Who is the Resident Echo Dealer

[Gentleman]

Is it the 15% off sale or can you do 20%? For some reason I thought some dealers were doing 20% last year, but could be wrong.

Sorry we can't. It was 20%. Echo changed it to 15%

 

[Nutball]

Bummer.

 

[bryanr2]

Echo ppt2620 and 2620h. One has a loop style handle and the other has an inline handle like a string trimmer. What is the pros and cons of each? Is one more comfortable than the other? There’s none on display at dealers here so I need some advice on which is the preferred/most popular

 

[Gentleman]

Echo ppt2620 and 2620h. One has a loop style handle and the other has an inline handle like a string trimmer. What is the pros and cons of each? Is one more comfortable than the other? There’s none on display at dealers here so I need some advice on which is the preferred/most popular

We sell more of the ppt2620. That seems to be the most popular around here.

 

[Cerberus]

Anyone know what's up here? Looks like the last-post (Gentleman) was by a now-banned(in past 24hr) echo-rep? Any chance we could get explanation? Was VERY intrigued at this 15% off thing now that I see Echo's got a lith top-handle that's supposedly comparable to as 2511..
(BTW @Nutball in reading your sig, do you mean you have a 20" on your 2511t? If so, I'd love to hear any explanation you're willing to give, I mean I'd always thought you needed/wanted closer to/above 2HP to push a 16" "safely" when making fussy back-cuts, can only imagine how easy you could bog a 25cc w/ a 20" bar no matter how jacked-up it is & no matter the b&c....am intrigued&curious Also, your pic/avatar where it's got no bar / has comp gauge...how much was compression bumped? Do you know if anyone's done any quantifiable before/afters for 2511's? I've got a 355 so block-mods aren't a thing like w/ 2511's so I can only watch, admiring, at how great a saw that 2511 truly is!)

[If I'm being honest, was also hoping an Echo rep may be able to put me in-touch w/ an email for an echo-technician, someone more talented than anyone working a store, as I've done a crazy "rebuild" on a 266 pole-saw and would LOVE to have my "take" on reinforcing that unit reviewed by someone more familiar w/ the engineering, so far as i can tell it's almost intended to snap at the base-cuff at bottom of orange-shafting.. Relevant 266/2620 cuff problems, including pics of my ridiculous rebuild, in this thread https://opeforum.com/threads/echo-pole-saw-266.20539/#post-1079395 ]

[[also intending to post my 355t to see if it's "warranty void" after what I've done , gotta find cameraphone!!]]

 

[GCJenks204]

Anyone know what's up here? Looks like the last-post (Gentleman) was by a now-banned(in past 24hr) echo-rep? Any chance we could get explanation? Was VERY intrigued at this 15% off thing now that I see Echo's got a lith top-handle that's supposedly comparable to as 2511..
(BTW @Nutball in reading your sig, do you mean you have a 20" on your 2511t? If so, I'd love to hear any explanation you're willing to give, I mean I'd always thought you needed/wanted closer to/above 2HP to push a 16" "safely" when making fussy back-cuts, can only imagine how easy you could bog a 25cc w/ a 20" bar no matter how jacked-up it is & no matter the b&c....am intrigued&curious Also, your pic/avatar where it's got no bar / has comp gauge...how much was compression bumped? Do you know if anyone's done any quantifiable before/afters for 2511's? I've got a 355 so block-mods aren't a thing like w/ 2511's so I can only watch, admiring, at how great a saw that 2511 truly is!)

[If I'm being honest, was also hoping an Echo rep may be able to put me in-touch w/ an email for an echo-technician, someone more talented than anyone working a store, as I've done a crazy "rebuild" on a 266 pole-saw and would LOVE to have my "take" on reinforcing that unit reviewed by someone more familiar w/ the engineering, so far as i can tell it's almost intended to snap at the base-cuff at bottom of orange-shafting.. Relevant 266/2620 cuff problems, including pics of my ridiculous rebuild, in this thread https://opeforum.com/threads/echo-pole-saw-266.20539/#post-1079395 ]

[[also intending to post my 355t to see if it's "warranty void" after what I've done , gotta find cameraphone!!]]

Bruce owns the site, ignore the note under his name. You don't need the back story it happened a long time ago and was tongue in cheek. If you are in Tampa I believe they are even local to you.

 

[Woodpecker]

Echo ppt2620 and 2620h. One has a loop style handle and the other has an inline handle like a string trimmer. What is the pros and cons of each? Is one more comfortable than the other? There’s none on display at dealers here so I need some advice on which is the preferred/most popular

I have the loop handle and really don't like it. Long story short the loop handle makes it hard to engage the trigger safety. At least for me it does.

