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Thanks for the kind words! With everything it takes to make things happen, we do the best we can which is how I personally believe things should be done always. Work in to it with the saw and enjoy the milling, awfully hot for milling. The bees get us pretty good when we are milling and it is even worse when it is hot. They find the water from the lube system on the sawmill but not so much on the chainsaw mill. Stay safe and hydrated, all the best! Ric

Tough decision for sure! For the oiler yes I was overriding the auto oiler. Some folks suggest running it until the chain smokes at which point I would not be happy anyway as it would cause damage to not just the chain but the bar seals and other assorted rotating bits that I don’t want to replace prematurely. So having said that I’ll hit the oiler a little more and not worry about it. I think when it comes to deciding which saw to purchase you really just need to look at a few factors. Weight- the 070 is heavy and is more so the longer you wield it, the 660 clone is slightly less weight. Ergonomics- the 660 is typical for most chainsaws only larger, the 070 will take some getting used to if you are slightly built like me but likely fine if you are 6’ or taller. Power- they have totally different torque and power curves. 070 runs slower with more torque is less db’s, 660 higher revving higher db’s higher chain speed which in my opinion and experience causes fatigue faster. Consumables- the 660 is going to run through everything faster, chain oil fuel, you name it, it leaves faster. Having said that you must consider time savings here which will reflect your cents per hour for run time along with time working on a job. Big consideration here. Lastly Fun factor- hands down the 070 clone is the funniest saw I have to operate. It sounds cool looks cool is cool to operate, the squirrels pay attention when you start it up, your wife gives you extra points for throwing it around, that is priceless too. Hopefully this helps with your decision bud. In the grand scheme of things I could never and still can’t afford an oem saw from husky or stihl, these saws though not perfect if you take care and maintain them are almost as good as the oems at a fraction of the cost. When you can’t afford to pay a tree service but you can get in to one of these and do the same job then keep the saw at the end of the job it is a win win situation! Hope this helps and if you decide drop a line back and let us know what ya ended up with! Thanks for commenting and all the best, Ric

Yeah I hear ya bud, it is a great little saw and is probably the most cloned saw out there ((Zenoah)). Ours is still running great but is pretty wore from all the use. Handle bar is stock and bends easy , plastic is wore out and discolored other than that just put a new loop on it when the teeth are gone and keep cutting! Thanks for commenting! Ric

Well really if you are serious about ground hogs you might get deep enough but I can’t say for us we have been able too. The entry and exit holes(usually 5 or more as they typically have one primary entrance and exit and the rest are just pathways to different areas, less important). Groundhogs have fairly large and frequent litters around here. We have better luck with live traps that are baited with cantaloupe as it is a favorite for them. Even when we remove a family another will soon reuse and reopen the old passages. They are a massive problem abound a large diverse garden. Good luck! Ric

Coons yotes strays opossum, cycle of life… it happens!

You probably need to adjust the oil delivery screw on the bottom of the saw. You will see where it has an arrow that directs which way to turn for more or less oil. It is also possible the vent hole for the oil tank could be blocked or clogged. Usually this is the only other problem. Though it is possible I doubt the clutch drum is off the oil drive ring but this could be possible too. Good luck! Ric

I recently sold this saw and a plank mill with it. I had a fella that needed to mill a fair amount of wood and rather than let him borrow it for an extended period of time, he just decided to make me an offer on it. Saw still runs great and is still in great condition. Gonna miss it as the ergonomics on that saw work really well for my stature. I’m pretty sure he is going to mod the saw but that’s fine as it is his now. I can’t complain about these saws blue or orange, for people that need an alternative they sure do fit the bill well. Thanks for commenting, Ric

Yeah the 872 is a great running saw. I used ours for almost 2 years and just recently sold it to a fella who is going to use it for milling. Most folks get these for the exact reasons you mention plus for just one time storm clean up. At the end of the day they are very close, maybe within 75/80% of the oems depending on the actual head you get. We haven’t modded any of our saws but I have seen and ran many that have. Most folks alter the timing(flywheel) or they change the port timing numbers, install the oem ignition coil(probably the best and quickest for the most power). If you did all of these to the 372 clone you are still less than half the cost of the old 372 or even greater less than the new 572. I can tell you our 872 even when I sold it is a great running saw and rock solid reliable for us, not that they all will but still for the cost, it is hard to beat! As for comparison other than some older 600cc and less oem saws we don’t have the larger nor could afford them. It would be nice but just isn’t in the cards! All the best and drop a line when you run your new saw! Ric

