anyone running a 355t echo?

[hseII]

OK. Makes sense. Is one a pro saw and one a homeowner saw?

Both are Pro Saws.

The 2511 competes with the MS150T.

It’s tiny & does great for small stuff.

 

[RI Chevy]

Thanks Heath

 

[Wood Doctor]

Well, you guys (especially WoodPecker) convinced me to try a version of the 355T muff mod that he documented. I decided to simply use my DP to drill a 3/8" hole in the lower portion of the plate that covers the screen. Then I smoothed out the burrs with a file and some sandpaper, enlarging the hole somewhat, but not much. Here's the result:

The idea, I believe, is to open it up in the area that is not covered by the orange plastic so that the heat will not burn it away. Anyway, this seems to work OK so far. The engine seems to be breathing easier and after the mod, I was able to reduce the idling speed about 15%. A great rainy day project, and that's about all we've seen for the past week with more rain on the way.

BTW, there are three bolts holding that orange plastic cover on and one is hidden by the sprocket/clutch cover that has to be removed before you can work on this plate. The fine-thread bolt helps fasten on the belt clip. Thanks again, WoodPecker.

 

[Woodpecker]

Well, you guys (especially WoodPecker) convinced me to try a version of the 355T muff mod that he documented. I decided to simply use my DP to drill a 3/8" hole in the lower portion of the plate that covers the screen. Then I smoothed out the burrs with a file and some sandpaper, enlarging the hole somewhat, but not much. Here's the result:
View attachment 143812
The idea, I believe, is to open it up in the area that is not covered by the orange plastic so that the heat will not burn it away. Anyway, this seems to work OK so far. The engine seems to be breathing easier and after the mod, I was able to reduce the idling speed about 15%. A great rainy day project, and that's about all we've seen for the past week with more rain on the way.

BTW, there are three bolts holding that orange plastic cover on and one is hidden by the sprocket/clutch cover that has to be removed before you can work on this plate. The fine-thread bolt helps fasten on the belt clip. Thanks again, WoodPecker.

Nice work! Did yours have a cat? On my muffler you could look right through no restrictions.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Nice work! Did yours have a cat? On my muffler you could look right through no restrictions.

No cat that I could see -- unrestricted. This saw is about 5 years old and is an early version, about when the 355T was launched. A climber sold it to me last year when he thought it was getting old. I installed a new carb and it now runs like a top. The spark screen was surprisingly clean.

My only complaint with these is the rather weak belt hook, similar to all the Stihls. The one on my CS-3400 is much stronger. But, the 355T has a better design for the mount on the rear of the handle and better balance. Pssstttt... don't tell anyone that I picked this saw up for $225 delivered. I suppose I could have spent twice that much for a used Stihl 201T. That seemed a bit pointless.

 

[RI Chevy]

Maybe 3 times as much. lol

 

[malk315]

We picked one of these up early October and it'e been awesome. Thanks for documenting this simple muffler mod -- will add to the project list and do it to ours. I like how saw run cooler with opened up mufflers (and of course the performance boost!)

Cheers.

 

[00wyk]

I cut a radius around the bottom and bent it out wide. The exhaust seems to clear the cover and chassis fine.

 

[Cerberus]

Both are Pro Saws.

The 2511 competes with the MS150T.

It’s tiny & does great for small stuff.

Thanks Heath

Sorry but untrue, 2511 is pro / 355 is not, Echo's pro line is "x series" (husq's XP, Stihl's...? Thought my 194t was a pro, now unsure if a 201 is even 'pro stihl') Had thought my 355t was a 'pro echo', hell their advert materials describe it as "their crowning-achievement" and it truly is a marvel, am uncertain what would make the 2511 an X-series and the 355 not but that is the case(I actually was told as much by the Echo rep replying to me when I'd had a couple email-exchanges upon registering my new 355t several weeks ago)

Can't find 1 thing on the 355t that's sub-par, I've got an x-series (pole-saw, ppt-266) and will say its engine starts & purrs unlike *any* 2-stroke I've ever used, like by a huuuge margin, when you do 1st-pull on-choke it is trying to start halfway through and it is just the smoothest idle....also know it's a "military grade"(whatever that means) magnesium casing on the 266.. But 2yr review video on youtube, virtually every long-time-use online anecdote, has the 355t as one hell of a reliable machine as long as you don't run it lean and fry it which seems more likely w/ Echo than anything else

 

[RI Chevy]

I think he was referring to power. 355 has much more power than the 2511.
Stihl 201t is a pro saw..

