Dolmar 7900 "dirty engine"???

[ihatevines]

I live in the Orlando area and priced out a 460 today. After reading all the great reviews about the 7900 decided to price out one too.


Went to Dolmars website and got the number for the closest dealer. Called them up to get the price. The lady said that her pricing book only went up to the 6400 and that she would have to call me back.

She calls back later and says that the 7900 has a dirty engine and is banned in the us now. And gives me the price for the 6400.

Is there any truth to this?? Anyone else get the same story. I blew up a 441 ( I had several problems with it) and was thinking of trying another brand. Any info would be appreciated.

Iam going to call the Other dealer Dolmars website gives out tommorow. Its just a long drive to get there.

 

[morgaj1]

I can't see how the 7900 would be that much dirtier than the 6400. However, since the Makita 6400 (same as Dolmar) has been replaced by the 6401 that has a catalytic converter, I would not be suprised to see the 7300 and 7900 follow suit.

 

[angelo c]

Somebody must be smarter then me...the only difference between the 6400 and the 7900 is the jug and slug. exact same case ignition, muffler, handle ect. if one is "dirty" then the other is just more dirty. I think they are great saws and would consider one closely. I really like my 6401 and my BB(84cc-super dirty engine :msp_mad

 

[angelo c]

I think its the 6421 that has the EPA colonoscopy work if it matters at all....

 

[GA_Boy]

Call them back and get a price for the 7901

 

[WetGunPowder]

From what I have been told is that they are not "banned" but that they will only be available in limited supply.......

 

[morgaj1]

I think its the 6421 that has the EPA colonoscopy work if it matters at all....

Good catch. I meant 6421.

 

[ihatevines]

Thanks for the replies. Iam going to try another dealer tommorow. The 460 just seems a littly bulky to me. Wish they still made the 440

 

[angelo c]

460 should have a little bit more low end grunt and the 7900 should be smoother on your hands as it is more vibration isolated. Both are very German in design and similar. I let a friend borrow a 6401 the other day and he said..."man I like the simple carb/choke switch" it never occured to me how simple it is or how confusing the "stihl" set up could be to some folks.

 

[Deets066]

Thanks for the replies. Iam going to try another dealer tommorow. The 460 just seems a littly bulky to me. Wish they still made the 440

Somebody posted today that stihl IS selling the 440 again

 

[ihatevines]

If its the same old 440 count me in. Still I am curious to try a Dolmar. Just have read so many good things about them. But I have run the piss out of a 440 and its still kicking. And it isn't nearly as bulking as the 441/460.

 

[nmurph]

The 440 WILL be produced again, but with the way things work in the OPE world, it may be a year or more bf you can lay your hands on one. The 440 is a nice saw. It is a few ounces lighter than a 7900, but a 7900 will stomp a hole in its gas tank. I own both, and the 7900 would be my preference if you have more than one saw (i.e. a smaller saw for limbing). If this saw is to be your only saw, then I would go with the slight lighter and slightly better handling of the 440.

As for your dealer; you need a new one. Either they are clueless or they want to sell you what they have in stock. Makita shows the cat version of the 64cc saw, but Dolmar still shows the non-cat version of both the 64 and 79cc saws.

There are a couple of sponsors on here that are Dolmar dealers and I wouldn't hesitate to deal with them from long distance. The

 

[ihatevines]

The 440 WILL be produced again, but with the way things work in the OPE world, it may be a year or more bf you can lay your hands on one. The 440 is a nice saw. It is a few ounces lighter than a 7900, but a 7900 will stomp a hole in its gas tank. I own both, and the 7900 would be my preference if you have more than one saw (i.e. a smaller saw for limbing). If this saw is to be your only saw, then I would go with the slight lighter and slightly better handling of the 440.

As for your dealer; you need a new one. Either they are clueless or they want to sell you what they have in stock. Makita shows the cat version of the 64cc saw, but Dolmar still shows the non-cat version of both the 64 and 79cc saws.

There are a couple of sponsors on here that are Dolmar dealers and I wouldn't hesitate to deal with them from long distance. The

Ya I have a 650,660,440,441(rebuilt just never seemed right),310, couple 200ts, 192, and a 191. So it would seem like iam a stihl guy at heart. 441 put a bad taste in my mouth. 460 seems like I said earlier very bulking for the power. Just am interested in tring out something different.

Can the sponsors on this site ship a 7900 to me? Or do I have to use a dealer. I know thats how stihl does things.

 

[Jacob J.]

They'll ship to you, if you promise not to call their saws 'dirty.'

 

[sawfun9]

I have both the 7900 and 044 and my 044 weighs a whole pound lighter that the 7900. 13.6 lbs. vs 14.6 lbs. The Dolmar has much more torque and feels faster in the cut, however in timed cuts they were much closer than they felt. I like the 044 better but that may be because I've used it more and it feels like an old friend. The 7900 is very impressive when you use it. And that's probably and understatement.

 

[Andyshine77]

The non cat 7900's are banned, just like many non strato non cat saws. The 7900's from now on will have cat mufflers, at least this is what I think is going on, I hope they're not gone for good. Because of this the 7900's are in short supply right now.

 

[mikefunaro]

To agree with Andre, the word had been about a month ago that it was difficult for dealers to get 7900s, as they were undergoing a chance to a cat muffler.

The fact that she is able to get a 6400 may be a product of the 6400 really being like a 6421 with a cat muffler or may be that there is additional stock of the 6400s whereas the stock of the 7900 may be depleted.

If you really want a 7900 you might have to get one shipped to you, plenty of dealers still have them in stock, they're just not *supposed* to ship--you can have a member ship to you from them, etc, or they might just ship.

You could also consider a husky

 

[Andyshine77]

I was also told some distributors still have some heated handle 7900's. All new 6400 and 7900's will have cat mufflers, the 7300 has been discontinued. The 6400 is a rental saw so they got them out the door as fast as they could. The new mufflers are actually now stainless steel with an extra support that mounts to the case.

 

[nmurph]

7900 vs 044 - saws are cleaned and emptied. The scale is accurate as tested against the PB postal scales at work.

7900

7900BB

044

 

[385XP]

The way i heard it from my dealer is the 7900 will be cat free for 1 more year. They are on back order right now but will be avalable in a few weeks.