What's your opinion on these saws. A lot of mixed reviews on the web. I would like to have a bigger saw for occasional use but don't want to spend a lot of money. Was talking to a logger today and was surprised that he was using one on a daily basis.
They have a few known issues and can be unreliable. I don’t recommend them. They can be for the hobbyist or someone looking to fix an OEM saw on the cheap, but aren’t for long-term hard use.
I have one of the Farmertec 660's that I built from a parts kit...if you do your homework and learn what to watch for during assembly, they work pretty well, especially for very occasional use like I am using it for...and as you mentioned, some people use them everyday...although I personally wouldn't count on one to make my living, at least as a primary saw, just a backup. I'm not sure how the preassembled saws are doing for reliability...from what I have read on this site, they sound fine so far...but no idea beyond that small sample of reviews. Brand new ms 660
I have witnessed this "holzforma G660" cut about 4 cords of Doug fir and larch. It belongs to a friend of mine. It starts and cuts wood, but the oiler will barely oil a 28 inch bar( yes it's turned all the way up) and the air filter is garbage. I guess it's like lots of other chinese stuff when it fails you just go buy another one.
I can definitely see the desire on these. Most of us dont have a huge need for a monster CC saw, and especially the price they command. I've been very tempted by one of these for the once a year or two I would need a big bar, but I'm thinking one of the affordable echo 590s will probably suit me better for a regular backup that can pull a big chain occasionally.
The holzforma g660 that my friend has been cutting with is doing alright. He cut 2 more cords with it this weekend. The oiler seems like any longer than 28 would be to much for it, but then again a guy can cut up some darn big trees with a 28 inch bar. I think for intermittent use on a couple of big trees a year these G660 saws are alright.
I have three of them. Two kit saws and one prebuilt. Very happy with all three. The G444 has became my goto saw.
I rhink the biggest issue with these Chinese knock-offs is inconsistency in manufacturing process and horrible quality control......lots of them have flawed ports in the cylinders, poor castings and are of lousy quality. I rebuilt an OEM MS660 last fall for a guy who bought it REBUILT by someone who used a cheap Chinese piston, rings and E-clips in a good OEM jug.....the piston blew apart and destroyed the whole top end... I used a worked-over Cross MMWS jug and a good Meteor piston/Caber rings and OEM circlips along with an aftermarket case to get it back up to snuff. Best piece of advice I have is if you don't have any prior knowledge of what to look for/how to prep with the AM saw kits, I'd stay away from them. The Chinese pistons and rings, first and foremost, are junk IMO. Get a good piston (Meteor, OEM, etc) and Caber ductile iron rings. Second, check the ports over good for casting flaws and make sure the rings cannot snag the ports when the saw is in operation. I clean these areas up on all the AM jugs I use with a carbide bit in my pencil grinder so there isn't any sharp edges where the ports and transfers meet the piston. And get good circlips (the ones that look like a small case "e" will fail, if you use them, break that tab off so the clip looks like a small case "c", trust me on this as I found out the hard way). Try to use OEM if you can.
I have a pre built G660. It only has a tank through it so far, so I can hardly be subjective, It runs great so far and is a beast of a saw.
I have the G660 in a MKIII Alaskan Mill & with 30 hours I am experiencing no problems. Changed the drive sprocket to an 8 tooth use full comp chain and it cuts as well as the Stihl 066 that's now a spare...
