The X-Bull 75cc chainsaw that was born on a diet.

Finally succumbed to the lure of a cheap Chinese chainsaw. The cost of parts (mainly freight) to repair my very reliable vintage Stihl 015AV saw made the Chinese saws look attractive.

I went all out and purchased the mighty X-Bull 75cc chainsaw. A bit of a delay due to the efforts of Australia Post but the day finally arrived when my new toy had arrived. After some minor issues with assembly (the chain brake was activated and a bugger to release) I was all set to fire it up. Choke, couple of pumps of the fuel bowl thingy, gentle pull on the starter and within a couple of pulls the first firing occurred. Opened the choke, another pull and off it went. You beauty. Idles, revs, chain spins, oiler works. Just like a real one.

Given the earlier research online I was anticipating some QA issues, a general cheapness in build and potentially some reliability issues but time will tell. One aspect that I had seen several mentions of was the poetic license regarding the actual capacity of the chainsaw.

This I had to check. So spark plug removed, muffler removed, calipers in hand, measurements began.

Hmmm, bore 46mm, stroke 34mm, quick remembering of secondary school maths and we end up with near enough to 56cc displacement. Bit of a difference. Double check measurements and calculation, nope still end up with 56cc.

Contacted the vendor with this issue and they wanted photos. Bugger, I'd reassembled the chainsaw. Pulled the relevant bits off it again and photographed the measurement process (riveting stuff looking at a series of vernier caliper measurements, I declined to photograph the calculation). Vendor was now off to contact the factory. Never heard of it they said.Someone must have put the wrong chainsaw into the box was the claim (picture large bovine testicles). We have no more in stock said the vendor (apart from three ads still online all claiming stock levels > 10). Please send it back, vendor offers to pay freight, and we'll refund you the full purchase price.

OK, I'm a little peeved that after waiting for so long to get my purchase it wasn't what was advertised and I can make up my own stories so their explanations weren't a bonus and a full refund was pretty fair.

Bit of a hiccup with the return process, I'd started the chainsaw, even if I drained the fuel and oil I'd have to somehow arrange for all traces of the fuel to be cleaned before it could be shipped legally. Fuel and oil are considered dangerous goods according to Australia Post and a couple of freight companies I contacted.

Back to the vendor with the shipping problem. I was asked if I would accept the chainsaw, with it's undersized displacement as well as a partial refund. After some pondering, I decided to accept the partial refund and the chainsaw.

Observations:

The vendor essentially responded in a positive manner with regard to the issues. I'm pretty much not convinced that the vendor ran out of stock or someone put the wrong chainsaw into the box. That if I selected any other of the chainsaws they were selling that I wouldn't find exactly the same thing regarding incorrect displacement.

Yes, it's a cheap chainsaw. Did I really need a larger capacity chainsaw? Not really but bigger is better right? Is it good enough for what I want? Time will tell. (I haven't named the vendor as I feel it's academic, the issue is with the factory(s)). Be aware of the potential problem, ie buyer beware.