Husqvarna 550 Mk 2 or older MS 261-CM

[carlos]

try an echo 501sx, we have a few of them at work they are the go to saw for most stuff, used daily for over two years and zero engine/carb problems.

dunno whether they have a cat in or not but they work fine as sold so why worry

[Echo]

52 minutes ago, outinthewood said:

Echo, I followed with a passing interest your questions etc on another forum under the user name Greenerpastures. You say you are in the nth part of RoI ? I know and have been in to the dealer you are referring to and I found them to be good and straight forward to deal with. It is a fact that here in R of I the two main players are at the mercy of the importers and where Husqvarna Ire are helpful and willing to do the job for the customer the Stihl importer have so many high value other parts i.e Makita, Bosch, Knipex etc the saw part is quite small and as a result "we" do not always get the full range so to blame the dealer is not correct ! 

I have to go along with a couple of other posters and conclude you are always looking for a "problem" ? To suggest that your present saw is so sensitive is at best fanciful !

I have been running AT saws since they came out and apart from the well known early problems find  them good and reliable.  As a guy that makes my living from a saw any problems were all covered by Husqvarna with no problems.  The 2 year cover from Husqvarna is as it says … 

I'm sure you will have a raft of rebuttal to post but do please check your facts !

Here is a link to the Husqvarna website covering Ireland,

https://www.husqvarna.com/ie/products/chainsaws/newchainsawgeneration/

3/4 way down you will see how they market the 550 and 545 as having a 2 year warranty, then click on the link that says read more, and it wont take you anywhere, why is that, its because there are conditions, just as I said you have to have the saw serviced by the dealer, but why not make it known like they do in other parts, like below,

2 Year Warranty All Husqvarna Automower® carry a two year warranty, registration is still required

Option for 2 Year Warranty:
All ‘Husqvarna’ branded products will benefit from an enhanced warranty of twenty four (24) months from the date of purchase, subject to the following conditions:
The dealer must register the purchase of the product with Husqvarna Outdoor Products using the on line warranty registration facility.
The product must have a proven service history in accordance with the product operator manual.
*The product must have been operated within the manufacturer’s recommendation for use: ie Homeowner product for home use. Landowner product for estate, farm and semi-professional use. Professional for all professional ground care and forest applications, use outside these recommendations will only be covered by 6 Months warranty. Husqvarna UK Ltd may also complement the timescale with a maximum hours of use. This could be the case for some commercial “professional” use products.

 

And am pleased you have had a good experience with your dealer, mine is exactly as stated, an expensive saw came with a bar smaller than is on most 35 cc saws, and it 70 cc pro saw, I brought this to their attention when I called in to collect the saw, they completely refused to change it for a more suitable bar, then charging 40.00 to put a recoil spring to pull back the pull cord on a midget of a saw that was a week old, that had a warranty in the first place, some warranty that, and some customer service to go with it, and again, why can other dealers get you the saw you want, its not as if Stihl don't make it, now that really builds confidence, they can't get in a 700.00 euro saw that is available from Stihl and others have them, and you think these are good to deal with, and go on to conclude am looking for problems, may be you can point out which of the above problems I had with the local dealer were the ones I went looking for, facts as you say, get them straight yourself.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Echo

[Echo]

3 hours ago, peatff said:

 

There is no law saying chainsaws have to have a cat fitted or that it is illegal to remove it, unless you are in California I would stop worrying, buy a spare exhaust and get it decatted then if it fails put your original back on and send it back. Stop procrastinating or you will never buy a saw.

There are emission laws in the EU, the manufacturers need to comply with them, I would not like to be the one taken to court to explain why I thought these laws governing emissions were of no importance to the point I decided to change them for myself.

[Echo]

32 minutes ago, carlos said:

try an echo 501sx, we have a few of them at work they are the go to saw for most stuff, used daily for over two years and zero engine/carb problems.

dunno whether they have a cat in or not but they work fine as sold so why worry

Hi carlos, thank you for commenting, yes, the 501sx is a fine saw, I have had two of them, they completed their tasks well, power to weight ratio on them is very good.

The reason I wanted to try an AT or MT saw was so my son could also use it, we live at very different altitudes, and I would feel better knowing he did not need to screw around with the carb, and for what its worth parts availability should be better if needed, as they are a more popular brand.

[Echo]

@carlos

No there is definitely no cat in the 501sx, you can take off the deflector and spark screen and see right into the cylinder. They must be a well designed engine, because others have to use the likes of a Cat, or Strato technology, even Autotune , Mtronic and now fuel injection, if this newer tech is to control emissions and echo can do it without any such tech, then they are on top of their game.

Edit, there is also a small tube behind the spark screen that you can pull out then you can see the cylinder outlet.

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Echo

[peatff]

9 hours ago, Echo said:

There are emission laws in the EU, the manufacturers need to comply with them,

Volkswagen seemed to know a few workarounds  The rules for chainsaws are for manufacturers, we can take them to bits and do whatever we like to them, they don't go in for a yearly MOT or whatever your equivalent is in Eire so how will they find out ? Do the Garda know what model saw you are using and that it should have a cat in the exhaust and do they have any test equipment to test your emissions ?

Edited April 4, 2019 by peatff

[Echo]

19 minutes ago, peatff said:

Volkswagen seemed to know a few workarounds  The rules for chainsaws are for manufacturers, we can take them to bits and do whatever we like to them, they don't go in for a yearly MOT or whatever your equivalent is in Eire so how will they find out ?

I agree, the emissions laws are certainly for the manufacturers, but does that mean we don't have to stick to them, and indeed, who is going to catch you for modifying / removing the cat, personally I just find it better to air on the safe side, who knows, whats coming, may be an emissions test every year, now that would rake in some money.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Echo

[Stere]

Did you get a ea4300 yet?

 

 

[peatff]

7 minutes ago, Echo said:

I just find it better to air on the safe side, who knows, whats coming, may be an emissions test every year, now that would rake in some money.

I would not err on the safe side if it caused me as much angst as it is obviously causing you. To run an emission test yearly for saws would mean they have to be registered and regulated like vehicles setting up a government body to do it and testing stations and relying on users being conscientious enough to bother following the rules, I can't see where the money would be in that.  Just buy a saw and use it, once it is run in with a few tanks of fuel through it then worry about it.

[Echo]

3 minutes ago, Stere said:

Did you get a ea4300 yet?

 

 

No Stere

Summer plans have changed, so looking into a slightly bigger saw