 

[Nutball]

I think X series is a relatively modern thing. I'm sure the 355t has been intended for pros. Actually I think all of their top handles have a warning on them stating they're for pros only.

 

[hseII]

I think he was referring to power. 355 has much more power than the 2511.
Stihl 201t is a pro saw..

Yes

I think X series is a relatively modern thing. I'm sure the 355t has been intended for pros. Actually I think all of their top handles have a warning on them stating they're for pros only.

Yes




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[huskyboy]

Sorry but untrue, 2511 is pro / 355 is not

Wrong. The 355t was introduced as a pro saw before the X series lineup was introduced at all. Both are pro saws. The x series is just a new marketing hype to better differentiate the pro stuff from lower grade models. Which echo didn’t really do before.

 

[Nutball]

X=betterer

Like the X in XS

 

[Piston Skirt]

2511 uses a 3-piece engine while 355 is 2-piece “clamshell”. Theoretically this is the element which permits calling it “non professional”.
However, the more expensive competition in that class also uses homeowner class cylinders and nobody cares about “professional” purity as long as the machines are able to serve the purpose.
For Echo X series doesn’t mean its just professional - it means one or more leading features in that class (power and/or weight and/or cutting performance). Basically all X’es are pro units, but not all pro units are X’es. 355 is an example of that.

 

[PA Dan]

@41FanForLife

 

[Kerfed]

Mine’s been truckin along like a pro for years

 

[00wyk]

I don't know any non pros that buy a top handle saw. Plenty of Echo's in use by pros here.

 

[Cerberus]

Wrong. The 355t was introduced as a pro saw before the X series lineup was introduced at all. Both are pro saws. The x series is just a new marketing hype to better differentiate the pro stuff from lower grade models. Which echo didn’t really do before.

The Echo rep did differentiate it to me, saying that the 2511 was the "only pro top-handle" they offered (err maybe they said "only x series, which is our professional lineup" or some other way of qualifying but they made a point to differentiate it which I thought to be weird...if they have "regular", "pro", and "x" then I don't get how to differentiate pro from regular, nor do I think echo is correlating product-quality to these tiers with remotely the level of product-quality-variance as, say, Stihl)
[*should note I wasn't able to find the email so couldn't quote how the rep phrased it but I remember having to hold-back from replying with something contrarian along the lines of "how can the 355 not be a pro-saw, you've got adverts calling it your 'Crowning Achievement'?" but didn't because I've found the "pro/non-pro" distinctions in the chainsaw world to be confusing & sometimes almost random for instance this very case of 355//2511 being 'different tiers' would be an example imo]

X=betterer

Like the X in XS

LOL! Would actually be cool if a company did actually do "consumer&pro" offerings, wouldn't be that hard production-wise to just have like 5 or 20 parts that're upgraded from pot-metal to magnesium or similar upgrades so people can choose the 355X for $400 or a 355L for $300[or whatever #'s]
Hell with Stihl, I'd got a 194t thinking it was "Pro", I mean it's a medium-displacement top-handle and one of the 3 they offer(with top-handles being almost-inherently "professional" in nature) so I'd assumed their 3 climb-saws(low, medium & high displacement offerings just like echo/etc) were all pro-saws I mean a pro doesn't always want an 8lbs/2+HP saw it isn't always the optimal many times the 2511/150t is the optimal, was blown away at the level of quality that $$ got with Stihl(and went and got my 355t with that same $$, to the penny actually..)

Will say that I don't get why see-through reservoirs (and quarter-turn caps) aren't ubiquitous, I'd initially thought maybe Stihl had some patent but that'd seem like a shaky patent as viewable-reservoirs have been around for ages, but now I notice my Husq blower has see-through(err, now I realize ;P) so am left wondering how any saws are omitting it if they're 'pro tier', I'd take viewable reservoirs over the swap from clamshell all day!!

