Quarter inch I believe
Cool. I wonder what the total area is in relation to the exhaust port? They say 80 percent is optimal.
This provided a significant increase in power. It’s a bit louder (think Homelite Super XL/Mac 10 series loudness) but not obnoxious or crackly at all.
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It’s a gull damn Poulan from Home Depot, holes in the muffler are not going to make it look worse lol.
No I didn’t time it but throttle response is very markedly improved and cutting power is as well. I’ve run enough saws to know that it’s definitely significant.
I’ve timed a number of other saws though and noticed from 10 to 30 percent gains with muffler mods. Also improved torque in the cut.
Unfortunately I lost the cell phone clamp for my tripod which makes it tough to take videos until the snow recedes.
Ok, good to know.
To the extent anyone is still interested, the pp5020av saw (the subject of the original post) is not the same saw as the newer pr5020. The older saw has a Duralast Strato engine while the newer one has what the company calls an Oxypower engine. The new one is supposed to have the same power but lower emissions than the old. I own and run both versions and, for me, the older saw is the better saw. They share some parts, and the bars and chains are interchangeable. You can find a couple of articles comparing the two but the gist of them is the older model is a tougher, more durable saw than the new. In my view, Poulan/Husqvarna took a step backward by trying to make the new saw more "sophisticated." It may very well be, but side by side with the old it lacks the lower end torque to get through dense wood.
The PR5020 is the exact same saw as the European McCulloch cs50. The stickers and color schemes are only slightly different. The PR5020 has 2.8 horsepower, which is the same figure as the current Husqvarna 445. I've run those side by side as well, and, all things considered, would say the 445 is the better homeowner saw. It's lighter, revs higher, and is generally more maneuverable than the heavier PR5020. The PR5020 probably shouldn't run a 20 inch bar and runs better with an 18 or 16 inch bar. The pp5020, however, is capable of running the 2o inch it came with but, again, you will find marginal improvement with a shorter bar.
These aren't commercial saws. I think they do a pretty good job of doing what they are designed to do--help Joe Homeowner clean up debris after a storm or harvest firewood for the house. Joe doesn't care whether he's using a Strato or Oxypower engine--he just wants the yard cleaned up. Either of these will do it. But, if you're off to the woods to harvest firewood, I would take the older pp5020av. It's more reliable and brings a bit more pop to the task.
Finally, my aunt's beach house got clobbered by a hurricane a year or two ago and she asked for help cleaning it up. The government had restrictions on who could visit the area and supplies of everything were nonexistent--no food, no fresh water, no gas. I loaded my truck with what I could and took my Echo saw for the work.
The two customer return saws you bought - were those the VMInnovations returns that are on ebay? Some are advertised as refurbished working, and some are advertised as not working, for parts only. I wonder if a carb cleaning would bring one of the parts only saws back to life.I am not a forester and far from an expert. I harvest firewood from trees that are already down and clean up yards after storms. Certainly nothing heavy duty. With Poulan products, as you've probably seen, reviews vary widely from "junk" to best value for the buck. I've been fortunate with my Poulans, the pp5020 and the newer pr5020. I actually have three pr5020's because I bought two as cheap customer returns. One of those had a bad pull chord (easily fixed) and I never did figure out what happened to the second. As far as I can tell, it runs like it should. But they work pretty well for me. They aren't Stihls or Husky's, and even I can tell a difference when running them. But I do think they are vey good for what they are, provided you care for them. I admit I always take two into the woods with me, 1) because sometimes I pinch my bar in a downed tree and I need the second saw to extricate the first and 2) because I think the second identical saw might be a necessary source of parts if something breaks or goes badly wrong.
Your second return saw probably was returned after the original owner cut down one tree and once the job was finished they returned it with some sob story about how the saw wouldn’t run right. But the return policy’s loss was your gain.
The two customer return saws you bought - were those the VMInnovations returns that are on ebay? Some are advertised as refurbished working, and some are advertised as not working, for parts only. I wonder if a carb cleaning would bring one of the parts only saws back to life.
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