Flawless chainsaw models only

[BobboJ89]

Husqvarna 257. Not as hot as the 262's but as solid as it gets. Call it a firewood saw but it will out pull any weekend warriors with farm and ranch saws. Well maybe that's because it always has a sharp chain That said I really want to find a cherry 262...
Runner up would be 390xp, nothing but balls, but will need another 10 years on it to see if it is 257 reliable.
Interesting to see the Echos in this thread, I climb with a CS-341, prefer to 201t. Will see how it holds up, good so far with regular maintenance but climbing is hard on saws.

 

[LuDookie]

Don’t know if this counts but I acquired a 1981? Model Pioneer Farmsaw from my wife’s grandfather. He had it in his shed and I was admiring it. It was of no value to him and I could tell it hadn’t been used in forever. He just gave it to me. He bought it back then to heat a cabin he built in Canada in the 80’s. It was 2017 when I picked it up. Original bar and chain… lots of wear on the bar and the cutting teeth of the chain has been filed at least 3/4 down.
Took it home, filled it with fresh mix and it fired up quick. I tuned it and I still pull it out and use it for a few tanks every year to keep it running. It’s a strong saw. 66.7cc. It’ll sure make you appreciate modern antivibe though. Seems well built and is obviously somewhat reliable.

 

[calamari]

Also nice to see a lot of people with a lot of flawless saws. Sometimes when looking through this forum and others it can seem like all saws are wank

I was thinking the same thing when I read your comment. I guess the first inclination is to complain. It's not as interesting reading about there being no problem with something.

I’ve found that good maintenance and the right usage will make just about any good saw mast a long long time. Even my jacked up chinkenesse 288 and 372

There are people who could destroy Batman's car and there are those who could keep a saw made out of cooked spaghetti running forever. I've got a friend who is so mechanically uninclined that he's mystified by a Phillips head screw.
I've got a Homelite 330 that was going on 40 years old before I had the slightest problem with it. I'm using a Redmax top handle 300T that is my fiance's that she kept in the garage and never used. I took it out and found it had gas in it that was at least 10 years old. Before I cleaned it out I thought I'd give it a try just for fun. Choked and started on the 4th pull. Stunk like hell but ran fine. I'd say that's a pretty trouble free saw.

 

[KASH]

No saw is flaw less and no saw built in the future will be either.But for dead nuts reliability very good running well thought out design easy starting wonderful idieing adequate speed and the ability to to pull .404 chain with ease with only 56ccs the Stihl 08s is the clear winner in my books.
Kash

 

[KarlD]

Thats 6 grand in saws!

It’s a tax thing when you have an ARB business…and a pleasure when you like chainsaws I bet this is nothing compared to some of the big boys on here

 

[Oletrapper]

Flawless chainsaw models only.......​

I sure miss the Stihl calendars!

I miss the SnapOn calendars with the nudies. Had um all over my tool boxes. The Misses made me get rid of um. lmao :-( lmao OT

 

[jltrent]

Poulan 3400, put a new fuel line is all you have to do in 30+ years. The non plastic case is about bullet proof and the saw really does not have a weakness except maybe a little heavy.

 

[Smitty Smithsonite]

40 years ago it was Homelite. Then Echo. I still have a pair of Echo saws my dad ran for a quarter century, and will STILL start and run if I clean the 7 year old fuel out of them. Not sure how the newer Echos compare since the engines are built by a different company now. I have zero experience with those ones.

I remember the mailman gave my dad a big blue Homelite XL some time in the early 80's, because he couldn't get it started. My dad tossed some gas in it, and it started on the 3rd pull! Good ol' days. That thing had no muffler - just a guard to keep twigs out of the combustion chamber when it was sitting, LOL. Thing would make your ears bleed! I could hear dad cutting wood with that thing as I got off the school bus over a mile out, HAHAHA! He ran that thing for over 10 years, and sold it still running perfect. Back when stuff was built with pride.

