Husqvarna 550xp repaired-ish

[ericm979]

Octane is a measure of detonation resistance. Higher octane fuel has slightly less energy (we're talking pump gas here, race fuel can have different things in it). High octane does not make more power but it allows a higher compression ratio before detonation, and that makes more power. Detonation seizes two strokes quickly. Unlike four strokes you often don't hear it.

Richening the oil mixture leans out the fuel:air mixture. The carb is metering mixed oil and gas- it delivers a fixed amount of oil+gas per unit of air. But oil is not gas and does not count for the fuel:air ratio. However the difference in air/fuel ratio from 50:1 to 32:1 is small. Maybe if the saw was already running lean that'd make it too lean.

Echos tend to come set lean from the factory, more than Stihls. On my CS352 I gutted the cat and pulled the limiter caps so I could retune the carb. There wasn't a performance gain from gutting the cat but I left the rest of the muffler intact. This is a brush cutting saw and being quiet is more important than power. Removing the cat should make it run cooler though. Heat kills two strokes too. The 352's air filter lets fine material through. It's an old school material where the newer Stihls have better filter material. I use oiled foam filter material in the air box where the largest holes are to trap some of the fines. The gas and oil fillers are small so it's easy to overflow. OTOH it's super light, handles well and starts incredibly easy.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

There are some "haters", of "every" brand on Arborist, AND there's some VERY knowledgeably folks there too...

I don't think it's too hard to see who is out of line over there, and there was some valid complaints about Echo there too, especially about there warr...

SR

 

[Oldpath05]

Several folks on Arboristsite are anti-Echo, in fact there are several folks on there that are so biased in their opinions that they're not even useful to me. So take all their info with a grain of salt.

All my small saws are Echo, including my top-handle tree saw. All have been great. My most recent Echo purchase is the CS-501P, and it's been outstanding. Easily my favorite 50cc saw on the market right now, and I say that as a former Stihl 261 owner and frequent user of a Husky 550XP. The Echo is gutsy, light, and handles very well. There had been some comments about filtration, but after 1+ years of use I can say that hasn't been an issue at all.

For reference, my other go-to saws are the Husky 562XP (probably my main saw) and Stihl 461. The Echo 501P is every bit as good as the other two.

The CS-501p is the one I had my eye on the past few weeks, so I finally I get to here from an actual owner of one and sounds like 5 out of 5 stars, mybe I'll move it back up top of my list again after I get some salt, gotta make my mind soon it's getting almost crunch time to start on next years firewood.

Right now I'm staying with 50-52cc saw mostly because of weight, easy handling. My top 4 choices are Echo, Husqvarna, Stihl and Jonsered, it's looking like 10 more miles in travel time for Husqvarna, not sure bout Jonsered yet and dont think Jonsered is sure about Jonsered, I've been hearing that they want to change their name to Redmax, why would they do that is beyond me, that really adds pickle juice to my coffee.

Before I forget does your Echo 501 idle good without chain turning? I like a saw that will idle smooth and not stall.










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[Oldpath05]

Octane is a measure of detonation resistance. Higher octane fuel has slightly less energy (we're talking pump gas here, race fuel can have different things in it). High octane does not make more power but it allows a higher compression ratio before detonation, and that makes more power. Detonation seizes two strokes quickly. Unlike four strokes you often don't hear it.

Richening the oil mixture leans out the fuel:air mixture. The carb is metering mixed oil and gas- it delivers a fixed amount of oil+gas per unit of air. But oil is not gas and does not count for the fuel:air ratio. However the difference in air/fuel ratio from 50:1 to 32:1 is small. Maybe if the saw was already running lean that'd make it too lean.

Echos tend to come set lean from the factory, more than Stihls. On my CS352 I gutted the cat and pulled the limiter caps so I could retune the carb. There wasn't a performance gain from gutting the cat but I left the rest of the muffler intact. This is a brush cutting saw and being quiet is more important than power. Removing the cat should make it run cooler though. Heat kills two strokes too. The 352's air filter lets fine material through. It's an old school material where the newer Stihls have better filter material. I use oiled foam filter material in the air box where the largest holes are to trap some of the fines. The gas and oil fillers are small so it's easy to overflow. OTOH it's super light, handles well and starts incredibly easy.