Actually we have several blue saws also too. I believe the Neotec has an edge on them with overall fit and finish, to say all of the saw heads or other equipment they make is far better would be a stretch for sure. Do I think they are better, yes. The quality of materials is the biggest difference I believe. In talks we have had with the people who are actually responsible for building and design it revealed what the clone makers do. They use expired patents but they are still limited in how close they can make the clone. That is to say they, frankly none of the clones are exact clones of the equipment they are copying. Though the parts will interchange they aren’t the same as oem. I know this as the owners of Neotec have explained what they can and can’t do when reverse engineering equipment. Having said all of this, Neotec and Farmertec have in the past worked together in supplying parts to one another, they no longer do that and I can only say quality is the reason why. The cost is low on these machines because the quality of metals isn’t the same and yes you could say it isn’t as high of quality on that end but is still as best quality you can have for the cost. I believe the oems have better tolerances for sure, maybe the best materials overall but it comes at a great cost. If a person wants to modify this is a great way but likely not the best thing to do. I ran a saw for a week at over 1000 rpm higher than it should have, almost 14k rpm. I blew it up, I didn’t want to but man that saw would run. The tolerances were only slightly to loose and it deflected enough that it caught the side of the case shaved enough aluminum and then grenaned the crank and rod. Great running saw before that happened, lots and lots of power for a little saw and sometimes you just run a little saw. Anyway, I hope this helps, this is what I consider when running equipment. We maintain our equipment very well, none are modified and other than the 1 , we have had little issues at all with any of our equipment. Thanks for commenting, Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead Thank you so much for the quick response and very valuable information. Do you think I should sell my holzfforma and buy Neotec?

@nicholasblohowiak29 if it isn’t broke, you know that old adage…. Seriously if it isn’t broke I would just keep up the maintenance. If it ever lets you down, try a Neotec for sure. We still have most of our blue saws , haven’t sold them all yet! At the end of the day if you have the opportunity to acquire a backup or maybe reaffirm supply that isn’t a bad idea either. Lessons learned from supply chain issues is how we got where we did, we didn’t want to pay exorbitant prices and be left out in the cold. Given the climate that is brewing, do what you need or can do to stay and be prepared. Tariffs are coming back so supplying countries will begin to penalize the US again. Here we go again! All the best, Ric

I don’t disagree with you on that. But know that most of the plastic polymers and additives used in plastics come from china India and a couple other countries. Most come from china though. I can tell you this little top handle is use every(7 days) day of the week most of the time. It sets in the sun most of the time unless it is stored for the day. Though some of the plastic is showing “uv” degradation, the important plastics are holding up just fine. I use some not friendly to plastic/rubber chemicals when cleaning and other than the rubber, the plastic is fine. For the consumer who doesn’t have the funds for the oem saw these make great options especially if they aren’t used in a commercial sense. We use them commercially and they still suit us just fine. Thanks for commenting, Ric

Check the Neotecworld website or you can contact through the facebook page for them also.

I would check there website , Neotec world.com and or the Facebook pages the have. Seems to be how everyone else makes it happen. Ric

They work great for sure and are perfect for those jobs where small amounts are needed. Thanks for commenting! Ric

Yeah that’s a great deal for sure! Ours is used most often for bucking and large limbing, pretty much the farm saw really. Can’t beat the economics behind these! Thanks for commenting, Ric

It is possible you could have air in the system, you could have air or a leaking connection at the fuel pump, you could have debris in the line after the repair blocking fuel in either the injector or fuel line even the fuel pump. Hope this helps and good luck, Ric *this could be a coincidence also, check to make sure your fan belt is tight also. Believe it or not this will have an effect on power but also your passive regeneration filter too.

