Best chain for stock echo cs-440 bar

[jejeosborne]

I just purchased a new echo cs-440 for a bargain closeout price of $150 from HD. It was the display model and didn't have a chain on it. I was hoping someone would recommend a good performing chain for this saw. Would it be better to avoid the low kickback types? I have a lot of hours behind a saw and feel comfortable using them. Oregon offers a few types for this saw. Are any of them any good or is there a better brand. I will be cutting mostly Black Locust with is down and dead. Very hard wood.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff

 

[Brian S]

Try Oregon 20LP or equivilant Carlton/Woodsman pro, should be 72 drivers for the stock 18" bar. I have one and like it real well, it is smooth and reliable. I would suggest once you wear out the bar that you should change to a 16" bar, it will pull it better.

Don't expect it to have enough power to really use the spike a lot, just let gravity do its thing.

Here is some more info.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=59217&page=3

 

[Urbicide]

Welcome to AS. I would suggest using a semi chisel chain. Locust is tough stuff and will quickly dull a chain. Your saw will use .325 pitch, .050 guage chain. Stihl is pretty well accepted as having the hardest (most chrome) chain followed by Carlton and then Oregon. My CS-4400 came equipped with Oregon 33SL. Yuck! This is what I am using from Bailey's:

http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?SKW=Woodlandpro+20nk&catID=820

I liked my CS-4400 and it is a very reliable saw. Very light weight.Then I bought my 346XP NE. The rest is history. They both use the same chain.

 

[Echo-man]

I just purchased a new echo cs-440 for a bargain closeout price of $150 from HD. It was the display model and didn't have a chain on it. I was hoping someone would recommend a good performing chain for this saw. Would it be better to avoid the low kickback types? I have a lot of hours behind a saw and feel comfortable using them. Oregon offers a few types for this saw. Are any of them any good or is there a better brand. I will be cutting mostly Black Locust with is down and dead. Very hard wood.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff

When I bought my saw, it came with Oregon chain. It was OK, but I bought a couple loops of the Power Care brand they sell at Home Depot (I think it might be a Carlton chain- but I could be wrong). It has a lot of chrome and they cut better than the Oregon (IMO). They have been very durable. I bought 4 loops last year and I have yet to open 2 of them.

 

[excess650]

When I bought my saw, it came with Oregon chain. It was OK, but I bought a couple loops of the Power Care brand they sell at Home Depot (I think it might be a Carlton chain- but I could be wrong). It has a lot of chrome and they cut better than the Oregon (IMO). They have been very durable. I bought 4 loops last year and I have yet to open 2 of them.

That may be true of older Power Care chains, but the newer ones are "made in China". I doubt that they are Carlton.

 

[jejeosborne]

Thanks for the input. I am picking up a 20LP Monday. They are holding one for me. I only bought one because I would like to find a semi-chisel to test also.

Urbicide, do you have a semi-chisel you would recommend?

 

[Brian S]

20BP, I think is the Oregon ## for semi-chisel.

But I'm f-ing wasted right now.......

 

[AndyR]

Congrats on your saw. I bought a new cs440 from ebay a while back and have been overall very pleased. I think I paid around $200.00 shipped. There was some issue with the carb settings from the factory. The saw was hard to start and would stall when you hit the throttle. With a little research here it turned out that several people have had similar issues with these. The fix was to pull the red, (in my case) plastic limiter caps from the L and H adjustment screws and cut the tabs off of them-and then put them back. This allowed just a little further range of adjustment of the carb (which was needed).

Maybe you know all of this, but if your saw isn't running right, that might be why.

Oh, and I noticed about halfway through the 3rd tank of gas, it was like someone hit a switch and the power picked up a little and it just seemed to cut better.

I'm planning on picking up one of these combos and giving it a try.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=BCC+16+EJ50&catID=800

Not bad for $17.00

 

[CharlieG]

I like $150 new chainsaws. And that bar and chain combo from Baileys is excellent for the money.

 

[Urbicide]

Don't forget to change your drive sprocket over if you switch from .325 to 3/8 LP. Bailey's also carries Echo clutch removal tools.

 

[mountainlake]

Don't forget to change your drive sprocket over if you switch from .325 to 3/8 LP. Bailey's also carries Echo clutch removal tools.

Bailys has that listed as 365, I think it's a typo and should be 325 as the saws listed take 325. You wouldn't want to put 3/8 on a 45cc saw unless it was really hopped up. Steve

 

[AndyR]

Bailys has that listed as 365, I think it's a typo and should be 325 as the saws listed take 325. You wouldn't want to put 3/8 on a 45cc saw unless it was really hopped up. Steve

I was wondering about that. I plan on calling them today to try to add that bar/chain combo to an order I placed about a week ago...Which I haven't heard anything about it shipping yet...

I'll let you know what happens.

 

[AndyR]

Looks like it might not be a typo...
Here's another bar that might be good. Not a combo but not too bad for the bar.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=APNK+16+SJ50&catID=678

They don't list Echo on there though. ARe these the same mounts as the Husq. Jonsered saws?

 

[Austin1]

20 rcs woodsman pro, is what I use, I found it to be the best .325 chain I have ever used. It is .325 skip chain and really helps the little saws with too long of a bar. I only cut soft wood so in your case Iam not sure. Not the best for cutting small limbs and trees but works great on bigger close to full bar length stuff.

 

[Urbicide]

Looks like it might not be a typo...
Here's another bar that might be good. Not a combo but not too bad for the bar.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=APNK+16+SJ50&catID=678

They don't list Echo on there though. ARe these the same mounts as the Husq. Jonsered saws?

I believe that bar will fit. It is about as close to being a universal bar as you are going to get. Give Bailey's a call & they can confirm it for you. The factory CS-4400 bars had a hole drilled for a sheet metal guard which covered the nose of the bar. This was to prevent kick back. It also prevents you from bore cutting and other useful techniques.

 

[mountainlake]

I've bought a few bars from Bailys that didn't have the saw listed, on a couple I had to file the tensioner hole a little to get it to fit. Steve

 

[Urbicide]

Had to cut up a large pin oak branch that had almost tore the service drop off of my neighbor's house. All of this talk about 44 cc Echos prompted me to get out my CS-4400. I had not run it in about 10 months and of course it started up with no issues and ran good. No comparison to my 346XP NE but still a great little saw.