Echo CS-7310p...potential weak point

[Bruno of NH]

I run a 590 with 24" bar and a 620 with 24" bar , my help is hard on these saws.
I have had no issues with mine
The 590 has been modified 

[Bruno of NH]

I won't buy any new saw other than an Echo at this point.
My first pro saw was a JR 2172 nothing but problems .
Worst starting saw ever,couldn't wait to see it go .
For my firewood and work around the mill the Echos treat me right.

[lxskllr]

I buy echo and Stihl. I stick with Stihl for the big saws, and echo for the little ones. I like both a lot, which is a big reason I split brands, but I wouldn't feel at all bad about starting a tree service using 100% echo gear. They're the best value going afaic.

[Oddman]

 

 

 

Echo 7310 on the left
Stihl 044 in the middle
Husky 372xp on the right

A bad tensioner doesnt make a bad saw, this thread was never meant to decry the 7310 as an inferior design or to call out Echo as a brand. Merely to make others aware of a POTENTIAL weak point. Many great saws have a quirk or 2, in my opinion this is one of those for the echo 7310.

[Oddman]

Notice the shiny area on the tensioning screw where the threads stripped and also it is hard to make out but the screw is bent. The nylon pieces on each end of the assembly are damaged. The stihl parts shown are ever-so-slightly thicker.

[ladylake]

 It's hard on tensioners when they tighten the clutch cover without the holes lining up,   that's around $12 worth of parts at SEPW.   Steve

[Kawaliga]

Notice the shiny area on the tensioning screw where the threads stripped and also it is hard to make out but the screw is bent. The nylon pieces on each end of the assembly are damaged. The stihl parts shown are ever-so-slightly thicker.

It looks like a light tensioner, but its human error that bent it and stripped the threads.
I have used saws with no tenstioners, pull the bar forward pull it up tight and tighten the nuts.
I have seen people use the tensioner to tighten the bar, lifting all that weight of the bar by
turning the screw, its not going to work for long, too much leverage and weight hanging on the
bar all pushing against a few threads, guaranteed to fail, when all that is required is to put the bar
on a log or something to do the heavy lifting and gently bring the tensioner up behind it to take the
slack out of the chain.
This part that broke could be heavier though, but I would rather it bent or broke than something else
give out, not difficult to replace either.

[ihookem]

Come to think of it, I have not had a tensioner on my Stihl 034 for years. I just loosen the nuts, and pull the bar tight and tighten the lugs. It is still a bit loose but has worked for years. 

[clark8534]

I have an Echo CS510.  It is a great little saw.  But when compared to all the other saws I have owned, the tensioning system is a weak point.  Two things in particular: the tensioning post (and the threading that runs through it) is very soft metal; and, the tensioning screw backs against a thin plastic section of the clutch shroud that becomes brittle over the years and eventually cracks.

I have just replaced the shroud and the tension apparatus. It set me back $62.00 CDN.  But I'm not bellyaching ... because the only other expense this saw incurred over the last 12 years (make that 15) was a drive sprocket. I would buy another Echo in a heartbeat.  

And I imagine these rather trifling issues have been at least somewhat addressed in the newer models.  

Hi. I want to ask you. Does Echo still make chainsaw CS 440? I have checked on the online markets but I couldn't find a new one and unused product.

[barbender]

I've had to replace enough of the nylon tensioner housings for the Husky/Jonsered 372 and 390 chassis saws that I keep a spare one, and I don't even use my saws that much compared to some of you. When you start running longer (that's 24" and up for me, Skeans😁) bars it stresses them just getting the chain to normal tension, imo. I never had an issue when running 18-20" bars. And my bar nuts are always well tightened.

Rakers that are taken down too far are hard on everything, not to mention how much more risk of a kickback you run.

I've probably had more kickbacks cutting firewood in a pile than anywhere else. There's just a lot of opportunities for the bar tip to touch something. One of my buddies took a bar tip right to the face cutting like that, just about got his eye😬 The worst I've came out is blowing a couple of sprocket tops out with a hard kickback. But it gives you a good idea of the force involved. It's also a good reminder of how dumb I can be, when I start being more careful how I'm cutting because I don't want to ruin a tip, rather than being concerned for my own safety😬🤦‍♂️

[Skeans1]

@barbender 
I've never worn out a tensioner assembly on any of the 385/390's but I don't hardly bore cut anything. 

[barbender]

It may be that they get brittle in the cold. Below zero changes things😊 All I know is I go through them.