Chainsaw-shortage (US), anyone able to shed-light? Didn't realize just how bad it was...

[eyehearttrees]

tl;dr -- I didn't realize there even was a "chainsaw shortage" but, getting chain today at my echo dealer, I found it wasn't just Husqy being outta stock -- my echo dealer has almost nothing, I thought he was closing!!! Anyone feeling this'll get worse before it gets better? Had been intending to get a 590 with 24" bar, which I could go buy right now, but still "holding hope" I can find some way to spend another hundred/hundred fifty to get something that can handle closer to a 30" bar.....but I'd sooner go buy the 590 with 24" right now, if waiting means I may not be able to get either for a month+!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~


I get it, Covid happened....but recently when going to find Husqy 40V polesaws-or-blowers, there were NONE within an hour of me (I live beside Tampa Bay!)

Then I read a thread "wanted to buy" in Treebay, looking for an echo 2511t -- I was quite surprised, had figured since it's (IMO) a pretty state-of-the-art saw, seemingly very popular and priced well, kinda blows my mind that echo wouldn't be meeting demand (so many missed sales!!) Figured the person posting 'must be rural' or something, as others replied saying they had/could get them.

But I had to run to my 'real' saw shop (echo/shind dealer, mostly) for a new chain and was taken aback when I walked in, figured at first it's remodelling but nope it's simply how low the stock is (no 2511's, no 355t's, 620's etc....had a few 590 timber wolfs...) Even showed me his PC/ordering-GUI, that if he wanted a 2511 he's basically submitting an order to be in-line once they become available again! (especially embarrassing for Echo, after doing so well w/ creating the 2511T only to now be unable to supply them and having built-up the DCS-2511t w/o ever delivering on it :/)

Am actively in the market for a good ground-saw, spent hours using my 16" 355t to finish a big Pine job and am glad I only broke chain not the powerhead, need to get a unit.....the 590 (w/ 24" b&c) is seeming more & more appealing (although echo b&c's have left me VERY disappointed, would much prefer to just get a the 590 powerhead cheaper and go buy a solid bar&chain for it..)

Eager to hear people's insights on the market right now, I mean I figured it was just "a Husqvarna thing" until I walked into an otherwise well-stocked store that looked like our forecast had just said "massive tornado coming tonight" lol, and the owner(a friend) telling&showing me how they simply can't buy the stuff (the petrol, at least, I know they're not going to be offering echo's lithium lineup, sadly the reviews on it are appalling and I'm an echo-first guy, was really disappointed to find their lithium so poor-quality :/ )

 

[Reach]

Saws are all hard to come by, due to a combination of demand and the lack of people to do the work building the saws. International shipping is also slowing things down, so across the board there’s a list of things making great pains for those who are trying to keep us in business.

 

[27RMT0N]

I've had trouble finding saws for 18 months now. I have gotten everything I wanted eventually, but often with 2 month wait lists.

 

[Jehinten]

I went looking for a new tophandle the other day after not being able to find a new carb for my 200t. Searched for a 2511t and couldn't find one (one store's inventory said 1 in stock but the salesman couldn't find it) so I went looking for a 201t and after several stops, one dealer had 10 on order since March and a couple of companies in line to collect them, I found one on the shelf at another dealer. It was the only topgandle on the shelf at that store and they haven't gotten any more since then.

Other dealers had 194t and 150t, but very few of those. We have 5 or 6 Stihl dealers in town but still limited selection and many saws on the shelf are homeowner grade.

 

[evo]

Get what you need now, shit is going to get worse (and soon)

 

[rico]

Get what you need now, shit is going to get worse (and soon)

What makes you think things are gonna get worse?

 

[evo]

What makes you think things are gonna get worse?