 

[LuDookie]

40 years ago it was Homelite. Then Echo. I still have a pair of Echo saws my dad ran for a quarter century, and will STILL start and run if I clean the 7 year old fuel out of them. Not sure how the newer Echos compare since the engines are built by a different company now. I have zero experience with those ones.

I remember the mailman gave my dad a big blue Homelite XL some time in the early 80's, because he couldn't get it started. My dad tossed some gas in it, and it started on the 3rd pull! Good ol' days. That thing had no muffler - just a guard to keep twigs out of the combustion chamber when it was sitting, LOL. Thing would make your ears bleed! I could hear dad cutting wood with that thing as I got off the school bus over a mile out, HAHAHA! He ran that thing for over 10 years, and sold it still running perfect. Back when stuff was built with pride.

Echo engines are still made by Kioritz/Yamabiko in Japan. Rarely do they have engine problems aside from lean factory tunes and people that don’t know how to start them and keep them running. If tuned right and cared for, the engines are hard to kill. In some cases Stihl and Husqy can build better saws and faster revving engines, but not more reliable engines, IMO.

 

[rob066]

Jonsered 2159 cuts cuts and keeps cutting. That made me the most money of any saw I own.

 

[huskyespañol]

346 xp,266se,echo 360tes

 

[Czed]

I've had these 2 for four years
They still have their original bearings and seals
I just refreshed fuel lines and carb kits when I got them.
And had the 1989 268xp ported by stumpshot saws in wisconsin
It's a very strong saw

The 1988 266xp is stock.
I've lost count of the tree's I've cut with them
Never an issue.
The 2 series imho is the best series of saws ever
I also have 281/288s from the 90s up to 2000 that have never had any problems
Great series of saw.

 

[catbuster]

This thing has run for a long time. It has a lot of new parts, many are just from abuse… Imploding burned Cedar will tend to break the air filter cover and shear your bar studs off when it bananas your month-old Oregon light bar. But it’s still running the same cylinder & piston, albeit with a new set of rings, as when I bought it.

I know the MS441 has mixed reviews, and this photo is from when it was new, but this saw has had some hot suppers, still runs the same as when it broke in, and is smooth as silk to run. When I was in business these were the saws we had as “crew” saws because they were durable, had a very forgiving power band and tuned themselves. Not that my guys were intentionally abusing them, but they got rode hard and put up wet, and whereas rotary saws have a rev limiter that will keep them from doing serious damage while running lean, the MS 440s and 460s we had before them did not and as we moved around we would vary altitude 10,000 feet from one job to the next and M-Tronic was awesome regarding that.


My MS461 has been really good. My 372s were awesome, except for fasteners rattling loose, and the same could be said for my two 395s I’ve owned.

 

[MMG]

My “take with me saw” is my Sachs Dolmar 112. It’s underpowered and slow but it always starts and does the job. I got a little Husky 445 several yrs ago that had always very dependable. It’s too small to do much but it was always G-T-G. It finnaly let me down and had to put on a new carb. Other than that, it has always be ready to work. Since, it quit again and now have another card I’m gonna install. I hope i get another year or two out of carb replacement

 

[cuttinstihl]

My Echo CS590 and my Stihl MS170 have both been beaten and ran hard for about 5 years now. I can’t even count how many chains I’ve used up on them, all I know is that I’ve burned a lot of gas through them and cut a lot of wood with them. They still just keep on ticking, the Echo not the most impressive 60cc out there, but it just keeps running. I’d say for $400, I’ve definitely got my money’s worth out of it. The little 170 also refuses to die, I use that saw just about every day when I have to cut some small stuff. Here they both are sitting together.

 

[GrizG]

My Echo CS590 and my Stihl MS170 have both been beaten and ran hard for about 5 years now. ... Here they both are sitting together.

Nice couple. If think of it, tomorrow I'll take a photo of mine sitting together while I clean up ice storm damage.

 

[SweetMK]

I like the Stihls,, BUT, if Yanmar said they were gonna produce chainsaw engines,, MY deposit would be down for one.

