is this efco yet another echo cs-3000?

[heyduke]

i was surfing when an ad for this efco top handle turned up. it sure looks like an echo cs-3000 top handle, a venerable design from the 1980's, with the front mounted carb and reed valve. the on/off switch and controls look the same too. someone tell me it isn't true.

 

[Deleted member 83629]

all i know is in the manual they state you can either run 25:1 or 50:1 and my efco dealer has one for 239.95

 

[rburg]

I believe that is an efco. I believe that Redmax sold that saw as well.

 

[heyduke]

all i know is in the manual they state you can either run 25:1 or 50:1 and my efco dealer has one for 239.95

i did a little more poking around, ipl's for the efco and the redmax 3100t, which seems to be the same saw, and it looks like, yep, this is another incarnation of the old echo. it looks to have an improved (maybe) air filter but is still the old reed valve design, probably with a cat. it's like painting grandma and sending her to the prom. i have had a number of echo cs 3400t's. they were ok, reliable but gutless... and cheap. the specs claim 11,000 rpm but i was lucky to get 10k in real life. eventually something would always get past the filter and lodge in the reed valve. it usually took an hour to pull the carb and valve and correct that.

 

[Paragon Builder]

IIRC Zenoah invented the strato 2-stroke. Zenoah/ redmax is the same company.

 

[Franny K]

i did a little more poking around, ipl's for the efco and the redmax 3100t, which seems to be the same saw, and it looks like, yep, this is another incarnation of the old echo. it looks to have an improved (maybe) air filter but is still the old reed valve design, probably with a cat. it's like painting grandma and sending her to the prom. i have had a number of echo cs 3400t's. they were ok, reliable but gutless... and cheap. the specs claim 11,000 rpm but i was lucky to get 10k in real life. eventually something would always get past the filter and lodge in the reed valve. it usually took an hour to pull the carb and valve and correct that.

I have a made in Italy in 2011 one and the muffler is hollow. I think it scores 125 hours but don't have it nearby to look.

The air filter is a nylon mesh flat plate with a perhaps quarter inch thick foam on top of that. For some strange reason it rarely/never seems to get dirty the opposite of the Husqvarna 338xpt which is also a carb forward design. If the plugs on the side to adjust the carb come off that could lead to what you describe though I never have had problems though I noticed the little plug hanging on it's line a few times. I can't comment on who made the design initially but sort of think I saw one on ebay with Jonsorend on it. It was some other brand anyway.

 

[heyduke]

I have a made in Italy in 2011 one and the muffler is hollow. I think it scores 125 hours but don't have it nearby to look.

The air filter is a nylon mesh flat plate with a perhaps quarter inch thick foam on top of that. For some strange reason it really/never seems to get dirty the opposite of the Husqvarna 338xpt which is also a carb forward design. If the plugs on the side to adjust the carb come off that could lead to what you describe though I never have had problems though I noticed the little plug hanging on it's line a few times. I can't comment on who made the design initially but sort of think I saw on on ebay with Jonsorend on it. It was some other brand anyway.

from the ipl's it looks like the air filter is on top of the plastic body instead of at the very front. there is an access cover at the front where the air filter used to be. it looks just like the old air filter cover. the redmax ipl shows a more conventional rubber grommet style access to the carb adjustments instead of the old flap that you had to pop out and that always managed to get lost at some point. i used to keep a half dozen of those things in the shop. the reed valve looks identical to the echo's. regarding the husqvarna 338, it took them several years to get the air filtration right. the early ones were little more than a wad of foam and having the air intake at the rear of the guide bar, in a cloud of dust and chips, is a basic design weakness, especially in northern california where the weather is wet half the year. the reason i thought the efco might employ a cat is because that is what echo had to do with the same engine. glad to hear you've got 125hrs without problems. these are really robust (though wimpy) saws. they do suffer with a crew of abusive gorillas though. by the way, i bought my last echo cs3400 at buck's saw shop in novato, california for $125, early 1990's. i'd still have but it was stolen. i use echo 360t's now.

 

[olyman]

i did a little more poking around, ipl's for the efco and the redmax 3100t, which seems to be the same saw, and it looks like, yep, this is another incarnation of the old echo. it looks to have an improved (maybe) air filter but is still the old reed valve design, probably with a cat. it's like painting grandma and sending her to the prom. i have had a number of echo cs 3400t's. they were ok, reliable but gutless... and cheap. the specs claim 11,000 rpm but i was lucky to get 10k in real life. eventually something would always get past the filter and lodge in the reed valve. it usually took an hour to pull the carb and valve and correct that.

really???? do a little more reading on efco,,used to be olympyk..............

