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Was planning on a 355t, but just found a used 330t for $160...which would you get?

Cerberus

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My plan was to wait til my (clone/chinese) 16"/32cc saw was dead and then go buy a new 355t.

Yesterday I found my local pawn had a 330t for $160... I checked it out and it looked great, going to go back w/ a scrench today so I can check plug&jug but it looks like a unit whose side-plate was damaged&replaced (chain-brake damage I'm presuming since it's a single-post hand-brake) but otherwise hardly-used I mean I know they could've bought a new Echo bar&chain for selling it but even the sprocket is like-new...

The 355t seemed(seems!) so damn boss to me, but $200 savings - and having the saw on-hand before I get an on-job failure - is hard to pass-up. Am wary of impulse-purchasing so here I am for some counsel :D

(Should note this would be warrantied, I pay $10 extra and get a 30d window for return if it's bad, although I'd know within an hour if it was OK or not)
 

Wood Doctor

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I have a CS-330T that runs like a top. Note also that the loop in back for attaching to your belt is heavy duty and much stronger than the 355T or any Stihl top handle saw sold today. Not sure if you do any climbing, but climbers love that toughness.

I think I paid $220 shipped on a closeout special for my 330T. It was a good buy and I thought it would back up my 3400 if it ever gave up, but it refuses to quit.
 

Cerberus

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edited-to-add - Wanted to ask Re your 3400...that comment just reinforces this idea I get of echo's just not dying LOL, can I ask how hard/how long your 3400's been in service? Do you do at-home or dealer maintenance or simply get it fixed as-needed? When checking replacement-parts for 330's I was very delighted to see a good # of carb-kits and sprockets and the like, am getting the impression it's a "good machine for in-house repairs" which is big for me :D

I have a CS-330T that runs like a top. Note also that the loop in back for attaching to your belt is heavy duty and much stronger than the 355T or any Stihl top handle saw sold today. Not sure if you do any climbing, but climbers love that toughness.

I think I paid $220 shipped on a closeout special for my 330T. It was a good buy and I thought it would back up my 3400 if it ever gave up, but it refuses to quit.
Yeah I should've been clear but fear being wordy reduces replies :p
This is entirely for-climbing. I'm small and am most-comfortable with / almost-always using my 25cc/12" saw, but when it's not long-enough I swap to a 32cc/16" (or rear-handled if >16") Then I immediately swap-back to my 25cc. I just feel FAR more control of what I'm doing w/ the lil saw, uncertain how much of it is weight versus form-factor.

Anyway this 330t (or a new 355t) was the "next big climb-saw" since my 32cc is a resurrected "totalled saw" I rebuilt to cut my teeth on repairs/chainsaw work (after failing on a 1977 poulan 25d restoration :p ), it may make another 6mo it may die tomorrow, I figure any >30cc echo will beat my 32cc ("tanaka", subsidiary of hitachi) and be a fair replacement, guess I'm just thinking "If you get a 330, you still won't have a 'top-tier' climbing saw", guess I see the 355t as a valid competitor to 201's and 540's (and echo/husq are my favored brands), after more googling I'm seeing a 330 and 360 are essentially the same body/saw just a bigger cylinder/engine inside the 360, this makes me worry I'll get a 330 and feel it's still not a "top shelf" saw like a 355 (ok I guess some wouldn't consider 355's or 2511's as top-shelf but I do, all relative I guess)
 

Cerberus

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Good saws, no question. Having examined both, I would go for the 330 as the 355 feels bulky to me.

You must mean form-factor, not weight, right? I'd have to double-check but all of these are 7.5-->8.5lbs saws IIRC, though if it's the 8.5lbs and it's got a 16" and full, larger oil&fuel reservoirs then it can quickly paint the powerhead itself as being bulky!

