efco saws

[thumper]

ive been checking out the efco 152 and 156.. the prices are great and they appear to be somewhat well built. what is the opinion of these saws. im sure there at least ok or there market would have fallen and john deere certainly would not rebadge them . ive been a jonsered husky and partner user and liker lol.  not that i dont like the other brands i just dont feel comfy with them. its like the ford/gm thing,, i like and ride yamahas and hondas. you couldnt give me a suzuki or kawi. yes there some of the best out there, just not for me. my concern on these efcos is mostly feel and reliability.. thanks

[ladylake]

I have a 56cc Cub Cadet made by Efco, it's built real good and a little heavy for 56cc.  After being broken in it cuts about the same speed as my 50cc CS510 Echo and weights at least 2# more so it doesn't get much use. It came with a 3/8 chain which I think is too much for it, I think if I put 325 chain on the Cub it might cut faster than my CS510. Overall the Efco saw is a good saw at a reasonable price, just a little heavy but metal weights more than plastic.    Steve

[chucker]

reliability!! there right up there with the best.... if not and for the price a nose ahead of the rest. i have a 147, at just a half year old and no problems as yet... cuts 2 too 3 days a week and 3 hours average a day on 8 to 12" wood red oak... so "reliability" i would say yes and 5 out of 5!!

[Kansas]

We bought a 971  Efco saw  almost 8 years ago. If the ones today are like the old ones, they are a very rugged reliable saw. We bought a Stihl  MS 460 at roughly the same time. For the price at that time, the Efco was a better value. The only advantage of the Stihl is for whatever reason, I like the balance of the Stihl a little better.

[gemniii]

Last August I would have said I wouldn't touch one, then in September I got 2, one for each hand.

I bought a new MT3600 (35CC) from northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company, with 2 chains for $50.  It was a bargain I couldn't pass up.
Then I won a John Deere CS62 on another forum, it was for a worthy cause.

They both have outboard clutches, which I don't like.  The MT3600 can be finicky with the fuel it seems.  The CS 62 is good, starts well, plenty of power on a 20" bar, and I've been running it with an Alaskan Mark III and a 28" bar cutting wood up to about 20" wide.  That's all it can handle.

Fit and finish doesn't match the Stihl, but for $50 what do you want?

[Dalden]

I got an MT8200 about 2 months ago.  I'll agree they are heavier then some other saws of the same size - the 8200 might even outweigh my larger displacement Sthil 660.  I have not had it long enough to judge the duribility but I can say that the thing is built like a tank -might be where the weight comes in.  I happen to like the outboard chain break except when I used it on the mill.  I don't like the chain tension behind the bar (its on the side of my stihl) but some of my other smaller saws have it behind the bar as well so  --  -

The saw is a great runner - a little picky about fuel/mix (EFCO wants you to run those euro-type 50/1 oils that cost more then regular two cycle oil- if you run normal oil they want it mixed at like 16/1) but it starts on the second pull and runs good even in the snow. I'd buy another one if I had the $$$

I think the thing will run forever -but the bar and chain they send out with the saw is junk - maybe the oregon bar is OK, but whatever the chain is - buffalo chips.  I did not even get through the third tank of gas - and one of those was on my mill which uses a different bar and chain- before the chain wore dull.  Sharpen it up - go awhile, like two tanks-then dulls again.

My kids Poulan Pro 50cc had a better chain.  We were bucking some firewood for him to sell -cleaning up behind the county road crews, and after the we both refueled the first time, his was cutting better then my larger saw. By tank number 2- I could not cut punky ash without smoke rolling off the chain faster then the dust it was kicking up - as it was not making any chips for sure. The chain has to be the problem as the saw was revin nice and actually starts/runs smoother /easier then his.

[gemniii]

The saw is a great runner - a little picky about fuel/mix (EFCO wants you to run those euro-type 50/1 oils that cost more then regular two cycle oil- if you run normal oil they want it mixed at like 16/1) but it starts on the second pull and runs good even in the snow. I'd buy another one if I had the $$$

Is this 16:1 from the manual  or experience?
My Efco 3600 manual says "run as described on the oil" then later has a table for generic oil with 25:1 as the ratio.  The John Deere CS 62 says 50:1.

I started running my MT3600 rich, then cut back to 50:1 for a few tanks.  The last couple of tanks though I've been using what I use in my big "Efco", my JD CS62 for ripping, more like 40:1 or richer.  I am going to be using Woodland pro 2cycle oil as soon as my paycheck swap with Baileys gets here.
I got the two saws for $50 and have spent about $600 on "add-ons"   At least the saws are reliable.
But if I need to run em' rich I will.