@CornucopiaFarmstead well we was working on clearing out land a branch got the fuel line and tore it off had to tow it back to shop and fixed now there's way loss of power

@@CornucopiaFarmstead and how would you get air out of line or filter

@alexzandermoshman9222 I did the exact same thing but happen to catch the leak trail as I was about to load onto the fire, close one. If you caught the line on the bottom of the tank I seem to remember it had a nipple where the line connects to the tank. It may not leak but possibly could be drawing air and then would potentially leak only when it is running under throttle. Having said that knowing how the high pressure fuel pump sets on the engine I would do five things. First check for the potential air leaks getting in to the system. Second make sure your fuel filter has no water in it, maybe even change it. Third make sure your fuel has no water in it. Fourth make sure your air filter isn’t blocked and is clean. Fifth even though it may not have air check your high pressure fuel pump on the engine and maybe even prime it by loosening each line turning the key to make sure you get all the air out of the pump. Lastly and this isn’t directly related to the fuel but will effect power, the multiport plastic manifold mounted on the side of the particulate filter that has a couple of hoses coming off of it, if that is blocked it will reduce power also, if your fan belt is good and tight it works correctly, when the belt is loose for some reason it will effect power and how the filter works through engine rpm. Let me know what you find out and good luck bud!

@alexzandermoshman9222 the fuel filter should have a purge bolt or screw on top of it. Like with fuel lines on the fuel pump , you would loosen the connection at each line(each line leads to an injector at each cylinder) ONE line at a time, loosen turn the key to the on position but do not start, this will cycle the fuel pump. As you do this it will push air out of the system, repeat with the fuel filter first then fuel lines.

Hello there I hate that, but they do seem to leave out a couple of parts here and there every now and then and still for the grand scheme of things that’s not bad considering for what you get but one thing you sure would like to have is the manual I know always hate it when that happens when they’re missing and believe it or not The sawmill we have we bought it in 2020 to the beginning of the year before Covid hit and we did not actually get the manual. I wanna say until 2021 almost a year after we made the purchase and it wasn’t until I got on Facebook and started, letting my experience be known about Frontier and how they seem to do things or did things back then I don’t believe they’re like that now but anyway the only way I was able to get a manual was somebody had one and took the time to copy every page and then every page made it a PDF . They then sent it to me and that’s how I got the manual to be able to assemble the sawmill . I contacted Frontier Sawmills in Canada and there was a lady there named Sarah I believe who worked in the warehouse that saw one of my post from the Facebook page in Canada and she managed to get me a manual and a lot of the missing parts but the main parts that I was missing all that took around a year to happen but Anyway I know what it’s like! I’ll try to make a video in the next couple of days that helps you to start this. It’s essentially the same as any big size and when I say big, I mean 90 cc or above choke and try to plug that’s essentially what you’re doing if you’re choking it too long and constantly pulling it did you’re probably flooding it And potentially plug so for me it’s a matter of choke at one time pull it real good and hard 2 to 3 times and once it initially barks over then you turn the choke halfway off or off and you just pull until it starts that’s essentially it said all of that it still easy to flood it and plug. You just have to have a good solid pay attention to when it sparks over the first time you have really good fuel really fresh fuel that’s not too rich in oil too rich is what I consider over 25 to one our equipment, two stroke we run in the winter 40 to one and in the summer 50 to one.. I’ll comment here as soon as I can get the video made. Thanks for commenting. Ric

I’m sorry about that response not being grammatically correct this is voice text as I’m working with gloves on in the woods right now! Hopefully you can decide for everything that was said if not a video sure would clear these things up! Ric

th-cam.com/video/a43xycHlU2w/w-d-xo.htmlsi=jSEyMRLBwUfikVGN This is from Neotec’s own TH-cam for starting on the 070. I apologize for delay. It is a beast of a saw and will easily flood like any other big saw. Ric

I like the saw very much and even better for the price for sure. It is used along with the 355t in the period of a day as chains get dull or for the 12 inch bar. It has been a reliable saw and though lacks great power it does perform well. Price is the best quality for sure! Thanks for commenting, Ric

Hey Todd. Thanks for the kind words and question(s). First let me say thank you for serving and thank you for your service. I’m and army brat as my father and grandfather, along with several other elders in the family have served in the military. I appreciate all that who have served and will serve, there is no greater good one can do for country than to serve and protect it. I have never served but have assisted in various forms of training for entities over the years and have been more than happy to do so. As for your question with the saw I would direct you to the Stihl oem manual which you should be able to download off the web. The 872 is a clone of the ms380 saw, all the parts from stihl oem ms380 will work on this saw, albeit they will be substantially more cost than the Neotec parts of which they do offer parts on the website. Our 872 is over 2 years old and is used very often and hasn’t had a freshen yet. I have found high quality 2 stroke oil is largely the best thing you can do to maintain performance other than routine maintenance cleaning after use. I will say when we use equipment most of the bolts are loctited with blue or red loctite, bars chains drive sprockets filters air passages levers triggers pull cord coil, flywheel plug and ignition are cleaned and double checked before and after each use. It is about 1 hour per saw each day just for me to do that. None of our equipment is modified for performance other than adjusting oil mix from either small cc to large cc and from summer use to winter use, this is the only time the oil mix is changed. We have used vp racing synthetic 2 stroke oil for many years and it has never let us down. Used In the power equipment and the dirt bikes, never had a failure. I hope this helps! Thanks for commenting, Ric

