Farmertec Warning

[JoeSawz]

Hello All,

Long time reader, first time poster. I wanted to warn everyone of the underhanded tactics Farmertec utilizes. I like most other people, could not afford a big saw for the little work i was planning on using, and could not even afford a used big saw that i could find. So i was lured to the Clone saw, especially the G395XP. I watched video after video, read post after post, and review after review. I was sold, yeah, i knew it wasn't a pro saw but for the little milling work i planned to do, it would be perfect, or so i thought. (Learn more about the desparity between good and bad reviews later.)

I was drawn to their website, but needed the saw quickly, and with their insane shipping prices, it was almost a wash to buy it on Ebay or Amazon with ultra fast ship times. So I made my purchase, and counted the days until my beautiful new toy arrived. The day it finally arrived, the package was damaged, and it cracked a little bit of the recoil cover, but hey i bought a new saw, I will contact them about that. The next day off, i took the time to put everything together, look for debris in the intake, check it out with a fine tooth comb. The oiler immediately started to leak, i think i got it fixed, but who knows. Then i noticed as many stated, the tensioner wasn't right, so i unthreaded the tensioner, and as i suspected, it was cross threaded, once i fixed it, seemed to work good. I fueld that bad boy up, turned the kill switch on, put the choke on and then began the 3 hours of non stop pulling (Off an on as its a big saw and it was kicking my butt). I pulled the plug it was getting fuel, but during the day it was hard to check for spark, but thought i felt a zap when i held on to it (Old farm trick), but probably the reason i feel these things still as it caused nerve damage. I played around with the plug cap, and noticed it seemed loose, and the wire inside didn't seem right, so i pulled it apart and put it back together right. I also noticed the plug was a cheap piece of crap so i bought a new plug, and the next day i would for sure get it running. After about an hour, i was able to get the beast to roar to life, i was so excited, but I knew not to touch it, so i lightly feathered the throttle and got her nice and warm before i shut her down to cool. I had run out of time that day, so i would go back the next day and do a couple of thermal cycles to break her in some. The next day, i pulled for hours again, it appeared to be getting spark, but maybe it was intermittent. I was finally able to get it to run and couldn't resist, ran over to a stack of logs and lightly cut through a couple, man this thing was a beast, but 5 minutes in, it stalled, never to fire again.

I spent days looking everything over, but to no avail. I took the saw to my buddies, we spent hours looking everything over, he thought maybe it had a faulty kill switch, and could see the carb was dumping way too much fuel, but other then that we could not find anything wrong. A few weeks later, i took the saw to a friend who used to be a small engine technician. He immediately started pulling parts off the saw, checking everything. He told me the magneto was junk, the kill switch was probably bad as it didn't have a definitive break when he actuated it, the carb was shot, and upon inspection, stated the cylinder had too much wear for only being run 10-15 minutes tops. He stated back in the old days, saw manufacturers would take defective saws back, fix them up (Aka clean them), and resell as new. He said that what had probably happened is the magneto started out good, then crapped out on the original owner, went back they were able to get it to fire, cleaned it and resold it, and it worked intermittently for a short time before FAIL.

So now i have a NEW? saw with a bad cylinder, bad piston, bad kill switch, bad magneto, defective chain adjuster, defective chain brake (Oh yeah, forgot about that one, im not a little guy and can barely get this thing to release), a possibly bad oiler (Never got to really test it), and a damage recoil. I had already been contacting Hutzl regarding this saw and getting a warranty replacement, they kept saying they would send me the parts, and asking me inane questions, requesting odd photos, telling me to pull parts off, take videos, etc. etc. I kept requesting a replacement saw as i no longer trusted this one, had already dumped large amounts of time into the saw, spent some of my money on it, and was informed the inside was damage, i mean what else could be wrong down the road. Then it all quit, no responses, i went to click on something else in their listings and it told me i was not an authorized purchaser or somethign to that regard, they had blocked me. I tried to place a bad reveiw, i couldn't do that either. I contacted Ebay customer service, but they would do nothing as because of their underhanded tactics, they had drawn me out long enough to get past the Ebay guarantee.

I then started to contact the parent company, Farmertec in China. Same tactics, they would offer parts, i would say no i want a new saw or a refund, then they would block me. Several months, and 3 or 4 different email accounts, and i am done, every account is blocked, they won't even answer me in their little chat on the website anymore.

