Rate your Chinese chain saw?

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Just bought this piece of ****. I’ll let you know if it becomes a polished turd. I’ll probably muff mod it, port’n’polish it, and then put a dildo muffler on it.

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NEO-TEC 12'' Top Handle Gas Chainsaw,2-Stroke 25.4cc Portable Chain Saws for Trees Gas Powered Wood Cutting https://a.co/d/cfSlioR
 
I have been watching these saws for the last few years on Ebay and have often wondered about them.A 62 cc saw for $129 is tempting.Just out of curiosity though,how much better is a Holzforma clone saw versus a $129 Coocheer or some similiar off brand .I doubt I ever buy either,because that $129 would buy me enough fuel mix and a couple chains to run my good saws for a year.
Coocheer? Lol

I gotta check this brand out.
 
Some like mine had misaligned oil pumps because the casting mold for the case was messed up , mine had a smaller spark plug hole, and the decomp hole threads that had a tiny straight line cut that caused an air leak. I tossed the cylinder, fixed the oil pump, and replaced the carburetor to make it a semi decent saw that now actually runs good...at times.
Every other saw I own from the Tanaka 5601 to the weird 78cc Chinese reed valve saw works way better, even my McCulloch 3214 is better than that saw.
 
I like a lot of people noticed all of the Chinese saws on ebay and amazon, I've been building motorized bicycles using Chinese kits for over 11 years so I know the quality of the parts can be questionable. So I set out to find the lowest price saw I could find, I ended up on ebay buying what was advertised as a 62cc saw for $76. When I checked the bore I found it to be a 52cc saw, I complained to the seller and they refunded me $12, so I have a $64 dollar chainsaw. I've cut with it some for 3 years now and here's what I've learned, nothing on this saw is tight, check every screw and use removable thread locker. The coil on mine came loose, after a couple of longer screws and thread locker it's still alive. It cuts pretty good, it's not a Stihl, Husqvarna or even close but will handle light to medium trees with no problems.

 
First startup on this little piece of crap. 25cc and takes 25:1 mix. Idles great and runs wot fine right out of the box. I’m just letting it idle for 5 mins before a cut and will report back with some usage on my wood lot.
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Just picked this 543xp clone up, a couple of coworkers had good luck with a couple of Farmertec 440s I helped them build(I did have to do some machine work to the cylinders and put a chamfer on the port edges,) so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this. The plan is to throw it on the front of the dirt bike, for times when one of my top handles is going to be too small.

The verdict so far...it starts and kinda runs. Metering rod was way out of adjustment on the carb, even after fixing that, it still runs like doo doo. Feels like a timing issue, the way it pops in the cut. I could just send it back, but I'm going to do a tear down on it anyway, so I'll try to get it right. If it's not catastrophically a piece of crap, I'll do some port and machine work on it, in order to pick up some grunt.

In case any of the haters pop up, while a genuine 543xp would've been the turnkey option, I'm not spending $600 on one just for it to bounce around on the front of my dirtbike. I feel bad enough doing that with my 2511 or my 201tcm. My 2511 gets abused harder on trail cutting days than it does on the average day of tree climbing.

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I heard some not so good reviews of a few models ,like the G444. So I avoided them even though I'm more familiar with Stihl design.
The G372XP I ordered was the 4-1 deal and 3 other guys got saws also ,g255,g366 and g660. My saw was the only one that didn't run ,lol . The screw on the fuel pump side of the carburetor was stripped out and it wouldn't hold pressure. I ordered a used 2165 Jonsered carb rebuilt it and it was good to go. That was over 2 years ago and I've done some other modifications to that saw and it runs much stronger than the stock 372xp now.
I have fixed alot of 455,460,and 465s in the last couple of years and I would definitely take a new knock off over one of these saws.

I helped a couple of coworkers/friends with the FT kit 440s they built. The only real knock I had against them, was the crappy chain tensioners and the cylinders. The chrome itself was really nice(actually stronger than Hyway IMO,) but the ports were really rough and the squish band was horrid. I was actually concerned about them hanging a ring if I didn't clean up the ports.

IIRC, the squish was ungodly loose, like nearly .060". Cleaned up the squish bands on them and brought them down to .025".
 
Just picked this 543xp clone up, a couple of coworkers had good luck with a couple of Farmertec 440s I helped them build(I did have to do some machine work to the cylinders and put a chamfer on the port edges,) so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this. The plan is to throw it on the front of the dirt bike, for times when one of my top handles is going to be too small.

The verdict so far...it starts and kinda runs. Metering rod was way out of adjustment on the carb, even after fixing that, it still runs like doo doo. Feels like a timing issue, the way it pops in the cut. I could just send it back, but I'm going to do a tear down on it anyway, so I'll try to get it right. If it's not catastrophically a piece of crap, I'll do some port and machine work on it, in order to pick up some grunt.

In case any of the haters pop up, while a genuine 543xp would've been the turnkey option, I'm not spending $600 on one just for it to bounce around on the front of my dirtbike. I feel bad enough doing that with my 2511 or my 201tcm. My 2511 gets abused harder on trail cutting days than it does on the average day of tree climbing.

