Hi, guys:
Thanks for all the feedback on the bar length thread.
Now I know this may be kind of like asking a bunch of F1 drivers what economy car to buy, but I'm wondering about the less expensive top-handles.
Unless I'm missing a model I don't know about, the list is:
- Stihl 192/193
- Husky T435
- Echo 330T
- Echo 335T
Wondering if you've got experience with any of these and what your thoughts are...
I own the Echo 330T, and like it. I'm an amateur, not a pro arb, so take what I say with a bit of salt. So far it has had enough power for the things I've asked it to do, including wood that about maxed out the 16" bar the thing accepts. Starts reliably.
Having said all of that, I'm not sure, but I think the 330T might be a discontinued item. It seems to me like Echo is trying to push their customers up into the higher profit (for them) 355T. Home Depot where I live carries the Echo chainsaw line, and that is where I got mine from. You can go to the website for your local store, if one exists, and do a search on the item. I'd be expecting that by now all of the 330T's have already sold out, but you may get lucky.
I just found this saw at an Indianapolis store, which I had forgotten about. It is even smaller and lighter than the 330T, but it will only accept a 12" bar, if I recall correctly. It also seems expensive. One of my relatives bought one of these, and I got to use it for a little while. Really quite powerful for such a small saw.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-12-in-26-9-cc-Gas-Top-Handle-Chain-Saw-CS-271T-12/205566455
The 330T would accept 12", 14" and 16" bars. I only checked the one store so far, it's possible the 330T might be available in one of the many Indianapolis stores, but I do not know how to do a global search of the area yet.
Ok, I've checked three stores so far, no joy. You can keep trying if you want to, but I strongly suspect that the Echo 330T is no more. They did have another version with a smaller engine, might have been a 300T or something.
You should find the thread folks have mentioned about the 150T from Stihl. People absolutely are having a love affair with that saw. I either did not know about it or it did not yet exist at the time I bought my Echo. This will make me sound like a wimp, but I find that the weight of even the Echo 330T saw is enough to make me rely on my Silky hand saw way more than I sometimes should. I'm not certain, but I think the Stihl 150 may be the lightest weight gas powered saw out there.
I'm glad I got the Echo because of its ability to handle slightly larger wood, since it is so far the only saw that I own. Since you seem like you might already own some larger ground saws, I would give serious consideration to the Stihl 150, if I were you.
It seems to me that the days of a bargain top-handled saw from Echo have passed.
I've rambled on too long, sorry about that. Good luck with whichever saw you choose to buy, and of course, I'd love to hear any feedback you have on it once you've had a chance to use it for a while.
Tim
This is a link to the saw with the smaller engine than the Echo 330T. Not sure what size bars it will handle.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-14-in-30-1-cc-Gas-Chainsaw-CS-303T-14/204296302