So a year an a half later, i am out my money, still have a saw that doesn't run, they wouldn't send me a single part, a replacement, or a refund. Ebay was absolutely no help even though they made me feel they were trying, their advice has been to contact outside help sources. FTC, BBB, etc. but none of these agencies have any authority to make a resolution. And i can't even write a review on Ebay to warn people about their saws.

So I post this as a warning to all who are contemplating purchasing a Chinese saw, be very very careful. Have all of your ducks in a row, test that thing extensively as soon as you get it so you don't avoid the Ebay or Amazon safety net. And if you do not, at least do what i read about a few weeks ago, purchase the Allstate warranty on Ebay or Amazon for your saw, its only i htink $18 for 2 years. At least form what i read on there, they are great about replacing the defective items.

Good luck,

Joe

Sorry about the long window response, but i wanted to show everyone that i did my due diligence trying to resolve this through the proper channels, but what i learned is the warranty is as Tommy boy described it in the movie, a piece of **** in box labeled with a warranty because the word warranty makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. And don't believe all the good reviews you see on Ebay, because before people can post a negative review, they block them so the numbers are very skewed in their favor.

 

[JoeSawz]

Hello All,

Long time reader, first time poster. I wanted to warn everyone of the underhanded tactics Farmertec utilizes. I like most other people, could not afford a big saw for the little work i was planning on using, and could not even afford a used big saw that i could find. So i was lured to the Clone saw, especially the G395XP. I watched video after video, read post after post, and review after review. I was sold, yeah, i knew it wasn't a pro saw but for the little milling work i planned to do, it would be perfect, or so i thought. (Learn more about the desparity between good and bad reviews later.)

I was drawn to their website, but needed the saw quickly, and with their insane shipping prices, it was almost a wash to buy it on Ebay or Amazon with ultra fast ship times. So I made my purchase, and counted the days until my beautiful new toy arrived. The day it finally arrived, the package was damaged, and it cracked a little bit of the recoil cover, but hey i bought a new saw, I will contact them about that. The next day off, i took the time to put everything together, look for debris in the intake, check it out with a fine tooth comb. The oiler immediately started to leak, i think i got it fixed, but who knows. Then i noticed as many stated, the tensioner wasn't right, so i unthreaded the tensioner, and as i suspected, it was cross threaded, once i fixed it, seemed to work good. I fueld that bad boy up, turned the kill switch on, put the choke on and then began the 3 hours of non stop pulling (Off an on as its a big saw and it was kicking my butt). I pulled the plug it was getting fuel, but during the day it was hard to check for spark, but thought i felt a zap when i held on to it (Old farm trick), but probably the reason i feel these things still as it caused nerve damage. I played around with the plug cap, and noticed it seemed loose, and the wire inside didn't seem right, so i pulled it apart and put it back together right. I also noticed the plug was a cheap piece of crap so i bought a new plug, and the next day i would for sure get it running. After about an hour, i was able to get the beast to roar to life, i was so excited, but I knew not to touch it, so i lightly feathered the throttle and got her nice and warm before i shut her down to cool. I had run out of time that day, so i would go back the next day and do a couple of thermal cycles to break her in some. The next day, i pulled for hours again, it appeared to be getting spark, but maybe it was intermittent. I was finally able to get it to run and couldn't resist, ran over to a stack of logs and lightly cut through a couple, man this thing was a beast, but 5 minutes in, it stalled, never to fire again.

I spent days looking everything over, but to no avail. I took the saw to my buddies, we spent hours looking everything over, he thought maybe it had a faulty kill switch, and could see the carb was dumping way too much fuel, but other then that we could not find anything wrong. A few weeks later, i took the saw to a friend who used to be a small engine technician. He immediately started pulling parts off the saw, checking everything. He told me the magneto was junk, the kill switch was probably bad as it didn't have a definitive break when he actuated it, the carb was shot, and upon inspection, stated the cylinder had too much wear for only being run 10-15 minutes tops. He stated back in the old days, saw manufacturers would take defective saws back, fix them up (Aka clean them), and resell as new. He said that what had probably happened is the magneto started out good, then crapped out on the original owner, went back they were able to get it to fire, cleaned it and resold it, and it worked intermittently for a short time before FAIL.

