Cheap chainsaw

[fordomatic]

So just wondering if anyone has bought a small cheap chainsaw off ebay?

All it will be used for is to chop small firewood for a camp fire once a week. We go camping every weekend in the summer and i don't want to use the axe anymore. Max width of small logs would be 100mm.

Any advice i will take, i wont be spending any more than $200.

[fordomatic]

Looking at something like this, nice short bar, small, easy to chuck in the back of the patrol with the swag

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Baumr...item589be2e2e5

[cosworthfreak]

I got a larger version a while back. Went pretty good until it started leaking fuel and chainbar oil. The fuel was leaking past the filler cap as they had fitted a round o-ring which wasn't seating correctly. Square section o-ring fixed that. I'm assuming a loose tube/fitting is causing the chainbar oil to leak, but haven't checked that far yet.

As with a lot of this Chinese made stuff, you should really go over it before using as build quality/ attention to detail isn't always great. I have some other stuff from this guy which hasn't given any problems yet.

Cheers
Jamie

[fordomatic]

Thanks mate, i've read some reviews and they seem good with warranty replacements as well. It will literally be used for max 10 minutes a week. Just need it to cut enough for the night. I usually cut with an axe but for $120 it seems stupid to keep swinging the axe.

[nstg8a]

Great thread, I'm looking for one for the same reason.

Bunnings have 2-3 models under $200 last time I was in there.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

Great thread, I'm looking for one for the same reason.

Bunnings have 2-3 models under $200 last time I was in there.

Same with Mitre 10.

I bought one from there for $99 and am yet to open it.

I would suggest buying a cheapie from a walk in store. If something goes wrong you can walk in and have it sorted on the spot.

You may save $10 buying off eBay but you need to ask what happens if something goes wrong? Send it back by post? To where? Who pays? What if it's not a warranty problem?

[Davehoos]

I purchased a 36 volt chainsaw from aldi. used it this year to trim up fire wood to fit in the stove and cut slots in blocks to help split large blocks with a wedge.
as its electric you get a bad habit of using one handed -father in law had a 240 Volt for years.

work purchased some name brand saw. the small ones have had issues and been hard to repair-the word is the dealers are sick of the returns and don't want to work on them.

[naddis01]

If you go camping every week in summer, why not buy a quality unit that will last? It sounds like it would get used enough to justify it. In my experience you get what you pay for with small motors or any tool really. To me it is worth every cent to have something that works when you want it to rather than spending all your time fixing things.

[mcflux]

Baumr-Ags are good for a cheapie & available on ebay. Spare parts are available from a Sydney-based dealer but the postage is a killer. I donated mine to my father-in-law as his was having a starting issue after 3 seasons of hard use & mine had its exhaust gasket let go, after 2 seasons (replacement for $3 + $26 postage from Sydney) plus it was a bit big for my needs (24"). Father-in-law also highly rates them as good for a cheapie.

Don't bother with an Ozito though. Mine (16" replacement for the Baumr-Ag) seized on me, POS. I suspect it's to do with their "recommended" 40:1 2 stroke ratio (lean much?!?). It wasn't easy to start unlike the Baumr-Ag and was hit & miss with running well.

[buggerlugs]

Father in law has 2 of them, got plenty of use over a 2 year period, mainly with small stuff. Still going strong.............

[nstg8a]

One of the bunnings brands I saw there looks like a relabelled husqvarna, if that's the case it should be pretty decent.

[BPXR6T]

For fathers day i got my Dad a Stihl mini boss for $299, with a free esky. I bought one of those baumr AG chainsaws a few years back. Rubbish. Carbie was stuffed from when we got it. Could never get it to run right. I've also have a little ozito saw from bunnings. Came from the factory with a split fuel line but other than that cant fault it. Three mates have the same ozito and they run great, under $200 too i think. Do yourself a favour though and grab a mini boss for a bit extra.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

For fathers day i got my Dad a Stihl mini boss for $299, with a free esky. I bought one of those baumr AG chainsaws a few years back. Rubbish. Carbie was stuffed from when we got it. Could never get it to run right. I've also have a little ozito saw from bunnings. Came from the factory with a split fuel line but other than that cant fault it. Three mates have the same ozito and they run great, under $200 too i think. Do yourself a favour though and grab a mini boss for a bit extra.

Agree. The Stihl will at least have a decent dealer network to help you out if you ever need parts, service or warranty work.

Chainsaws are a potentially dangerous tool, so the extra spend on a quality, known brand is well worth it.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Chainsaws are a potentially dangerous tool, so the extra spend on a quality, known brand is well worth it.

