Which pole saw do you suggest?

[oldschool]

This being my first post, I'm going out on a limb here... I'm a big fan of Stihl, but Echo has 'em beat in the pole saw department.

 

[RiverRat2]

Pole pruner Stihl HT101/HT 75

Stihl HT 101 just bought a new one two months ago, works great,:biggrinbounce2: Tried and echo that a friend had and was trying to peddle, Did not like the way the handle/trigger felt, it ran good and cut OK just did not feel right . already own HT 75 just like the more ergonomic grip Stihl offersumpkin2:

 

[wagonwheeler]

Whomever stole my 394 and pole saw, you better be careful with them. The Good Lord may let you have an accident so he can go ahead and talk with you one on one.

I'm not so sure He's the one they'd be talkin' to...

(iffin' ya' know what I'm sayin'...)

..

 

[TopJimmy]

FWIW, I have a HT101 and love it. If the 131 would have been out, I would have purchased it. More power always seems better. I have never run an Echo. I am a little worried about the shaft long term. They do take a beating. I have pulled my apart a couple of times, and the branches often seem to land on the head and push it to the ground. Several hours cutting with one will give you quite a workout.

Jim

 

[ihbase]

HT 131 power

Hey-

I picked up an HT 131 last week. After running it for about seven days, it feels "off" to me. The motor / chain speed feels like about 75% of ideal. Any one else have this experience or is this just me and the 4 stroke blues?

The saw also had to go back for warranty repair when the driveshaft disconnected from the powerhead. Not very impressive.

And- it is a ##### to cold start- still have not landed upon a winning easy start combination of choke / prime / throttle. Really frustrated with this unit.

-mike

 

[ihbase]

Really? I can't say the word "#####"? Seriously? Did I log onto the PTA site by mistake? -mike

 

[CentaurG2]

Hey-

I picked up an HT 131 last week. After running it for about seven days, it feels "off" to me. The motor / chain speed feels like about 75% of ideal. Any one else have this experience or is this just me and the 4 stroke blues?

The saw also had to go back for warranty repair when the driveshaft disconnected from the powerhead. Not very impressive.

And- it is a ##### to cold start- still have not landed upon a winning easy start combination of choke / prime / throttle. Really frustrated with this unit.

-mike

Welcome to the ht131 blues. The powerhead/shaft disconnect problem has something to do with the adjustable shaft. My 131 had the same problem and it took three trips to the dealer to get it fixed correctly. Mine was repaired under warrantee but the last time in was in it took a week to get it back so I don’t think it is an easy or cheap fix.
The cold start problem is probably due to the ignition module (coil) getting stuck in the “advanced” position or so they tell me. You can crank it till you blue in the face but it will not start for love nor money. It is a common ailment of the 4 mix engine. As near as I can tell, Stihl is aware of the problem and their solution was to change the lifetime warrantee on electrical components to a 3 or 5 year warrantee shortly after the introduction of the 4 mix. If your 131 is under warrantee, just bring it back to the dealer and let them fix it.
On the bright side, once it is running, the 131 is a great pole saw and will make you a lot of money. Mine paid for itself about 10X over during the last ice storm. If the power feels off have your dealer check the valves. Make sure you are running premium fuel with Stihl Ultra oil at 50:1. Other have reported carbon fouling of the valves if synthetic oils are not used in the 4-mix. Good Luck.

 

[ihbase]

CentaurG2:

Thank you for all of the information. It is very useful. -mike