Clone chainsaws

[Quackerbox]

I have ms290 stihl and looked into the stuff on Amazon for smaller stuff. It was gonna be one of those deals that if it blew up, I wouldn't be sad

[andre3k]

I have a nice collection of Stihl and Echo pro saws but none of the large CC saws. It's getting harder to find the larger Stihl saws without m-tronic at the dealers. I'd rather have a saw that doesn't need software to tune it. I already have a Stihl 362 , Echo 620 and a Makita 6401 (rebranded dolmar) which are 60cc saws, but looking for a 70 - 90cc saw to pull a larger bar.

Basically I'm looking at a big saw to play with. Just don't want to pay the big saw price for what I plan on cutting.

[Dale Moser]

As long as you have dependable saws that would suffice for what you need to do, might as well try it for a big saw. Especially if you’re a tinkerer.

[wytex]

We have a Husqy 372 XPW and a 362 XP, both are great saws. Had the 372 for about 12-15 years with very few issues.
The 362 with a longer bar would cut your bigger trees and is less expensive.
Pro saws have a big advantage over regular use ones if you cut with it regularly.

How long do those Chinese saws last, anyone had 1 for say 10 years or so ?

[Chase4556]

Buy one of the 10 saw bulk deals they have. Sell the other 9 on Facebook marketplace to cover your costs and then see how your free one holds up. Only one way to find out if they are worth it.

My 6 year old $120 Poulan pro had been sitting in the garage unused for about 2 years until I fired it up about a month ago. Ran just fine. I’ve got my moneys worth out of it.

[adam_p]

There was a thread on them on another forum I follow and those guys seemed to like them. Based on what I've read I'd try one if I needed one.

[Sackett]

I have a nice collection of Stihl and Echo pro saws but none of the large CC saws. It's getting harder to find the larger Stihl saws without m-tronic at the dealers. I'd rather have a saw that doesn't need software to tune it. I already have a Stihl 362 , Echo 620 and a Makita 6401 (rebranded dolmar) which are 60cc saws, but looking for a 70 - 90cc saw to pull a larger bar.

Basically I'm looking at a big saw to play with. Just don't want to pay the big saw price for what I plan on cutting.

Unless you’re going to be cutting a ton of 30+” logs, your Stihl 362 and Echo 620 will run a 25” bar just fine, especially if they’re ported. I am an arborist and own a tree service and my MS 461 with a 30” bar only comes out very rarely. I’d much rather use my MS 261 with a 18” bar and sharp chain to cut logs < 24”, all day long. Having said that, since you already have two similarly rated saws, sell the Echo and buy either a used MS 461 or the new fuel injected MS 500i…….kidding, I’m like you where I need manually tunable carbs and the quick throttle of a 2-stroke motor

[rjet]

A chain saw is one of those things in life that I just havn't found any value in owning a cheap one of. At the end of the day they aren't that expensive, and when you need one, you NEED one to work.

Then again, I have no interest in working on a chain saw.

I agree. In younger days bought cheap stuff like ryobi and would last a few years. Finally got smart and spent a bit more on stihl products and all still run like new. Probably 20+ years with my chainsaw and weedeater with split boom and attachments. Some things are worth spending the money on.

[BrandonH]

I've owned two of the Holzfforma chainsaws for about 3 years now...the 666 with 36" bar & the 444 with 25" bar. I also own a couple Stihls & a Husquavarna and will say the Holzfformas perform neck & neck with the others. What's nice is they are an exact replica of the comparable Stihls so all parts can be bought at your local Stihls dealer.

[TexasBob]

I've owned two of the Holzfforma chainsaws for about 3 years now...the 666 with 36" bar & the 444 with 25" bar. I also own a couple Stihls & a Husquavarna and will say the Holzfformas perform neck & neck with the others. What's nice is they are an exact replica of the comparable Stihls so all parts can be bought at your local Stihls dealer.

I’m not overly superstitious but I’m not buying model 666 of anything.

[BarBBar]

Ain't nothin like yanking on a starter rope for 20 minutes trying to get a pos saw running.

My old Stihl needed carburetor work from bad gas so I junked it. When an oak tree fell across and broke my seven strand barbed wire fence recently, instead of buying a new saw, I rented a 16 inch Echo at Home Depot for about $50. I don't need a saw often, or I would have bought a new saw, gas or battery I'm not sure which.

[tps7742]

I am a true believer in the “orange” products, saws, weed eaters, kubota zero turn and a couple of tractors. Knock on wood I have very minimal issues with them.

[Artos]

I’m not overly superstitious but I’m not buying model 666 of anything.

I remember going to pick up plates at the dealer for an F250 that had 666 & refused to take them.

[andre3k]

I ended up picking up a Husqvarna 372XP and the seller threw in two non-running Stihl MS250's for $100. Piston and cylinders were GTG in both Stihls, put new chinese carbs on them and tuned them and they're now GTG as well, both motors topping out at 14k rpm.

BTW it looks like Stihl is using Chinese manufactured Zama carbs for the 250's. I'm still going to get the Chinese big boy saw to run a mill.

[bowhntrmatt]

I'm typically a buy once, cry once kind of guy, but in this situation, I would look hard at the knock-offs too. One thing you may do, though, is pin down the model of the saw you want and then search online for parts for it to get an idea of what you may be in for when things turn south. Just run premix non-ethanol fuel from day one and it'll probably be fine.