Partner K 700 Active III Review
Partner continues to release saws that are better, stronger, faster. The K700
concrete saw is no exception. We purchased one as a replacement for
a K650 that had sprouted legs. Like the rest of the Partner line, this
concrete cutter uses oil-impregnated
filters to clean the air headed for combustion. While I like these
filters quite a bit, as they can really pull dust out of the air, because
there is no firm frame around these filters, I occasionally find that
dust-laden air has found it's way through a tiny ripple in the filter
where it didn't seat perfectly in it's housing, forcing the accordian
paper filter to do more than it's share of work. But in general, air
tends to enter the cylinder very clean and ready to burn.
The power-to-weight
ratio of this saw is excellent. With 4.8 horses being generated from
a machine that's just over 20 pounds gives you lots of concrete cutting
power in a very portable saw. While you can't get this saw as close
to structures parallel to the blade when trying to cut (i.e. close to
a wall when cutting a floor), you can reverse the blade guard to get
into tighter spaces. While it appears to work, I've heard from people
that have done it that it throws the balance of the machine off, making
cutting more difficult.
Speaking
of balance, this saw has it. The placement of the handles relative to
the blade makes this saw comfortable to use in most positions and keeps
muscle strain to a minimum. This balance allows you to make more accurate
cuts, as you can better control when the saw is dropped into a cut and
where it's cutting. This saw
can be run wet or dry, and the included plumbing allows for easy
adjustment of water flow.
If this
had been a review of our 6-year old, 16" K950, or even our little
K650 that sprouted legs and walk away on us, this review might be a
little different. The K950 has always packed a wallop and has been as
durable as anything. The K650 saw a few years of daily use, and even
ran for a day or so with a puncture in the air filtration system housing.
In time the dust that was sucked in during that day caused some cylinder
scoring and we started seeing some blow-by, but it was to be expected
after that abuse. But I'm not reviewing those saws, I'm reviewing the
newer K 700, which hasn't had as stellar a track record as our previous
Partner concrete saws. I'm not sure if I was simply lucky before or
unlucky now, or if Partner has made some design changes that have resulted
in a less-reliable saw. All I know is, I've had to pour an additional
$500+ into repairs on a 2-year old saw, when I've never had to put more
than $20 into parts for any of my saws (aside from filters, plugs and
belts).
Our Partner
K700 has become a saw that does not seem to like extended use in hot
weather. If we're going to be doing a lot of cutting and it's hot out,
I know we'll need to bring additional saws, because at some point the
K700 will just stop running, and will need a rest of anywhere from an
hour to a day before it'll start again.
We also
had a problem with engine seizing. In defense of Partner, the mechanic
who repaired our saw claims at some point the saw was run with unmixed
fuel. That being said, we have a very small crew, and each man is trained
in concrete saw fuel usage, mixing, etc. And the mix can has "Mix"
is huge letters on it. In the 8+ years we've been running concrete saws,
we've never had this fuel mix problem happen. So while it is a possibility
that unmixed fuel was run in the saw, I've also heard from another Partner
user who had an identical experience, and he was the only one using
the saw, and the piston melted to the cylinder on the first tank of
fuel.
 We
also had a near-miss with a sheared bolt that holds the entire air filtration
unit to the saw. Again the mechanic blamed the operators, and again,
this has never happened with any of our other saws, Partner or otherwise.
I was using the saw one day and after about 40 minutes of use I noticed
the housing for the air filters bobbing all over the place. After quickly
shutting down the saw I could see that the single bolt holding the housing
for the oil and paper filters had sheared where it met the say body,
essentially allowing completely unfiltered air into the cylinder for
combustion. The mechanic repairing the saw claimed the saw was likely
mishandled or dropped, weakening the bolt, which then sheared under
normal use. I concede this may be possible, but it just doesn't seem
very likely.
For the
negative experiences I describe above, vibration transferred to the
operator is minimal for this saw, making all-day cutting a breeze. However,
the vibrations sometimes are too much for the saw itself, shaking loose
bolts all over the saw. It's gotten to the point where we have to carry
around extra bolts, loctite and zip ties to keep the thing together
when out on a job site.
Maybe I've
had all these problems with our K700 concrete saw because Partner is
trying to squeeze every last bit of power out of this tiny package and
something has to give. Based on previous experience alone I would still
recommend buying a Partner saw; they are light, powerful and easy to
handle. But I would also compare it to other saws before writing the
check.
Partner
K 700 Active III Specs:
Displacement: 71cc
Power: 4.8 hp
Weight: 20.5 lbs
Fuel Capacity: 23.7 oz
Engine Speed: ? rpm (max spindle speed 5,400 rpm)
Arbor Size: 1 inch (25.4mm)
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