So now i have a NEW? saw with a bad cylinder, bad piston, bad kill switch, bad magneto, defective chain adjuster, defective chain brake (Oh yeah, forgot about that one, im not a little guy and can barely get this thing to release), a possibly bad oiler (Never got to really test it), and a damage recoil. I had already been contacting Hutzl regarding this saw and getting a warranty replacement, they kept saying they would send me the parts, and asking me inane questions, requesting odd photos, telling me to pull parts off, take videos, etc. etc. I kept requesting a replacement saw as i no longer trusted this one, had already dumped large amounts of time into the saw, spent some of my money on it, and was informed the inside was damage, i mean what else could be wrong down the road. Then it all quit, no responses, i went to click on something else in their listings and it told me i was not an authorized purchaser or somethign to that regard, they had blocked me. I tried to place a bad reveiw, i couldn't do that either. I contacted Ebay customer service, but they would do nothing as because of their underhanded tactics, they had drawn me out long enough to get past the Ebay guarantee.

I then started to contact the parent company, Farmertec in China. Same tactics, they would offer parts, i would say no i want a new saw or a refund, then they would block me. Several months, and 3 or 4 different email accounts, and i am done, every account is blocked, they won't even answer me in their little chat on the website anymore.

So a year an a half later, i am out my money, still have a saw that doesn't run, they wouldn't send me a single part, a replacement, or a refund. Ebay was absolutely no help even though they made me feel they were trying, their advice has been to contact outside help sources. FTC, BBB, etc. but none of these agencies have any authority to make a resolution. And i can't even write a review on Ebay to warn people about their saws.

So I post this as a warning to all who are contemplating purchasing a Chinese saw, be very very careful. Have all of your ducks in a row, test that thing extensively as soon as you get it so you don't avoid the Ebay or Amazon safety net. And if you do not, at least do what i read about a few weeks ago, purchase the Allstate warranty on Ebay or Amazon for your saw, its only i htink $18 for 2 years. At least form what i read on there, they are great about replacing the defective items.

Good luck,

Joe

Sorry about the long window response, but i wanted to show everyone that i did my due diligence trying to resolve this through the proper channels, but what i learned is the warranty is as Tommy boy described it in the movie, a piece of **** in box labeled with a warranty because the word warranty makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. And don't believe all the good reviews you see on Ebay, because before people can post a negative review, they block them so the numbers are very skewed in their favor.

Also, just an update that i forgot to mention in the original post. I went back and watched a lot of the review videos I watched before my purchase. And here are a few stats that i perceived from those videos.

Roughly 80% were given the saw for a promotional review
Roughly 50% were dealers
Roughly 20% were timber shows that used them as giveaway saws in later videos

So as far as the 80% promotional saws for reviews, do you think those saws came off the assembly line like a regular saw, or were they hand built and gone through with a fine tooth comb to make sure that they worked perfectly.

Of the dealers, one even went as far as to say they bought the saw themselves, even though they are a dealer so that they could give an honest review.

I found the most reliable of the reviews were the mod shops, as they listed off all of the known problems with the saw, and all of the things they found wrong with them as well. but most of these guys are also selling those same saws they modded on their websites.

And I did find many honest review saw unboxing videos as far as I could tell, but maybe only 5% have follow up videos down the road to see what has happened with the saw.

And i won't mention the one person i watched regularly, who i felt gives a true honest opinion of the saws. but he also shows the problems he ran into, as well as how he fixed them himself.

I just want to give this advice to everyone so they don't make the same mistakes i did, i don't believe they are a bad option for someone who doesn't use this saw for reliance, or for a business. But a novelty purchase for once in awhile use, specialty use, a backup, or to tinker with. But please do yourself a favor and buy it from a reputable sales place and purchase the insurance plan to make sure you are covered, because this company will not help you in the least bit.

 

[lone wolf]

Amen brother China Junk

 

[HumBurner]

Also, just an update that i forgot to mention in the original post. I went back and watched a lot of the review videos I watched before my purchase. And here are a few stats that i perceived from those videos.

Roughly 80% were given the saw for a promotional review
Roughly 50% were dealers
Roughly 20% were timber shows that used them as giveaway saws in later videos

So as far as the 80% promotional saws for reviews, do you think those saws came off the assembly line like a regular saw, or were they hand built and gone through with a fine tooth comb to make sure that they worked perfectly.

Of the dealers, one even went as far as to say they bought the saw themselves, even though they are a dealer so that they could give an honest review.

I found the most reliable of the reviews were the mod shops, as they listed off all of the known problems with the saw, and all of the things they found wrong with them as well. but most of these guys are also selling those same saws they modded on their websites.

And I did find many honest review saw unboxing videos as far as I could tell, but maybe only 5% have follow up videos down the road to see what has happened with the saw.