So if a saw runs lean with more oil, why if I add more oil to gas the saw smokes more? Does your CS-352 idle good?

 

[Oldpath05]

Tinkered on my 550xp this afternoon, blew some gunk off, pulled the covers, checked for bearing play, I couldn't feel any movement on the crankshaft, mabe if I used a hammer I could've got some movement but seem so if berings were bad I could feel a little play, yes no maybe.....

All I know is the saw is not running right, wont idle, starts and stops. I figure at best/most since 4/2013 my saw has cut 10 cord of firewood stove length each year, it has cut 10,000 of logs. Is that a lot for what I thought was a simi pro saw?



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Chainsaw won’t idle - YouTube

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Husqvarna owns/builds Jonsered, Husky is dropping Jon so most all the stores that were Jon will now be Husky. A "few" Jon will be built in "home owner" versions only, and the name change to Red Max is to try to increase sales. Country wide, Jonsered saws were not big sellers...

Once again, the Jon saws were/are the same saws as one of the Husky models and internal Jon saw/parts are same as Husky, so there's the long term parts availability for a Jonsered saw.

BTW, EVERYONE loves my Jonsered 2260,

SR

 

[Sawyer Rob]

All I know is the saw is not running right, wont idle, starts and stops.

IF it was mine, it would go to a Husky dealer and at the minimum, get the puter re-flashed...

SR

 

[Oldpath05]

Husqvarna owns/builds Jonsered, Husky is dropping Jon so most all the stores that were Jon will now be Husky. A "few" Jon will be built in "home owner" versions only, and the name change to Red Max is to try to increase sales. Country wide, Jonsered saws were not big sellers...

Once again, the Jon saws were/are the same saws as one of the Husky models and internal Jon saw/parts are same as Husky, so there's the long term parts availability for a Jonsered saw.

BTW, EVERYONE loves my Jonsered 2260,

SR

IF it was mine, it would go to a Husky dealer and at the minimum, get the puter re-flashed...

SR

How do you guys cut wood without eye protection........ everytime I try it I get sawdust in my eyes.

A good Husqvarna dealer are far and few between but I'm still checking around.

 

[s219]

The CS-501p is the one I had my eye on the past few weeks, so I finally I get to here from an actual owner of one and sounds like 5 out of 5 stars, mybe I'll move it back up top of my list again after I get some salt, gotta make my mind soon it's getting almost crunch time to start on next years firewood.

Right now I'm staying with 50-52cc saw mostly because of weight, easy handling. My top 4 choices are Echo, Husqvarna, Stihl and Jonsered, it's looking like 10 more miles in travel time for Husqvarna, not sure bout Jonsered yet and dont think Jonsered is sure about Jonsered, I've been hearing that they want to change their name to Redmax, why would they do that is beyond me, that really adds pickle juice to my coffee.

Before I forget does your Echo 501 idle good without chain turning? I like a saw that will idle smooth and not stall.

It does. I'll see if I can get a video in the next day or two. Also check out the Stihl 261, and if you had no complaints about your 550XP keep that on the list.

 

[ericm979]

So if a saw runs lean with more oil, why if I add more oil to gas the saw smokes more?

The more oil you add the less fuel is burned. So the fuel:air ratio is leaner. The oil:fuel ratio is richer, but that's not the ratio in question.

Does your CS-352 idle good?

Yep. It idled correctly when I got it and after I modded it I tuned it to idle right. It's so easy to start that I don't feel the need to let it idle while I pull cut brush out of the way.

Any new saw ought to idle without loading up and especially without turning the chain. A shop should not sell a saw where the idle's so high the chain is moving. I got my Echo from a shop that's also a Stihl and Husky dealer. They run and tune the saws before they go out the door. A box store might not do that.