 

[Franny K]

The 125 hours I mentioned pertains to the emission compliance number. The air cover lays flat and appears like the one on that red max on the scale in post 5 above. I know what you are talking about the cover in the vertical plane on the front. I added some grease just in case the two screws didn't make an air tight seal. I think the air comes in from the fan there is a little half inch square under that piece you take off to access the air filter that leads from the recoil/fan area.

At first I was disapointed with the performance and the vibration and the results in the evening after using it a lot. After switching to the 61pmm3 bar and chain and not using it too long I like it more now.

 

[heyduke]

really???? do a little more reading on efco,,used to be olympyk..............

not trying to belittle efco or olympyk, just astounded that a company is rolling out this old chassis. i don't have much knowledge about efco/olympyk. i'm sure they made some great saws but perhaps you should look at the ipl's for the redmax 3100, the efco 132 and the echo 3000. they appear to be essentially the same. i mean the castings and machine work are the same. and this is really, at best, a mediocre saw. i liked them back in the day because they were inexpensive compared to a stihl 020t and they nearly always started on the first pull, a good thing when one is tied into a tree. and if you dropped one it might break the plastic but not the bank. but twenty-five years have passed since this saw came onto the market. i would be just as amazed if jonsered tried to resurrect the poulan 25 (they've already done that.)

 

[heyduke]

...At first I was disapointed with the performance and the vibration and the results in the evening after using it a lot. After switching to the 61pmm3 bar and chain and not using it too long I like it more now.

i've always run the echo cs-3400 with a 12" oregon bar with professional grade low-pro chain. i keep a roll of it. if you're in wood bigger than 10" you need a bigger saw.

 

[Franny K]

If you want to post links to the ipl (Ipb, illustrated parts breakdown in efco/emak speak) for the other two I will have a look. It dosn't seem anyone is coming along and saying if efco bought the rights to produce someone else's design or something along those lines.

"redmax 3100, the efco 132 and the echo 3000"

here is the ipb for the efco http://www.efcopower.com/sites/default/files/132S_IPL.pdf

The parts inside the muffler are not a catalyst (or what I associate with being a catalyst they are perforated sheets of steel part of their function is to keep the machine screws that attach the muffler from crushing the muffler. Not sure I recommend removing the muffler it has vibrated loose a few times since I had to peek inside. It looks like the foam is under the mesh for the air filter not as I put in a post above.

 

[olyman]

aint no convincing you,,you know it all...

 

[LarryRFL]

Okay, here's what I know about the 132s. It is an old fashioned reed valve design and has been around a long time. Redmax marketed it under their name at one time. I don't know about Echo, but the Echos I have seen are similar, not the same. That said, if you ever use one, you wouldn't bad mouth it. I own one and it is usually the first saw I grab when I need to do a smallish job. Had a Jonsered CS2139 and work for a Stihl dealer. I kept the 132 and got rid of the Jonsered. The Efco is a much better saw. Better construction and handles like a dream. If the choice was between a 132 and a Stihl MS201t, I'd buy the 132 even if they were priced the same. However the 132 lists at $299.99 with a 12" bar and the 201T is $679.95 list. And if anyone is interested in the old school, reliable and rugged saw, I've got one I'll let go for a good price. New, unregistered and in the box. The other 132 you'll have to pry from my cold dead hands.

 

[630red]

oleo mac 932 same as efco 132 both around along time never seen an echo 3000 over here,both are good saws going by what customers say

 

[heyduke]

i was surfing when an ad for this efco top handle turned up. it sure looks like an echo cs-3000 top handle, a venerable design from the 1980's, with the front mounted carb and reed valve. the on/off switch and controls look the same too. someone tell me it isn't true.

thanks to all who contributed to this thread. i was surprised that some took offence. that certainly was not my intent. i won't post the relevent ipl's. they are easy to find on the manufacturer's web sites. i didn't intend to put down efco, just thought it odd that they were offering such an old design for their top handle. my conclusions, while the motor seems identical to the echo cs 3000, the plastics have been changed, slightly. the air filter has been moved from the front to the top, causing a slight decrease in fuel capacity. the oil tank at the rear is a little different. there is no lanyard ring. the operator's handle is different. the echo cs 3000 was sold at home depot back in the day. to get an echo cs 3400, its big brother, you had to go to a dealer. i only used the 3400's. i know one climber in the early nineties who used a redmax 3100 and loved it. most climbers preferred the stihl 020 in it's two incarnations. larger tree companies in my area (san francisco) would often buy echo cs 3400's for their crews, mostly because of their low price and because the little top handles tended to get lost or damaged more often than other saws. when echo marketed the piston-ported cs 330/360t's it was a big improvement. still almost all climbers prefer stihls now. one last thing about this efco/redmax/echo design, the fuel and oil tanks are backwards, fuel in front, oil aft. at least once a month one would come back after a days work with bar oil in the fuel tank.