And i won't mention the one person i watched regularly, who i felt gives a true honest opinion of the saws. but he also shows the problems he ran into, as well as how he fixed them himself.

I just want to give this advice to everyone so they don't make the same mistakes i did, i don't believe they are a bad option for someone who doesn't use this saw for reliance, or for a business. But a novelty purchase for once in awhile use, specialty use, a backup, or to tinker with. But please do yourself a favor and buy it from a reputable sales place and purchase the insurance plan to make sure you are covered, because this company will not help you in the least bit.

I'm not trying to be rude, but if you did your research as you said, I'm really not sure why you're surprised by the saw having issues out of the box and down the line, as well as less-than-stellar customer Service. It's pretty well documented that, even though the clone saws have made major improvements in quality/parts, it's a gamble whether they will function as intended, as well as that the folks assembling know or care about what they're doing.

 

[lone wolf]

I'm not trying to be rude, but if you did your research as you said, I'm really not sure why you're surprised by the saw having issues out of the box and down the line, as well as less-than-stellar customer Service. It's pretty well documented that, even though the clone saws have made major improvements in quality/parts, it's a gamble whether they will function as intended, as well as that the folks assembling know or care about what they're doing.

Prob got bad advice for people that pretend to know on YouTube.

 

[OM617YOTA]

That's why I don't own one.

Don't care if they're legal. Don't care about emissions. Wouldn't be surprised if they have a "we'll look the other way if you give us a piece of the pie" arrangement with the real manufacturer.

The proportion of them that are garbage exceeds my risk tolerance, even if they were free.

Game over, the end.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Truly a tragedy. You would have been far better off buying a used running saw for about the same price. Or, as I have often done, buy a non-runner that could be restored with a new top end or carb. These non-running saws that are usually reparable are commonly sold right here. I obtained my Stihl MS 441cm from a tree removal company owner who told me, "We are through with this saw. It has no compression. Fix it and its yours." That's what I did. As I recall, my total OEM parts cost was less than $130.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

I bought a g388 farmetech. I got it basically for 1/2 price. This was mostly due to my curiosity about it. I’ll probably end up putting a new crank/ bearing and a meteor or hyway top end. Oem coil as well. I’ll try the carb just to see. I’ll might try running it as is

 

[thompsoncustom]

So far I've had great luck with the couple of farmertec i've purchased.

That being said I would never trust the company to stand by there warranty if you buy one and I always assumed they aren't going to help you at all.

What you should have did with your ebay purchase is file a claim through paypal right away showing it didn't work and all the problems with it that way you probably would have ended up with the saw and your money back.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations! The only acceptable parts from aftermarket Chinese suppliers, I’ve found, are carburetor kits.

They have proven to be as reliable as OEM in the year and a half i’ve been testing them.

I offer my customers the option of aftermarket kits (both commercial and residential) for machines that do not warrant the expense of OEM prices, and I have not had any returns.

A commercial customer offered to test them for me long term. After six months and a year, the machines came back for routine service, and the kits remained soft and supple. To date, I have used over 40 kits without encountering any issues.

It is worth noting that I do not have ethanol fuel in my state; your mileage may vary if you do.

As a point of reference - the kits are about a dollar each, rather than 40+ from Zama / walbro.

Edit:

 

[Seachaser]

If you’re a novice, support your local mom and pop store. Mine is great. They bend over backwards to help you. I wish they sold every major brand, but I understand why.

 

[cookies]

Sorry for your experience, I'd suggest a tear down and rebuild using quality parts but it really sounds like you lack the time to learn/order parts and tear into it. It's hard to describe the feeling of making a lemon of a saw into a reliable fine instrument of purpose. My experience of completing a real booger of a project is it is better than a good feeling because I did it so every use reopen that feeling and can get addicting hence why so many in here have multiple saws. Make a list of things you need because quite a few parts you need can be used and obtained off ebay or sourced on here for less than new, husqvarna parts are typically not crazy expensive and over a few months collected before starting the work.

 

[cookies]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations! The only acceptable parts from aftermarket Chinese suppliers, I’ve found, are carburetor kits.

They have proven to be as reliable as OEM in the year and a half i’ve been testing them.

I offer my customers the option of aftermarket kits (both commercial and residential) for machines that do not warrant the expense of OEM prices, and I have not had any returns.

A commercial customer offered to test them for me long term. After six months and a year, the machines came back for routine service, and the kits remained soft and supple. To date, I have used over 40 kits without encountering any issues.

