ECHO Chainsaws - are they catching on?!

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I caught on in 1973 you guys need to do some catching up :rock: ...Bob

gonna be hard to do for me. was born in Dec. 75!:buttkick:
jnl
I have a friend that is a military contractor in Africa now testing a new vehicle. I can get ahold of him if anyone wants.
 
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one large hurdle they need to address is their policy of not releasing power numbers. They hide the information, or in the few instances you can find it it is converted KW figures which gives inflated numbers. You can't comparison shop on the specs they put out (or more accurately refuse to put out). That's a big problem. All the echos I have ran and worked on have been well made. Also, in Canada the top line echos are not cheaper than pro grade Stihls. Another big problem. Aftermarket parts are not there either. It is very nice to be able to get recoils, cylinders, clutch covers, fuel lines etc for Stihl and Husky.

A lot of companies don't put out power numbers since B&S got sued for not putting out the HP to match the specs. I think I'm right about that but it's been awhile so may have my facts skewed a little due to poor memory.
 
I have an Echo CS4400 and a CS670. Also some old EVL's kicking around on the high shelves (heavy critters), I have never had any complaints about the Echos except I'm not fond of the outboard clutch on the 670. However it chews the heck out of big Cottonwood with a 20" bar and full chisel.

I'd prefer an outboard clutch on anything...
 
Echo 302S

Friend dropeed off a 302s he got for free. Said it wouldn't start. Opened case and was shocked to see a like new saw . Got saw running but not oiling. Looked and saw no oil line in tank. Pain to replace but got it. Saw ran great and oiled. I was surprised how much power it had for a small saw. I was impressed.
 
Right, published HP numbers are just that. Has anyone ever found the 3.8 HP the they claim the MS290 has when other saws with the same HP CUT a lot faster. As quite a few vids on here prove Echo saws cut good cc for cc with the best Stihl and Husky saws and blow away thier lesser models.
Echo has reasonable OEM parts that can be picked up at a dealer OR ordered on line and shipped right to your house. Far as the one guy on here that claims Echo doesn't treat thier dealers good it could be true or maybe the dealer sent in a lot of junk warrenty claims and they put a stop to it, seem like a lot more good reports on how Echo treats thier dealers. I got in a Efco 152 that needed to be tuned, was running pig rich set up by a local dealer. After tuning I did timed cuts in big hardwood , again my CS400 amazed me as it was dead even with 152 at 20 seconds with my muff modded CS520 coming in at 17 seconds. The Efco has a stock muff and surely would pick up some with a muff modd. Steve
 
It appears to me that most horsepower ratings are taken 3 milliseconds before the engine self destructs when running wide open. I still chuckle at all the Craftsman power tool ads. Any similar Milwaukee tool used 2-3 times the amps and would run circles around any Craftsman power tool despite the huge HP ratings.
 
Right, published HP numbers are just that. Has anyone ever found the 3.8 HP the they claim the MS290 has when other saws with the same HP CUT a lot faster. As quite a few vids on here prove Echo saws cut good cc for cc with the best Stihl and Husky saws and blow away thier lesser models.
Echo has reasonable OEM parts that can be picked up at a dealer OR ordered on line and shipped right to your house. Far as the one guy on here that claims Echo doesn't treat thier dealers good it could be true or maybe the dealer sent in a lot of junk warrenty claims and they put a stop to it, seem like a lot more good reports on how Echo treats thier dealers. I got in a Efco 152 that needed to be tuned, was running pig rich set up by a local dealer. After tuning I did timed cuts in big hardwood , again my CS400 amazed me as it was dead even with 152 at 20 seconds with my muff modded CS520 coming in at 17 seconds. The Efco has a stock muff and surely would pick up some with a muff modd. Steve

I've only ever talked to one echo dealer, and this is anecdotal, what he told me. For years he sold echo stuff, along with a lot of other stuff, he has a hardware and appliance store, a little of everything. TVs to woodstoves, garden tools to fridges. So he used to eat real minor repairs on his echo line to keep his customers happy and speed things up. He never bothered to turn in a single small echo repair. Not a lot, just the real small stuff that wasn't hard to do, and he said, that's all he ever got, that their gear was pretty good. So one time it finally happened, he gets a major warranty claim for a blower that would necessitate just a replacement, so he turned in a claim. Echo come down on him hard, said he had skipped tech training and so on (while still selling him all their stuff and keeping him as a dealer). He said he felt so abused by them, the verbal abuse on the phone, he quit them on the spot. He gave the customer another blower out of his own pocket, and that's it.

So, a single major claim in years, they harangued him, so he quit, and he sold their stuff for over a decade.

FWIW
 
Well, I own an Echo and it is an absolutely great little saw (CS-310). I cleaned the cat out of that muffler because I figured the warranty was garbage anyway so who cares abut voiding the warranty after a year of use? As far as dealing with more companies than not, their warranties aren't worth the paper they’re printed on. That includes companies from all over. Too many of them frustrate the heck out of you so you will go away. Whenever I run into a company with great customer service skills and service I just about fall over dead. Doesn't say much about a lot of them does it? I know that the dealers have a huge part to play in this and good dealers are priceless as well but, if the manufacturer is a slime ball it doesn't matter what the dealer does.

All in all though, they do make great saws.
 