We are up 209% in new cases. And local businesses are loosing 50% of their staff within the past few weeks. (Testing positive, or not willing to comply with masking indoors (about a 50/50 mix)). Granted that can be a batch test result, but it’s really fucken bad regardless

 

[Jonny]

Wait, did they have the 590 or not?
Judging from another post of yours, a 60cc with a 24” sounds right up your alley. If it’s much like other 60cc saws, you can probably run a 28” if you baby it when needed. Before I had bigger saws, an MS-361 was my “ big” saw. I kept a 20” on it usually, and would put a 28” on when needed. If there’s an adjustable oiler, crank it up all the way and leave it turned up.

Was at one of the bigger Stihl dealers in my area 3 weeks ago, and they didn’t have much at all. Zero pro saws, 1 or 2 of the mid size farm/ranch saws and some small homeowner saws.
Glad I was only getting a filter for the 192T.

 

[eyehearttrees]

Get what you need now, shit is going to get worse (and soon)

Thanks a ton, haven't read rest of replies yet but should note that this is the 2nd time a post of yours made me act in 2 weeks LOL, I suspected this (chainsaw shortages) and saw local inventories dwindle, when I read your reply here I immediately called places & was lucky to find a floor model 590 (not interested in spending more on a 60cc yet, echo has treated me great w/ polesaw & my 355t so not hesitant in the least going $400 for a 590)

Then last week when I read your reply in my ISA thread Re your score I realized I was prepping for a college level exam and, unless your background is heavy grad-level botany, well, a score like you listed (high 90's IIRC?) is simply not possible w/ the level of studying you mention, so am now racing to get my test-application through so I can go to Pearson Vue and see how high I can score

So yeah 2x in under 2wks that a post of yours led to a direct, significant-enough action, thanks tons man am indebted

 

[eyehearttrees]

BTW If anyone has advice on "checking a floor-model", I'm all ears!! Bought my 590 at Home Depot since they've got the most lenient return policies, obviously I got a can of fuel and tested it in the parking lot (my 1st saw w/ compression release valve ), but yeah I'd LOVE if anyone's got advice on things to look-for, things to test, before actually "putting to use" a floor-model chainsaw!

[no, did not ask for a discount, it's a chain-store so figured haggling wasn't going to be of much use and really just wanted that "Yes" Re selling the floor model, had 2 managers involved to get that approval LOL]

 

[eyehearttrees]

Wait, did they have the 590 or not?
Judging from another post of yours, a 60cc with a 24” sounds right up your alley. If it’s much like other 60cc saws, you can probably run a 28” if you baby it when needed. Before I had bigger saws, an MS-361 was my “ big” saw. I kept a 20” on it usually, and would put a 28” on when needed. If there’s an adjustable oiler, crank it up all the way and leave it turned up.

Was at one of the bigger Stihl dealers in my area 3 weeks ago, and they didn’t have much at all. Zero pro saws, 1 or 2 of the mid size farm/ranch saws and some small homeowner saws.
Glad I was only getting a filter for the 192T.

Was only able to get the 20", was a floor model (my local H.Depot's had maybe 20 units last week, when I read Evo's comment & went to check their site there were just 3.....and that store couldn't locate one of them...thankfully my local store's manager let me buy the floor-model, I went outside and filled & started it up on my tailgate and it sounded good so I turned it off & went home.

Woke today, went outside with intention of letting it idle for ~45->90 seconds, and then doing some light cuts (WOT but "low load" cutting like 6" branches), but this damn powerhead keeps stalling-out at Idle!! Just 10-15sec of idling and it dies-out......if I feather the throttle I get another 10-15sec (which is why I didn't catch this last night, I'd turned it on, throttled probably right around that 10-15sec mark, didn't let it idle for a minute or two like I shoulda....) So am now afraid to touch it because I don't know if I should be turning-in the Idle, and/or turning-out the L jet screw, or going back to H.Depot to return it (cannot imagine that's the 'right answer' when it seems a simple carb-adjustment issue, especially when getting another 590 - at least from a local store which is important to me - is basically impossible now!)