[Dalden]

 :P  That was from the manual - I looked at the table too. I went over the level as I had just messed up my 660 while milling.  The forum guys all said I should run it a bit rich, but still in the break in period I did not want to mess with the carb settings just yet ( I could hear the excuses coming if I needed to exercise the warranty barely out of the break in period- which is really long by the way). So - I thickened up the lube -  I have run it clean through the break in period on 16 /1 to get better lube when had to use it on my mill.  The 8200 is a little too small for this task on a regular basis, but I was cutting only a couple of inch thick slabs of a somewhat softish 20" ash log that was only about 6' long.  It pulled the chain just fine on the 36" mill with stops about every two feet to allow the revs to drop to idle for awhile. I therorize this is more like the operation the saw would get bucking the same log into firewood length.
   It runs fine on the thicker mix -just a little blue smoke but no loss of power.  It was this table that you noticed in the manual that caused me to go with more oil. I'll garantee it is not running low on lube which I can say for sure killed my 660.  When I took the Stihl apart the rings on the exhaust side were completely worn to the scored piston level - I also guess that was from running lean -air leak- and maybe not enough oil (mixed wrong).  Maybe I'm a little overcautious now! - but folks here and elsewhere have noted that to please the EPA all new saws are set a little lean from the factory.  I'll move back to 25/1 when I set the High setting a little rich per the helpful postings about my misfortune with the stihl.
  The manual states that EFCO would prefer the 50/1 but it indicates that it must be the "EFCO 50/1" which I assume is that "euro" style 50/1 that is marked for use at that ratio in anything.  If your using regular oil -refer to the table.
I call it "euro" oil as I had a Dolmar that also used the 50/1, which at that time (in the early ninties) was only available from some euro manufacturer -that thing ran forever.   It ain't cheap and I have the regular stuff onhand.

[Rocky_J]

No, all the saw manufacturers try to use that line in order to pimp their own brand of oil. "If you use 'our' oil then mix 50-1 like normal. If you use 'other' oil then mix it 25-1 because we want to make it more convenient for you to use 'our' oil."

Your saw doesn't care who's name is on the oil label. Plenty of 'oil wars' threads here for you to read if you're interested. Just use a quality oil at a reasonable ratio. Doubling the oil means there is less gas, meaning the saw may actually run leaner and be more susceptible to lean seize if you choke it down with 16-1 or 25-1. Your 660 burned up from the carb being too lean and excess heat caused by a combination of overwork (milling with a possible-probable dull chain) and not enough fuel to cool the cylinder. Lean seize is what kills 95% of all blown saw motors and everyone has an excuse.

[Dalden]

OK -

By the way Bailey's sells the EFCO oil, maybe I will just get a case of that. 

No, all the saw manufacturers try to use that line in order to pimp their own brand of oil. "If you use 'our' oil then mix 50-1 like normal. If you use 'other' oil then mix it 25-1 because we want to make it more convenient for you to use 'our' oil."

Your saw doesn't care who's name is on the oil label. Plenty of 'oil wars' threads here for you to read if you're interested. Just use a quality oil at a reasonable ratio. Doubling the oil means there is less gas, meaning the saw may actually run leaner and be more susceptible to lean seize if you choke it down with 16-1 or 25-1. Your 660 burned up from the carb being too lean and excess heat caused by a combination of overwork (milling with a possible-probable dull chain) and not enough fuel to cool the cylinder. Lean seize is what kills 95% of all blown saw motors and everyone has an excuse.

FYI - 
It was the first cut on a brand new rip chain straight from grandberg - not dull.  The damage might have been done by the previous owner (the stihl was an ebay find) or I might have messed up the mix, it looked a little too clear when I dumped it out during the rebuild.  I had not thought of too much oild making it lean - either way I'll follow the manual and go back to 25:1 or buy the EFCO oil now that the stihl is back on the mill.  Consider me gunshy -I guess

[Rocky_J]

An ebay saw? So somebody sold you a lean seized saw and greased the piston enough to get it running for a few more minutes? Oh, ok. That explains it. I told you there would be a reason. ;)

[Dalden]

Maybe

I did fell and buck up an ash with the stihl about a week before I tried it on the mill.  Ran a little weird that day but it was hot out and I was feeling a little weird too - so I did not connect the dots until I took the saw apart.  Either way the breakdown gave me a good excuse to use on the cheif financial officer (wife) to justify the new efco.  Now I have two really good mid/large saws for around @1400 (reckon I saved around $300)

The ash is now a really nice looking shelf awaiting final finishing, and there is a 6' long 5" thick spalted ash rustic mantle with a live edge nearly done on the workbench that I rough milled using the efco.  The efco will mill too - with a good chain.