Way back when... ( I had more hair) Echo built all the John Deere EV series saws.
I worked at a small local JD dealer in the early 80's and the parts we ordered for customers saws were JD bagged but had Echo tags on the part inside the bags. I've seen and used all kinds of saws since I started fixin' them. I love my old Sthil 026, I really like the Husky's I've fixed, not much of a Mac guy, won't touch a Craftsman/Poulan (absolutely refuse to accept them in my shop) Homelites are ok and haven't seen any Echos yet. :msp_thumbup:
Just my 2c.
E
 
Right, published HP numbers are just that. Has anyone ever found the 3.8 HP the they claim the MS290 has when other saws with the same HP CUT a lot faster. As quite a few vids on here prove Echo saws cut good cc for cc with the best Stihl and Husky saws and blow away thier lesser models.
Echo has reasonable OEM parts that can be picked up at a dealer OR ordered on line and shipped right to your house. Far as the one guy on here that claims Echo doesn't treat thier dealers good it could be true or maybe the dealer sent in a lot of junk warrenty claims and they put a stop to it, seem like a lot more good reports on how Echo treats thier dealers. I got in a Efco 152 that needed to be tuned, was running pig rich set up by a local dealer. After tuning I did timed cuts in big hardwood , again my CS400 amazed me as it was dead even with 152 at 20 seconds with my muff modded CS520 coming in at 17 seconds. The Efco has a stock muff and surely would pick up some with a muff modd. Steve

I can attest to the CS400 being a great saw. It's my favorite saw under 50 cc's. Nice n' light, too - I think the PHO weight is about 10#. Great saw to lug through the woods with you, and I even take it with me when I go camping. Rock solid.
 
I've only ever talked to one echo dealer, and this is anecdotal, what he told me. For years he sold echo stuff, along with a lot of other stuff, he has a hardware and appliance store, a little of everything. TVs to woodstoves, garden tools to fridges. So he used to eat real minor repairs on his echo line to keep his customers happy and speed things up. He never bothered to turn in a single small echo repair. Not a lot, just the real small stuff that wasn't hard to do, and he said, that's all he ever got, that their gear was pretty good. So one time it finally happened, he gets a major warranty claim for a blower that would necessitate just a replacement, so he turned in a claim. Echo come down on him hard, said he had skipped tech training and so on (while still selling him all their stuff and keeping him as a dealer). He said he felt so abused by them, the verbal abuse on the phone, he quit them on the spot. He gave the customer another blower out of his own pocket, and that's it.

So, a single major claim in years, they harangued him, so he quit, and he sold their stuff for over a decade.

FWIW

Wow...that's horrible. Apparently, client service is low list for Echo. Just out of curiosity - how long ago did your buddy have this experience?
 
Wow...that's horrible. Apparently, client service is low list for Echo. Just out of curiosity - how long ago did your buddy have this experience?

He's an older guy I do business with in town, still has his store. He's REAL fair and good to his customers, his prices on everything are good and he'll cut ya a deal now and then off the posted retail. that kind of real "mom and pop" good old fashioned kinda place.

And has gone out of his way to find me stuff when none of the other local small engine guys could get it, he'll sit and drag out catalogs for fifteen minutes trying to find a five buck part. . So I believe his story. As to how long he was an echo dealer, at least a decade maybe more, I don't recall the exact specifics, might be even two decades. When I first moved here he still had his echo dealership, so once I toasted mine, I was going to check his parts and prices, etc, that's when he told me had had stopped selling them recently, and he told me the story. So, just around two years ago now, year and half really.

So, he doesn't sell echo now or much in the way of small engine stuff besides some mowers and such like (which are almost all rebadged MTD now anyway, riders or pushers). He has so much other stock he sells he really doesn't need to sell saws and blowers, etc.

Pretty cool old guy, been collecting classic antique cars all his life, he told me he stopped at 50 of them when he ran out of room to park them.



So..if you have a dealer who has a GOOD relationship with echo, that might be cool, if not...crapshoot. Like I said before, I don't trust warranties on that sort of stuff anyway, wayyyy too easy for them to just say "straight gassed" no matter what it is and you eat it. Besides with saws, I bet most guys around here void the warranty within ten minutes of getting it home (muffler mod, pull caps, retune), so the point is moot.
 
Maybe you could buy several different boxes of 1201 "replacement parts". As in...all the parts.

I emailed Echo 5-6 years ago about getting a new in the box CS-60S and the lady said i would have to fly overseas and bring one back and getting it thru customs was another problem. I asked for parts as in i will put it back together myself. Now you can get parts online for that model ( it is now discontinued after a 41 year run) and i found a brand new one on ebay for 219 bucks. Not bad for a 24" saw. But it will never run as its just for show...Bob
 
said he had skipped tech training

My dad was a dealer and i went every year for along time. The last one i went to was in 1984 and we got to tear down brand new CS-602's and put them back together. Wish i could have kept the saw too...Bob
 
My dad was a dealer and i went every year for along time. The last one i went to was in 1984 and we got to tear down brand new CS-602's and put them back together. Wish i could have kept the saw too...Bob

that's pretty neat!

My dad was a mainframe computer guy, and I got to go see the whopper old timey machines (50s-60s era, when not many computers of any kind around). He tried an early education for me on them, but drat it all I am colorblind and back then you needed a good color sense to work on electronics.
 

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