2lumbarleft
ArboristSite Operative
Recently, I observed an ad on E-Bay offering an Echo CS-400 chainsaw that was used as a demo at a dealer advertising event. The seller did a dealer refurbishment, including blow-out cleaning the air filter, sharpening the chain, and tuning the carburetor. The pics illustrated a pristine saw, slightly used bar, and accompanied a buy now price that amounted to $186 with shipping included. I thought this is perfect. The machine is just broken in, the chain will have stretched, and the carb problems will be handled in advance.
Saw shows up in pristine condition, and the seller cleaned it up beautifully. The chain was hand sharpened, and the seller did a pretty good job in that department. I give him 8.5 out of 10 points.
I drained out the old fuel, and put in fresh (my concoction) 92 octane gasoline with sea foam and a synthetic oil offering protection down to 1:16. Actual ratio the way I mixed it was 47 to 1.
The saw started with just three pulls. Two on choke, and one without. I had to let the saw warm up for two minutes, as the rpms would not rise by taping the throttle trigger (almost stalled). Finally, like a shy date, the saw started to respond to my throttle advances. At high rpm I thought I heard 4 cycling, so I thought the seller had overly enriched the carb settings, but the saw still was only running for about 3 minutes and needed a few more minutes. I then proceeded to make a cut. The saw cut smaller pieces, but had no power in the bigger cuts.
Time to adjust the carburetor! Thinking the slow speed jet was overly enriched, I leaned it a little and the saw died. OK, scratch the overly enriched idea. Time to enrich! Throttle responsiveness came back nicely. I needed to advance the throttle linkage. Once again, there was no power in the cut, so I advanced the high speed mixture. I advanced the high speed mixture until power increases turned to decreases. I then leaned back a little on the high speed jet, increased the idle one more time, and the saw was set perfectly!
Each load of fuel lasted about 40 minutes. Oiler was sufficient, and oil supply outlasted the gas, the way it is supposed to be.
The saw came through with an 18” bar. Actual useable length is around 17” to the bucking spikes. The blade feels a little flimsy, but works fine in actual usage. In the first part of the test, I cut silver maple rounds which is a softer wood, but tougher than pine. I ripped through rounds averaging from 10” to 12.5” with no problem, however the saw did show more strain on the 12.5” diameter pieces. Now it was time for test 2. I began to buck a 21.5” limb. Needless to say, I had to cut from both sides. I was still able to bury the blade to the bucking spikes and maintain rpms. It was possible to stall the saw by slightly twisting the blade while deeply buried. This did not occur on purpose, but rather due to the tree limb shifting on supports.
My opinion is the following. For the average homeowner, this is a terrific saw provided the purchase be made from a reputable dealer who has the brains to enrich the jets for the purchaser. I am here to tell you that all of those other people on this web site who have advised users to enrich the Echo chainsaw jets were giving you the straight gospel. If I had attempted to run the saw the way I received it originally, I believe that it might already be toast. Tune that carb, and you will have a sweet running, easy starting, very reliable chainsaw that will last you a long time. The saw ways 12 1/8 lbs (without oil or fuel on board) with the 18” Echo blade installed. The factory chain is terrible, but has low stretch, and is good for at least two tanks of gas. The rim is 6 pin, which explains why some people have described this saw as providing high torque in the lower rpm range. For my money, I don’t care if the Husqvarna is 20% faster in the cut. I spend more of my day watching my saw on the ground and holding my back than using it. What I care about is that this saw will start and run reliably – all the time! I think it is a great saw for the money, and it well suits the infrequent users, while providing a five year warranty. Not on mine of course, because it was an Ebay gamble.
Someday I will write about my CS-500P. Weighs 14 pounds with the 16” pro-lite bar and 3/8”pro chain. Balances well, and cuts firewood like a demon. Oh, and one more thing. Yes, I have other chainsaws. I have a Stihl MS-362, and a MS-180C. The MS-362 runs great, but has terrible balance with the 25” bar. Wish now that I had purchased the Husky 372XP.
Saw shows up in pristine condition, and the seller cleaned it up beautifully. The chain was hand sharpened, and the seller did a pretty good job in that department. I give him 8.5 out of 10 points.
I drained out the old fuel, and put in fresh (my concoction) 92 octane gasoline with sea foam and a synthetic oil offering protection down to 1:16. Actual ratio the way I mixed it was 47 to 1.
The saw started with just three pulls. Two on choke, and one without. I had to let the saw warm up for two minutes, as the rpms would not rise by taping the throttle trigger (almost stalled). Finally, like a shy date, the saw started to respond to my throttle advances. At high rpm I thought I heard 4 cycling, so I thought the seller had overly enriched the carb settings, but the saw still was only running for about 3 minutes and needed a few more minutes. I then proceeded to make a cut. The saw cut smaller pieces, but had no power in the bigger cuts.
Time to adjust the carburetor! Thinking the slow speed jet was overly enriched, I leaned it a little and the saw died. OK, scratch the overly enriched idea. Time to enrich! Throttle responsiveness came back nicely. I needed to advance the throttle linkage. Once again, there was no power in the cut, so I advanced the high speed mixture. I advanced the high speed mixture until power increases turned to decreases. I then leaned back a little on the high speed jet, increased the idle one more time, and the saw was set perfectly!
Each load of fuel lasted about 40 minutes. Oiler was sufficient, and oil supply outlasted the gas, the way it is supposed to be.
The saw came through with an 18” bar. Actual useable length is around 17” to the bucking spikes. The blade feels a little flimsy, but works fine in actual usage. In the first part of the test, I cut silver maple rounds which is a softer wood, but tougher than pine. I ripped through rounds averaging from 10” to 12.5” with no problem, however the saw did show more strain on the 12.5” diameter pieces. Now it was time for test 2. I began to buck a 21.5” limb. Needless to say, I had to cut from both sides. I was still able to bury the blade to the bucking spikes and maintain rpms. It was possible to stall the saw by slightly twisting the blade while deeply buried. This did not occur on purpose, but rather due to the tree limb shifting on supports.
My opinion is the following. For the average homeowner, this is a terrific saw provided the purchase be made from a reputable dealer who has the brains to enrich the jets for the purchaser. I am here to tell you that all of those other people on this web site who have advised users to enrich the Echo chainsaw jets were giving you the straight gospel. If I had attempted to run the saw the way I received it originally, I believe that it might already be toast. Tune that carb, and you will have a sweet running, easy starting, very reliable chainsaw that will last you a long time. The saw ways 12 1/8 lbs (without oil or fuel on board) with the 18” Echo blade installed. The factory chain is terrible, but has low stretch, and is good for at least two tanks of gas. The rim is 6 pin, which explains why some people have described this saw as providing high torque in the lower rpm range. For my money, I don’t care if the Husqvarna is 20% faster in the cut. I spend more of my day watching my saw on the ground and holding my back than using it. What I care about is that this saw will start and run reliably – all the time! I think it is a great saw for the money, and it well suits the infrequent users, while providing a five year warranty. Not on mine of course, because it was an Ebay gamble.
Someday I will write about my CS-500P. Weighs 14 pounds with the 16” pro-lite bar and 3/8”pro chain. Balances well, and cuts firewood like a demon. Oh, and one more thing. Yes, I have other chainsaws. I have a Stihl MS-362, and a MS-180C. The MS-362 runs great, but has terrible balance with the 25” bar. Wish now that I had purchased the Husky 372XP.