Thats a very very good point.

[Spurious]

I use 2 saws. An MTD climbing/arborist saw & a cheap Talon.

The MTD with a 10" bar came from a mower shop here in Ulverstone, which unfortunately has closed down. Something to be wary of if you have warranty issues. It cost me $430
3 years on & hasn't failed.

The Talon (my 2'nd one) came from a Big W store, $170. The only fault with it (the first one I had) is that the fuel & oil tanks have plastic fittings for the screw cap. The oil cap in particular is prone to leaking as it sits real low on the body & if bumped can ruin the threads. Otherwise it's a reliable saw. About a 12" bar.

Regular maintenance is a good idea.

An air compressor with a blow gun is your friend here.
Clean the air filter after each days use, the fuel filter can be carefully extracted from the tank & blown out too, perhaps 2 or 4 times per year depending on use.
Remove the bar after each days use, blow out all the debris, pay special attention to the chain lock mechanism. Also blow out the chain track on the bar, & every couple months flip the bar upside down being mindful that the oil holes need to be in the same place.
Also run the bar across a flat sander to ensure the edge on the chain guide isn't feathered.
Check & clean the spark plug weekly or monthly depending on use.

As a safety rule, I always ensure my left arm/ elbow (top bar arm) stays locked. So if the saw bounces up your elbow stops it from coming up, backwards & into your face!
Also when I'm cutting logs on ground level, I always kneel behind the saw, never stand or lean over it.
If I put the saw down on the ground while it's running, to do something else (grab a wedge etc) ALWAYS activate the bar lock. (especially if children are present)
I also do this if I'm walking any distance with the idling saw, around a tree etc.
This ensures if I trip over that I'm not going to jam a finger on the throttle & cut myself in half.

I have an uncle with 2.5 fingers missing as a result of a saw incident & I myself have had a chain in motion actually remove a glove from my hand!!!

Using my climbing saw (one handed) I reached in to grab a bit of wood I'd cut & got a little too close to the chain as the revs went back to idle.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by FlivverFord

I use 2 saws. An MTD climbing/arborist saw & a cheap Talon.

The MTD with a 10" bar came from a mower shop here in Ulverstone, which unfortunately has closed down. Something to be wary of if you have warranty issues. It cost me $430
3 years on & hasn't failed.

The Talon (my 2'nd one) came from a Big W store, $170. The only fault with it (the first one I had) is that the fuel & oil tanks have plastic fittings for the screw cap. The oil cap in particular is prone to leaking as it sits real low on the body & if bumped can ruin the threads. Otherwise it's a reliable saw. About a 12" bar.

Regular maintenance is a good idea.

An air compressor with a blow gun is your friend here.
Clean the air filter after each days use, the fuel filter can be carefully extracted from the tank & blown out too, perhaps 2 or 4 times per year depending on use.
Remove the bar after each days use, blow out all the debris, pay special attention to the chain lock mechanism. Also blow out the chain track on the bar, & every couple months flip the bar upside down being mindful that the oil holes need to be in the same place.
Also run the bar across a flat sander to ensure the edge on the chain guide isn't feathered.
Check & clean the spark plug weekly or monthly depending on use.

As a safety rule, I always ensure my left arm/ elbow (top bar arm) stays locked. So if the saw bounces up your elbow stops it from coming up, backwards & into your face!
Also when I'm cutting logs on ground level, I always kneel behind the saw, never stand or lean over it.
If I put the saw down on the ground while it's running, to do something else (grab a wedge etc) ALWAYS activate the bar lock. (especially if children are present)
I also do this if I'm walking any distance with the idling saw, around a tree etc.
This ensures if I trip over that I'm not going to jam a finger on the throttle & cut myself in half.

I have an uncle with 2.5 fingers missing as a result of a saw incident & I myself have had a chain in motion actually remove a glove from my hand!!!

Using my climbing saw (one handed) I reached in to grab a bit of wood I'd cut & got a little too close to the chain as the revs went back to idle.

All of this is why I wont upgrade my cheapie to a better one, if I spend money on a good unit, then id be tempted to use it more. Chainsaws are my least favourite garden power tool.

[MercurySilver]

Originally Posted by BPXR6T

For fathers day i got my Dad a Stihl mini boss for $299, with a free esky. I bought one of those baumr AG chainsaws a few years back. Rubbish. Carbie was stuffed from when we got it. Could never get it to run right. I've also have a little ozito saw from bunnings. Came from the factory with a split fuel line but other than that cant fault it. Three mates have the same ozito and they run great, under $200 too i think. Do yourself a favour though and grab a mini boss for a bit extra.

great i just bought a baumr ag post hole digger 75cc to put in around 80 to 100 posts
for 250 bucks delivered i'll be happy if it sees the job out at least

[calais]

I have a stihl ms290 and apsolutely cant fault it. Stihl after sales support is second to none.

Granted it is a larger and quite powerful saw, definately not in the small end of the range. I couldnt imagine having bought a cheaper of hardware store brand.

Go stihl. I doubt you will regret it.

[ford man xf]

Those Baumr-AG chainsaws aren't too bad, if anything goes wrong they will replace the part, I had the pull cord go on me but that was more my fault because I really rip into the cords and pull it on a bit of an angle when I should have been pulling it straight up, the motors are really high compression so you do need a bit of force pulling them, but I'm sure once the motor wears in the compression will drop a bit and make it easier.

[ford man xf]

I read all the reviews and watched the youtube video before I bought one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivyyl9o5klQ

[fordomatic]

Cheers guys, after reading all the reviews i am pretty set on getting one. I am thinking of just getting the 10" bar now as im pretty much just cutting kindling as where we camp we cant have big fires. The 16" might be a bit overkill and a bit bigger to store in the back. Need all the room for the snowboards and swag haha

[ford man xf]

Yeh get the smaller one its going to be lighter to handle and storage wise will fit nicely. I also got the electric chainsaw sharpner from them, works well and takes 2 minutes to sharpern a chain.

[mcnews]

Yep get the little Stihl mini boss and it will last you forever. I have a big 1k+ Stihl and the baby one, I only use the big one for really big stuff now, the little one would do any normal domestic use easy.

The Bauer Ag stuff is absolute tripe. Been there, thrown it away.

[silver_xe]

If you come across a Poulan brand chainsaw don't be afraid to buy it, i have 2 now and i prefer them over my Stihl saw.

[The Yeti]

I've got 2 of those bummer things I recon there not a bad thing, there no sthill or husky but but they're not a bad saw

I've cyst all my firewood since 2010 and they're both still good saws

[danzvtil]

I bought a rok cheapie petrol from stratco for $79, and thrash the bags of it, the problem is at that price level, I cant justify replacing or sharpening the chain.
I was at a store event where the Stihl guy was doing chainsaw demos, and was really impressed by their features and quality.

[Bushbasher]

I bought an Echo chainsaw after talking to a guy who rented out chainsaws, among other things, and he was also selling Stihl as well as the Echo. I'd never heard of them but he told me he had 20 rental saws and the Stihls' lasted 12 months and were stuffed but the Echos' were tough as nails and all he had to do was clean and service them and put them back on the shelf ready for the next customer. I was convinced and have had mine for over 5 years and it works hard whenever I get it out. It finally failed to start one morning, a couple of months ago, after doing it's second full days work non stop cutting up logs up to 14", so I took it to the service centre and they serviced it and fitted a new spark plug and now it goes as good as new again. It's still on it's original bar but it's 3rd chain and still cold starts on it's third pull without choke. I don't treat it badly but I don't baby it either and I can't fault it. Simple, tough as nails and considerably cheaper than the equivalent Stihl, have a good look at them if you come across a dealer.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

I bought an Echo chainsaw after talking to a guy who rented out chainsaws, among other things, and he was also selling Stihl as well as the Echo. I'd never heard of them but he told me he had 20 rental saws and the Stihls' lasted 12 months and were stuffed but the Echos' were tough as nails and all he had to do was clean and service them and put them back on the shelf ready for the next customer. I was convinced and have had mine for over 5 years and it works hard whenever I get it out. It finally failed to start one morning, a couple of months ago, after doing it's second full days work non stop cutting up logs up to 14", so I took it to the service centre and they serviced it and fitted a new spark plug and now it goes as good as new again. It's still on it's original bar but it's 3rd chain and still cold starts on it's third pull without choke. I don't treat it badly but I don't baby it either and I can't fault it. Simple, tough as nails and considerably cheaper than the equivalent Stihl, have a good look at them if you come across a dealer.

Third chain in five years.... Wow I go through five chains in one year. Lots of ti tree clearing etc. will do that though.

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Third chain in five years.... Wow I go through five chains in one year. Lots of ti tree clearing etc. will do that though.

WOW, what about bars?, and do you sharpen your own chain?
I cut up alot of old sleepers and they can blunt a chain in no time but to go through 5 chains a year you must be cutting wood day in and day out all year round.

[herbicide]

Chinese chainsaws are rubbish. $400 and you can have a stihl, husky, Makita (made by dolmar) echo or even a solo. These will last many years. Chinese saws are throwaway items.