Need your Opinions on Echo 452VL

Hey guys, yesterday my buddy same working on my chainsaw and asked me if I would be interested in buying a chainsaw off him. He is offering me an Echo 452VL that e says was his grandfather's and has been sitting in his garage for the last 5 years. He had It running 3 years ago but it would die right away. He brought it today and I put fuel into it to see what would happen and the fuel filter is just laying in the bottom of the tank and fuel comes out of the saw as fast as you pour it in. Lol. So it will need some work. My question to you is , what do you guys think I should buy it for? Or should I even buy it at all? He threw out $40 today but I didn't reply to him about money yet. It has a 20" Oregon bar and a nice chain on it.
Anyways, your guy's input is always helpful!

Thanks, Allen

 

Hers pictures of the saw. I did pull the exhaust off and the piston and cylinder look fine and I checked for spark and it looks good.

 

Looks like it's in very nice shape, and probably won't be difficult to get going. If you are okay with having an older saw that has no chain brake, and having to hunt for parts that are no longer available from the manufacturer, then $40 seems entirely reasonable. It's not going to be a high-performance or super-practical choice, but it could be fun.

 

I have 2 runners here. Dont get used just shelf crap.
Both have full 3/8 to big for the cc saw IMO. But hey it is what it.
$40 is good for parts even.
I wouldnt pay that for a fixer upper but would if I needed parts. Hope that makes since.

 

I wouldnt pay $40. $20-30 maybe. That will make it easier for you to get your money back from parts at that price or from selling the whole saw.

 

Ya I'm thinking 30$ it comes with a case to, so I can use th case, bar and chain and either part the saw out or sell it for parts.

 

Assuming the bar fits another saw you have as does the chain have the same DL count as something else.

 

This might sound stupid but what is dl count? I assumed all bars and chains were the same, other that size.

 

The drive link count. Most 20" full 3/8 chain is 72. But some vary.

Its probably an 18" bar I guess? But different manufacturers may of had different DL counts and still call them the same bar length.

Chains also have different gauge sizes as well as like 4 common chain sizes , ie. 3/8 lopro, .325, 3/8, .404 etc

 

O i c. So is the dl # relational to your saw or the bar? If my chainsaw currently has a 18" bar and I was to put a 20" bar does the new 20" chain have to have a relevant dl # to my 18" chain?

 

What?? You lost me? Drive link count is just that the actual number of drive links . The shark fun looking things that running the bar and the sprocket on your saw? The things on the inside of the chain...opposite side of the cutters are on.

Example my 29" bars in 3/8 .050 chain are 72. My 25" bar is 84 DL and my 32" bar is 105. The number goes up or down based on bar size. My stihl 20" bar is the same dl count as my 20" husky bar. My 25" stihl bar is the same as a husky 24" bar (just a confusing thing stihl does..they call their bar 25" they dont have a 24"... but its the same size, but if you buy another brand bar for a stihl it can be labeled 24"...confusing yet?)

Making any sense?

 

Ahh. I think I get it.lol thanks for explaining it!

 

Directly to the garbage

 

Not even close. Expanding on Clemsonfor's comments, there are bunches of differences in bars and chains, even within a particular nominal length.

For a bar to fit a powerhead, the slots and holes and shape of the back end have to match the mating parts of the powerhead. Each saw manufacturer tends to stick to just a few mount patterns, but they're definitely not standardized. Stihl uses three different mount patterns, depending on the size of the powerhead. I think Husqvarna uses four.

Besides the variations at the back end, the slot that runs around the edge of the bar will be one of four common widths. That dimension is called "gauge," and the standard gauges are 0.043", 0.050", 0.058" and 0.062". The thickness of the chain's drive links has to match the slot in the bar. It's physically possible to mount a smaller-gauge chain on a bar with a wider slot but if you run it that way then the chain will tilt, it won't cut straight, and the bar will wear rapidly and unevenly.

Then there's the issue of chain pitch, which also varies. Pitch indicates the average length of a link of the chain, measured from rivet to rivet. On a typical chain the links are not all the same length but instead alternate long-short-long-short, so the pitch dimension is half of the distance between the centers of any three adjacent rivets. Standard pitch dimensions are 1/4", 0.325", 3/8", 0.404" and 1/2". The pitch has to match the drive sprocket on the powerhead (which is typically changeable if desired) and the nose sprocket of the bar. To complicate things further, there's 3/8 Low Profile chain, which isn't really 3/8" pitch (actually a bit smaller) and the drive links of which are shaped differently so they won't work properly with standard 3/8" sprockets, and the 0.325" Narrow Kerf chain that requires a special, thinner bar.

Even given the same pitch and nominal bar length, drive link counts can vary quite a bit.

Those are just the basic variables you have to get right for a combination of bar, chain and powerhead to fit and function together. There are more choices of tooth shape and spacing, and chain and bar safety features, each with respective trade-offs.

If you've read this far then it's probably obvious by now that you shouldn't buy this saw for its bar and chain unless you know what kind of saw you will mount it on.

Nah, it's too pretty for that. If it comes to that, send it to me instead! But really, there's no reason it should come to that. I think it would bring $100 pretty easily on eBay just as it is, which is why I thought $40 was a fair price for a friend in a local sale.

 

Your way more articulate than I, and also out together a well thought out and lengthy post to explain it all.

Thank you

 

Aww, thanks. When I start explaining, it always seems to take longer than expected to find a good stopping point.

 

I just forget things that I should of said.

But you laid it all out well enough that he should be able to realize he just isnt going to slap that bar and chain on his rancher or whatever and go.

 

come on man i just make a little fun , the saw seems good at least outside and 40 its not too much i think

 

Wow. Thank you guys so much for laying this out! I really appreciate it! I think I understand now. (I think) lol .