This. I abused my 400 before I knew better and it runs just as good as it did new. I have plenty of spare parts for it and have been tempted to buy another for when this one ever bites the dust.
Not that I expect it to any time soon.
Need a 40cc saw
- Thread starter Kel71
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Not that I expect it to any time soon.
I have a CS-370 and a 400. The chain tensioner is the weak link. Have the bar nuts mostly tight before tightening up the chain. Other than that great little saws
LuDookie
ArboristSite Guru
How tight? Seems like clamping down on the bar and then wrenching down on the tensioner would be the best way to break it. I’ve always loosened the nuts so that the tensioner can easily move the bar forward and then tighten the bar nuts in place. Never broken a tensioner on any saw.
LuDookie
ArboristSite Guru
Me too! My old 370 rounds like a top. It’s been through a few bars chains and drums and one fuel line that I punctured with a screw driver, but other than that, it’s great. The new 400 does have a bit more power and I can tell it’s going to have a good life right from the start. First thing to do though, is remove the CAT from the muffler and tune it well.
Same here until this one. The gear assys were like $40 when these came out and I first broke it. Now they're alot cheaper and available aftermarket.
How tight?
Just enough to support the gear assembly behind the metal plate but allows the bar to move, call it snug but not tight.
Some pressure on the plate keeps the metal plate and gear assembly from flexing and misaligning the gears. Under high load or lots of pressure inward with the scwrench, the plate flexes. This allows the tensioner to "skip" and depending on the amout of force, breaks the teeth. Also debris can get in there and push the gears apart and cause the same thing, pressure onthe plate prevents it. It WILL work without the bar nuts but keep pressure inward on the tensioner screw to a minimum, and be careful to not turn to hard.
I lent out my 400 the other day and they screwed up the tensioner again by missing the sprocket when replacing the chain and cranking it all the way out till it bottomed and skipped a tooth or four (with out the bar nuts snugged.) I was able to save the gears with a triangle file but it's weak and skips and wont tension on the bench. But will the bar nuts snug, works enough to use.
I distinctly remember trying to tension the chain with the chain brake on and (in other cases) while the bar nuts were tight. This was when I was new to chainsaws 10 years ago. I never broke or damaged the tensioning hardware.
But there are refinements or changes in build quality over time, so I'm sure it happens.
But there are refinements or changes in build quality over time, so I'm sure it happens.
LuDookie
ArboristSite Guru
Sounds good. I always have it snug enough to keep everything aligned. I replaced a tensioner on a saw of my father’s that was loaned out that someone tried tightening the chain without loosening the nuts. I’d loan out my toothbrush before my saws.
Hickahollar
ArboristSite Operative
Congrats on the new saw. Of the saws I've used I like my 35cc cs3510 8 pounds super lightweight I absolutely like it. It cuts small stuff faster than my 40cc poulan. Now my pl3314 (says it's 33cc but all new poulans from 33ccto 42cc are really something like 40.9cc) I like my pl3314 I use an 18 inch bar it cuts good. It will cut faster than the cs3510 from 4 inches and up I've cut plenty of 20 inch rounds with it. It's not gonna win a race but it gets the job done. It's really cheap not a pro saw and you better know how to tune it; they don't come tuned from the store. It is kind of heavy for a 40cc guessing around 11 pounds. I had a previous poulan ppb4218 that i used and abused for 9 years without any knowledge of how to use a chainsaw. I burned it up because I didn't know how to properly tune a carburetor. Now my ms250 is 45cc it's 10 pounds. which is lighter than the poulan bigger fast when limbing like the cs3510 but can cut bigger stuff faster than either of the other 2 saws. None are pro saws all are around 300 I think the ms250 is slightly higher.
BigSachsDolmar
WFO PowerSaws
The 5100s is pretty light and is arguably the best 50cc class ever made id keep it if u were u
hosocat
ArboristSite Operative
I have been using the cs400 for about 4 years now. Homeowner level of use. Have cut down trees wider than the 18 inch bar and done tons of limbing and bucking. It is a great saw. I grab it before my stihl 029, because I know it will start easily and run with no problem. I've dropped it of the back of the truck and pinched the bar a bunch. Sturdy little saw.
bryannewton
ArboristSite Operative
I have a husqvarna 345 xp love the saw got it from my dad who loaned it to a freind and by looking at the saw its was used to cut a bunch of sappy trees and never cleaned, got her cleaned up and she running great
My Echo CS-3900 is stll one of my favorite small saws. Almost impossible to find a used one:
But, then there are a few Echo C-346 saws with less grunt but still run well:
But, then there are a few Echo C-346 saws with less grunt but still run well:
Not_Husky
ArboristSite Lurker
I'm a little late to the conversation but:
I have rheumatoid arthritis and shattered my left elbow & upper arm in a fall on ice years ago. My lumbar and cervical spine are also shot.
My strength faded cutting firewood away from home with the 455 about 6 years ago and without noticing, I lowered the bar while taking a half step and tapped my knee. Luckily, I only cut 3 layers of skin. That was the final warning that encouraged me to get a lighter saw. I bought the 440 and put away my 455. And you know what? I love it. I've downed & bucked up 20" lodgepole snags with an 18" bar with no problems. Yes, it's slower than the 455, but only on wood larger than about 10". Fully loaded it's about 4 pounds lighter. (Newer ones have a heavier muffler). I don't tire as fast, I'm not as sore, and I can limb faster, easier and safer. So it is not really slower to overall.
I was actually looking to buy the 450, but the 440 was "refurbished" but new and was only $149 online at the time, so I bought it Instead. I came across a downed 24" cedar last winter and took my 455 to buck it up. Oh, boy! It felt like a Cummins diesel torquing right through that log. I got sawdust in my teeth from smiling. I had to rip the rounds to lift into my truck. Same thing. Then I grabbed the 440 to cut up the firewood sized limbs. Oh, boy, was it light by comparison. I was flinging it around like a baseball bat.
So, I'd suggest you keep one good big saw if you buy a smaller one. If you ever need it, you'll be glad you did.
Also, I have an original 33cc Poulan Wild Thing. It's a good runner that I occasionally use on brush and dirty wood and loan to neighbors but it vibrates quite a bit. The 440 is as smooth as riding in a Rolls Royce by comparison. Grey Poupon?
Tip: You can get by with a dulled chain with a big saw. But you'll need to keep the 440 chain sharp because it doesn't have the power to pull a less than sharp chain in larger wood. It'll bog or stop often if you apply any pressure. It loves the Husky X-Cut chain.
Also, the carb on my older 440E, like many other saws, doesn't tolerate ethanol fuel. I had to replace my carb once. But, I've had zero issues with canned pre-mix, and the Husky synthetic 2 stroke oil with stabilizer works great with regular non-ethanol gas, even after it's sat for a year.
