Okay thanks everybody. The price of the saw and both bars is $450.00. Like I say it appears new. There is a 5 year old Stihl 460R Mag with a full wrap handle two bars one 32" Stihl bar with all paint on it with chain. Another older Stihl bar 28" with no chain. This saw is clean as well but NOT near as clean as the Echo. If i remember correctly he's asking 600.00 for it. If I could get him to 500.00 I'd probably rather have the Stihl. I'm assuming the 460 Mag would be right or slightly above the Echo in cutting.
My only two reservations on the Echo is carb issues like I have on my little top handle Echo. I know Echo makes good products, but my Stihl's are the ones that ALWAYS start and run when needed.
The second is watching the video on you tube from the sawguy and that CS8000 was NOT impressive to me. I think for what he was cutting my MM'd 390 would spank that saw very easily. Not saying this would hold up in bigger wood but in the approximate same size oak and 8 pin sprocket I don't think it would have a chance. It seemed to me that the Echo bogged. Maybe it wasn't tuned right but they were checking temps and rpm's before the cut. I'm just being honest here with what I noticed on the video. Before the flaming starts (and that is definatley NOT what I want) my FIL has a Stihl 036 pro with a 36" bar on it and that is not impressive to me either. At least the last time I saw him cut some big wood with it. Yes I think he is WAY over barred on that saw, especially stock.
Anyway please tell me there is something wrong with my opinion of that video.
No idea on the video. As stated before by other owners, it is not a real fast saw, but it will keep pulling that chain. That's about it. Tuned correctly, limiters removed, it will start well (same as any saw will). My husky 365 cuts faster in smaller wood, but there's no way I would even think about putting a 36 on it. Tried it with a 28 and that is the outside limit (IMO) and the oiler was, my opinion again, lacking. I don't have another saw close enough to compare. My other big saw is a 394, well, that's bigger and borderline racehorse. and cost me more. I would expect it to cut faster and stronger. The echo is 80ccs, sort of hangs right in the middle between those two, as expected, but does have enough nutz to get the job done for me.
The echo could oil a much longer bar than 36 I bet, it pumps a gusher set on high, plus you have the manual oiler. I would not run a longer bar, 36 is it for that engine size and power, but it sure could oil it. And it can pull the chain. I've done 30" plus hardwoods with it, oak and hickory, for my firewood. Draft mule, not race horse. I don't use mine all the time, just when it makes sense to do so, and I am not an "on the clock" production cutter. Want a race horse, "pony" up the loot and look elsewhere. Then get the racehorse ported.
if your little echo is problematic, it just needs to be fixed/tuned. That's been one of the least complained about issues with echoes, they always start good if tuned correctly. many many guys on this board will attest to that.
If you really want the 460, which it sounds like you would really rather have, just scrape up the extra loot from someplace and go for it. Either one of those two choices will pull the bars/chains that come with them well, and get your wood cut. The stihl cost more and will have a higher resale value, if that is important to you.
Actual felling and bucking takes the least amount of time in the whole "go get your firewood" time frame, and as soon as you get to bucking, mpph, the log is holding the dang saw up for you half the time, you're just driving it. I'm a little bitty guy and never even think about that saw weight issue. As to speed of cut, bucking the big logs, if it takes me a few minutes longer to buck up a huge tree, and to save that few minutes it would cost me hundreds more..I'll keep it in my wallet. A few minutes extra cutting time is like nothing, negligible. I go cut a trailer load and that's it and it takes no time at all, usually it's two trailer loads actually and have to come back, it's what comes next that takes the grunting effort and the time, the speed of cut is most irrelevant to me as well, it is either acceptable and cuts "good enough", or it doesn't.
This is, if you handle everything by hand, just small scale personal firewood, and are not cutting commercially and using skidders and skidsteers and grapples and processors and conveyors and dump trucks and trailers, with employees hanging about, and stuff like that. And if you where, you would just get a new high end 1000 buck and up pro saw for a larger saw and port it before it even touched wood.
It is interesting to me, though, that both the cs8000 and the 460R are what are in most common use for emergency/rescue saws. Says something about the functionality, reliability and toughness of each of them.
opcorn:
