A Time For Fall Toys

Buffalo, MO (8/20/2008) - As the August heat transforms into cooler nights and what to me is the best time of the year, fall begins to reveal itself ever so lightly. With it comes the stirring of outdoor fall chores to come, dreams of fall hunting and of course, great times with the family as the holidays loom on the horizon.

With the extreme costs of heat whether by propane, natural gas or oil, budgeting has never been more important for all of us. Saving our hard earned dollars with good planning, the right tools and accessories has never affected us more.

Any writer likes a little bit of a scoop, the first sighting or testing of a new product that lends itself to our country lifestyle, and that is just what this column is about.

Fireplaces and wood stoves are not only a great place to enjoy a glass of wine with your bride, but they can save untold dollars in savings for oil, propane or electricity, if that is the way you heat your home. Getting the wood cut, dried and split requires some time outside, that if planned right, can be a great experience and a source of good neighbors working together and wonderful memories. To do the work you need a good chain saw, no you need a great chain saw, one that starts easy and is tough enough to take mistakes we all will make.

This week we started and finished a 5.5 acre project to install an Oak Savanna and to clear cedar from a 1.5 acre rock glen, so we had a good opportunity to test a new ECHO chain saw just hitting the market this fall. The CS-530 touts some good changes including the bold orange color, which I appreciate, it makes the saw much more visible, and an auto style, easy access air filter. Always working in dusty conditions, a chain saw is more susceptible to poor air intake than most power tools so the small, top mounted auto-style air filter is a blessing for those of us that spend untold hours with chain saws in hand and need top performance.
CS-530

The ECHO CS-530 has a hefty 50.1 cc, high performance, commercial engine equipped with a the Slope Advance Ignition System that senses engine speed for optimum power, and did I mention ECHO chain saws are very easy to start, and start often, always when you need it.

Coming standard with a 20" bar, the matched power of the 50.1 CC engine provides the right mix for larger trees and needed full power passes through tough trees. One of my personal favorites is the black oak, grown with a dose of hardness that can frustrate the best of cutters, the ECHO CS-530 held tough and completed the cut with great efficiency. Keeping chains sharpened will make every cut easier and is a task a good chain saw aficionado must learn to master in the field during those breaks needed by all of us.

Chain tension is made very easy by the side access adjustment, and we all know they will stretch especially when they are new, so a quick adjustment saves a problem later on like a chain jumping. Another good feature is the dual post chain brake.

Sooner or later you will experience kick back, a condition where the chain and bar are pinched causing the chain saw to kick back towards the operator. When that happens the chain brake will contact your hand shutting down the chain rotation. It happens so fast you will not even realize it. The best protection is constant awareness of what you are doing so kick back conditions are eliminated or minimal. Never cut over your head, kick back potential then is at a critically dangerous level. There is a Kick Guard you can install on the end of the bar that prevents contact with stones, other trees or any objects and will save you creating new words for the English language when you ding up a new or sharp chain. Once you hit a stone or metal object, game over, stop and sharpen or replace the chain. I always have several chains in the woods with me for each saw. When I do change the chain, I always turn the bar over ensuring equal wear of the bar groves and take all chains to the dealership for professional sharpening after several of my on-the-stump filings.

Chain saws in the country are as much a needed tool as a good lawn mower, sometimes even more. Making the right selection is very important as it must be there when you need it. With two major ice storms, and tornados in the last two years, mine are used hundreds of hours each year. Then, they are called on to perform the added jobs of habitat work such as mid-story thinning, edge feathering and clearing fence lines, trails and roads.

The saw arrives with all the tools to maintain the adjustments, a bottle of fuel mix oil and very good brochures. The manual with the ECHO CS-530 comes with a great set of do's and don'ts and an excellent set of illustrated how to's in cutting and felling large and small trees. There is even a special section on hinge cutting and bound trees and limbs that have tension on them making the selection of cuts critical to safe saw use.

I would add to any chain saw purchase a chain saw case, extra chains and of course the safety equipment you must have in the woods; a safety helmet with hearing and eye protection, safety chaps, good gloves, and good boots. In my opinion, Crew Boss makes the best brush pants money can buy for working in the woods and a long sleeve shirt made for hard work.

Best of all, ECHO saws have a 5 year warranty, and all saws are certified to the EPA's highest engine durability rating available - 300 hours. Other competitors are rated at 50 hours.

Check out all the ECHO products at www.echo-usa.com or call 1-800-432-ECHO for the dealer nearest you, if you work with a chain saw ECHO may be a great choice to be in your hands.

Courtesy Craig Alderman, Quail Unlimited