Was the same w/ Husqvarna's 40v lithium lineup, maybe a month ago I needed to replace a 125b handheld blower and realized "Hell yeah this is my excuse/opportunity to begin 'going lithium'" and spent a while researching, only to conclude that Husqvarna was the only rational choice (Echo's lithium sucks, sadly, and Stihl still hasn't shown a respectable 40V climbsaw yet), was only company with polesaw+climbsaw+blower that'd share 40V batteries......I chose my models and everything, only to find not one retailer in the tampa bay area had one of these items, even the lower-end blower, just 100% unavailable..... Can't say I'm disappointed w/ the Ryobi blower & polesaw (9.5lbs ) that I got for $400, they should suffice until the 'the big 3' companies can put out decent 40V climbsaws, right now the only worthwhile consideration IMO is the 540i but the thing is heavy and stupid expensive, and its battery differs from the rest of their lineup....ugh we're so close to lithium being "the smart path" but still not quite there!!

 

[Stumpsprouts]

540i but the thing is heavy and stupid expensive, and its battery differs from the rest of their lineup....

Technically yes but that battery can be used in the T535 blower et al. In truth I have been using the old generation and new generation batteries interchangeably with the t540i with the only consequence being the t540i may stall out on a heavy duty cut with the old battery and need to cool down for a second.

 

[Reach]

Was only able to get the 20", was a floor model (my local H.Depot's had maybe 20 units last week, when I read Evo's comment & went to check their site there were just 3.....and that store couldn't locate one of them...thankfully my local store's manager let me buy the floor-model, I went outside and filled & started it up on my tailgate and it sounded good so I turned it off & went home.

Woke today, went outside with intention of letting it idle for ~45->90 seconds, and then doing some light cuts (WOT but "low load" cutting like 6" branches), but this damn powerhead keeps stalling-out at Idle!! Just 10-15sec of idling and it dies-out......if I feather the throttle I get another 10-15sec (which is why I didn't catch this last night, I'd turned it on, throttled probably right around that 10-15sec mark, didn't let it idle for a minute or two like I shoulda....) So am now afraid to touch it because I don't know if I should be turning-in the Idle, and/or turning-out the L jet screw, or going back to H.Depot to return it (cannot imagine that's the 'right answer' when it seems a simple carb-adjustment issue, especially when getting another 590 - at least from a local store which is important to me - is basically impossible now!)


Was the same w/ Husqvarna's 40v lithium lineup, maybe a month ago I needed to replace a 125b handheld blower and realized "Hell yeah this is my excuse/opportunity to begin 'going lithium'" and spent a while researching, only to conclude that Husqvarna was the only rational choice (Echo's lithium sucks, sadly, and Stihl still hasn't shown a respectable 40V climbsaw yet), was only company with polesaw+climbsaw+blower that'd share 40V batteries......I chose my models and everything, only to find not one retailer in the tampa bay area had one of these items, even the lower-end blower, just 100% unavailable..... Can't say I'm disappointed w/ the Ryobi blower & polesaw (9.5lbs ) that I got for $400, they should suffice until the 'the big 3' companies can put out decent 40V climbsaws, right now the only worthwhile consideration IMO is the 540i but the thing is heavy and stupid expensive, and its battery differs from the rest of their lineup....ugh we're so close to lithium being "the smart path" but still not quite there!!

Return the broken/junk saw to HD and tell them it doesn’t run. Go to your local Stihl dealer and buy a 362 or 462 - both true professional saws, and your problem will be solved. If your saw does have a problem, the dealer will be able to fix it there, unlike HD that has to mail it out, and they’ll likely even give you a loaner as long as it’s still under warranty. Yet one more reason to buy a truly quality saw from a local small business.

 

[Fivepoints]

What reach said. I bought a cs8000 early on. It spent more time being fixed at the local dealer it came from than it did running. The third time it came apart, I sold it for a parts saw. The dealer kept trying to blame my premix. I am running stihl mix. All my other saws were fine and I'm still using most of them years later. It cost me a lot of time and money. I will never buy another echo. Buy a husky or stihl. The cost of operating is cheaper.

 

[Jonny]

I usually hear much better feedback about Echo saws. I have a friend who has the CS800 or CS8000, I thought it was really nice, but I only ran it for 2 hours and it was still almost new at the time.

