Box Store Poulans - They DO have a place

[leeave96]

I was out the other day and saw a couple of guys with an old Chevy truck, one green Poulan (looked like a Wild Thing model) and a purple/yellow Wal-Mart model Poulan. These guys were scratching for downed firewood on National Forest (with wood permit) and between the two, didn't look like they had much $$$ to work with. They were cutting away with those box store Poulans and getting the job done.

Sometimes (especially including myself) we get wound-up around Stihls & Huskies, but I think there is a place for the box store saws and for these guys, they fit the bill.

Just a thought.

Bill

 

[lone wolf]

my first saw in 74 the old guy that sold it to me said" you buy a poulan buck and you will never need another saw "well needless to say he lied it lasted about 6 months. so i dont like them.

 

[wvlogger]

you are absolutly right poulan is a great start out saw and as you said some people can not aford a good saw so poulan has to do

 

[aandabooks]

My land neighbors who burn about 30 pick-up loads per year to feed two woodstoves, cut with a Wildthing. Wear one out and go find a sale buy another one. No turnover on chains and the old bar still fits just incase the powerhead outlasts the bar that came with the new one.

 

[TFPace]

50 hour cylinder

I heard that Poulans design life for the Lowes/HD stores is 50 hours.

For the home owner that is lifetime.

I'd love to know how many hours a pro saw logs before biting the dust?

 

[superfire]

i know

got a good friend who is older and needs a saw to buck up wood that is given to her. i gave her a butt ugly poulan and she is happy as lark(she is a spry 80 year old) she chases me out her wood pile with the little poulan if i offer to help her.

 

[smilin possum]

I have to agree some folks can do no better and they do what they have to do with what they. Thanks for sharing this. I would have went home and got Momma and the kids with 2 trucks and went back to help them out. That my friends is what I do. Someone higher up belays this message to me. Help those that try to prosper in need.
Blessed Days!
Joe

 

[Austin1]

I have two of the ''cheap'' Poulans and love em, both are great saw's and cut just as well or better than saw's costing three times as much I have about 15/20 cords on my 2550 not much by some standards but probably more than most who would buy that saw and the 4620/295 is my carry with me and cut everything saw, I should come across saw. Scary thing is that 295 has a 155lbs comp measured at 4000 ft above sea level and starts on the most 4 pulls even when it's -30 It's been a very good saw too me, my neighbor gave it to me after he used used it to cut a few fence posts. With wind chills getting close to -40 and a air temp of -27C my saw's will sit for a wile before I work on the 2010/2011 stack. I think I paid $129.00 for my black and Silver 2550 really just a wild thing with a very good anti vibe on sale at Canadian Tire I do not regret buying it! yes it's no 7900 and not as fast as my modded 2152 but with a muff mod it's a fair saw. But ya got to remember it's only 40cc and has left many MS 180s wishing they could keep up to it.
Run a good chain keep it sharp that's where these saw's get the bad rep is people using them that should not be using a saw!

 

[Saw Dr.]

I heard that Poulans design life for the Lowes/HD stores is 50 hours.

For the home owner that is lifetime.

I'd love to know how many hours a pro saw logs before biting the dust?

There is a sticker on there that says the EMISSIONS is designed to still pass the sniffer for 50 hours. That is EPA at it again. I dare say the saw will last much longer if cared for.

 

[lone wolf]

I heard that Poulans design life for the Lowes/HD stores is 50 hours.

For the home owner that is lifetime.

I'd love to know how many hours a pro saw logs before biting the dust?

unbelievable how long they last if taken care of if you want to know put a hour meter on one but you will have a long wait.larger saws rev less and are built better than small saws so they last longer . my ms 200 T s prob last hundreds of hours. a 70 cc saw can cut hundreds of cords x 1 to 2 hours each =400 just a guess.

 

[isaaccarlson]

If you pay for a 50-100 hour saw, you will get a 50-100 hour saw. nt

.

 

[lone wolf]

.

with some luck maybe

 

[howellhandmade]

I heard that Poulans design life for the Lowes/HD stores is 50 hours.

For the home owner that is lifetime.

I'd love to know how many hours a pro saw logs before biting the dust?

My first saw was a Poulan 2150 from Home Depot. Didn't know any better, didn't know about sharpening chains, didn't know not to store with gas in the tank, didn't know anything. I used the heck out of it. I've still got the saw -- when it stopped idling and oiling I took it to a saw shop, where I was told to throw it away and buy a $$$ saw, that the oiler was hard to get to and cost more than the saw was worth, that it was probably dying due to lack of compression, just pitch it.

