Subject line says it all. The good, bad and ugly please? Thanks
I've had one for about 4 years, I bought it for CSM work, but after ruining 3 good ripping chains on yard trees, and my aching back I decided my milling work would have to wait until I can get a mill. The saw is heavy but performs well with the 27" bar that it came with. I also bought a 20" bar, it's a lot of saw for a 20" bar and I usually use a smaller saw for firewood. I do use the 800 for bucking up big stuff sometimes,but prefer my 064 which I inherited about 6 months after buying the Echo. Given the option the 064 seems to cut a little quicker and is maybe a little lighter, someone on FF will know the specifics.
Thanks, I was hoping more people had them. Still thinking on the 461/462, 372 and now the 800.
There was a lightly used CS-800 for sale here locally a while back for $500. I was intrigued. But I thought to myself, what in the world could I want that for?
Then I decided my 50cc saw wasn't quite big enough for every occasion. So I kinda was set on the size weight and power of a 70cc, and found a much better deal on a 372xp and grabbed it up.
A much lighter and sleeker, and more sensible saw for what I wanted.
Nothing against Echo in general, because I like Echo and have a lot of their products. But I think if I was going to get an 80cc saw, Makita might be at the top of the list. Built like a tank without being too heavy, and not a ton of money. The Dolmar/Makita 7900/7910 is a fairly popular saw.
There is virtually zero dealer support for Dolmar/Makita around here. But there is a Makita store, and I can order any part I want out of Atlanta and have it shipped there.
That is the thing, a friend has the Echo shop, a high school friend the Stihl shop and I know the Husky dealer. All with in 10 miles. Now I am thinking 462 after reading some of the posts on here.
Yeah, the 462 ought to be the cream of the crop.
Tops in power of 70cc saws with the weight of a 60cc saw. But price of a 90cc saw.
Not familiar with the 800, but reading around, the general feel of the various echos is they're /a little low/ on power, and /a little high/ on weight compared to the big two, but solidly built, good quality, and a good value per dollar spent.
Assuming what I said is true, if I wanted a new saw, and only infrequently needed one that big, I'd be looking hard at the CS800. If I were gonna be using it a lot, and carrying it through the woods, I'd probably look elsewhere.
Had to epoxy the handle on my 281 again. Not sure how I broke it but the JB weld had been on for a while. Now there is more on there. Stopped at dealer for price on the 462, $1100. Asked about tank for my 281, handle is part of tank. He had a used one for 35 and new for 75. Hope to finish cutting my ash before I buy a new saw so not putting a new saw on my skidder.