tuning echo cs-600

[jdiesel]

just bought a new echo cs600 from home depot, i know no dealer backing, but i could not get the local dealer to exept the home depot gift card i had . i am a good mechanic and not worried about it, but everyone says they need to be richened up a little for peak performance. will i need to remove the stops to get the mixture far enough? tune them like a boat motor, rich untill they run rough and then lean them till they are smooth? figured a little insight will save me some time this weekend when i break it in. thats another question, leave it at stock settings for a tank or two to "break it in"? or tune it right out of the box? any help would be great, thanks.

[John Mc]

Here's a link to some saw maintenance directions on Madsen's web site. The tuning section includes an audio file which is useful when tuning by ear.

http://www.madsens1.com/mnu_sawmaint.htm

If in doubt, better to run it a bit rich, especially during break in, than to run it lean. You may find the limiter caps on the adjustment screws prevent you from richening it up enough... they set it that way to be sure it meets the EPA specs. If needed the limiter caps can be reset (or on some saws "modified" with a pocket knife).

John Mc

[miking]

Mine didn't need a lot of adjustment from the start. Basically, I just went by the owner's manual specs. I did pull the limiter caps out in case I needed to richen it up later but so far I don't think it needs it.

[John Mc]

Mine didn't need a lot of adjustment from the start.

I wonder if you had a good dealer who took the time to set it up right for you before sending you home with it?

[miking]

That was definitely the case with my 530 and 680. Those guys there make sure you leave with equipment that will not be back in their shop soon. I also bought my brushcutter and power pruner there and those guys are great and won't turn anything over to you unless it runs to their satisfaction. The 600 though, I bought on ebay and it just didn't need much in the way of tuning. That is a newer model though and maybe Echo's engineers thought they'd tune these things up before the consumer got them for some reason. Did you have issues with yours?

[ladylake]

 I'd tune any new saw before using it a little on the rich side at first with no long hards cuts for a couple of tanks.  I don't hear a lot about the CS600 saws being real lean like the CS 370 and 400 models, kind of like the Dolmar 7900 and 5100 saws. The 5100 came set to lean while the 7900 was set good.   Steve

[miking]

That's been my impression too. I have a 370 but it never did run the way I thought it should and I finally quit using it altogether, but the 530 and 680 are excellent saws. The 600 I bought on ebay ran great from the get-go and I did remove the limiter caps feeling that I would want to richen it up beyond them but I haven't felt I've needed to. The only beef I've had with it is that it doesn't pump bar oil like my other saws do despite it being wide open.

[sharkey]

Hi Miking,
The 600p has a clutch driven oiler so at idle there is no oil being pumped and this may be what your noticing.  What length bar are you running on your 600p and does it run that screaming high rpm like the 520/530?   

[miking]

It may actually be the thick bar oil I was using this winter. I use my 530 90% of the time and it never has an issue pumping the thick stuff, but I have noticed that the 600 chain runs quite a bit dryer than the 530 chain does and oil pools noticeably under the clutch cover. I run a 20" bar on it, both the Echo pro bar it came with and narrower Oregon bar I had to compare and both do the same. I wondered if it was an oiler groove/bar hole issue not lining up right or maybe a plugged hole at the start but it seems to be okay. I'll monkey around with it and maybe drill out the bar holes a little and see if it improves. I don't have a tach and tune by ear under load and both saws cut and sound great like they should so I don't know how to compare the rpm's.

[miking]

I've been meaning to get back just as an fyi, but the bar oil issue with my 600 seems to have been related to the thick winter oil as it seems to be adequate now that it is warmer. The pump still seem pretty frugal with the stuff  compared to the 530 and 680 despite being turned up to the max, but for the time being, all is well.