Deere CS 81 chainsaw

[mikefunaro]

Hey guys,

Happy 4th.

Have the opportunity to buy a CS 81 in very good condition (lightly used) for $300. Might try to get it to $250.

Guy says it's a year and a half old.

For the efco buffs out there--

were there changes to this model through the years? Are they all spring and rubber antivibe or are some just rubber?


Mike

 

[Big_Al]

Did ya buy it? I stumbled across this post while searching for john deere. I saw the same saw on CL here for 500 and was curious who made them. I guess it's efco?

 

[Officer's Match]

Never seen an 81, but my CS 62 has been a great saw. Hope to hear back about this one.

 

[mikefunaro]

Didn't get it. On paper it doesnt have more power than my husky 576. After being spoiled with the wonderful spring AV on a 576 anything feels rough...but to go to an 80cc with all rubber mounts was less than appealing.

I think the guy did sell it for the $300 asking price. The fact that it had to go that low and wait that long to sell isn't particularly appealing either. I doubt it's a saw I'd fall in love with, and if I didn't, I probably couldn't expect much more out, unless maybe I sold it in the trading post here and stressed that it was an efco and some people who knew something about saws would see that it was a lot of cc's for the money.

In the grand scheme of things I feel worst for whomever shelled out the $800+ at the beginning. None of that deere branded stuff was cheap at the dealers when it came out. I remember a 19.8cc kawasaki made (deere branded) weedwhacker that they were trying to get $260 for...and that was probably 8 years ago.

 

[SawTroll]

The CS81 is no-where close to the CS62, regarding power to weight VS. "better" brands of comparable cc, and it looks "cheap" into the bargain.......

 

[mikefunaro]

I actually chatted with efco about it by email a bit. Just to put the info out in the open should someone need it for reference in the future:

CS 81 is the same thing as the efco 181

-all rubber mounts.

-different bar mounts were around for the efco 181 depending on when they are made. All of the CS 81, as far as emak USA dba efco knows, were with the non-husky large mount, but rather their odd ball one. Apparently, however, it's just a matter of changing the actual bar studs, which don't require splitting of the crank case but just thread right in, in order to be able to mount and fit a husky large mount bar.

 

[mtngun]

I have an older version of the 81cc Efco, an Olympyk 980.

It is good for bucking, but doesn't excel at anything else. Too heavy for limbing and felling, too small and too poorly filtered for milling.

The AV is mushy, but doesn't bother me.

My 980 is used as a "barn saw," for bucking firewood around the homestead.

 

[JimEhasz]

I have owned 40+ Stihls over the years and a handful of Husqvarnas. I have run many different brands, sizes and styles of chainsaws. I have owned a CS81 for years and it always starts easily, quickly and is an absolute beast! It is definitely one of, if not the best running and cutting saw I have ever held! Is it heavy, yes, but it is well worth it. I wish I had found that one for that price.

 

[woodbuckin]

I have owned 40+ Stihls over the years and a handful of Husqvarnas. I have run many different brands, sizes and styles of chainsaws. I have owned a CS81 for years and it always starts easily, quickly and is an absolute beast! It is definitely one of, if not the best running and cutting saw I have ever held! Is it heavy, yes, but it is well worth it. I wish I had found that one for that price.

yikes... 9 year old thread brought back from the dead!