Cheap & Cheesy Amazon Chainsaw Bars & Chains 💀💩 or 😃👍🏻???

[TurtleWoods72]

2 hours ago, Fatboy2017 said:

Firstly, good choice on your 3500! I have a couple and find them a good saw which punches above it's weight. They are built very well and include many features from pro saws. They always start well and even when fitted with the easy start system which, once you get it into your head of how it functions, have had no problems with the 3500's. Only criticism is they weigh slightly more than they should but this is because of the build quality and this is outweighed by the performance.

My saws came with the small radius bars as yours and had a few issues of freezing tips due to debris in the outer sprocket and a number of chains derailing, which is something I ever generally have a problem with. I tried different chains but this problem persisted. Whilst hedging, pruning and pollarding this was a daily occurrence. After reading about others having the same problem ( on this forum) I tried the larger radius bars and this immediately solved the problems. I did not find any increased feeling of any more inclination towards kickback, I actually felt the saw was more controllable, if that makes sense. In my opinion try the larger radius bar and draw your own conclusion, it would be interesting to get another opinion as always.

Thanks for your comment, and reassurance that I bought wisely. I bought my first petrol saw back in 2009, and in my budget I could have had a low end Stihl or a Makita DCS4301. I was leaning toward the Stihl as I’d bought an FS90 line trimmer from the same shop and loved it. The sales guy who actually knew his stuff, extolled the virtues of the cheaper Makita (around £300 if I recall) over the Stihl, and pointed out as you have that it had features expected on a ‘pro’ saw. I took his advice and although driving away I had a nagging doubt I’d purchased something inferior, I took the Makita.

 

Once I’d set it up and used it to power through a load of firewood logs I’d been eager to cut up, I knew I’d bought an absolute ripper! Compared to the feeble B&Q electric chainsaw it replaced, it felt like a wailing banshee! I won’t bore you with my subsequent saw purchases, but I did snaffle up one of if not the last available DCS4301 albeit a Chinese made one when I started to see them go out of stock everywhere. That’s still in the box. I also owned and regrettably sold a DCS5121 promo in the nice metal box. When it came to buying another, this time smaller saw I naturally sought out another Makita and was delighted to find this EA3500 being new and German made! 

2 hours ago, Fatboy2017 said:

The other thing to note is that the 3500 really benefit from a CAT removal and a retune, only a very slight increase in noise but an improvement in performance and a lot less heat

That’s the plan, not sure whether to run it in and then whip the cat out, or get it done from the get go and tune from there? Also can you advise how I go about removing it, since the cat housing seems to act as an integral gasket in the exhaust assembly. 

[TurtleWoods72]

P.S. I’m now torn regarding the bar choice, as I’ve had advice for and against using the El Cheapo setup. lol 😂 

 

I take onboard your argument for the larger radius bar though, so maybe if I can find a higher quality chain or even bar and chain combo with this shape I will avoid the chain flinging antics you experienced. 
 

I’ve even gone so far as to make a little guard to protect the chain catcher tab thing.

 

I cut a small length of old hosepipe and soaked it in boiling water for a few minutes to soften the pipe, then trimmed to size, heated again and lifted out of the water using long nosed pliers. By opening the pliers inside the pipe I managed to reshape a more triangular profile and then slip it over the plastic tab on my outer cover before it cooled down and hardened.  Almost got a good colour match too, but it’s a bit off lol. 
 

 

[Fatboy2017]

With regards to the CAT you can do it two ways, either pick / drill then grind out the CAT centre and then slightly increase the outlet hole ( under the spark arrestor area or grind the welds off with a die grinder bit and remove the whole CAT including the outer tube, also increase the outlet slightly, this takes out a bit more weight than removing jut the centre, plus no chance of leaving any CAT material stuck on the tube, lessening the chance of it coming off in future and being consumed by the motor.

Even after a few chain coming off episodes It never took off the chain catcher but for sure it won't do any harm to fit a rubber to it, I just bought a new spare cover ( very cheap) just in case!

[kram]

17 hours ago, TurtleWoods72 said:

Soooo, I should put the OE bar and chain back on and keep the new purchase for a rainy day?

 

 

What are you intending to cut? Firewood, felling, stumps, climbing?

 

If the chains are the same type and length, they can be used with either bar. Keep the original chain for clean cutting and the cheapies for anything with metal, dirt etc..

 

As I said theres nothing wrong with the chains, they will perform as well as you can sharpen them. A good knowledge of saws is always a good idea - being cheap they may stretch after the first few cuts, and need tightening (let cool down first! If they are hot, it will shrink as it cools).

 

As an example, this large leylandii hedge I cut back from the building using these chains in the 20T. It was well overhanging the roof before.

(Yes its horrific and ugly, but that is what the owners wanted)

Edited Sunday at 16:44 by kram

[TurtleWoods72]

3 hours ago, Fatboy2017 said:

With regards to the CAT you can do it two ways, either pick / drill then grind out the CAT centre and then slightly increase the outlet hole ( under the spark arrestor area or grind the welds off with a die grinder bit and remove the whole CAT including the outer tube, also increase the outlet slightly, this takes out a bit more weight than removing jut the centre, plus no chance of leaving any CAT material stuck on the tube, lessening the chance of it coming off in future and being consumed by the motor.

Even after a few chain coming off episodes It never took off the chain catcher but for sure it won't do any harm to fit a rubber to it, I just bought a new spare cover ( very cheap) just in case!

Thanks for that info! I think I’d just take the whole thing off with a die grinder from what you’ve said. You’re right, the sprocket cover is cheap as chips at around a fiver! Might order a few just in case. 

[TurtleWoods72]

1 hour ago, kram said:

What are you intending to cut? Firewood, felling, stumps, climbing?

 

If the chains are the same type and length, they can be used with either bar. Keep the original chain for clean cutting and the cheapies for anything with metal, dirt etc..

 

As I said theres nothing wrong with the chains, they will perform as well as you can sharpen them. A good knowledge of saws is always a good idea - being cheap they may stretch after the first few cuts, and need tightening (let cool down first! If they are hot, it will shrink as it cools).

 

As an example, this large leylandii hedge I cut back from the building using these chains in the 20T. It was well overhanging the roof before.

(Yes its horrific and ugly, but that is what the owners wanted)

I’d say that’s exactly the sort of thing I’d be using this saw for, just cutting back growth in my own garden, as per your photo. 
 

For firewood I’d use one of my larger saws as I have 43, 50, 56 and 65cc options on hand. I wasn’t worried that the quality would affect cutting performance as much as worrying about one of these cheapo chains actually snapping and maiming me. At least one of the amazon negative reviews claimed the chain had snapped whilst in use. This terrifies me to be honest.