 

[cus_deluxe]

Echo ppt2620 and 2620h. One has a loop style handle and the other has an inline handle like a string trimmer. What is the pros and cons of each? Is one more comfortable than the other? There’s none on display at dealers here so I need some advice on which is the preferred/most popular

i have the loop handle version. its a little different to get used to, but i like it. only time i find it awkward is when using it to cut stuff thats only 8 feet or so up, so that the trigger hand is down behind you, if that makes any sense. but, it does allow me to use it one handed if i need that extra few inches to reach a little higher. not osha approved im sure...

 

[bryanr2]

I’m getting the loop handle one tomorrow locally from the dealer I bought my bobcat predator pro from. Gonna pick up one of them new echo backpack blowers towards the fall from them as well.

 

[Cerberus]

Bruce owns the site, ignore the note under his name. You don't need the back story it happened a long time ago and was tongue in cheek. If you are in Tampa I believe they are even local to you.

"You don't need the backstory" well I wasn't interested anyway!! LOL jk maybe someday I'll be a vet here and learn the story, have to imagine it's not boring (mentioning it's not just tongue-in-cheek but a back-story, were you *trying* to pique my interest?? )

I have the loop handle and really don't like it. Long story short the loop handle makes it hard to engage the trigger safety. At least for me it does.

Obviously a "do at own risk" but I like mine w/o the trigger-safety at all (fully removed), and a 1-finger-trigger so you can hold/operate your right-hand more like a gun....having to use your whole-hand to pull the throttle destroys the control you could've exerted w/ that hand.
Also do you use the shoulder-strap? I hate where they position it (since it still focuses stress on that lil collar at base of fiberglass-pole, as it's positioned so low on the device), on mine I've mounted it higher on the pole - **alongside a new handle** - in a manner where I can be holding the front-handle w/ left-hand and, if I drop it, there's hardly 1" of "free-fall" before the shoulder-strap is taut....haven't gotten in-field use w/ it yet but just maneuvering it on test-cuts the increased control is night&day compared to loop-handle-only (this is probably more-true on my 5lbs-heavier unit, though that weight is mostly 'balanced' weight thankfully!)

i have the loop handle version. its a little different to get used to, but i like it. only time i find it awkward is when using it to cut stuff thats only 8 feet or so up, so that the trigger hand is down behind you, if that makes any sense. but, it does allow me to use it one handed if i need that extra few inches to reach a little higher. not osha approved im sure...

If you read my reply to quote directly-above yours here^ you'll see my surely non-OSHA configuration for mine...if you had a shoulder-strap like mine you could 1-hand it FAR easier since your left shoulder would still be in-play
(and am confused at your "problem" of short-height cuts, I mean I do understand the problem-as-described IE your hand is no longer in-line with the throttle-trigger, but when cutting something as you describe the idea wouldn't be to get a better grip right-under the branch, it'd be to back up laterally from the branch on the ground so your hand is back in-line w/ your throttle-trigger )

I’m getting the loop handle one tomorrow locally from the dealer I bought my bobcat predator pro from. Gonna pick up one of them new echo backpack blowers towards the fall from them as well.

Good luck!! Had always expected I'd "go Echo" but after my 355t I couldn't even give serious consideration to stihl (would go husq if/when I've got the extra $$, they seem to be ~1/3rd more $$(value-wise) than Echo, they're just such sweet & reliable machines like Echo's!! Will never understand how Stihl - especially top-handles & pole-saws - remains as-popular as they do..

 

[cus_deluxe]

Also do you use the shoulder-strap?

pfft...

am confused at your "problem" of short-height cuts,

with the location of the presence lever (which i see you deleted) it can make it difficult if u are cutting a limb thats not that high up. as i said its hard to explain the issue, but @Woodpecker hit on it as well.

, it'd be to back up laterally from the branch on the ground so your hand is back in-line w/ your throttle-trigger )

yeah, it doesnt always work that way...

 

[cus_deluxe]

Will never understand how Stihl - especially top-handles & pole-saws - remains as-popular as they do..

marketing. and you forgot the garbage string trimmer and blower line-up.

 

[bryanr2]

Say hello to my little friends. They gave me a deal on both and honestly didn’t want to wait till fall to try this blower out.

 

[Woodpecker]

pfft...

with the location of the presence lever (which i see you deleted) it can make it difficult if u are cutting a limb thats not that high up. as i said its hard to explain the issue, but @Woodpecker hit on it as well.

yeah, it doesnt always work that way...

