I was on the hunt for a chainsaw for some time, and ran across a
somewhat infamous 52cc Chinese chainsaw on e-bay. CE approved and
often comes with an Oregon bar (mine didn't). This saw is marketed
with many names and prices, such as the somewhat known $200 Forester,
but most time with no name (mine is aptly named 'Gas Powered
Chainsaw') for something closer to $100-150. From examining pictures,
I have have strong suspicions that one 'reputable' saw brand re-brands
one of these same saws and sells it for close to $400. Other than
color and occasional variation in plastic, they are all pretty much
the same, and I suspect most are pumped out of the same factory
somewhere behind the Great Wall...
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid 3828&d71695839
On a lark, I decided to do a $125 experiment and get one. I avoided e-
bay, and bought a saw direct from a seller out of Canada, saving
myself an additional $5 over the same seller's e-bay price. Sweet. The
saw shown in the listing pictures was white and orange, like a Stihl,
but a picture of the saw box showed an all orange saw, like a Husky. I
ended up with a mix of both, but I'll get to that later.
The thing showed up a couple of weeks later, in a oranged saw pictured
box, but did have the white and orange Stihl-like color scheme.
However, it looked a bit shabby and seemed to have been beaten around
in the box somewhat. It looked used actually - the plastic was scuffed
up, and there was gas and oil residue all over the saw. I also found a
small screw in the bottom of the box that I couldn't identify. I later
found that some super-efficient assembly line worker grabbed the wrong
screw and tried to thread a screw to hold the handle that was way too
short - it evidently stripped out of the plastic body (and found it's
way into the box) and was replaced by a non-standard course-thread
screw. Chinese quality at it's best. I questioned the seller via e-
mail on whether or not this was actually a new saw, since it surely
didn't look like it. He assured me that it was straight out of the
factory and that they test run the saws before shipping - hence the
gas/oil. 'Kay... Other than that, it didn't look too bad, albeit with
typical Chinese fit/finish issues. It has a full metal case, steel
dogs, and the motor did look new/clean. The trigger assembly and choke
felt cheap, but probably no worse than any other <$200 saw. However,
when I pulled off the chain cover / brake assembly, I saw that the
clutch had sustained damage. There is a 3-eared retainer on top of the
clutch and one of the tabs had broken off. I was unwilling to start
the saw and risk the clutch exploding, and demanded that the seller
rectify the situation.
http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/djlu-96.jpg
After a few back and forth e-mails and photos, the seller agreed to
send me a new clutch, but had to order one. Two weeks later, he
received a spare saw body from the factory for parts, but didn't know
how to take off the clutch. I didn't either, so I convinced him to
send me the whole thing. A week later, it arrived - it was mostly
orange but with a white starter-cover, and was complete except for the
chain cover / brake, airfilter and cover, and handle. Behind the
clutch, there is a plastic plate that covers the oiler components - I
could see that the little hex retaining bolts were loose - evidently
the seller was trying to remove the clutch by taking off the oiler
cover...good guess, I suppose. I couldn't figure out a good way to
grab the clutch to get it off, so it seemed simpler to just move
everything else across to the new body. That took all of 10 minutes,
and the saw was ready to go. Unfortunately, I forgot to tighten the
screws on the oiler cover plate. Oops. That comes back to haunt me...
I mixed up some 25:1 mix, and the saw started readily. I gave two
temperature cycles at idle, with a few some ring-seating throttle
stabs after the second warm-up. After a complete cool-down I did a
final idle warm-up, then opened it up made a few cuts. Contrary to
popular belief, the saw runs and cuts well. It started right up and
idled perfectly out of the box. It revvs up to speed quickly, though
felt a bit rich, which isn't a bad thing for break-in. Plug color
verified the rich condition, running a very dark coffee color. Leaning
it out could eek out a little more power, but I opted to leave it as
is, at least for now. It does feel like a 52cc saw, at least compared
to a typical homeowner saw - it had substantially more power and runs
cleaner than my last 42cc Craftsman. I also fired up a newly acquired
Stihl 036 Pro the same day, and there was no contest, as one would
expect - man that Stihl cuts fast. Anyway, the 52cc Chi-com is surely
no pro saw, however, when comparing apples to apples, I think the
saw's motor is pretty good - definitely good for a $100 saw.
I remembered the loose hex bolts later that night, checked the saw,
and sure enough, lost 2 out of 3. Fortunately, I have a whole saw body
for spare parts! Unfortunately, the clutch effectively blocks access
to one of the screws, so I had to take both clutches off to move that
screw over. I made a holder tool out of an old socket, grinding it
into a 3-toothed thingie that just fits over the 3-pronged clutch
retainer. Rope in the cylinder trick and the clutches were both off in
minutes, I did a full service on the oiler and clutch for the orange
saw, replaced the lost bolts, and it was quickly whole again.
So now, after a couple of re-work sessions, the Chi-com saw is a
reasonable backup that will probably perform for some years to come.
When it does start to go south, I still have a brand-new spare engine
and most of the other body parts in reserve. All things considered, I
consider the $125 experiment a success, but don't know that I'd do it
again.
JayC
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