Good excuse for a new saw... my less than one year old Stihl ms311 has been a pain to start, and now is going back to the dealer for some fuel issues. Really pizzes me off as I only use non-ethenol, and maintenance my equipment. My wife has been giving me crap about trying a Husqvarna instead after three stihls. Challenge accepted! Looking at a 562cp with a 20” bar. Will still have a 031 with a 20”and 25” bar, or a ms271 with a 16” and 20” bar. Plan to sell the ms311 and one of the others to get back to two saws. I think a 60cc pro saw would fit the bill pretty nice, could run a 24” or so on it if needed. Echo is not out of the question, but not much dealer support. School me on an echo if there is a good alternative. I am close to Oregon so willing to travel for a tax free deal. Last time I shopped local and wasn’t impressed at all, paying more for worse service.
Love running my 562xp with 24" bar, handles like a dream. Mine is an earlier one and not sure what updates it has but can be a pain to start when hot out. Others will chime in, but I think they have most of that worked out by now. There would also be the re-release of the 372 or 572 options out there as well. Near nothing but good things about the ms462 if you have the coin. Pick some up and see how they feel. Any options in your area where you can try some out to see how they feel? Good luck with your search and sorry about your ms311, stinks when a tool does not work right.
What dealers do you have close in Oregon? I have 4 Stihls and 1 Husky 55. Like them all, just different controls on the Husky, but it's torquey, runs a 20" and .325 chain. It's great on 12-15" size logs.
My Stihl dealer retired and since then have all three Stihl saws sitting in the garage for 3 years. Running Jonsereds now. REALLY liking them. Easier starting, higher rpms, just nothing to complain about. One has the tool less chain tightening system.
I just went through the same selection process, see the post “A new color”. I’m fortunate to have good dealers close by for Stihl, Husqvarna and Echo. I looked at all three. All make great saws IMO. I really liked the 462, but Stihl is extremely “proud” of that saw. In the end... I bought the Echo and like it so far. Feature for feature and dollar for dollar value I had to go with the Echo. Buy what you like and want. I believe it’s hard to buy a bad saw these days.
This gets my vote. Get the Echo you won’t be disappointed. I’ve had mine 590 about 3 years now and all I do is put fuel in it and pull the cord. I don’t think I’ve ever touched the carb at all. As far as the 590 & 620 they are basically the same. The 620 has an aluminum handle bar regulator or full wrap, a rim sprocket, I believe it has a magnesium side cover, two ring piston where the 590 just has one, and an unlimited ignition coil. I think it would be worth the extra money for the 620 I wish I had of stepped up to it when I got mine. But I have no complaints about the 590. Check out sawsuppliers.com I just ordered a 7310 and got over a $100 off using the code SHACKER. I think it works on all the saws. I have no idea how long that code will be good for. And Buckeye is right you won’t need a dealer.
Test drive a 562, I think you’ll really be surprised at how well they handle and cut. And as far as the x-torq 372, not a fan. If it were me, I’d only want the older non x-torq version. I’ve read glowing reviews of the Still 462 but the price tag is downright ridiculous. With the final buy in, you could have the 562 ported and it would stomp a mud hole in most 70cc saws. M2theB could attest to that.
Too bad about the 311. Ive heard the 271 and 311 have had issues, but having never run either i cant say. I did own a 290 (which evolved into the 291) for many years and it was a very reliable saw. I now own a Stihl 361 (59cc pro saw), which evolved into the 362. Great saw, practically a virgin when i got it last Summer. My 261 (50cc) is my go to pro saw. Have you looked into the Echo series? I own an Echo hand held blower and beat the hell out of it (falls off roof, out of PU and gets rained on) and it comes back for more. I like the model so much ive owned several of the same over the years. If given the choice i would take Echo over Husky based on this. I knoe Chris Woodwhore got one and loves it.
I wonder if it just needs some carb adjusting? Ran into that a lot back at the bike dealership years ago when EPA started coming down on the bike/ATV manufacturers to tighten up emissions…started seeing stuff that wouldn't idle, and was hard to start, right out of the box...not normal, especially Honda. Owner said "make 'em right", so that meant pulling the tamper proof caps on the low speed screw to make adjustments...usually didn't take much and then they were fine. We serviced a TON of bikes from other dealerships that were never adjusted, came in for "hard start/no idle" complaints...night and day difference afterwards! Heck, some years ago my neighbor brought me his then 10ish year old TRX300 to service so he could sell it...said to see if I could get it to start and idle a little better...I did...they were shocked at the difference, so much so that they ended up keeping it! Apparently that was the main reason they wanted rid of it...tired of dealing with its bad manners all that time!
The 562xp is a great saw ,as is the Echo 590 ,especially given it’s price . If you are checking out Echo saws , they have just released the CS 7310 . It appears to be close to the same price range as the 562xp and MS362 . Not bad for 70 cc’s . So, it may be worth investigating as well .
Hard to go wrong these days, many choices. Fun to shop! I think Echo is an underrated saw. Very good bang for the buck. As someone said, you can get one ported with money saved at purchase. Ported saws are amazing. Who wouldn't want 20+% more power, same weight? I figure you get 20%, at least.
I really like my Husqvarna 562. Ordered it with a 24”, have run a 28” on it some, but I think that is a little to much bar for any considerable work. It wears a 20” all the time now and I think it’s ideal. If I need more bar I grab a different saw. Mine is a couple years old and the only complaint is the air filter setup & I understand that has been upgraded to not be an issue. Never had a starting issue, hot or cold. Super smooth running saw. You really should take one out for a test drive before you make a final decision
We are definitely considering a echo. The price is much more reasonable. Heck I could have bought a 590 for the cost of my 311. I will be looking at some echos this week.
I just priced a 620 with a 24” bar at 507$ shipped with the coupon code. I’ll check them out local but if they are not competitive, online it is. Can’t believe that price point. Also we have a few local echo dealers. Have not checked Oregon, sometimes it’s worth the 2hour drive