Yep if your hands are below about chest high and slightly behind you the presence lever is tricky. I got the loop handle because it's easier to operate higher up which it does do fine. I despise trying to put the shoulder strap on over my helmet and ear muffs. Ain't nobody got time to wrestle the shoulder strap.

 

[cus_deluxe]

Say hello to my little friends. They gave me a deal on both and honestly didn’t want to wait till fall to try this blower out.

both are quality tools that should serve well!

 

[Catman]

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!

 

[Cerberus]

pfft...

with the location of the presence lever (which i see you deleted) it can make it difficult if u are cutting a limb thats not that high up. as i said its hard to explain the issue, but @Woodpecker hit on it as well.

Yep if your hands are below about chest high and slightly behind you the presence lever is tricky. I got the loop handle because it's easier to operate higher up which it does do fine. I despise trying to put the shoulder strap on over my helmet and ear muffs. Ain't nobody got time to wrestle the shoulder strap.

Having gotten some more real-world use in, I found I like to have the option to strap but I'm using a 10" loop that I just put over my left-shoulder (not helmet) and it comes-off the pole much higher-up-shaft (because mine's got that overlay bracing so I re-did strap position), it lets me just drop my left-hand and on one job where I was on a roof it was amazing to be able to just keep 'letting go' without having to rest the thing down on the roof especially once I had it extended!)

And totally see what you mean now Re presence-trigger, am glad mine's gone (you could always just use a strip of black duct-tape and peg it down, permanently ) I guess that mine's "more dangerous" because of this but I just can't fathom *how*, I mean for regular chainsaws sure but not when the cutter-head is 10' from the throttle ;P Didn't "delete" mine intentionally, it'd fallen-out and in figuring-out how to re-set the triggers I got the trigger working before getting the presence-lever on and, as I started working on the driveshaft, I just never got back to the presence lever / kinda decided-against putting it back, wasn't an intentional choice like my 1-finger-triggering of the throttle which, obviously, was retarded and now I have to order a new trigger lol, had thought "oh that'll let me have so much more control with my right-hand", w/o realizing it'd stop me from positioning my right hand lower on the loop for when I need to eek-out an extra couple feet of height from it!

yeah, it doesnt always work that way...

No, no it doesn't!!! Quite a difficult machine (mine's probably 5lbs heavier than stock, and since I haven't fixed the oiler it's always holding 95% full bar-oil ;P ), when I use it my shoulders/neck/back are just wrecked afterwards but I'm getting much better every time I use it, it seems it's all about just being aware to never be extending it forward 1" more-than-necessary, that front-lean is a killer (**really** wish I could rotate the angle of the bar/cutter-head, am getting one of those lightweight lil lithium units and it'll 100% have an angled(or adjustable) bar-angle, a straight-bar makes cutting palm-fruits next to impossible and, even cutting limbs with full clearance/no obstacles, the straight-upward bar angle still makes your cuts on the sides of the limb instead of higher-up to the top of the limb...I guess the idea, or at least how I'll be using them, is that the echo petrol unit is powerful and for bigger cuts IE stuff you'd wanna be further-back on the ground(which inherently gives the bar 'more angle' into the limb) and the angled-bar lithium Ryobi unit will be great for cutting palm-fronds that'll come right down on me since it's a short pole w/ angled-head. Seems a good combo, lightweight ryobi for minor stuff and petrol echo for bigger stuff (or when it's raining, which is on&off nearly every day in FL summers)

marketing. and you forgot the garbage string trimmer and blower line-up.

Ouch....didn't know anything good/bad Re their other lineups, just that their chainsaws are hit&miss...blows my mind echo & husq can't simply beat them despite it though, I'd love to see #'s for market-share but I see it as "if you've got the $$ to blow then husqvarna gear is pretty tops, otherwise w/ echo you can't go wrong....you can also spend husqvarna-money for echo-comparable gear[in most cases, obviously there's variance by models]", also of the 3 national chains (ace, h.depot and lowes) stihl is at the least-populous (and echo at the most-popular), really wish echo would be more aggressive w/ getting 2511's into brick&mortars..

Say hello to my little friends. They gave me a deal on both and honestly didn’t want to wait till fall to try this blower out.

Congrats!!! Cannot even tell what makes the 2620 different from my 266 but it is an awesome unit, a 12" on this pole cuts a lil better than the same 12" on my 25cc climb-saw (and I've hardly begun mods on the 266 yet because I haven't found the carb screws ), they're really spectacular machines (and the engine startup, re-starts and general operation especially smooth idling and drop-to-idle is just amazing, unlike any 2-stroke I've used even my new 355t isn't close to as smooth as the 266!)

