpening dos and Don’ts . I worked alone gravity and wind direction were my only friends .
Learn what wedges could Do and Could not do was very helpful. Dropped 15 to 25 tall locusts trees one EPIC FAIL but no damage to me or the house.
Epic Fail teached me what wedges cannot fix stupid. Cleaned my chains in plastic coffee containers with fresh detergent car motor oils , cleaned my Blades with brake cleaner and tooth picks. Would buy another one without hesitation with Same mods to blades and Chain .
SAFETY RULES ARE WRITTEN IN BLOOD .
You are the person most responsible to keep you alive. Saved I estimate about
$1,000 to $1200per each tree I felled.
Commercial guys have a whole different
Set of needs my uneducated guess is at best a limber for a pro.
Great homeowner saw.
Guys more experienced than me should comment learn as much as you can
Learn from your mistakes. THINK.

 

[Old Line State]

Well while I was hoping for a smoking gun for problems, there were many good points.

I like the idea on the battery saw for a home owner saw. I would guess these saws would make good limbing saw? Any of these saw come with recommendations or red flags?

I am curious, it sounds like the most common problem of the Poulan/Craftsman/Remington/Troy-Bilt/Ryobi is fuel line or carburetor. Is the problem actually a result of poor design or maintenance problem? If a user was to drain the tank and run the carb dry would that prevent many of the problems of this class of saw? If it is a design problem then are there an upgrade for the problem parts?

Finally, I find it interesting about the recommendations for MS170/MS180 for two reasons. The first is thing I find interesting is that these are 30cc saws and it is said they will run with or better than the bottom dwelling saws that are 40 to 46 cc and last longer. The second interesting thing is no one recommended a Husky or Echo model. Is it because it is said the bottom Husky saws are just rebadged Poulans?

 

[Brufab]

Just buy a echo cs-400 value pack. It comes with a nice case that you can keep a quart of gas, a brush, tools, and bar oil spare chains files etc. That way everything you need is all in one place for that saw. Buy from a dealer. They will assemble your saw and run/tune it and send you home with a tank full of gas and bar oil. The cs 400 will do what you want it to. And reliability is a plus!

 

[michaeln]

Well while I was hoping for a smoking gun for problems, there were many good points.

I like the idea on the battery saw for a home owner saw. I would guess these saws would make good limbing saw? Any of these saw come with recommendations or red flags?

I have an EGO 56V battery saw with 18" bar. It works OK, but one thing that really does bug me is how long it takes to get up to speed when you hit the trigger. The ramp up time is annoyingly long. It would be especially annoying in a limbing operation where you are constantly bringing it up off "idle" (which in this case is motor stopped).

At first I thought I could get by fine with the EGO for my personal firewood needs, but since buying that I have bought a series of Stihl, Husqvarna, and Echo saws and greatly preferred each of them over the EGO.

 

[Brufab]

I seen a guy do alot of work with an ego but he had alot of batteries which can't be cheap

 

[michaeln]

I seen a guy do alot of work with an ego but he had alot of batteries which can't be cheap

I started with a fully charged 56v battery and a new Oregon full comp chain. Was bucking very dry white oak (trees killed in a forest fire) logs about 8-10" diameter.

The battery lasted for 41 cuts. Lithium does not lose power slowly as the charge goes down, so the saw did not slow as the battery became depleted. The 41st cut was slower, and it would not do cut #42. I was actually impressed, I never expected it to be able to make that many cuts.

 

[michaeln]

I started with a fully charged 56v 5A battery and a new Oregon full comp chain. Was bucking very dry white oak (trees killed in a forest fire) logs about 8-10" diameter.

The battery lasted for 41 cuts. Lithium does not lose power slowly as the charge goes down, so the saw did not slow as the battery became deleted. The 41st cut was slower, and it would not do cut #41. I was actually impressed, I never expected it to be able to make that many cuts.

You're right about the cost of the batteries. One 5AH battery costs about $250.

 

[NSEric]

Well while I was hoping for a smoking gun for problems, there were many good points.

I like the idea on the battery saw for a home owner saw. I would guess these saws would make good limbing saw? Any of these saw come with recommendations or red flags?

I am curious, it sounds like the most common problem of the Poulan/Craftsman/Remington/Troy-Bilt/Ryobi is fuel line or carburetor. Is the problem actually a result of poor design or maintenance problem? If a user was to drain the tank and run the carb dry would that prevent many of the problems of this class of saw? If it is a design problem then are there an upgrade for the problem parts?

Finally, I find it interesting about the recommendations for MS170/MS180 for two reasons. The first is thing I find interesting is that these are 30cc saws and it is said they will run with or better than the bottom dwelling saws that are 40 to 46 cc and last longer. The second interesting thing is no one recommended a Husky or Echo model. Is it because it is said the bottom Husky saws are just rebadged Poulans?

If you run canned fuel through the saws before putting them away you avoid most issues, lack of use ruins more of these small saws than them wearing out or breaking from use.
The small husky and echo saws cost more than the 170 stihl, so it gets recommended.
I know a couple guys with the little husky's, they seam to work well for what they are, guys who never go online dont know the little huskys are poulans in orange plastic.

 

[Parkerpusher]

Well while I was hoping for a smoking gun for problems, there were many good points.

I like the idea on the battery saw for a home owner saw. I would guess these saws would make good limbing saw? Any of these saw come with recommendations or red flags?

I am curious, it sounds like the most common problem of the Poulan/Craftsman/Remington/Troy-Bilt/Ryobi is fuel line or carburetor. Is the problem actually a result of poor design or maintenance problem? If a user was to drain the tank and run the carb dry would that prevent many of the problems of this class of saw? If it is a design problem then are there an upgrade for the problem parts?

Finally, I find it interesting about the recommendations for MS170/MS180 for two reasons. The first is thing I find interesting is that these are 30cc saws and it is said they will run with or better than the bottom dwelling saws that are 40 to 46 cc and last longer. The second interesting thing is no one recommended a Husky or Echo model. Is it because it is said the bottom Husky saws are just rebadged Poulans?

I’m a husky fan but just don’t find the smaller ones enjoyable either to use, or look at. Smaller as in maybe anything under 50cc.

The small Echo saws are made really well. Can’t go wrong there.

I don’t know why but the little ms180 has some snort to it and seems to cut with the 40cc saws and looks good doing it for less money so it’s hard not to recommend it.

 

[Brufab]

If you run canned fuel through the saws before putting them away you avoid most issues, lack of use ruins more of these small saws than them wearing out or breaking from use.
The small husky and echo saws cost more than the 170 stihl, so it gets recommended.
I know a couple guys with the little husky's, they seam to work well for what they are, guys who never go online dont know the little huskys are poulans in orange plastic.

Me either thanks for the knowledge!