Chinese Chainsaws

[JeffWischer]

Maybe we can have a little fun...
So got into this "hobby" getting my 2002 H-350 back to tip-top shape. Thanks again to Hacskaroly and all the others that helped- and Matt Olson for sure! And then the two Craftsman/Poulans, and the Jonsered "easier-start" conversion. Ended up with quite a few parts from Amazon.

And now the Amazon AI shows me chainsaws and related things out the proverbial wazoo. Including a bewildering number of very "inexpensive" Chinese saws. I'm curious what folks know about these. Anyone buy one? Say for instance, to leave at the hunting/fishing cabin/shack, and if it's stolen during an off-season break-in you're not mourning the loss of a 455 Rancher. You get the idea. Allow me a few bullet points to maybe summarize the obvious...

- Features: the really cheap ones appear to be very typical of "name brand" saws from the last century. Not necessarily bad, for the price- we all cut a lot of wood with them in our younger days.

- Build quality/metallurgy: some mention 25:1 oil mix. Is this due to wider tolerances, less durable cylinder and piston material? Not a chrome plated cylinder? One I looked at specifically mentioned recently upgraded quality steel in the chain(s); not difficult to guess why!

- It's fun (maybe?!) to compare the (my terms) Chinese English, Chinese kinda-sorta English, and occasionally Chinese not-quite English...

- Parts: non-existant? Is it possible to know that some are clones of established brands (higher-end Chinese, or others) and thereby find "equivalent" parts? And hope they fit?

Warranty: Again, are they throw-away saws?

Made-in-China Brands that I see at the Big Box stores: Craftsman at Lowes, Troy-Bilt at Menard's, et cetera: Where do they fit in this picture, or not?

I have enough chainsaws for the rest of my lifetime, and maybe those of my two sons as well. But some of them look kinda cool...

 

[ammoaddict]

"Any Chinese chainsaw and chinese parts discussion"
https://opeforum.com/threads/any-ch...Chinese chainsaw and chinese parts discussion
You'll find the answers to all your questions here.

 

[JeffWischer]

Thanks!

 

[ammoaddict]

Thanks!

Happy reading. I've read it all.

 

[JeffWischer]

Thanks again. I got through 6 pages of the 164, and yes, my questions are slowly being answered, either directly or by reading between the lines: variable build quality, variable features, be prepared to do some upgrades, yes you can do parts if you know the clone "ancestry", etc.

 

[ammoaddict]

Thanks again. I got through 6 pages of the 164, and yes, my questions are slowly being answered, either directly or by reading between the lines: variable build quality, variable features, be prepared to do some upgrades, yes you can do parts if you know the clone "ancestry", etc.

There's some good info there plus a lot of unrelated conversation.

 

[Coupe]

Mate of mine had I think was around a 40cc Certa and he caned hell out of the thing and
got around 5 years out of it but that was me keeping it going for him though. I would say
if you are only going to cut a bit of wood it would do the trick. Don't buy one of the Certa 88cc
ones they are a complete dog. For some reason they vibrate something shocking so have
to carry a tool in back pocket to keep them together as bits fall of them and when hot can
be real hard to start and the worst part is the chain speed is to slow so want to bog all the time
so you have to feather them in a cut.

 

[Cajunrx8]

Hi Jeff, I own two 52cc 20" bar chinese saws that are listed as 58cc and a 25cc top handle with 12" bar.
They are a hoot to run because they are pretty powerful, no EPA crap, mufflers are pretty open already so sound good and they are CHEAP!
If you are mechanically competent they are easy to fix and keep running. You can port and mod them cheaply to make a decent saw.
Fuel lines, starter covers, and crap chains mostly all that is wrong with them and they run beautifully on 40:1 Echo Red Armor.
Get one and play around, you will learn alot and might even have some fun.

 

[JeffWischer]

Thanks for the input. After a little more reflection, I'd expand a little on my "question", or clarify it, to say that of course the Chinese can make high quality products. Starting with the Mac laptop that I'm using. And I'm sure that the "American" brand names (Craftsman at Lowe's, Troy-Bilt at Menard's, etc.) that are made in China are made "up" to a pretty decent standard, and will give good service if treated with a modicum of care and "respect". And I'll risk a "scolding" to venture that most of the folks here would assert that the "top" brands from Sweden, Germany, and Lake Zurich, Illinois (10 miles from where I sit...) are still going to stand out when power-for-displacement, power-to-weight, and other user-friendly features are evaluated. So what I was really curious about is/was the amazing number of crazy-inexpensive, crazy-named "Chinavarna" (my made-up word!) saws that seem to come out of the proverbial woodwork on Amazon. And my "answer" eventually appeared. Thanks to all for having a little fun With me...

 

[millerlite]

Thanks for the input. After a little more reflection, I'd expand a little on my "question", or clarify it, to say that of course the Chinese can make high quality products. Starting with the Mac laptop that I'm using. And I'm sure that the "American" brand names (Craftsman at Lowe's, Troy-Bilt at Menard's, etc.) that are made in China are made "up" to a pretty decent standard, and will give good service if treated with a modicum of care and "respect". And I'll risk a "scolding" to venture that most of the folks here would assert that the "top" brands from Sweden, Germany, and Lake Zurich, Illinois (10 miles from where I sit...) are still going to stand out when power-for-displacement, power-to-weight, and other user-friendly features are evaluated. So what I was really curious about is/was the amazing number of crazy-inexpensive, crazy-named "Chinavarna" (my made-up word!) saws that seem to come out of the proverbial woodwork on Amazon. And my "answer" eventually appeared. Thanks to all for having a little fun With me...

I have a couple china saws. Being mechanically inclined and knowing how to tune a saw helps. Dont expect pro saw longevity but they will take a suprising amount of abuse on a safe tune. They can be ported to be pretty strong runners if you know what you are doing.