The EPA is mostly just another corrupt and dysfunctional government agency in bed with the large corporations that does not ask for my permission to use my tax dollars. That does not mean everything they do is awful. And I don't live in California.
I removed the cat because I understand how saw carbs work, and a cat is not a viable system on engine that pumps a significant portion of its fuel charge out the exhaust unburned and has a carb that runs so rich the engine misfires if you let off the load - oh, that's right, it doesn't the way they come and the engine will fail due to a too lean mixture under load. With the mixture fattened up the cat will get hot and still not be able to catalyze much of that unburned fuel. It's a dumb a$$ non-solution.
The 'obsolete' Echo design does just fine by EPA standards as long as you don't defeat the factory mixture limitations. Go ahead, run it that way, I dare you!
While I like playing with chainsaws, they are not just toys to me, they are tools that enable me to heat with wood instead of fossil fuels even though I have an regular job that takes my time. This reduces the fossil fuels I use, their cost to my family, and reduces the overall pollution and CO2 I put out (in spite of the saws), and thus my contribution to climate change. The vast majority of that wood gets cut with my 40cc strato saw, with the larger saws saved for when they are required, and the 42cc Poulans kept around because they are by far the most common saw out there and I expect major economic problems near term - I can always keep one of those running. The others are for fun and backups.
It's too bad my older non strato saws are such polluting pigs, but that is what the industry made then, and all it would be making now if not forced to change - because a corporation will always provide the absolute minimum it has to to get your money.
Oh, and if you guys think I'm ashamed of being environmentally concerned, you are mistaken.