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!

Heh, I had to do an Oak last week and using the pole from the roof made-sense for some of the cuts (heck, most of them were simply removing parts-of limbs so I could drop them later w/o them smashing the roof/gutter) but was alone for most of the job *and* didn't have a ladder.....I knew getting on/off that roof would be a nightmare & not something to do twice lol, so before monkey'ing my way up there I put a prussik around the front-collar of the pole (for 2-points of balance so it could be lifted horizontally, window-damage on the way up was too-risky) and then made loops/bights in my line for that, a blower, and my 355t....pulled them up gently, worked a charm!!!! Even lowering-to-ground was all smooth, except for my physical body lol where I had to do a jump/tuck&roll

 

[Cerberus]

Say hello to my little friends. They gave me a deal on both and honestly didn’t want to wait till fall to try this blower out.

Your wording of 'try' kinda gives impression, upon re-read, that you're familiar w/ the poles already......yes?
I ask because your post* came to-mind yesterday on a job(*I'd just caught-up on this thread 3d ago ) when, for like time #5 since 'putting it in-service', that my ppt266 has let me do like 50--->200% more on a job, from roof- and ladder- cuts to things that never would've been worth anchoring&limbwalking to, it's added nearly as much 'xtra' as getting a good blower did, more in fact and it's tree stuff not just adding a roof&gutter blow..
Imagine you work solo or boss of small outfit? Are you going to "price differently" doing polesaw work or simply add it to the arsenal? Have been wrestling w/ this myself after some recent buys (am still charging low enough that I'd never admit the actual #'s here..)
[edited-in: am left wondering "that guy is just-as-likely a homeowner buying good homeowner gear" and almost edited it back but A) figured others are working w/ such gear and could chime-in anyway and B) always feels shady ninja-editing one's own foolishness. Assumption is your a homeowner that truck is in realll nice shape, though most I know - am in FL, to be fair - treat their vehicles terribly ]
[[double-addon: looking at that brand new 2620.....it looks identical to the 266 except the subtlest updates to the powerhead-casing i have to wonder how-different its engine is, the one in the 266 is unlike any 2-stroke I have *ever* used in my life and it is only 'fully cleaned/restored' not modded except removal of restricter-plate on muffler's outlet, afraid to go further til I learn where this odd zama's H & L adjustments are made...]]

 

[bryanr2]

Still haven’t touched these 2. Been a real sad time. Day I bought these I was picking my girls up and mom asked me to come in and pick dad up out of the floor. He had fallen trying to get turned around to sit on the toilet. I picked him up and left with the girls. Think that was on the 19th. Monday the 22nd dad is still refusing to go to the hospital. Mom threatens that she has 2 sons that will carry him out of the house. Goes to hospital thinking he has a impacted bowel. Learn that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had metastasized into his liver. Conditions worsen. They couldn’t manage the pain, so he was put on a morphine drip. Monday July 6th was told it was in all his lymph nodes and that we had 3 months. He died wed 8th a little after 3. My brother and I couldn’t see him bc of Covid-19. We talked to him on the phone. Previous Thur he had told us that “I love all my children and grand babies”. That’s the last thing he ever said to us. After that they kept him under bc of the pain. I’m sad that the last time I touched my dad was when I picked him up out of the floor and set him on the toilet for mom. Sad I left there and didn’t stay around. Never would have thought this was how I would loose him.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

Still haven’t touched these 2. Been a real sad time. Day I bought these I was picking my girls up and mom asked me to come in and pick dad up out of the floor. He had fallen trying to get turned around to sit on the toilet. I picked him up and left with the girls. Think that was on the 19th. Monday the 22nd dad is still refusing to go to the hospital. Mom threatens that she has 2 sons that will carry him out of the house. Goes to hospital thinking he has a impacted bowel. Learn that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had metastasized into his liver. Conditions worsen. They couldn’t manage the pain, so he was put on a morphine drip. Monday July 6th was told it was in all his lymph nodes and that we had 3 months. He died wed 8th a little after 3. My brother and I couldn’t see him bc of Covid-19. We talked to him on the phone. Previous Thur he had told us that “I love all my children and grand babies”. That’s the last thing he ever said to us. After that they kept him under bc of the pain. I’m sad that the last time I touched my dad was when I picked him up out of the floor and set him on the toilet for mom. Sad I left there and didn’t stay around. Never would have thought this was how I would loose him.

This is a tough read. I’m so sorry for your loss. My sincerest condolences to you and your family.