I *did* buy a $$$ saw, started reading here and learned a lot. Along the way I learned that the Poulan oiler cost $14 and was easy to replace, and that the saw was dying because the sprocket bearing was shot and seizing to the shaft. I fixed it, keep a sharp chain on it, and use it quite a bit. It gets the dirtiest jobs and the oldest mix, and just keeps on running. Maybe Poulans have gotten worse since, but I can't say anything bad about mine, it's more than earned its keep.

Jack

 

[dumbarky]

Yes they have a place.

Not all saws are created equal but they are all designed to do one thing cut wood. The engineers that design these saws are working within a set of parameters. I have some good saws and some better saws. The thing that hurts alot of reputation on saws is respect. If you pay $300+ for a saw you are going to respect (i hope) that saw more, than if you give less than $150. Your going to take care of it not leave it in the rain not throw it around let dirt dobbers build in it etc. Your going to get better service out of it and it'll last longer. My father in-law is OCD. He bought a cheap homelite saw several years ago. He ran that saw alot. Keep the chain sharp, serviced it, ran good oil gas mix (stihl), the whole nine yards. He wore the bar completely out. The saw still runs. I have it in my shop cleaning it up. He bought a small stihl saw about the same size. Says it cuts good but really can't tell a $150 difference. Now I am not saying I would buy one to go cut wood for the public like I do but for a backup saw to cut hang up out or for John Q. Homeowner they're great. Another thing that hurts these less expensive saws is the bar and chain. The chains are usually of the low kickback variety, and they just won't cut and are hard to sharpen. They aren't designed to be agressive. Put a good chisel top or semi chisel on them and you'll be surprized at the results. Like I said they're designed for the less than experienced sawing public but that is their place. I have friends that buy good more expensive saws and then get mad at them when they won't saw. They don't know how to sharpen them and that is where most of their problems lie. I can sharpen their saws and they can't believe how much difference it makes. All saws aren't created equal but they're all designed to cut wood.

 

[eyolf]

There's a guy in my neck of the woods that peddles firewood, and will do odd jobs. On firewood days he takes an old GMC with 3 46cc green Poulans. He says its faster to change saws than file. 3 saws, a gallon of mix, and a full 12' stakebed. He might stop off after the truck is loaded for a beer, and leaves the green poulans on top of the load.

Hasn't lost 'em yet: who'd climb up after them?

 

[Wildman1024]

Funny

It's funny every time someone bashes a Poulan its always a homeowner saw from a big box store. Why does no one ever bash a quality poulan like the 330 or the older stuff like the 245/306/361 era saws???? Or even the 3400-4000+ era saws??? Because they know better that's why...It's tough to bash a quality product so everyone jumps on the "Bash the wild thing/poulan is junk bandwagon"!

If you wanna bash poulan go run a quality model and get back to us!

 

[Old51AVE]

The "hour" rating on the data sticker on those saws is not how long they are expected to last (lol) but rather the length of time that they will remain within emissions compliance...

I have several of the offending small poulans that are well beyond 50hrs..
I started with a 3316 or something like that.. good saw but no anti-vibe, so I turned it into the 'loaner' saw.

I like my 4218, it has a few mods a few mods, it's a strato-screamer!

Thanks to Cliff R, I added a 330 to the stable, as soon as the weather gets warmer (and my Bailey's order comes in), I'm going to use it a bit more!


Old51AVE :greenchainsaw:

 

[rarefish383]

I tell friends who want a saw to mess around the house to get a Wild Thing or Wood Shark, but I'll never buy anothr one.

The old Poulins of the 70's were fantastick pro saws. We used the little top handle ones for several of our climbers. I think the were 25's (XXV) on the side plate. They were the first real high revving saws we used, and those little buggers would cut. That's when we first started to get awy from Homelites. We still used Homelites for every thing XL 12 and bigger, but the little Poulin would cut circles around our EZ's and were lighter, Joe.

 

[Vibes]

It seems like with Poulans, you can get a good one or you can get a bad one.

I work with a guy who has a bit of property and he cuts a decent amount of wood each year. I was surprised to find out his main saw is a Wildthing. He's had it 5 years and had no problems cutting more than 2 chords a year.

My other buddy has a 4620 that he bought 2 years ago for his camp, and he's had nothing but problems with it since new.

 

[Torin]

I've got a Wildthing, had it since '03 & it's ok. Obviously nothing special but, it cuts & idles fine. It was a gift so, free is good for me.
Due to the numerous post about the Ryobi, I bought one from an ad on craigslist, $85 & it was local. I guess you could say I upgraded but they are both elcheapo saws.