Step Up from Echo 352 ES ??

[gary112]

8 hours ago, harvey b davison said:

The makita ea4300, is a cracking saw.

made light work of this,plenty power 

[Khriss]

.. And blue so it matches yr boom box  😉 K

[Witterings]

10 hours ago, Khriss said:

Low profile smaller kerf chain for speeding up the cut or drop a drive sprocket tooth to increase torque. Or both. K

 

I'll definitely look into that ... only thing is I'd hate to spend the money and find it wasn't a huge improvement, I'd also sell this as it has 2 years warranty left which would help with the re-sale value and swapping parts out would invalidate it.

 

9 hours ago, Moose McAlpine said:

What's your budget? That's generally the most deciding factor.

 

I need the right tool for the job, I don't need top end / pro and would spend what was required within reason as I've bought one that I'll now end up selling and don't want to do the same again.

 

9 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

I'm curious to know why it's bogging. I have the same saw and it might not be the fastest but it doesn't really bog at all. Took down a fair sized ash this week, 16" diameter at the base and logged it up in a couple of hours without any bogging. Best of all it only used a litre of fuel.

 

Mines had over 100 tanks of fuel through it and I'm sure it's improved. I keep the chain sharp and don't lower the depth gauges too much. Also a wedge in the top of a large cut helps. Apologies if that's obvious.

 

Must admit I wonder why as well ... from the day I've had it I thought it wasn't quite right, I took it into a dealershop and them to check it's tuning ... initially they said yes it doesn't sound right ad tweaked it but it didn't really make any difference. I took it to a 2nd place and they said / did the same.

 

When you 1st start it you can't cut anything without it bogging/ going to stall unless you pull back, 2 / 3 mins in and it's better but it still often boggs on say 8" branches suspended so the round your cutting will fall straight to the ground and the 've weight should help open up the cut like a wedge would.

 

Maybe I should make sure it's cold and take it back into one of the dealers and make them cut some wood with it rather than just rev it in the workshop and then they'd see wha the problem was ... it's been like it out of the box so brand new chain which I've also sharpened to eliminate that as the problem.

 

[Witterings]

7 hours ago, Stere said:

ea4300 ea5000 550xp ms261

 

Cheers for those ... don't know why especially as I have a DUC 355Z but I've generally seen Stihl, Husky or Echo as the main contenders for gas but Makita do mean battery stuff.... maybe I've just no experience with any of their petrol tools.

 

The MS 261 and 550XP are both big leaps from what I have and quite a lot more money ...

 

Earlier before seeing this I was looking at the Husky 455, Echo 4510 (someone suggested a 15" bar as opposed to the 18" which would give it more grunt fo wha I'm doing) and the MS 251 ... all of which are probably a 1/2 way house between what I have and your suggested ... unless I've won the lottery tonight in which case I'll try them all 😄

Edited December 12, 2020 by Witterings

[Khriss]

@ Witterings swapping those parts will not invalidate yr warranty, they are common consumables like spark plugs.  K

 

( ohhh........ And change yr spark plug) 

[Stubby]

24 minutes ago, Khriss said:

@ Witterings swapping those parts will not invalidate yr warranty, they are common consumables like spark plugs.  K

 

( ohhh........ And change yr spark plug) 

And presumably you will still have the origional parts to fit back on if you were worried ..

[Paul in the woods]

10 hours ago, Witterings said:

Must admit I wonder why as well ... from the day I've had it I thought it wasn't quite right, I took it into a dealershop and them to check it's tuning ... initially they said yes it doesn't sound right ad tweaked it but it didn't really make any difference. I took it to a 2nd place and they said / did the same.

 

When you 1st start it you can't cut anything without it bogging/ going to stall unless you pull back, 2 / 3 mins in and it's better but it still often boggs on say 8" branches suspended so the round your cutting will fall straight to the ground and the 've weight should help open up the cut like a wedge would.

 

Doesn't sound normal, mine might take a minute to warm up and get going but by the time I've cleared the ivy of a trunk she's ready to fell.

 

Has it always done it or has it got worse? Mine did suffer from dust getting into the carb until I put some vaseline around the base of the filter. I wonder if the carb needs cleaning?

[Stere]

13" bar I reckon prob what it comes with new?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Stere

[Witterings]

1 hour ago, Khriss said:

@ Witterings swapping those parts will not invalidate yr warranty, they are common consumables like spark plugs.  K

 

( ohhh........ And change yr spark plug) 

 

OK ... good point thank you.

44 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

Doesn't sound normal, mine might take a minute to warm up and get going but by the time I've cleared the ivy of a trunk she's ready to fell.

 

Has it always done it or has it got worse? Mine did suffer from dust getting into the carb until I put some vaseline around the base of the filter. I wonder if the carb needs cleaning?

 

Yes it has been like it from new, took it in the 1st time after having only cut a dozen rounds .... it's still probably only had about 5 hours use in total now, I kept using it hoping maybe it just needed some running in and might ease up but that's not been the case it seems.

[gary112]

22 minutes ago, Witterings said:

 

OK ... good point thank you.

 

Yes it has been like it from new, took it in the 1st time after having only cut a dozen rounds .... it's still probably only had about 5 hours use in total now, I kept using it hoping maybe it just needed some running in and might ease up but that's not been the case it seems.

I had one just the same,went back and forth to dealer for 12mths and never did run properly so chucked it in shed and forgot about it,bought another Echo after that and had trouble with that aswell,so won,t bother again with them