There is something special about a company that makes an engine for an ocean going sailboat.
People bet their life on that engine,, I basically have two of them in tractors.
They just run, and run,,, and run,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Smitty Smithsonite]

Echo engines are still made by Kioritz/Yamabiko in Japan. Rarely do they have engine problems aside from lean factory tunes and people that don’t know how to start them and keep them running. If tuned right and cared for, the engines are hard to kill. In some cases Stihl and Husqy can build better saws and faster revving engines, but not more reliable engines, IMO.

I thought Kioritz was the first engine maker for Echo, then more recently they switched to Yamabiko? I didn't know they use both. I happened to notice the tag on the orange colored Echo weedwhacker I was working on a few years back, and noticed it wasn't Kioritz. Either way, I've never had to dive into an Echo engine in my life, and I've rebuilt countless engines (of all kinds, too).

I like Husqvarna equally. I hate Stihl - their saws are great, but the way they run their company SUCKS! They make it very difficult for me to repair my own (Or my customer's) saws. No parts breakdowns available on the net, impossible to find parts on the net outside of eBay, and the last time I went to a dealer in person, they charged me SHIPPING on top of the parts cost plus tax! I wouldn't take a Stihl for free after that. I get their reasoning for keeping their service departments locked down to keep quality consistent, but for F's sake, let me fix my own damned saw (Or weedwhacker, or hedge trimmer)! This type of sh*t has a automotive industry smell to it. All designed to empty your wallet, because the original purchase price wasn't enough ...

Rant over, lol.

 

[LuDookie]

I thought Kioritz was the first engine maker for Echo, then more recently they switched to Yamabiko? I didn't know they use both. I happened to notice the tag on the orange colored Echo weedwhacker I was working on a few years back, and noticed it wasn't Kioritz. Either way, I've never had to dive into an Echo engine in my life, and I've rebuilt countless engines (of all kinds, too).

I like Husqvarna equally. I hate Stihl - their saws are great, but the way they run their company SUCKS! They make it very difficult for me to repair my own (Or my customer's) saws. No parts breakdowns available on the net, impossible to find parts on the net outside of eBay, and the last time I went to a dealer in person, they charged me SHIPPING on top of the parts cost plus tax! I wouldn't take a Stihl for free after that. I get their reasoning for keeping their service departments locked down to keep quality consistent, but for F's sake, let me fix my own damned saw (Or weedwhacker, or hedge trimmer)! This type of sh*t has a automotive industry smell to it. All designed to empty your wallet, because the original purchase price wasn't enough ...

Rant over, lol.

I’m not sure of the exact breakdown of the companies. I don’t think it was a changing of companies, just a renaming/ merging thing. But who knows. I’m not at home right now but I’ll have to look at my saws and see what they say and if Yamabiko(parent company to Shindaiwa/Echo) still has ties to the Kioritz name. Either way, still Japanese made engines, in Japan, and that’s a good thing.

 

[LuDookie]

My Echo CS590 and my Stihl MS170 have both been beaten and ran hard for about 5 years now. I can’t even count how many chains I’ve used up on them, all I know is that I’ve burned a lot of gas through them and cut a lot of wood with them. They still just keep on ticking, the Echo not the most impressive 60cc out there, but it just keeps running. I’d say for $400, I’ve definitely got my money’s worth out of it. The little 170 also refuses to die, I use that saw just about every day when I have to cut some small stuff. Here they both are sitting together.

View attachment 963354

It’s fun to have a saw you know has some history to it. When I buy a new one, I put lots of miles on it in the first couple of years so that I can know it’s earned its place. I’ve only owned my 395xp for a little over a month but it’s already made a name for itself in my neck of the woods and done some Impossible jobs. Still has all the paint on the bar because I keep it screaming sharp, not from a lack of wood on the ground. My 2 Echos have some real time on them though and I love them. Here’s my 680 with some of the typical stuff it’s always cutting.