Hitachi Chain Saw with Type I Gas Can Price: $179.99 Shipping Options: $5 Standard OR $24 Two-Day OR $27 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Tuesday, Dec 17 to Wednesday, Dec 18) Condition: New
Check out these comments on the chainsaw back when it was offered in October and check out these comments on the gas can back when it was offered in September
This is an outrageous deal. I bought one for $250 in an earlier offering and that was still excellent value for money. At this price, I’m half ways tempted to buy another just to keep dry in a box as a spare!
This is what I said in October. No reason to say anything different now.
If the saw is a good quality machine, which the reviews and owners generally seem to say it is, then this is an exceptional value. This falls in the mid range of chain saws, not a light duty backyard saw and not a professional heavy duty saw. Since it’s made in China, I expect it will work just fine for a reasonable period of time and then fall apart. A comparable Stihl 50cc saw is the MS271, and you’ll probably pay around $500 for one of those with a 20 inch bar. At less than half the price, buying this Hitachi is a no brainer. If you use it enough to wear it out, you’ll know that you need a pro saw.
It has some nice features like the oil tank on top and the chain tensioning screw on the side cover. I don’t notice much difference with the decompression valve and I don’t even remember to use it when I start my saw. The low kickback chains that they are forced to put on these saws really reduce the cutting power for hard wood. If you have a good bit of experience with chain saws, you will like a commercial type chain much better.
You need at least two chains, three is better. I doubt that you’ll find this particular chain at the local hardware store. So I would order a couple extra chains as soon as I got the saw. From the photos it looks like either a .325 or a 3/8 chain. Either one is fine, I prefer the 3/8 but the .325 cuts pretty well too.
The Irish gentleman who wrote the long review gave a lot of good advice, but I would repeat the part about emptying the fuel tank and running the saw till it’s out of gas, before storing it. All the funky stuff they put in gas these days is really bad for small two stroke engines.
A chainsaw with a 20" blade is not a beginner’s saw. Do not even think about using this saw without wearing chain saw chaps (will stop the saw), a chain saw hard hat with ear muffs and a face shield screen, and wear steel toed boots. Learn how to start it safely with the handle anchored between your legs, never hold the running saw with one hand (if you do, the next step is to drop the blade on your foot), and take a class on modern tree felling methods. Chain saw operation has the reputation as being the most dangerous profession in the US.
It has roughly the same displacement as my Stihl 026 16" saw(dinosaur) and is half as heavy. It is definitely a light duty saw with a long bar - not a good combination for any length of time. The price is right if it is all the saw you need.