Anyone kept up with what's happening with saws? Anything really new? For the past couple of years, I have kept up with it less than I used to. And something I have wondered... do you think Stihl's mTronic and Husky Autotune are 'necessary' in the timeline of saw history? Or do you think they did it just because it's something new and something to yak about... marketing fodder? And do you think fuel injection such as is on Stihl's 500 is where the ideal has landed or is headed? Are there any other fuel injected saws? Or, are you of the opinion that saws without the computer stuff are better? I wonder about repairs. A 'regular' chainsaw, I can repair many of the problems that occur, but if it's computer-related, I'm outta luck. So, that makes it less than ideal, I suppose. Same thing with a modern pickup truck. They've gotten too complicated with chips and computers. Do you think the fancy saws are so reliable and 'better,' that it overrides any repair needs? Back to pickup trucks... they seem super reliable, but beyond a warranty repair, it's kinda scary after that warranty is gone. I bought new Ram 1500 not long ago and within two weeks, a road rock chipped my windshield. And, of course, the chip advanced to being 2 feet long! I did check to see if it could be filled in but was told it won't work on that ding. Thankfully, not right in my vision. Somebody told me that windshield costs thousands due to all the tech that is embedded in it. Dangit! When I bought that truck, the sales add-on closing lady tried to sell me a separate insurance policy for just the windshield, lol. I denied it, never heard of such (doesn't my regular policy cover windshields?) but it makes me wonder now if I made the right choice. EDIT: Forgot to mention battery saws. I have one, a Husky pro model, 540iXP. I'm not sure it's worth the extra cost over the 'lesser' model. But battery saws... they might get there someday. Or are they 'there?'
Windshield should be covered on your insurance...usually $100 deductible. All these computers on new vehicles cause lots of problems...they will eventually on saws to some degree too. (I really doubt they will still be usable in 50 years, like some 1970 saws still are)
I have been checking Echo's website now & again to make sure they don't sneak out something new but otherwise not been keeping tabs. FI is coming. They are going to sell it to us as a performance upgrade rather than an EPA appeasement which it most assuredly is. I have a 80cc stock saw that was designed 20 years ago that will hang right with a 500i that I paid 2/3 of what the Stihl costs for, so in my opinion the 'performance' isn't really a sell. They do run very well, but not leaps and bounds better that I would expect for all the hoopla/cost. I own two saws from Husky with 'computers' in them. The first one was an early model and did experience some teething. The latest is a 2025 model and I would hope that it should be completely debugged at this point. Time will tell. I'm not anti tech, but I am assuredly anti over-complication especially when the benefit is small or null. I've come to the conclusion that the battery saw is for the lazy. I do own a battery saw for anyone who's jimmies might be rustled by that statement. Why? Because they do not really do anything 'better' than a gasser, they just offer more convenience. Until they figure out how to store the energy of a quarter gallon of gasoline in a 3 lb battery, gas will remain king. I can't even start with trucks. SMH
Dealer warranty work is a nightmare as the experienced ones only want one that pay and ford transmission apparently dont
I think the perception of being able to work on them is just that, perception, You can get Stihl and Husky software and work on them without being a dealer. I remember when gas compression engines went to air fuel ration controllers with ECM’s O2 sensors and then NOx sensors. It “seemed” like they were harder to work on, reality is they run much better and last a lot longer than their uncontrolled counter parts. As much as I loved a carburetor on my Harleys, the last one I owned was fuel injected and I never thought twice about not having to mess with it. As far as saws go, I think the M-tronic is probably better than Auto tune, but I don’t own any Auto Tune Husky’s to say either way as I’m not much of a fan of the 5 series Husky’s. There have been hot restart issues on the 500i reported by smoke jumpers, some have gotten away from them in that specific use category, however every 500i I’ve been around (all ported) have been excellent runners.
I prefer a carb saw, but only because I can easily work on it myself and they run great. I tune to match the weather, every time. It only takes a few seconds. Carb saws are lighter and cheaper to fix. No computer needed. I have run a few 500i’s and I am absolutely NOT impressed. My trusty 372 will match or out-cut a stock 500i any day. I’d put money on it. And the 500i is a heavy bugger too. I see mostly marketing fluff at this point. Not worth pursuing. The only 500i that I was happy with was worked over by Scott Kunz and it had a fresh square ground chain on it. I hear people talking all high and mighty about the 500i like it is a super saw or something. It couldn’t be further from it. How much is a new computer or fuel injector or sensor? How much is a simple carb kit?
I love the auto on switches and have wondered why it took so long. I’m so used to auto on that I prefer new saws for the convenience. I do not own a 500, but occasionally use one and I like the ease of pushing the bulb 6x and it pops off. I own many mtronic and haven’t experienced any issues. I have been doing this a long time and prefer new saws for simplicity of start and forgetting about carb tuning + they are lighter with less vibration. I have old saws, but they only get used to keep the diaphragms working. Used my 272xp recently and felt like I was going to get rheumatoid. Can’t say I’ll buy the next best thing, because I know what I currently have will outlive me with basic maintenance.
Everything I'm running is old Even my "modern" 372XP is at least 15 years old, same with the 395XP & Jonsered 2150. But most everything else I have is vintage 1980s technology. Maybe I need to try someone else's newer saw sometime to see what I'm missing.
I don’t mind going back a handful of years, saws or trucks. I recently watched a utube personality. His claim was saws of 15+ years ago were made better. He listed some failure points of newer saws, Chinese parts. No, may not be gospel, but another data point. My 2017 Silverado still doing well, don’t plan changes anytime soon. I looked at electric saws, ended up with a gas Echo cs-3510, really like it. The main use is clearing smaller stuff, 5” & below or so. I like the lightweight, just up north clearing our camp road.
I personally am waiting for saw maker to come out with a Fuel injected, computer controlled, dual fuel/electric hybrid saw with AI interface screen and tree ID and night stealth lighting. Such a saw would automatically adjust itself and switch from fuel to battery as needed for the cutting conditions. It would also adjust chain tension in real time and self sharpen if metal detector mode was enabled. The AI screen would identify what type of firewood you were cutting and current moisture content, be programmable for performance or economy mode and track firewood futures by volume and type of tree and delivery radius. Volumes could be changed between full cord, half cord, face cord, bundle and Nashville cord. I'm sure it would be far more dependable than the dinosaurs we are using now. I will think of some more important features after my nap.
I want an all position, non 4 mix style 4 stroke saw that has the power of a 2 stroke without weighing more than said 2 stroke. Yeah, I won't hold my breath.
