Bought my first NON-STIHL today, we'll see how it goes.

[bchannell]

Had a pretty decent thunderstorm in WV on the 16th. Trees down, pulled the electric entrance off the house, and caused a pretty big mess. My old Stihl 021 and my pals big Husqvarna got a pretty good workout. When I finished I found my 021 had around 85psi compression, so it looks like it's time to go for a new saw. My wife and I both had birthdays today, and the kids came and we had some fun, and we got my wife some nice stuff, but I couldn't really think of anything I needed, so not much for me. Everyone left and I went to Home Depot to get some stuff for the house to fix up after the storm, and thought I'd walk thru the chainsaws. I had just about decided to buy a new Echo CS400, and was looking for a clerk to get one down, when my slightly ocd nature kicked in and I was looking to see how many they had in stock on shelves, and which box looked the least damaged, when I noticed a CS400 sitting all by itself on a shelf, and got it down and noticed a "REPAIRED" sticker on the box and the shelf was for returned items. Long story short it was $199 plus tax out the door. It took me about 2 seconds to decide this would be a good deal on a saw that gets some pretty darn good reviews. A couple weeks ago I bought a new Echo blower at HD and am pretty impressed with it, so with all the good words about Echo tools, I went for it. Got it home, and it had been used, VERY little. I mean maybe a cut or two and and put back in the box. I gassed it up, put chain lube in, adjusted the chain, and hit the primer bulb three or four times. One pull with the choke on and one with it off and the saw sprang to like with authority. Warmed it up a bit and made a couple light cuts and it cut and ran well. Gave the chain a quick sharpen and cleaned out the sawdust from the clutch housing and it looks NEW. It seems to have considerably more power than my 021. The only thing I didn't like, and it's a minor, minor gripe is the gas and oil tanks are harder to fill and see into than the Stihls, but hey, that's reaching for something to gripe about. I was laughing to myself, my wife had taken video of me and my pals taking out a dozen or more trees from the downed power lines, with the power company working on lines, and in one of the vids, I'm starting the ole 021, yank, yank, yank, pause, yank, yank, yank, pause, yank, yank, yank, ... zooooom it runs. Maybe the Echo won't take such a toll on my arms!
I't way too early to tell for sure, but I've had a dozen Stihls and couple husqvarnas, and really never considered anything else, but I'm impressed with the Echo, only time will tell.
So, it's my birthday and I got a new saw!!

 

[1Alpha1]

Congrats and enjoy!

ECHO is good stuff.

 

[dall]

congrats from another wv boy

 

[fearofpavement]

I don't currently have any Echos and they're not a favorite of mine but they are very reliable.
Now fix up that Stihl with a new piston and rings...

 

[Hinerman]

bchannell, you haven't been here long but you have been here long enough to know the rules. I can't see anything,,,hint, hint

 

[jughead500]

Make sure its tuned.the cs400 is a good saw BUT they have limiter caps on the adjustment screws and chances are it could be tuned on the lean side.that model also has a cat muffler.be careful with the muffler it gets super hot.I wound upwith 3rd degree burns on the side of my hand when I accidentally touched the muffler.they also get hot enough to catch dry bark on fire.

 

[SEAM]

These little Japanese saws are great! Unfortunately too expensive even used in Japan

 

[bchannell]

Well, I used the Echo today to cut up a downed maple tree, and am pretty impressed with it. It cuts with authority and runs and starts so well it's scary. I'll leave the mixture alone until a couple of tank fulls of gas have gone though it, and it's broken in well. Then I'll see if it needs any tuning. I must say, so far, I'm impressed.

Before any tuning of the Echo, I got my hands on a nice Stihl 023 for comparison. I tuned the 023 and put on a 16" bar and chain. The difference was not night and day, but the Echo was noticeably stronger cutting. Another thing the 023 was really LOUD, to the point of being uncomfortable without hearing protection. The muffler had not been modded on the Stihl. The Echo is quiet in comparison. With some tuning and break-in, I think the Echo will be quite a bit stronger. The Stihl was a hummer and obviously broken in and running top notch.

Also, I did the carb limiter removal, and it was pretty easy. On mine the H and L both were all the way CCW, giving it as much fuel as possible. The saw ran pretty darn good that way, but I thought I'd go ahead and tweak it a bit. I just took a drywall screw, and threaded it into the red limiter cap as tight as I could without overdoing it, then coaxed the adjustment screw back against the stops, so the tabs aligned with the slots and pulled the caps right out. Trimmed the tabs off and reinstalled them. It really is darn easy to do. The limiters simply push onto the knurled edges of the mixture screws, and you use the slot in the limiters to adjust the carb. You could leave the caps out, but it would be just a bit harder to hit the screws with the saw running, but nothing impossible. It's up to you whether you replace them or not.

I also took the muffler off and took a look at it. It has a cat insert in it. I was wondering, do you guys just take a drill bit in the 1/2" range and gut that thing out of there? The muffler new is $55, so I'd like to do it right the first time. Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cobey]

I used a die grinder / dremmel to cut out the whole cat, then opened the outlet behind the deflector

 

[cobey]

it gives it some poop, jus dont cut threw the metal (if you dont want it loud) , just the cat, I opened mine way up on my
cs370 echos x (2) and they are LOUD

 

[thenne1713]

I have read that newer equip (w/limiter stops) even if you adjust, you need to put caps back on, because there are no springs on screws like old equip?

 

[cedarshark]

I just hogged the cat out with a drill bit in a 1/2 inch drill on my 330. I left the cat box alone,I thought it had plenty of flow. Saw is slightly louder but not bad. Runs better though.

 

[cedarshark]

I like Echos. I am in the process of rebuilding an old (1980's) CS 702 EVL, and that saw is as well constructed as any of the better known name brands.

 

[fearofpavement]

Unless a chainsaw is electric, any of them will cause hearing damage without some type of hearing protection. Ear plugs are cheap. Keep a pair in your pocket. I like the radio ear muffs so I can listen to Waylon Jennings, Eric Clapton and Bob Seger while cutting wood.