I agree and then some. Compared to spending $1500 + for the oem, I would pour oil or have someone stand there with a can of wd40 spraying while I cut before we could afford the oem saws. They are a lot of upkeep and work to own one of these but then again I have know people to buy the ms880 to cut one tree from storm cleanup, they just have the money and I just don’t. Thanks for commenting and don’t fret the tank swap, just take your time and take lots of pice to make sure you have everything correct. Also what I normally do when reassembling these saws is use a fuel resistant gasket seal to improve mating surfaces. I have found it helps tremendously to prevent air leaks but also keep from dusting the engine. Good luck, Ric

Ya know, we were just very excited. 😆 we had so much trouble just even assembling that saw mill as Frontier/Norwood for many many weeks and months were zero help. It wasn’t until we started asking questions on facebook someone suggested posting about it and even then , a warehouse worker who works in Canada happened to to see one post and she got the ball rolling, that took about 6 months. Her name was Sarah I believe. Anyway, we were simply excited! Thanks for commenting all other vids will be shot during the day unless they need to be at night…… Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead Thank you. "Thats the Spirit". If l could only have a Saw Mill apparatus ! Be Safe & Best wishes with all your endeavours.

Yes it actually does have that option and unfortunately I didn’t see it when we picked it up but also the dealer did not show it either. It has pins with safe clips that can be removed. We have never used it this way but could possibly be helpful if needed. Thanks for commenting! Ric

I couldn’t agree more with all your statements. At the end of the day any type of machine is only as good as the maintenance and care it is given while in use and at rest. Many folks just think the name carries a degree of consideration for all aspects of, unfortunately that just isn’t the case. Water from one county is different to another regardless of the treatment is the same. Not to say this in a derogatory or mean it as such, educating yourself on everything in life regardless if it is machine or even spouse and the like. Educating yourself on a moment by moment basis can not only make for a better life but also can bring a wealth of understanding. Society today is so connected to quick and unproven knowledge they find from little proven information it has led our world to such a loss of understanding. The internet is an awesome tool but people unfortunately spend little time of confirmation of information. One day we will see and hopefully start heading the right direction again! Thanks for commenting and long live our 3520’s! Ric

I agree completely, I don’t know any clone that has a great tensioner, they have improved but are still no where near as good as any oem saw for sure.

That is the F070 which is the same as the Stihl 070. Here is a link to a vid we did with it and the 660 clone also. Thanks for commenting! th-cam.com/video/ivQ8jcHMjVs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=DlecQu7wksQk3q4S

@@CornucopiaFarmstead i just seen they have the 880? Have you tryed that one yet?

@bradforester3635 yes we do actually have the 888 and have had it since it was first released. We planned on using it with a large milling job of a 60” trunk but that fell through with the tree owner. Other than breaking the saw in to bed and seat all the rotating parts it had never had a bar on it. We operate a tree oriented business but haven’t had the opportunity to use the saw yet. It consumes a lot of fuel and oil and is definitely not a saw to run just for the fun of it. Pretty much any power head over 70cc’s have a high cost of operation and with things being the way they are we pinch pennies where we can. Far as I can tell it has the grunt it needs but right now only lacks the right tree. Neotec’s is coming out with a 2100 clone and I’m sure it will be just as usable and comparable. They are great for folks who can’t afford the 2 thousand dollar cost of entry from the oem’s. Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead Is the 2100 Bigger than the 888

@bradforester3635 not sure yet bud. Generally they take a patent that has been expired but also 10 years past and they create from there. Most times they are not exact clones but are very similar in cc but sometimes will be larger or smaller. I would think Neotec will be conservative in its build as they generally have better quality than farmertec. These big power heads are really suited toward super hard wood and thickness. A 90-100 cc head will do the work but will consume hard parts and liquids at a higher rate. These larger heads really have a narrow range of use when it comes to usage. Overkill until it is the right piece of wood I guess you could say.