Your new CS590 probably just needs tuning.

 

[vkoot]

Maybe it's just location? I called my local stihl dealer two days ago looking for a 462, their other store a couple cities away had two in stock so they shipped one to my dealer. Picked it up yesterday. Also picked up a echo 2511 from an echo dealer nearby about a month ago. I believe they had 3 in stock when I called. I'm in Chapel Hill, NC.

 

[eyehearttrees]

Maybe it's just location? I called my local stihl dealer two days ago looking for a 462, their other store a couple cities away had two in stock so they shipped one to my dealer. Picked it up yesterday. Also picked up a echo 2511 from an echo dealer nearby about a month ago. I believe they had 3 in stock when I called. I'm in Chapel Hill, NC.

I'd be curious if they still have 2511's now, my dealer was fine at that point in time...but then when I went to get a chain, it looked like they were closing-shop, I immediately spoke to the owner who showed me the computer telling him he has to wait weeks, not for more product, but for an update on ETA! I came home, made this thread - when I saw Evo's reply, I literally didn't read a post further, I went into 'find a 590' mode because if I couldn't get one I knew how much more the next-cheapest 60cc is!

Am happy with the 590 so far, gotta say I love that the 620 parts can be swapped-on (honestly Echo should not have called that saw a "620p" it should've been a "599" or "590X" or something to denote it's just a 590 with 3 or 4 superior parts (coil, carb, think there's an extra ring on the piston...then aluminum handle BUT i'm not even positive that is a superior part, having read that plastic composites transmit less vibration than metal handles!)

If this saw is anything like my 355t, in terms of "doing job well & being reliable-without-question", I will be very very happy and so far everything points to that being the case

 

[eyehearttrees]

I usually hear much better feedback about Echo saws. I have a friend who has the CS800 or CS8000, I thought it was really nice, but I only ran it for 2 hours and it was still almost new at the time.

Your new CS590 probably just needs tuning.

Yeah the feedback is overwhelmingly positive for echo, typical echo opinions are either praise from echo-users, or stihl/husq users who will either:
- acknowledge echo "isn't trash", but still try making the case that the price-chasm is somehow made-up of superior hardware, or:
- lie and pretend the echo lineup itself is bad (excessively weak or heavy, not reliable, easily broken etc)

Echo, husq and stihl make good gear....I've never felt an echo product that felt as cheap as a stihl 194t...but the 194t is the only product by all 3 manufacturers that I could speak poorly about (unless we bring price into things, at which point it's impossible not to mention how the 355t beats the 201t, on-paper and in-cut, despite only being priced 50% as expensive as a 201t)

And yes it was just a lil tuning it hardly wanted 1/16th stronger(CW) idle, I removed the limiters so I can do a proper tuning (once I'm on a job that I can use this again, I don't have the wood out back to properly bury the bar for setting H, and after setting any of the 3 screws I usually have to adjust the other two to really dial it in) Have done the muff mod and opened up the air-box a bit (filtered it, kinda like the Frog Skinz approach), was surprised to find that doing so didn't seem to upset the idle or no-load-throttle (I f'd up and didn't log screw-positions like a moron so cannot be positive where they ended up, but I move them in verrrry small increments and it just felt like I moved them CCW a lil, then CW the same amount, and it was sounding great -- has me wondering/hypothesizing that muff-mods/etc aren't too likely to show up during anything-except for under load situations, because of course the saw can get sufficient air for idle/no-load-throttling if it can get half the air it would want at full-throttle-under-load!)

 

[Convict charlie]

Our dealer is a husky/stihl place. Last I knew had over 100k in orders out trying to get equipment. Barely any saws in stock at all or able to get them.
I waited four months for the 500i. I seen the new 400 stihl had to offer as well but one of the employees bought it.
there’s I bet four dealers within 15 miles of me and same thing no pro saws available or have to get lucky to find one.

 

[Crazy_Jimmy]

I guess I haven't noticed any issues getting saws where I live