What of a 330//360 comparison? I look at those two models and just wish I'd found a $200 360t, not a $160 330t!! My thinking was that, since I use/prefer a 25cc/12" for default-climb-saw and only use bigger as-needed, that it'd be smarter to get a "top tier" saw, stihl's 200/201's and the husq 540 are out of my range $$ but an echo 355t - or a 360t if it were 5(8?) years ago - are practical for me. So when you say you prefer a 330 due to bulk... what of a case where bulk isn't much of a concern? I'm guessing *all* >30cc/16" setups are going to be bulky for me, and that I'll always default to 25cc/12" (til it's 40V/14" ;D ), so if I was getting 15% more power for 25% more powerhead-weight, I would definitely want that because power>comfort for this saw :)
 

FergusonTO35

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You must mean form-factor, not weight, right? I'd have to double-check but all of these are 7.5-->8.5lbs saws IIRC, though if it's the 8.5lbs and it's got a 16" and full, larger oil&fuel reservoirs then it can quickly paint the powerhead itself as being bulky!

What of a 330//360 comparison? I look at those two models and just wish I'd found a $200 360t, not a $160 330t!! My thinking was that, since I use/prefer a 25cc/12" for default-climb-saw and only use bigger as-needed, that it'd be smarter to get a "top tier" saw, stihl's 200/201's and the husq 540 are out of my range $$ but an echo 355t - or a 360t if it were 5(8?) years ago - are practical for me. So when you say you prefer a 330 due to bulk... what of a case where bulk isn't much of a concern? I'm guessing *all* >30cc/16" setups are going to be bulky for me, and that I'll always default to 25cc/12" (til it's 40V/14" ;D ), so if I was getting 15% more power for 25% more powerhead-weight, I would definitely want that because power>comfort for this saw :)

Yes, I mean just the way it feels to me. I havent weighed them or anything. My favorite top handle is the older Echo design with the carb and air filter in the front. The current version is the CS-303T, I have one and like it very much.
 

Lightning Performance

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Yes, I mean just the way it feels to me. I havent weighed them or anything. My favorite top handle is the older Echo design with the carb and air filter in the front. The current version is the CS-303T, I have one and like it very much.
A lot of guys around here still use those saws. I see them hanging from saddles. Nice new gear and an old saw most times. They learn at some point I'd say. One guy looks for them all the time. I had a few... light saw.
 

Cerberus

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Wood Doctor

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Does it leak continuously for a long time after you shut it off and let it sit? If so, find the leak by suspending it between a pair of short 2 x 2 boards with a paper towel underneath.
 

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A 330 with the right sized bar and chain (for balance) is a really good saw, much better than the MS192 that I replaced.
 

Wood Doctor

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A 330 with the right sized bar and chain (for balance) is a really good saw, much better than the MS192 that I replaced.
Agreed. I have never heard of an Echo 330T with a continuous bar oil leak. Mine has never done this. I have heard of owners drilling holes into the bar oil tank that is opposite the muffler. One owner told me that he used the wrong screw and drove it into the bar oil tank while trying to replace muffler. That set up the leak.
 

Cerberus

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Agreed. I have never heard of an Echo 330T with a continuous bar oil leak. Mine has never done this. I have heard of owners drilling holes into the bar oil tank that is opposite the muffler. One owner told me that he used the wrong screw and drove it into the bar oil tank while trying to replace muffler. That set up the leak.
Haven't 'heard of'? Maybe I'm crazy but this isn't "product fail", the 330t&360t simply do not have clutch-driven oilers, they oil always if the engine is running/idling. Thankfully the 330t was flawed and, frustrated at not having a cool new echo, I went and got a new 355t and began heavy mods, am now in-love it is the nicest hardware I've ever bought myself :D
 

Cerberus

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https://opeforum.com/threads/just-g...e-running-even-w-o-clutch-movement-wtf.20428/


realizing my thread on the issue actually covers it, it's a crank-driven oiler not a clutch-driven oiler, so it'll be dumping oil when-on :/ (was totally going to keep it in-spite of this but that leakiness wasn't a project I wanted-in-on, the new 355t was coming anyways so this was a perfect 'excuse' to get it sooner-than-necessary and am very very glad that I did :D )
 

a. palmer jr.

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The 330T that I own seems to be oiling the right amount. Now the Homelite small XL is another story! It would oil a 50" bar and have some left over...
 
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