Chainsaw Husqvarna 16-Inch $150 (Refurb)

Quote from astromarmot : Finally got a chance to fire(well try to) my 435 up today. Took a million pulls to get it started, and then it won't even idle once it's running. Will be contacting vendor. Very disappointed.

Chainsaws are a different beast when it comes to starting them. You must know what to listen for when starting. With the choke on, you need to pull until you hear the engine fire, turn off the choke and then pull until it starts. Then they need to be rev'd up a bit to warm up before they will idle. Chainsaw engines are made to run wide open, not idle smooth like a car.

Quote from reaperman : Chainsaws are a different beast when it comes to starting them. You must know what to listen for when starting. With the choke on, you need to pull until you hear the engine fire, turn off the choke and then pull until it starts. Then they need to be rev'd up a bit to warm up before they will idle. Chainsaw engines are made to run wide open, not idle smooth like a car.

While it's definitely been a few years since I ran one on a nearly daily basis, I'm not entirely unfamiliar with starting and running them. This one's problem might be something as simple as adjusting the idle screw(s)(which back in my day meant a flathead screwdriver, now requires a damnable $15 spline tool, fargin' EPA) , but coming straight from factory certified refurbishment, there's no reason not to expect it to start following standard procedures and actually stay running after several minutes of operating at full throttle. Since CS's hours are M-F the stubborn mule in me had me go out and try it again, and it's a little better. The date of man. on this thing was back in 2011, so I do wonder if it wasn't properly cleared out and "persevered" for non-use, and getting some fresh fuel through it during the initial attempt and then sitting for a few hours helped act as a solvent to partially clear out some of the depositing...but Ida know. I'll call the local service facility and if they'll check it out and get it back to me in a day or two, I'll go that route, but if it's drop it off and wait a while, I'll send it back...

Quote from astromarmot : I'll call the local service facility and if they'll check it out and get it back to me in a day or two, I'll go that route, but if it's drop it off and wait a while, I'll send it back...

It’s frustrating as hell when you are the unlucky guy who gets one of the ones that didn’t get worked on. If you need a saw right away no one can disagree that you need to insist on a return, especially if the local Husqvarna dealer isn’t close by.

The way these things generally work, is that a business like Husqvarna gets returns that were covered under a return policy or still under warranty with loudly complaining customers. They sell these returns as a “lot” to a refurbishing outfit, let’s call them “Refurbs_r_us” for $X,XXX dollars. Refurbs_r_us goes over the “lot” packages them as refurbished and lets outfits like VM Innovations market all the, e.g., Lawn and Garden stuff that they refurbished. Problems arise because the one or two of the chain saw guys in the warehouse at Refurbs_r_us smoked a joint or whatever, and didn’t test a few saws, just packaged them up for shipping. All VM Innovations can do is direct the purchaser to a certified Husqvarna dealer to have it repaired . They do take some back which are directly returned to Refurbs_r_us, if they believe you aren’t one of those guys who purchased it to cut up that maple tree that fell in your back yard and now want to return it.

My 435 was DOA also - it would not even attempt to turn over. Contacted CS this morning via the web form and got an RMA # within an hour. So far I'm pleased with the CS response. Hopefully the replacement will start.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with the purchase please don't hesitate to PM me and I'll make sure that you have a positive experience w/ VMI.

Fyi, it looks like less than 1% of folks had issues with their recent chainsaw purchase; which is in line with Google's trusted stores report (attached).

The first saw that I received was junk, a used saw that was not refurbished with grit in the oil tank, side cover that was chewed from the chain coming off and the spark plug not even tight. I did not even try to start this saw.

I called customer service and shipped the saw back and had a new saw a week later.

New saw is as close to new as you can get!
Very happy with this saw, put it together and fired right up and cut some wood!

Just fired up the 445 received from VM.

It cut 1 inch branches well. Then, I tried it on some 5 inch branchs. It was seriously underpowered. The saw bogged down repeatedly. It wouldn't even make it through a 5 incher.

I can accept some scrapes and scratches on the saw. But, functionally this saw wasn't even close to being in factory condition.

A huge disappointment. I've had good luck with refurbs from other sellers, but not this time with VM.

I'm returning it and hoping for a real saw the second time.

Quote from astromarmot : While it's definitely been a few years since I ran one on a nearly daily basis, I'm not entirely unfamiliar with starting and running them. This one's problem might be something as simple as adjusting the idle screw(s)(which back in my day meant a flathead screwdriver, now requires a damnable $15 spline tool, fargin' EPA) , but coming straight from factory certified refurbishment, there's no reason not to expect it to start following standard procedures and actually stay running after several minutes of operating at full throttle. Since CS's hours are M-F the stubborn mule in me had me go out and try it again, and it's a little better. The date of man. on this thing was back in 2011, so I do wonder if it wasn't properly cleared out and "persevered" for non-use, and getting some fresh fuel through it during the initial attempt and then sitting for a few hours helped act as a solvent to partially clear out some of the depositing...but Ida know. I'll call the local service facility and if they'll check it out and get it back to me in a day or two, I'll go that route, but if it's drop it off and wait a while, I'll send it back...

Just wondering, but where can you find this spline tool for a good price? I have searched on ebay and not finding one and I did find one on amazon for about 20.

I received my replacement saw about a week ago. I finally sat down last night to open it up and try it out. Well, this one was faulty as well. I noticed when installing the bar and chain that the mechanism that drives the chain was a bit misshapen. This caused issues when I tried to turn the chain with my hand. It would get hung up where the misshapen points of this mechanism were in teh rotation. I don't know how to describe it better, so sorry about that. Anyway, I continued to set everything up to get this thing started. Wow. I couldn't even pull the starter cord when the chain brake was engaged even though it says to do this explicitly in the directions. I removed the chain brake and tried starting it. The chain MOVES when you pull the starter cord. That doesn't seem right. Well, I tried for about 8 minutes or so and the thing never turned over. I called VMInnovations and explained to them that I'm frustrated and want to wash my hands of the whole situation. I explained to them that my understanding of a refurbished product is one that has been refurbished and actually works upon arrival. Sadly, my second saw as just as problematic as my first. I'm not sure what they're doing over there to refurbish these things, but I am not impressed. I asked at the end of the phone call if she thought my understanding of refurbished items was incorrect. She said no, and that refurbished items should come in working condition and should not need any further repair. Good, so I am not crazy on top of all this.

So glad I didn't order one again after reading reviews on their website about having the item delivered in a non-working state.

Where you at madpuntr?