harrycatcat1 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 I am in the market for a small chainsaw so I looked on gumtree and there seems to be a glut of new chinese chainsaws being sold in our area. "Brand new" "hardly used" etc the prices range between £60 and £110 There are about 6 different adverts for them within 30 miles of me I decided not to buy one. Would you? Hcc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 My husky was only 150 brand new and has done a great job so far, a sthil is 150 from the local shop. Why chance it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samboy Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Buy cheap buy rubbish. Husq or sthil for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 My eagle (Chinese) was £90 the same Stihl would be £400 +. It has a carb from the US a 20 inch bar and lots of power. Its great. I had the last one for 18 months with lots of use until it was nicked. My son imports them from ali baba for about £45 and they sell on with spares and warranty ( i suspect many are the same with different badges). If irts for every day use then maybe its worth getting the Stihl but otherwise? I have a stihl set of garden power multi tools including a pole pruner, they are good but are they that good to warrant the price i am not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 (edited) My eagle (Chinese) was £90 the same Stihl would be £400 +. It has a carb from the US a 20 inch bar and lots of power. Its great. I had the last one for 18 months with lots of use until it was nicked. My son imports them from ali baba for about £45 and they sell on with spares and warranty ( i suspect many are the same with different badges). If irts for every day use then maybe its worth getting the Stihl but otherwise? I have a stihl set of garden power multi tools including a pole pruner, they are good but are they that good to warrant the price i am not sure. same in the RC world, I used to pay around £600-800 for a petrol engine for my planes, even a replacement electronic ignition unit was over a ton and had to come from the states, now I can get a better Chinese made engine for around £150-200 and if I need a replacement electronic ignition they are available for about £6 and they are far more reliable. KW Edited December 10, 2014 by kdubya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted December 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 My eagle (Chinese) was £90 the same Stihl would be £400 +. It has a carb from the US a 20 inch bar and lots of power. Its great. I had the last one for 18 months with lots of use until it was nicked. My son imports them from ali baba for about £45 and they sell on with spares and warranty ( i suspect many are the same with different badges). If irts for every day use then maybe its worth getting the Stihl but otherwise? I have a stihl set of garden power multi tools including a pole pruner, they are good but are they that good to warrant the price i am not sure. Yes these have a 20" bar, it would just be my luck if I bought one for it to drop to bits, they are tempting though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guss109 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 In a word no wouldn't touch them with a big stick. Look on fake britian as they did a special on fake/cheap ****** saws and to say the safety was poor is an under statement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 have been using chainsaws for 15 years, have a husky and stihl, my mate purchased a cheap chinese one for home use and asked me to set it up out of the box. quality was poor all over, chain quality poor, i got it running and done a few cuts on some small rowan logs with it with my gear on, dulled the chain really quick, i set the chain to resharpen edge and soft as butter, auto oiler rubbish, hot bar, chain and front guard quickly. personally from a safety point wouldnt buy something like a chainsaw from china as it has the worst record for counterfeit goods and poor quality. how i look at if you can import something into country for around £40-50 mark all told quality is not going to be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_t50 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 second hand stihl all the way only paid £30 for my small one but there is plenty out there for less than £80 if looked after last a life time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricko Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Stihl MS 170 £150 Ideal as a small saw for occasional use. Use Aspen as fuel, saves the carburettor gumming up if stood for periods of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Stihl have a big factory in Qingdao, located 600 kilometres north of Shanghai, for its chain saw production. Its not where it comes from but how its built and what its made of. Its usual to import at a maximum of 50% of the sale price. Buy using a credit card from a UK distributor of volume and if its no good claim refund but my guess would be it will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack-ack Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I am in the market for a small chainsaw so I looked on gumtree and there seems to be a glut of new chinese chainsaws being sold in our area. "Brand new" "hardly used" etc the prices range between £60 and £110 There are about 6 different adverts for them within 30 miles of me I decided not to buy one. Would you? Hcc Are they hruskranas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 had a big debate on this very subject 20 months ago when I bought my woodland plot, I bought a chinese import 20" bar chainsaw, on the woodland forum I got torn to bits, so went and bought a 14" husky, but then decieded to run both and do a review a year later, well I can honestly say the import (pet name the widow maker) is still going strong, starts first pull every time, the husky however is still in for repair for the second time, they both got used for cutting the same stuff, if anything the widow maker got used more, and on bigger trees, if and when it needs repair, I'll simply buy another at £80 (price has come down by £10 since first purchase) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumpy69 Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Do not touch them, they are not up to the required standard. Stubby ids correct