Chainsaw Recommendation

[Bazza]

I started to mention the Echo. I have an Echo power pole saw, which has done well, after I put an Oregon chain on it and I have the Echo string trimmer you recommended, which has also done well. I think Echo has caught up, especially in the moderate price range...

My Echo currently has a 16" Poulan bar and chain on it.

Every year as the holiday season approaches, Walmart drops prices on all the lawn and garden items, including their chainsaw components. You can pick up bars and chains for really good prices....which I have done. I messed up my old 18" Echo bar last year so was able to switch over to the 16" Poulan bar very easily and for the work I use it for I don't really miss the 2". I picked up a couple twin packs of the same size (16") chains very inexpensively when I got the bar so I'm set for a while.

I really like the Echo line of hand-held power equipment. I have their blower, weed wacker, edger, and drill all in 2 cycle. I use the drill to drill into landscape timbers for the rebar to hold them in place.

But there are plenty of other options as mentioned here and one size never fits all.

 

[crimson fan man]

Also know what you are doing with tree limbs. My neighbor at the time had a big oak limb to fall on his house. I told him I could get it down with my chainsaw. Started cutting the limb and it fell off the house hit the ground and wheeled on me. A branch off of it turn with the limb and threw me and the chainsaw several feet. I was very lucky and bruised up pretty bad but not near as bad as my ego.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Also know what you are doing with tree limbs. My neighbor at the time had a big oak limb to fall on his house. I told him I could get it down with my chainsaw. Started cutting the limb and it fell off the house hit the ground and wheeled on me. A branch off of it turn with the limb and threw me and the chainsaw several feet. I was very lucky and bruised up pretty bad but not near as bad as my ego.

Kind of reminds me of a similar incident. There was a dead water oak on the boundary next to the branch dividing mine and my neighbor's property. I was a little afraid of its soundness. As it fell away from me, the top broke out and, using the trunk as a trough, slid down with the broken butt slamming me in the left lower jaw. I was thrown back several feet, according to my wife. When I got up, I could feel a big gap in my lower gum. I went to my regular dentist and he visibly recoiled, saying "I can see your jawbone. You need to go to an oral surgeon and get it sewn up." It was a weekend and I convinced him to wait a couple of days. When I went back in, it was healed over. He said he wouldn't have believed it, if he hadn't seen the original wound. The neighbor and I had a running joke that I got hurt every time he helped me. It make me a lot more careful about what I'll put my saw into...

 

[gtowntide]

Get a Stihl, the best saw made. I’m a little biased because I used to work for the company! They are really good saws.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Get a Stihl, the best saw made. I’m a little biased because I used to work for the company! They are really good saws.

Which models are made in VA Beach? I have friends in Norway and they say most there use Stihl (when they post on FB about cutting only Stihls show). That interested me, with the Huskies being made just nextdoor in Sweden...

 

[Go Bama]

Get a Stihl, the best saw made. I’m a little biased because I used to work for the company! They are really good saws.

My pole saw is a Stihl. It’s been a great tool. I only have to use it about twice per year.

My old string trimmer is also a Stihl. It has been very reliable but the EGO is much easier to start and restring.

 

[UAH]

Three weeks ago high winds blew the tops out of two trees in my backyard. One was a sweetgum and the other a yellow pine. I've gotten the sweetgum cleaned up with a lopper and an ax. The pine however is wearing me out. The tree had a double leader about half way up and the downwind branch is what came down. The top is on the ground but the base is about fifteen feet off the ground lodged between the tree that broke and an adjacent tree which I should have already felled. The broken piece is about forty feet long with a multitude of branches.

I gave my chainsaw away a few years ago before we moved here when I had no need for one. I have thirty trees in my backyard and the ax gives me a good workout, but I'm just getting too old and impatient.

I need a light duty chainsaw. What do you guys/gals recommend?

I have had a number of chainsaws over the last forty years or so. Three years ago I purchased a small Echo and it is the best saw I have ever used and it came at a relatively economical price. Recently we had two large problematic trees taken down on our property by a professional climber. The total price for both was $1200 with me being responsible for hauling away the brush. They did an amazing job! I can provide contact information if you are interested. He lives in the Decatur area.

The main point I wanted to comment on is after my experiences, which scare the heck out of me now, and others I have known is that the two things that I have no business doing is taking down trees of any size and being on the roof of my house. I have seen too many grievous injuries as a result of that. The only work I expect to do with my Echo is small incidental jobs such as taking out an apple tree.

Offered FWIW.

 

[crimsonaudio]

My old string trimmer is also a Stihl. It has been very reliable but the EGO is much easier to start and restring.

I bought a rather expensive Stihl edger three years ago thinking it would be a long-lasting investment. It wasn't. It has required near-constant work to keep the carb cleaned out (I only use non-ethanol fuel) and it came from the factory with some pretty serious fitment issues.

My EGO edger arrived last week, not going back to gas.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I bought a rather expensive Stihl edger three years ago thinking it would be a long-lasting investment. It wasn't. It has required near-constant work to keep the carb cleaned out (I only use non-ethanol fuel) and it came from the factory with some pretty serious fitment issues.

