Echo Top Handle Discussion

[Dub11]

I'm here...

So what Echo top handle takes a beating the best?

 

[Onan18]

So what Echo top handle takes a beating the best?

They are all pretty good, the 303T is tough as nails with a proven track record but slow. The 2511T is the hottest ticket in a small saw currently on the market and is easy to work on, comes apart in minutes.

 

[VI sawguy]

Narrowing it down to the best 2 is helpful, thanks. Have to keep in mind that anytime you sell something new, you have to make an investment in parts to support it. Especially for saws in professional use. And we have that reputation of having tons of parts in stock. That's much of the rationale behind cherry picking from a dealer's perspective. Gotta support what you sell. And really why I wouldn't consider stocking the 590, even though it's a great saw. It's not just how good it is, but how good is it gonna sell. In my experience it won't sell very good in a Husky store, and we hardly need another firewood saw option. More intriguing to me are some of the small rear handle saws, cause I won't go near saws like the Husky 240. I hate them so much that I DELETED free 240's on the Fall program order. Couldn't give 'em away to me. LOL

I could see doing a couple trimmer models, have a look at the blowers. But the approach would be to ease into it, not go hog wild at the start. As far as the parts go, that's all on the distributor, and ours is one of the best I've ever seen. They do a stellar job. We are a very good Exmark dealer for them, and they don't have another Echo dealer in the entire county, so I think they'd let me do whatever I wanted to.

In the entry level categories Echo is better than Husky. We won't stock the 240 either. The 2520 blower is better than the 125B, the GT/SRM225 series trimmers are better than the 100 series huskys. The 490 and 590 saws are our best selling echo saws by far. The 310/370/400 are solid saws but tough sells here in Canada as the 490 is currently cheaper than the 370/400.
We also carry Stihl and in top handle saws they outsell the other two brands combined for us by a lot but the Echos are a solid option

 

[FergusonTO35]

So what Echo top handle takes a beating the best?

My CS-3000 was purchased as an ex-tree service basket case and still looks that way. In fact, the spark plug boot is still held together with electrical tape. Had a ton of dust inside the air box but p/c looked good. Did a basic rebuild on it and she runs great!

 

[Dub11]

My CS-3000 was purchased as an ex-tree service basket case and still looks that way. In fact, the spark plug boot is still held together with electrical tape. Had a ton of dust inside the air box but p/c looked good. Did a basic rebuild on it and she runs great!

I have a minty 341 I got from @Jon1212 on the low low after it suffered a crack in the oil tank from being dropped before it was even fired.
JB Weld ftw.

 

[FergusonTO35]

They are all pretty good, the 303T is tough as nails with a proven track record but slow. The 2511T is the hottest ticket in a small saw currently on the market and is easy to work on, comes apart in minutes.

I think the 303 does pretty good considering it is a 30 year old design that is almost unchanged, especially for the price. I don't really care if my 3000 is slow, I look to it when I need a saw that is light and compact.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I have a minty 341 I got from @Jon1212 on the low low after it suffered a crack in the oil tank from being dropped before it was even fired.
JB Weld ftw.

JB has more than earned its keep for me. I used to work with a guy who was an absolute wizard with the stuff.

 

[huskyboy]

3000 perks up with a mm and ta. No hd2 or 28” STIHL lite bar. Lol

 

[bryanr2]

Narrowing it down to the best 2 is helpful, thanks. Have to keep in mind that anytime you sell something new, you have to make an investment in parts to support it. Especially for saws in professional use. And we have that reputation of having tons of parts in stock. That's much of the rationale behind cherry picking from a dealer's perspective. Gotta support what you sell. And really why I wouldn't consider stocking the 590, even though it's a great saw. It's not just how good it is, but how good is it gonna sell. In my experience it won't sell very good in a Husky store, and we hardly need another firewood saw option. More intriguing to me are some of the small rear handle saws, cause I won't go near saws like the Husky 240. I hate them so much that I DELETED free 240's on the Fall program order. Couldn't give 'em away to me. LOL

I could see doing a couple trimmer models, have a look at the blowers. But the approach would be to ease into it, not go hog wild at the start. As far as the parts go, that's all on the distributor, and ours is one of the best I've ever seen. They do a stellar job. We are a very good Exmark dealer for them, and they don't have another Echo dealer in the entire county, so I think they'd let me do whatever I wanted to.

Echo is coming out with a new backpack blower, I saw on YouTube some of the lawn services are reviewing it in the field. I think it is a model 8010, and is going to be the most powerful blower on the market when it’s released.

 

[bryanr2]

Should also consider echoes pole saws

 

[TreeLife]

Echo is an affordable well built unit. The ones I used would not win any races but they sure kept right on working.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I also have a rare beast: the CS-330T. It is also very well made and has good power. A few purists might think it's a bit heavy, but I have no problems with it. I believe it was discontinued or closed out a few years back and I could not pass up that price -- brand new for $240 delivered.

 

[XPfuzz]

Im not a pro..or an arborsist or anything like that. But we do cut a lot of firewood every year . I was taught to leave little to waste...so we cut up lots of smalls for kindling and filler wood . We bought this Echo 271T a few years ago....and it's never sitting long. It's so handy and light !
Short on power compared to the bigger ones....but it doesn't matter in my application. I know this saw looks good...but has a lot of hours on it !!
Only thing I had to do was modd the muffler !
The carb is more sensitive to the 4 season changes than any Husqvarna ive ever had....but gets adjusted according...no big deal !

 

[Wood Doctor]

Should also consider echoes pole saws.

Interesting you should say that and I just got a call from a customer using a Stihl pole saw. One of his workers pulled it apart and he cannot get it back together. As I recall, Stihl designed this thing so that it almost always takes two men to connect it back up. One guy cannot do it by himself.

 

[Backtroller]

It’s not bad getting the shaft back in. @Jon1212 told me the trick. I’m not a pro but mine has been solid.

3 min job one guy.

 

[Jon1212]

Interesting you should say that and I just got a call from a customer using a Stihl pole saw. One of his workers pulled it apart and he cannot get it back together. As I recall, Stihl designed this thing so that it almost always takes two men to connect it back up. One guy cannot do it by himself.

It’s not bad getting the shaft back in. @Jon1212 told me the trick. I’m not a pro but mine has been solid.

3 min job one guy.

Yep. Place the power unit on the floor against a wall, and rotate the drive, to line everything up.

 

[Wood Doctor]

It’s not bad getting the shaft back in. @Jon1212 told me the trick. I’m not a pro but mine has been solid. 3 min job one guy.

Well we did it ten minutes, two guys. Getting the male and female splines to line up dead center is the trick. Gravity is your enemy most of the time. Prior to his arrival, the owner had already struggled for an hour trying to do it by himself.

Glad to hear you guys have it down to a science. Piece of cake, right? Baloney.

 

[Backtroller]

I fought with it for 30 mins and was ready to sell it in pieces. Posted for help and was back in business quickly. I was surprised how easily it went together when I rotated the chain a little after setting it up as Jon said.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Yuck, sounds like trying to stab a transmission with the clutch disc off center slightly.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I also have a rare beast: the CS-330T. It is also very well made and has good power. A few purists might think it's a bit heavy, but I have no problems with it. I believe it was discontinued or closed out a few years back and I could not pass up that price -- brand new for $240 delivered.

They show up in pawn shops here every so often. The wavy pattern on the recoil cover just looks strange to my eyes, like it is sitting on hot asphalt.