to call his the widow maker. I have only used one which I borrowed from a friend my stihl has only a 15" bar so borrowed his cheap Chinese to cut up a big trunk because it has a 20" bar. After fifteen minutes of running he chain brake handle went all floppy so turned it off straight away. The exhaust was too close to the chain brake handle and melted it so ZERO KCIK-BACK PROTECTION. I held it in the same position until it cooled and got on with the job with my stihl at the end I tested the cheap to see how long it took to melt.... after about 6 minutes of cutting the handle held it position but if you put any force on it, it was bendable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Steer clear of them................they do work ...but as soon as they go wrong you CANNOT get parts for them....some saws were marketed under JCB....they were fine until they went wrong............get a secondhand sthil....or husky...........i have a 20" bar Ryobi and have had it for several years...it has seen a lot of hard use and all ive done to it is change the clutch bearing and primer bulb and spark plug.........i have been thro several chains as well.... the more you know about simple maintenance of a saw the safer you will be and the longer it will last.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Do not touch them, they are not up to the required standard. Stubby ids correct to call his the widow maker. I have only used one which I borrowed from a friend my stihl has only a 15" bar so borrowed his cheap Chinese to cut up a big trunk because it has a 20" bar. After fifteen minutes of running he chain brake handle went all floppy so turned it off straight away. The exhaust was too close to the chain brake handle and melted it so ZERO KCIK-BACK PROTECTION. I held it in the same position until it cooled and got on with the job with my stihl at the end I tested the cheap to see how long it took to melt.... after about 6 minutes of cutting the handle held it position but if you put any force on it, it was bendable. I suppose it's like everything in this life, every item has horror stories, look at the poor old hatsan, they will kill you don't you know!!! quite a few people with horror stories about them, but if you had one, kept it clean and fed it the correct ammo, they worked fine, I'm on my 2nd hatsan and it's an 8 shot and works great Steer clear of them................they do work ...but as soon as they go wrong you CANNOT get parts for them.. but at such a cheap price, it's easier to buy a new item, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Are they hruskranas? http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDQQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fteammax.gmc.globalmarket.com%2F&ei=QI-JVOfZH4X-UtaygqAP&usg=AFQjCNFLGULc2479OvctLWvtFkQOfsigWQ&bvm=bv.81456516,d.d24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDQQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fteammax.gmc.globalmarket.com%2F&ei=QI-JVOfZH4X-UtaygqAP&usg=AFQjCNFLGULc2479OvctLWvtFkQOfsigWQ&bvm=bv.81456516,d.d24 here's mine http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281345101253?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) Buy cheap buy rubbish. Husq or sthil for me. The problem is today if you buy dear you still end up getting rubbish nothing is made to last today that is why I tend to buy cheep then I can just chuck it when it goes wrong and get a new one. Edited December 11, 2014 by four-wheel-drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 The problem is today if you buy dear you still end up getting rubbish nothing is made to last today I think my 20 months use of both chainsaws proves this point, one cost around £90 the other around £140, and the cheaper one is still going strong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 don't do it mate, you don't have to go stihl or husky though, for under a ton you can get a tanaka, they're quite good too, and safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd only ever buy husky or stihl, but i'm generally buying the more professional type saws which are worth the money and do last. I have been told that some of the cheaper husky/stihl saws are not anywhere near the standard u expect from them and u would probably be just as good with a cheaper saw esp for ocassional use. But make sure u know wot ur looking at in terms of safety features esp ur chain brake and chain catcher (but even ur anti vib bushes) u may get lucky with a cheap chinese copy or u may get unlucky but if it breaks u will just be throwing it away as spares will be non exisitant, just depends how long u get with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) I bought an Efco saw a couple of years back, the MT 3700 and it has been an excellent bit of kit. I think I paid £170 at the time so around about the same as the entry level Stihl or Husky saws. I guess it is more of a heavy duty home use saw or very light commercial use. The thing that swayed it for me was that I was told that both the entry level Stihl or Husky's were built in China by a contract manufacturer and not part of the same facility that their pro use saws were built in, so you buy the brand name but not the proven quality of their bigger saws. No idea if that is actually true or not, but it sounded plausible. Edited December 11, 2014 by grrclark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I bought an Efco saw a couple of years back, the MT 3700 and it has been an excellent bit of kit. I think I paid £170 at the time so around about the same as the entry level Stihl or Husky saws. I guess it is more of a heavy duty home use saw or very light commercial use. The thing that swayed it for me was that both the entry level Stihl or Husky's were built in China by a contract manufacturer and not part of the same facility that their pro use saws were built in, so you buy the brand name but not the proven quality of their bigger saws. No idea if that is actually true or not, but it sounded plausible. sounds plausible to me, my 181 went back straightaway because it wasn't oiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 All I am looking for is a 12" chainsaw for domestic use not a 20" as my arms get tired nowadays A 12" chinese might tempt me at the right money Regards Hcc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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