IMG_20221215_193354876.jpg.cd73f556f77079989dfa1cee3997c92d.jpg
I should send you this little neotec to shore up 😃
 
First startup on this little piece of crap. 25cc and takes 25:1 mix. Idles great and runs wot fine right out of the box. I’m just letting it idle for 5 mins before a cut and will report back,
just wondering what is gained by calling it a "little piece of crap" before you have the slightest clue whether it is any good or not?
 
Just picked this 543xp clone up, a couple of coworkers had good luck with a couple of Farmertec 440s I helped them build(I did have to do some machine work to the cylinders and put a chamfer on the port edges,) so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this. The plan is to throw it on the front of the dirt bike, for times when one of my top handles is going to be too small.

The verdict so far...it starts and kinda runs. Metering rod was way out of adjustment on the carb, even after fixing that, it still runs like doo doo. Feels like a timing issue, the way it pops in the cut. I could just send it back, but I'm going to do a tear down on it anyway, so I'll try to get it right. If it's not catastrophically a piece of crap, I'll do some port and machine work on it, in order to pick up some grunt.

In case any of the haters pop up, while a genuine 543xp would've been the turnkey option, I'm not spending $600 on one just for it to bounce around on the front of my dirtbike. I feel bad enough doing that with my 2511 or my 201tcm. My 2511 gets abused harder on trail cutting days than it does on the average day of tree climbing.

IMG_20221215_193354876.jpg.cd73f556f77079989dfa1cee3997c92d.jpg

Now I'm buying another saw.
 
I bought a Chinese made RY10532 Reman when they were a hot topic here a number of years ago. They were going for around $100 at the time, and all seemed to have a fuel hose that was either too long or too short, I don’t remember which, inhibiting fuel pickup. An easy fix.

I’ve been using that little 40 cc saw off and on for a long time with nothing but a new bar and a bunch of chains. Recently the oiler quit functioning so I figured the gig was up, as no parts would be available. Did a search here and found out the same oiler is still used on a number of current Homelite clones. Sure enough, $15 or less and I have a functional oiler.

that brings my operating cost to about $6.00/year, and it out it’s my little Stihl MS170. I think the build tag said 2002, or therab.

I doubt I will ever buy another Chinese saw, as I have enough Stihl and Husqvarna saws to last the rest of my lifetime, though.
 
Okay the “little ripper” is a pretty nice top handle. Took it out for a few hours on my woodlot in low 30’s weather. While not a piece of crap imho now I will reserve that moniker for the future if she offends me.

Did a great job pulling through hardwoods like beech, oak, and maple up to 8”. I need to tune for the weather and wood but didn’t bring my tools. This thing is lightweight and very easy to carry long distances which was my purpose with this saw. One handed, though frowned upon, works really well working on branches to the top of a downed tree. Chain is loose as expected after putting her through those cuts today. Mixed with 89 and Castrol 2T for the first tank now empty. The saw chain is great. Makes good sized chips.


Now I wanna spring for the 8105 105cc because why not? With deglobalization I don’t see opportunities like this much longer. The 42” bar combos are now oos unfortunately.
 
I bought a Chinese made RY10532 Reman when they were a hot topic here a number of years ago. They were going for around $100 at the time, and all seemed to have a fuel hose that was either too long or too short, I don’t remember which, inhibiting fuel pickup. An easy fix.

I’ve been using that little 40 cc saw off and on for a long time with nothing but a new bar and a bunch of chains. Recently the oiler quit functioning so I figured the gig was up, as no parts would be available. Did a search here and found out the same oiler is still used on a number of current Homelite clones. Sure enough, $15 or less and I have a functional oiler.

that brings my operating cost to about $6.00/year, and it out it’s my little Stihl MS170. I think the build tag said 2002, or therab.

I doubt I will ever buy another Chinese saw, as I have enough Stihl and Husqvarna saws to last the rest of my lifetime, though.
I have 2 BLUE Husqvarnas and a fake blue 025 Stihl. The 025 is running strong after 3 years no issues. The g288 got a big bore kit with a pop up or domed piston as the chrome bore was crap in it. It’s been cutting for 2 years now no more problems for less than $400. The G372 is my favorite. It ran great out of the box. But I’m always about cubes. Put a highway 52 mm kit that I ported on it and a domed piston. 3 years of hard use and still going strong. I take good care of my saws, my macs I bought new 30 + years ago and still running great. The Chinese stuff gets better and better at a third the price.
 
I have 2 BLUE Husqvarnas and a fake blue 025 Stihl. The 025 is running strong after 3 years no issues. The g288 got a big bore kit with a pop up or domed piston as the chrome bore was crap in it. It’s been cutting for 2 years now no more problems for less than $400. The G372 is my favorite. It ran great out of the box. But I’m always about cubes. Put a highway 52 mm kit that I ported on it and a domed piston. 3 years of hard use and still going strong. I take good care of my saws, my macs I bought new 30 + years ago and still running great. The Chinese stuff gets better and better at a third the price.
Were did you get a big bore kit for your 288? I couldn't find one.
 

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