It is worth noting that I do not have ethanol fuel in my state; your mileage may vary if you do.

As a point of reference - the kits are about a dollar each, rather than 40+ from Zama / walbro.

Edit:View attachment 1178767

In my experience the gaskets and diaphragms work excellent but the springs, needles, welch plugs and lever rods are hit or miss requiring a careful and experienced eye . In a oem rebuild kit from the manufacturer every part is correct in fitment. I keep about 6 different chinese carb kits on hand to cover the basics because they come in packs of 3-6 for about 12 bucks. Most things can get a quick rebuild and head back to work in half a hr and my experience is they do not come back unless people use wrong or water saturated fuel.

 

[HansFranz]

milling

Word.

 

[oldbuzzard]

Not trying to be rude to you but you usually get what you pay for. I bought a new Farmertec 372 for $200 so I knew it was a crap shoot. But I figured what the heck, worse case I should still get a bunch of useable parts. Sure enough, it appears to be trash, some of the plastics can’t even be switched to other saws. I can’t seem to get it tuned, any oil in the tank just runs out when you set it down. OTOH, I have bought a lot of Chinese stuff that works just fine. Unfortunately the absurd prices OEMs now want for parts dictates we look for alternate sources.

 

[lone wolf]

Not trying to be rude to you but you usually get what you pay for. I bought a new Farmertec 372 for $200 so I knew it was a crap shoot. But I figured what the heck, worse case I should still get a bunch of useable parts. Sure enough, it appears to be trash, some of the plastics can’t even be switched to other saws. I can’t seem to get it tuned, any oil in the tank just runs out when you set it down. OTOH, I have bought a lot of Chinese stuff that works just fine. Unfortunately the absurd prices OEMs now want for parts dictates we look for alternate sources.

I stay away from all that junk, just a waste of money and time. Always problems with it. Cracks me up when I read on here put OEM this, that and the other part to fix it when it needs all OEM parts to be good.

 

[MudgeHollowBeaver]

You depended on YouTube for "honest" reviews, so put one up yourself. Don't just put up a long rant about ChiCom junk ...document objectively. Tear the saw down on camera and explain your negative experiences. Remember, one well presented negative review is probably noticed much more than dozens of gushing (sales) reviews. When I do internet research for any product that I am considering buying, I always include the word 'problems' in the search description.

 

[fields_mj]

I'm satisfied with my G660, as well as my FF541R trimmer. I'll likely give their backpack blower and may end up with a few of their smaller saws. That said, I realize its a crap shoot, and I understand what I'm buying.

The lesson to learn with all of this is that if you think you might be buying a piece of crap, be quick to contact your CC company and put a hold on the payment until the issue is resolved. The CC companies are pure evil in my book. They make 4% on everything, and they've almost got it to the point where its going to be a challenge to find a place to spend actual cash. They have a huge legal team, and are more than happy to lure in the young, inexperienced folks and straddle them with dept. that they may not ever be able to work their way out of. So, if I'm dealing with someone who might be questionable, I'm going to use the CC company as my buffer/insurance policy. Call the customer service number on the back of your CC and ask them how the process works before you begin the purchase process. If something goes wrong and you have to use them to get your money back, be the squeaky wheel. Be kind, be respectful, and when you've reached the end of what the person on the phone can do, move up another rung on their food chain. Write down names and numbers as you go. After you reach the 2nd or 3rd rung of the food chain, the customer support actually gets really good. Everyone below that is designed to prevent or deter customers from bothering people who know enough and have enough authority to actually help you resolve an actual issue.

 

[OM617YOTA]

So, if I'm dealing with someone who might be questionable, I'm going to use the CC company as my buffer/insurance policy. Call the customer service number on the back of your CC and ask them how the process works before you begin the purchase process. If something goes wrong and you have to use them to get your money back, be the squeaky wheel. Be kind, be respectful, and when you've reached the end of what the person on the phone can do, move up another rung on their food chain. Write down names and numbers as you go. After you reach the 2nd or 3rd rung of the food chain, the customer support actually gets really good. Everyone below that is designed to prevent or deter customers from bothering people who know enough and have enough authority to actually help you resolve an actual issue.

This is basically the only reason I have a CC. In theory my debit card has the same fraud protection, but I'd rather their fraud dept be working to get their money back, not my money back.

 

[bwalker]

The first problem is you are cheap. The second is you watched videos on you tube.