I purchased a Holzforma G395 chainsaw for $410 delivered but without bar and chain. It is a Chinese clone of the now discontinued Husqvarna 395XP It is a relatively old technology carburetted engine, prior to the strato technology (stratified scavenging) of the X-TORQ etc.
The Holzforma G395 has slightly lower published power rating than Husqvarna 395XP.
Previous experience documented at Holzforma / Farmertec G372XT chainsaw – initial evaluation shaped the approach with this one.
Chain brake appeared locked on
I expected the chain brake to be hard to reset, perhaps more so first time if it had not been tested at the factory, but this was so hard that I dismantled it to see if something was not properly assembled.
I did not disassemble the plastic handle, I just pried the brake band off the clutch and removed the side cover, then took the main pivot bushes out to remove the handle without disassembling anything inside the handle. I remove the spring and brake band, and they all looked ok. So, I reassembled the band, spring and cover, and reset the brake with a G clamp (they are really hard) and put the handle back on. It now operated ok, hard but not like it was before I dismantled it… though I could not identify anything wrong.
Would not start
Out of the box, it would not start.
Spark checked out fine (PET4000EC), lot of resistance to the pull cord, so it appeared to have adequate compression, so that left fuel as the issue.
I could not start it on 25:1, I eventually got it to start with starter fluid but only after removing the spark plug several times and blowing the chamber out with compressed air, cleaning the plug in fuel and blowing it dry.
Carb tune on 25:1 agrees with run in from manual. Idles a little fast with the idle screw fully out and was slowed with richening the low speed mixture. This will be revisited after run-in.
Proactive action to reduce risk of air leaks and resulting issues
Based on experience with the Holzforma / Farmertec G372XT, it was prudent to take preventative action on air leaks.
Removed clutch to check crankcase bolts, visible ones checked good so the oil pump was not removed to check the others. The clutch bearing was greased before refitting.
The clutch uses an ordinary 19mm hex to remove / install it. It came off easily (clockwise) with a rattle gun, don’t forget when rattling it on (anti-clockwise) to pull some cord out of the recoil starter as the clutch dogs are on the flywheel and will engage the starter and pull on the cord when rattling the clutch on.
Cylinder cover screws were very tight, and two had noodled heads and could not be retightened with a Philips #2 screwdriver. They are captive screws, but the cover was be drilled out and supplied screws replaced with greased Stainless Steel ISO7380 Hexagon Hex Socket Head Button Allen Bolt Screw M5 25mm screws.
Head bolts had good torque, but the screw heads were malformed / noodled. A hammer was needed to drive the hex driver into the screws, no hex bits that I had fitted without a hammer. Chinese Quality!
Carburettor to intake boot screws were a little low in torque (~1Nm), they were increased to 1.5Nm (per 372XP manual), the 394XP manual specifies 5-6Nm which is a lot for a M4 8.8 bolt, especially considering the nature of the adapter flange containing the female thread. The adapter flange distorts noticeably at 2Nm, I would not exceed that. M4 screws at 1.5Nm will have around 2000N tension each. Once it had run for 5min, it was fairly easy to start.
Other
All six fasteners on the muffler were removed and refitted with anti-seize to make for easier removal down the track.
The front chain adjustment mechanism is positive and reliable and works well. It is not as convenient as the side adjustment of the 372XP but it works MUCH better. Of course the chain tensioner pin is engaged when the chain is mounted, a little less convenient than when the pin is in the cover.
The G395XP uses an inboard (rim) sprocket, so not quite as convenient for chain fitting as outboard sprockets.
Conclusions
A much better out of the box experience than the Holzforma / Farmertec G372XT chainsaw – initial evaluation, partly due to the underlying design. Nevertheless, some Chinese Quality problems.