Which one is the high end version?

@maxdragon15 typically all of the Farmmac branded saws are the end versions. They typically have better performance parts as in the carb ignitions and a few other parts that normally would be Chinese clone parts, they will use some actual oem parts and such. That is the extent that I know about them. Ric

Ya know we pull this with our ‘99 250. It is a short wb 2wd extcab. The geometry they have designed with the 16’ length and the location of the wheels is great for our 250 and even on longwb 4 doors we have pulled with too. The rest of the frame and box are great, I believe the lift cylinder is probably well underrated for the weight, great trailer just wish we were able to have purchased it before all the inflation prices did what they did. Great trailer for sure! Thanks for commenting, Ric.

​@@CornucopiaFarmsteadI'm looking at one right now but with telescope lift cyl. No scissors lift for me.

I don’t think you can go wrong either way. I believe the scissor has more stability up high and maybe if you are unloading on an incline. I can’t say for sure either way but I’m just going on my own physics opinions for that matter. We have enjoyed using ours and it has rewarded us with great and consistent work along with rock solid durability too. It is very expensive to have someone hall for you I know that! I have used ours to haul equipment to a job site then load from the site and haul the same equipment back home, by having the 16 ft I can load an implement on my truck and keep my loader on the tractor and still have plenty of room. 16’ is a nice length if your machine is small enough. Good luck with whatever you decide to purchase! Ric

Yeah China has so many saw makers really equipment makers it is insane the manufacturing they have. Regardless the equipment isn’t as bad as people make them out to be and overall it is hard to beat for the cost!

Yeah if I had to cut 10” wood with that all day long it better be all punky or all powder, it would make for a long day! Ya know I use that little 25cc smoker on all my limb stuff and rounding out saplings for the burn pile. I do use the 355 as a backup and for saplings that have the mid limbs longer than 10 feet. It has a 14” bar on it and it lets me reach in a little farther while I’m holding the limb. I like to trim all my limbs to 5 feet as it keeps everything in the coals. We don’t have a commercial chipper yet so we are having to burn everything we can’t make use of. My point was as I recover from that little side trip, point was the little Neo as a 12” bar and works like a hand tool in tight confines. That longer bar on the 355 can get a gyro effect going if you are just one handing it. Having said all this that little neo and the 872 (killing my fuel and oil consumption!) have been getting used almost every day since November. Fuel and oil and treating them right. Thanks for commenting bud!

All I can say is I ain’t perfect but I can learn! Having said all that we all make mistakes and hopefully we can all own them, I will. Thanks for commenting! Ric

You know frankly there is very little pound for pound made in the states any more. We won’t get in to politics but I will say even though we can purchase inexpensive products from all over the world, it doesn’t mean we are shorting overseas makers for those products. I’m just saying people are making a good living(better than what they would have if they weren’t making products destined for America)rather and no living at all. You can get exceptional American made goods but few folks can afford them, I know I can’t. I can honestly tell you , I have used these saws for over 2 years now and other than the nh843, I haven’t had even a minor failure. Now, I do maintain all of our equipment daily but also I don’t mod anything either. When it comes down to getting something done on a limited budget, these clone machines are a great option and in the end, they usually aren’t as bad as you think. Now if I got the lotto, I’ll still probably have to think long and hard on purchasing an oem! Thanks for commenting, Ric

Well I just ordered a FARMMAC F380 with the 28" bar and chain, now looking for a couple extra chains before summer cutting season gets here. I have been using a couple Husky 16" saws but those are a little tricky when I attack a 30" tree. LOL We will see how it works this summer, I am 76 years old and still cutting my own fire wood every summer, sure beets sitting in the house and watching TH-cam all day.@@CornucopiaFarmstead

You’ll love that saw! You will see when you go to fine tune the card it is a very high revving saw. I would guess it actually has a very good coil on it. When I first started using it I could get 14k rpm out of it easily, now as surprised as I was I did not keep it there and the chain is moving so fast it wasn’t cutting well even with a new grind. I tuned it down to the high 12 low 13 just to keep all the rotating parts rotating. I like the ergonomics of that saw as it is a little shorter on height than most saws comparatively speaking. The case and handle are just a touch longer than I prefer as I am 5’5 on a good day but really an inch shorter on most! It is hard for me to use a 28” bar on a plus size saw as it really effects my balance and isn’t safe in the hilly conditions I work in every day. Now that isn’t to say I don’t use longer bars, I just have to use them in safer flatter environments, mostly 24/25 for felling big wood sometimes greater if needed. Congrats on working that way at 76, we salute you and I aspire to be capable at that age also, at 53 I have a ways to go but plan on making it there! Best of luck and stay safe ! Ric

