echos?

[indy99]

echos

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will be using the saw for firewood and the occassional felling job on my 63 acres in southern IN. I love the power of my old Poulan 245a (around 75cc) and would like to keep the same feel if I get a new saw:greenchainsaw: I need to get my hands on some new saws. Enough of looking at pics on the internet. Thanks, Scott :greenchainsaw:

 

[mountainlake]

Dream On, I have outcut that saw with an MS250

Must have had a dull chain on backwards on the CS520. Steve

 

[pgg]

Sounds like a user/operator problem, or your outfit is using bad gas or oil. In my experience the echos are pretty much bulletproof. Not the fastest or most efficient, but bulletproof if you feed them right. Please don't badmouth a brand that has a 30 year record of reliable performance. Please don't...:taped:

FOUR TRASHED ECHOS !! Don't forget guys, our stihls and huskys are doin' the same job day in day out trouble free - have been for years. Same gas, same everything.

After throwing trashed echo No1 back at the dealer after only a few weeks from brand new, the 'operator error' lecture from the dealer was basically word for word what you guys have just said. I just smiled and said nothin'

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No2(the replacement) gets thrown back at the dealer. Still cop the 'operator error' lecture, but with an ever so slightly less convincing tone from the poor echo dealer. I smile and say nothin'...

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No3(replacement No2) gets thrown back at the poor dealer! Well! the unfortunate chap is fast runnin' outta excuses! Mumbles something about 'bad batches' I smile and say nothin'

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No4(replacement No3) gets thrown back at the dealer. Same old same old, rooted piston and bore. Poor dealer shakes his head, refunds the cash, mumbles "Better go buy a Stihl" I smile, it's an Echo, no need to say anything...

 

[pgg]

Official response from Echo was the saw had debris inside the handle which affects the airfilter, causing the engine to run rich, which in turn caused overheating and piston failure. Handle should be dismantled and cleaned with compressed air after use .. yeah, read it and weep





bla bla... Parts are to be 'Sent to Japan' for further analysis ....ain't heard back since

 

[troutfisher]

I tried an Echo. Bought it new, very bad expirience. I avoid them now.

 

[mountainlake]

FOUR TRASHED ECHOS !! Don't forget guys, our stihls and huskys are doin' the same job day in day out trouble free - have been for years. Same gas, same everything.

After throwing trashed echo No1 back at the dealer after only a few weeks from brand new, the 'operator error' lecture from the dealer was basically word for word what you guys have just said. I just smiled and said nothin'

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No2(the replacement) gets thrown back at the dealer. Still cop the 'operator error' lecture, but with an ever so slightly less convincing tone from the poor echo dealer. I smile and say nothin'...

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No3(replacement No2) gets thrown back at the poor dealer! Well! the unfortunate chap is fast runnin' outta excuses! Mumbles something about 'bad batches' I smile and say nothin'

Bye and bye, a few short weeks later, trashed echo No4(replacement No3) gets thrown back at the dealer. Same old same old, rooted piston and bore. Poor dealer shakes his head, refunds the cash, mumbles "Better go buy a Stihl" I smile, it's an Echo, no need to say anything...

PGG Before you go bashing any one brand of chainsaw read the post (Who makes a good chainsaw). Most chainsaws are set to lean from the factory thanks to Mr EPA (Echo's are real bad) then run gas with acohol and they get even worse. You need a dealer or a good mechanic who WILL take the limiter caps off and adjust them right. A logger friend of mine burnt up a MS660 in a short time, had a new p @ c put in under warrenty, I looked at the exhaust after that, it was just about pure white. He'll be getting another p @ c soon unless someone pulls the limiters caps and gives it a little more fuel. I wouldn't believe that bs Echo said about woodchips in the handle, to rich is not going to make them overheat, unless the air intake was clogged for the cooling then it would be operator error. Maybe someone doesn't like Echos and is destroying them on purpose, seen that before. Steve

 

[Crofter]

Just a thought on the 4 trashed Echos. I wonder if they were being tuned lean to get about the same RPMs the Stihls were designed for. That would be a way too lean for them.

 

[pgg]

Yeah fellas those CS360's were run in on their own echo 2-stroke mix for the first day or two, then switched to the expensive synthetic oil we use in the stihls and huskys. Definitely not set over-lean, but no dice, the rattle of death crept in every time. The 360's are putting out big power for an echo pruning saw, 1.5KW claimed I think, the 'usual' echo pruning saws have always been waaay down on power, consequently they seem to last reasonably ok, but they're high-vibration, feel flimsy and flexible, and are hopelessly underpowered for full-on commercial tree pruning. The 360's motor simply can't handle it's extra power output for any sort of longevity..

Mountainlake, the excuses from echo were total B.S. that's for sure, dust in the handle blocking the air filter, a rich setting overheating the motor.. give us a break!! Also no-one working in the forest deliberately trashes a chainsaw, a dead saw always equals money down the drain..

 

[Pilsnaman]

For the occasional user the echos work just fine. I have had one for a couple of years with no problems. There is no question that Stihl and Husky make better pro saws but I have also run a couple of their homeowner saws and thought they were cheep and really underpowered (even compared to my echo).

 

[gdn]

apparently echo cylinders are chrome coated not nikisal or whatever stihl & husqvarna are, if that matters to you (chrome peels off eventually)
personally i'd go secondhand stihl over brand new with warranty echo.
husky's are cheapish, prob i'd spend $100 or whatever extra and go husky.
everyone worried about their crap eco-fuel probably you want the stronger saw.
anyone heard of a diesel chainsaw?
get that one.

 

[2wheels]

BS a motor will not over heat from being too rich.
if it is rich is would run lower RPM
extra fuel would aid in cooling.
extra oil would aid in friction reduction.

 

[Pilsnaman]

Too much oil will also cause plug fouling and can plug the muffler, way too much oil (this would probably take a whole lot) can destroy an engine. Enough oil in the mix could be no different from hydro-lock because oil doesn't compress like gas does. Again, that would probably take a whole lot of oil, maybe more then would let the engine run, and I am not about to see how much in one of my toys.

 

[gdn]

engine runs hotter with more oil

 

[goof008]

Indy,
I have an Echo, it's a smaller one (345/346) and I like it. Mine is small and light. If you are going to use it quite a bit, and I mean more than just keeping up the yard, I'd say go with a Stihl or Husky. Just picking up the Echo and then my Stihl you can tell that the Stihl is built a lot better. You might even want to try the Makita/Dolmar units. I bought one from a HD rental shop and love it.