Full Overview

Featuring excellent power-to-weight, this commercial grade chainsaw is ideal for pruning, hobby work, and firewood cutting. Powered by Hitachi's PureFire low emission two-stroke engine, it contains a chrome-plated cylinder, forged steel connecting rod, and heavy-duty, gear-driven oiler. In addition, this saw has two bar mounting studs to keep the Oregon chain at peak cutting efficiency. Finally, it is backed by Hitachi�s industry-leading 7 year consumer warranty, 2 year commercial warranty, and 1 year rental warranty. CARB II compliant/EPA Phase II compliant.

Technical Details

- 32.2cc 1.6 HP commercial grade engine provides excellent cutting performance and reliability.
- Five-point anti-vibration system provides maximum comfort for getting more done with less fatigue.
- 16-inch Oregon bar and chain reduces kickback and provides excellent cutting performance.
- Two bar mounting studs keep the chain at peak cutting efficiency.
- CARB compliant

This item doesn't match with Hitachi's reputation. Ordered it because the past experience with Hitach's products. Cheaply made in general. Screw for tightening chain broke during 1st time adjustment. Due to the safety concern, never even want to use it and had it returned. It's your safety, think twice.

After a tree service cut down a 60' Hickory in my backyard I bought this saw to clean up the mess. It was meant to replace an older used chainsaw I had purchased for $50. Amazingly, this new $200 (bought retail) does not even match the old beaten chainsaw it was meant to replace. After taking it out of the box, gasing and lubing it up, it took 10-11 pulls to get it started. I realize the gas needed to work up the line, so I wasn't too worried. I let it warm up a little and then proceeded to try to make a cut. The motor died. 5 pulls later I get the saw running again. I let it idle for a couple minutes. I make a cut. The motor dies. Another 5-7 pulls later the saw is running again. I make another cut. The motor dies again. This happens two more times. So the next time I get it running I let it idle for 5 minutes. The saw did stay on after that without dying. However after 10-15 minutes of use, the sticker on the side was bubbling and the saw smelled as if it was on fire. This was cutting standard 6" thick branches. I wasn't cutting guard deep on the trunk or doing anything a saw of this type was not intended for. I used the saw for another 5 hours wondering when it would burst into flames. At times I would shut it off for several minutes to stack the wood I was cutting and the above mentioned procedure began anew. I will be returning this item to the store to replace it with a Husqvarna, which is what I should have purchased in the first place. Hindsight is always 20-20...

After this experience I believe this product is made for folks that would rather have a power solution to trimming small limbs off their trees a couple times a year. BUT, these same folks would have to deal with a workout to get their saw started and running that would exceed the effort of grabbing a handsaw and manually sawing the same limbs.

I bought this saw because a storm knocked over my tree and took out my neighbor's fence.
The tree's trunk was about 16" in diameter and wet.
The Hitachi CS33EB saw took a few pulls to get started (out of the box). After it started, it was cutting pretty good with minimal effort but as the saw got hotter it stalled more and was difficult to start. I was able to finish the task but was left with a saw that was, in my opinion, under powered.
I let the saw sit overnight on the garage floor only to find a small puddle of bar chain oil on the floor. I looked for leaks but only could see that maybe the oil cap was loose? If it continues to leak, I am taking it back!
I brought the saw because I own a couple of Hitachi cordless drills and of Hitachi quality. This saw is made in China and is cheap.
Should have spent the extra on the Stihl

I bought this saw because I like Hitachi tools and there is a $[...] rebate from Hitachi until 12/31/10. I was hesitant because of the other reviews, but the price inticed me. The saw came and this morning I decided to give it a try. It was 41F outside so I figured it would be a good day to run tests. I read the instructions and filled it with gas and chain oil. It took about 30 pulls to get the gas all the way into the system and then it fired right up. Since it was new, I knew it would be tight, so I just let it idle for about 3 minutes. The chain would not move unless the rpms were pretty high and at first I thought I needed to adjust that, but after some use it broke in and is now moving as soon as I crack the throttle. I ran the saw for about 2 hours, cutting down 2 large scrub oak trees (bushes). This saw is not under powered, you just have to let it break in a bit and it likes lots of RPM. It did not get hot at all and idles perfectly. If I run it a max RPM and then quickly let off the trigger it will stall, but it starts with a single pull almost every time. My only issue is the on off switch is located where my hand can acidentally shut it off. Once again, though, I also noticed that my hand would bump the switch when I was moving th saw in a way that might be dangerous, so maybe they actually did this on purpose. The Oregon bar and chain are excellent. All in all, it's a great saw for little money. Don't expect it to do the job of a big saw and you will be very happy.

The day I purchased the saw I spent 2 or 3 hrs trying to keep it running. I needed to get some very light pruning done on a second home
and I wasted my entire afternoon trying to keep this 'junk' running.
I would say that I pulled the starter rope over 200 times. I tried
different gas, I released the brake completely as it created alot
of drag even in the 'free' position. Its cheap and poorly manu-
factured. I can't wait to return it, on my way to the orthopedist
to get my rotator cuff injected.....thanks Hitachi. Beware "made
in China" I ended up getting one small bush pruned for all of my
effort ! Now I know why it was on sale.

I was skeptical at first because of all the negative reviews this saw was given. I had my eye on one at menards but thought that I would do some review search before I purchased one online. With a $[...] mail in rebate and a price at $[...] I didn't think that I would be out much.
After receiving the saw, adjusting the bar and filling with bar lube and fuel mix. It took about 15-20 pull to get the fuel running through the engine to get it going. This saw is not a power house and should not be expected to do the job of saws much bigger. I have found the if you first full choke, pull rope once, and then 1/4 choke pull. Saw will start well let warm up for about 3 minutes. I am very pleased with my purchase.