2511 uses a 3-piece engine while 355 is 2-piece “clamshell”. Theoretically this is the element which permits calling it “non professional”.
However, the more expensive competition in that class also uses homeowner class cylinders and nobody cares about “professional” purity as long as the machines are able to serve the purpose.
For Echo X series doesn’t mean its just professional - it means one or more leading features in that class (power and/or weight and/or cutting performance). Basically all X’es are pro units, but not all pro units are X’es. 355 is an example of that.

Yeah this is what I have heard.....but I've also heard the sentiment of "it doesn't frickin' matter"....so, as someone who couldn't have told you beforehand whether clamshell, or 3-piece, was superior, could someone explain to me why I'd prefer my 355 to be 3-piece? Is it so I could do porting work, and the 3-piece is synonymous with "long block" so it eliminates changing compression? If so then that'd be of zero significance/consequence to me, if I personally knew someone who did porting then sure maybe I'd get work done but I, like almost anyone buying these saws, am not going to be getting porting work done....there's gotta be more to the superiority of 3-pieces than "can modify them further", right?
(*will say I've read comments of people seemingly-surprised the 355 has a chrome, domed piston...is that not always a thing? But have also heard hesitant "it's probably fine" comments Re the single-ring on the piston..)

Mine’s been truckin along like a pro for years

I don't know any non pros that buy a top handle saw. Plenty of Echo's in use by pros here.

I spent a LONG time researching this, I'd already had a 25cc & 32cc climb-saws but my 32cc/16" left me feeling like I 'needed' a top-tier, >2HP unit (yknow, so I can feel more pro ;P ) but it wasn't a practical need so had the time to research it and that ^^^^ sentiment you guys voice is almost universal. There is a user "PGG" or "PGC" or similar either on here or arboristsite who goes to all the echo threads and makes insane negative comments (for instance calling them heavy, when weights are known-quantities and echo is in-line w/ its displacement&HP so far as product-weight) but aside from that *single* user, who **hated** echo with an obnoxious passion(and whose account is banned) there simply weren't complaint-threads or 'known issues' or anything just anecdote after anecdote of people singing-praises (and, oddly, there's typically almost a hesitation, like "surprisingly they've lasted so long" or "for a 5yr old saw / for a $400 tool..." but then nothing but praises..)

I suspect lithium will be turning the sub-30cc world (and sub-40cc soon enough) on its head shortly enough but for petrol units I couldn't imagine paying 2X the price to go from a 355t to a 201 or a 540, or paying a 50% premium to get the inferior 150t over the 2511t (and would argue that the pair of 355t + 2511t is all one needs for top-handles, if not going lithium!)


[off-topic but Re echo-quality, I acquired a snapped-in-half echo ppt266 (MSRP $600, 25cc extendable polesaw loop-handle ~14' tall unit) and rebuilt it and its engine is the smoothest 2-stroke I've ever used (by a large margin actually), as well as being my only chainsaw that "feels" like it has more power than its displacement should be giving it, ie it cuts like I'd expect a 30cc would cut and that's not the case on any of my other saws even my poulan pro 42cc outperforms my 36cc Echo 355t..all my units seem in-line w/ their displacement except this polesaw, it cuts closer to my 32cc than my 25cc climb-saws!]

 

[Cerberus]

ROFL as-if to illustrate my last point Re the "echo gear is just reliable/hard-to-kill", the next thread I went to had new/most-recent post of:

I still have my echo pole pruner I bought at least 25 years ago, use to tie a 3/8 hemp rope on it pull it up in the tree and use it for dead wooding when I had my own business, that thing still runs to this day!

And know I've mentioned this (think so...) but Echo lets you use gear for a week and still return it, that is the strongest "we stand behind our gear" position I've seen in a while in this kind of context (also the crazy-long warranties....I don't get why they aren't pushing 355's and, especially, the 2511's through Home Depots, with that long-ass consumer warranty and a 5lbs 2511t for $400 you would think Home Depot presence would double sales on that unit but I've never seen a top-handle echo at a brick&mortar home depot, bugs the crap outta me (tagging @cus_deluxe who I believe is the echo rep here right? Why aren't the 2511's pushed to homeowners more, is it liability or what because it's hard to imagine that unit not selling verrry well if at a brick&mortar!)