My EGO edger arrived last week, not going back to gas.

I have literally never heard a similar complaint about a Stihl chainsaw. Never have tried their edgers...

 

[NationalTitles18]

I have a Stihl chainsaw, pole saw, and trimmer. They have all been great investments.

 

[Bazza]

I worked for a company for 10 years that sold (business to business) private labeled Echo hand held power tools.

As you can imagine - to get a deal like that with Echo - you have to be a pretty big player.

The only other company I know of who also sold private labeled Echo was John Deere.

It was all the same designs and models - just different color and badging.

This is the main reason I use Echo. I'm familiar with it. Each branch had a mechanic who worked on them (we serviced what we sold) and as manager of the branch I kept on top of the repairs enough to learn over time what was involved for every repair/service oriented scenario you'd run up against. We kept all the replacement parts in stock too. Sometimes would have to order something we didn't have.

Nothing wrong with the other brands mentioned here, including Stihl. But thought I share why I'll always be an "Echo guy".

The other comment I'll make is going with cordless/rechargeable units have a lot of advantages over the 2 cycle units....no doubt. I use a lot of Ryobi tools but when it comes to yard upkeep and landscape, generally speaking, I prefer the 2 cycle.

 

[Go Bama]

I worked for a company for 10 years that sold (business to business) private labeled Echo hand held power tools.

As you can imagine - to get a deal like that with Echo - you have to be a pretty big player.

The only other company I know of who also sold private labeled Echo was John Deere.

It was all the same designs and models - just different color and badging.

This is the main reason I use Echo. I'm familiar with it. Each branch had a mechanic who worked on them (we serviced what we sold) and as manager of the branch I kept on top of the repairs enough to learn over time what was involved for every repair/service oriented scenario you'd run up against. We kept all the replacement parts in stock too. Sometimes would have to order something we didn't have.

Nothing wrong with the other brands mentioned here, including Stihl. But thought I share why I'll always be an "Echo guy".

The other comment I'll make is going with cordless/rechargeable units have a lot of advantages over the 2 cycle units....no doubt. I use a lot of Ryobi tools but when it comes to yard upkeep and landscape, generally speaking, I prefer the 2 cycle.

If I were a professional landscaper I’d be more inclined to go with gas. I only have one yard to keep. The convenience of electric cordless is hard to over value. I’ve neglected jobs because I didn’t want to wrestle with the two stroke engine.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

If I were a professional landscaper I’d be more inclined to go with gas. I only have one yard to keep. The convenience of electric cordless is hard to over value. I’ve neglected jobs because I didn’t want to wrestle with the two stroke engine.

I tend to agree, for just my yard. I never dreamed I'd use a battery lawnmower, but they've come a long way. Same for a battery chainsaw. IDK about a battery trimmer. I also have the Echo brush whacker attachment for the trimmer. IDK about a battery driving that...

 

[Im_on_dsp]

I have an electric 16-inch Makita chain saw I bought about three years ago and it is stinking awesome. I have cut almost a hundred trees with it and all I've had to do is make sure it has oil in it for the chain. You do have to have an extension cord bit I have two 100 ft super heavy duty cords i connect together so I can get anywhere on my 3 acres with it. The biggest tree I took down had about a 12-inch diameter but I'm pretty sure it could handle a larger tree.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I have an electric 16-inch Makita chain saw I bought about three years ago and it is stinking awesome. I have cut almost a hundred trees with it and all I've had to do is make sure it has oil in it for the chain. You do have to have an extension cord bit I have two 100 ft super heavy duty cords i connect together so I can get anywhere on my 3 acres with it. The biggest tree I took down had about a 12-inch diameter but I'm pretty sure it could handle a larger tree.

With a 16" bar, I'm sure they meant for it to handle a bigger tree than 12" . Makita is a great brand name. I have a number of their tools, saws, drills, impact drivers, etc...

 

[Bazza]

If I were a professional landscaper I’d be more inclined to go with gas. I only have one yard to keep. The convenience of electric cordless is hard to over value. I’ve neglected jobs because I didn’t want to wrestle with the two stroke engine.

I agree and think that's a smart move for you, Joe.

 

[gtowntide]

Which models are made in VA Beach? I have friends in Norway and they say most there use Stihl (when they post on FB about cutting only Stihls show). That interested me, with the Huskies being made just nextdoor in Sweden...

All of the small to mid range saws are made in Va Beach. The larger saws are made in Germany right outside of Stuttgart. All other products like trimmers and blowers are made in Va.

 

[seebell]

I've been seeing ads for battery powered riding mowers. Not quite sure about them.

battery powered ztr - Google Search

www.google.com

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I've been seeing ads for battery powered riding mowers. Not quite sure about them.

battery powered ztr - Google Search

www.google.com

I thought they were going to be Teslas...

 

[seebell]

I thought they were going to be Teslas...

Now you thinking like a rich lawyer haha

This is more age-appropriate