Husqvarna 346 xp vs echo 501sx wich one?

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That exhaust heat should be on new saws too.

Very few things are engineered simply anymore. Totally reliable, simple things are virtually unheard of.

A bathroom scale now needs batteries. Ridiculous. My 87 year old Mom has to change the batteries in her bathroom scale. That takes dexterity, so it's a minor challenge for her.

And the pups think it's all good. Well Pups, you are wrong.

Ranting now, haha!
 
The
I’m considering the 501 only because it’s light and comes with heated handles and need a light saw for a specific job this winter. I already have several 372’s and a couple of 2165’s and a MS460 as well as 3 346’s. I’d go 16” max on the 501 with 3/8.
I wonder if the 501 would stand up to a Partner 5000? I have one of those too.
I’m not really a saw hoarder, it’s just after cutting wood for a living for 39 years now I accumulated a few saws along the way.
501 is a good saw, but the Makita or Dolmar 50cc will have more torque,
They also have sprung suspensions, the 501 as far as I remember has rubber,
it is light, nimble and physically smaller than the Dolmar or Makita, it has a Two
ring piston, very very easy to start, and the muffler is easy to mod without
cutting it up.
I found all one has to do is take screws out of the spark screen retainer,
Pull with two fingers the little tube thar sits behind the retainer out
of the muffler, then drill 3 4.5 mm holes up the front edge of the deflector,
use your saw file to make these holes into a vertical slot, clean filings off,
put spark screen back into retainer and screw onto saw, and give a little more
fuel to the engine.

I find this retains the torque, and allows the saw to breath and run cooler.
 
IMG_20180914_203615203_HDR.jpgThe vertical slot is only 10 mm high, I made it taller after photo, the exhaust actually exits the side and this slot along with the tube removal
helps keep the saw cool, without removing too much back pressure.
 
I have been quite intrigued by that 501. So I have read pretty much everything and saw quite a few vids on the 490 and 501.

The word on the street is that the 490 is quite unimpressive in the power department. That leads me to believe that the 501, while being more powerful than the 490 is likely still not in the same league as the 5105, 261, or 550. The specs show that too.

As usual, if you want the best of all worlds you are looking at Husky or Stihl.

Compromise handling-buy Dolmar
Compromise power-buy Echo

For both - Husky or Stihl - pity that they are both electronically controlled carbs, imo.
If concerned about the mtronic or autotune carb why not buy a standard carb 261.
 
Only thing i don't like about 501(and 490) is the rubber antivibe.It feels pretty solid but has some vibes.I see you are running bigger rubber antivibe saw so this won't be a problem for you i guess.Anyway,everything depends on the price.Lets say that the price gap between the Echo and the husky-stihl in Greece is huge so the 0.5 or 1 sec speed difference between the 501 and the others two is a joke.480€ for the 501 and 700€ for the other two(550 mark ii and 261 cm).Search for a 501SXH,see how much it asks and then decide.If it is close to the big 2,then choose something else.If it is quit cheaper buy it and you won't regret it.Truth be told 490 and 501 feels small and light in hands but require many tanks of fuel to break in.My 490 after 10 tanks started to wake up.
 
Just used my brand new 501P yesterday with an 18” bar. 5 seconds into the very first cut on fence line, I caught barbwire and a nail embedded in the tree. I was not happy...Back to the tailgate with saw and file.

After filing, saw felt really good. It felt really nimble and is a nice upgrade over my MS250. I think it’s a perfect compromise over the 250 and 362CM.
 
Just used my brand new 501P yesterday with an 18” bar. 5 seconds into the very first cut on fence line, I caught barbwire and a nail embedded in the tree. I was not happy...Back to the tailgate with saw and file.

After filing, saw felt really good. It felt really nimble and is a nice upgrade over my MS250. I think it’s a perfect compromise over the 250 and 362CM.
I did that once with an 064 and got slapped in the face with the barbed wire. I wasn’t too thrilled.
 
Only thing i don't like about 501(and 490) is the rubber antivibe.It feels pretty solid but has some vibes.I see you are running bigger rubber antivibe saw so this won't be a problem for you i guess.Anyway,everything depends on the price.Lets say that the price gap between the Echo and the husky-stihl in Greece is huge so the 0.5 or 1 sec speed difference between the 501 and the others two is a joke.480€ for the 501 and 700€ for the other two(550 mark ii and 261 cm).Search for a 501SXH,see how much it asks and then decide.If it is close to the big 2,then choose something else.If it is quit cheaper buy it and you won't regret it.Truth be told 490 and 501 feels small and light in hands but require many tanks of fuel to break in.My 490 after 10 tanks started to wake up.
Thanks for your input on the 501. I don’t think there’s an Echo dealer within 1600 km of here on the Canadian side unless there’s one in Alaska. It will be fun to shop for the 501SXH. There’s got to be one out there somewhere. This would be the first new saw I’ve bought in 15 years and I can twig to that!
 
Think I'd just order one online before I'd make a 200 mile round trip for a saw.
So true, but I have to go there anyway to buy groceries and an axe handle and need to make sure it’s in fact an SXH. I would imagine it’s a special order. I’m sure the stock b&c will be next to useless.
Sweet 009 in your avatar.
 
Read up about the Echo 5 yr warranty, not a lot of
people have much success with it, unless your dealer is
on your side you could have a hard time.
I had a small Echo, mentioned to the dealer it was not
keeping tune, he said he would give me the Echo reps number,
I have no Echo now, I paid the extra premium for the Echo,
and was left to deal with a rep I never met, didn’t like how the
dealer washed his hands the very first time I mentioned an issue.
Sold that saw when I got it sorted on my own steam.
They are a good saw, but the warranty end sucks.
I buy cheaper saws now, and keep the money in case of repairs.
Makita work better from this stand point.
 
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