I work by myself and when I cut down a tree I start cutting it up from the top down, after it is on the ground of course. LOL Get rid of the junk and use everything bigger than my thumb for my own firewood. The 16" saws will work for most of it but when I get down to where the tree comes together into the main trunk, the 16" saws have a problem, that is when this saw comes out. to finish the job.@@CornucopiaFarmstead

@bb1040 sounds like a fine plan, mine is very similar. We use a lot of fuel in all the machines, by far the largest expense is in running 2 stroke gear simply because of the added oil along with the non ethanol fuel too. The larger displacement gear flat guzzles the fuel and oil, it can get costly just in liquids not to mention time through the cut and chain/bar wear. It all adds up! Best of luck and enjoy the extra time you now have cutting less! Ric

The 92cc is much quicker, lighter, more mod potential, just many more positives with the 660 clone. The 070 is great but you can’t get past the size and heft plus the fact you are most always going to take longer while running the 070, hope this helps. Thanks for commenting, Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead Yes, this helps a lot! I think You've made my decision. Now to decide on the 42" vs 36" bar and which milling chain to get. Can't let these logs sit and rot in the woods!

A word on chain, if you are going to be doing a lot of chainsaw milling consider purchasing skip link roll chain and or custom file your own roll chain. It could save you money in the long run. About the only wood you can let lay is white oak and some of the cedars, try to leave none directly on the ground and seal them if you can. Have fun, Ric

Thanks for commenting and thanks for the tip!

Absolutely, we ran them together to show this possibility too. Depending on the wood from my experience harder woods be it hickory to oaks and the like, chain speeds make a difference when I have cut different species. The 070 won’t always be appropriate but then again the same applies to the 660. I’ve found while cutting with top handles I will switch from the little 25cc to the 35cc depending on either hardness or density of the wood fiber. Having said all of this time is not just money , time cannot be replaced. Experience and life will teach us what is best if that is we pay attention. Hauling the 070 even without the bar can be a workout! Thanks for commenting, Ric

Yes it was and I paid for it the next day I assure you. I thought it would be both interesting and incredibly foolish at the same time. It was nice not bending over but sure did make me pay for holding on to that sucker! Thanks for commenting, Ric

When I saw you lift that my 60yr old back creaked. 30yrs ago I'd have given it a shot, now I'm loving my CS2253cc Jonsered. 😁@@CornucopiaFarmstead

Yes sir, my 50+ year old back did the same thing, but more like cracked! That was really a one and done, had the bar and really that particular saw (070) is a lot of fun to run as it works so easy and just cruises through wood like a hot knife through butter! Something to be said about smooth operations! Typically I’ll use the ns872 to buck wood this size but since we were using this saw in a vid I thought why not? Now I know why!!!!😂

I use vp racing full syn 2 stroke oil at 40-1 in the summer and 50-1 in the winter, if the temps are normally 40* and below I will keep it at 50-1, once the ambient temps are regularly above 40 I will switch back to 40-1. Ric

Happy new years ! Actually the engine oil was changed at 300 along with the fuel filter too or else we could have made a video of that. The manufacturer suggest changing the oil after the first 100 or 200 hour for the engine and I believe 400 or 500 for the hydraulics, they do recommend 50 just for the hydro filter but we went ahead and changed the hydro oil and engine oils at 50 hours rather than the latter. If the engine and or hydraulics both function and sound fine I would normally change them to schedule, however if the appear abnormal in sound or feel different then I will change them early. This engine I have changed it first at 50, 150 and again at 300. It isn’t that big of a deal and for the 4.2 qts it takes is a small investment I look at it that way. For the greasing that is really a sticky, if you ever hear metal to metal it is already too late. Don’t use your machine more than 2 days in a row without squirting some grease through a zirk, if you ever sell your machine people will appreciate all those grease piles around the pivot points. Clean your radiator screen and check your air filter at least every other day, pop an eye down the radiator for coolant while you are there too. The machine will reward meticulous maintenance and will leave you shameful when not. These are small prices to pay for machines that do us great work. Shoot a message back when you have yours, all the best! Ric