Shindaiwa 502S

[mocoon]

Can anyone tell me anything about the Shindaiwa 502S? I just bought one just because I am a Shindaiwa fanatic and snag any new ones I come across. I see the Echo CS-500P are pretty close? How would you imagine this thing is compared to my ms290s? Better or worse performance and build quality?

I never remember seeing these saws. They must have come out after Shindaiwa was pulled from the US market. What would you think a good bar and chain combination would be used for your average firewood cutter from the Midwestern US would be on this 50cc saw?

Thanks guys.   

[Andyshine77]

Don't know anything about the 502s. The Echo 500 is a nice pro 50cc saw. What bar and chain? 18" is best suited for 50cc saws IMHO. The 500 will come with .325 safety chain, I recommend Stihl RS .326 chain.

[mocoon]

The 502S and Echo CS-500P look identical. I bet the only difference is the 502S is not EPA emissions compliant and the CS-500P is. That's fine by me, the less restrictive the better.

I went with a 18" Oregon pro-lite that came with a safety chain (only paid 28 bucks new). Going to the Stihl dealership down the street tomorrow to load up on chains.

[SawTroll]

Don't know anything about the 502s. The Echo 500 is a nice pro 50cc saw. What bar and chain? 18" is best suited for 50cc saws IMHO. The 500 will come with .325 safety chain, I recommend Stihl RS .325 chain.

There seem to be different Echo 500 saws out there, so be specific about the exact model name! The 500ES and the 500P seems to be way different saws, according to some posts.  ???

The merge with Shindaiwa seem to have blown some life into the rather lame Echo brand, but watch out for Shinny style optimistic specs!  ;)