Sears 35084 18" 55cc Reasonable Buy?

[McCullough]

Hey, might have found a more powerful rated saw to replace that nasty new McCullough MS1839AV Taiwan made model I am taking back to the store tomorrow.

Craftsman 55cc 18 inch model for $229.99 (less $23 until Saturday 23rd if use use your Sears card). Includes a case; and I liked the fact that the access panel covering the mounted end of the bar appears to be made from (cast) metal and not plastic. Sprocket seems a little wider also. Oh yes, and I love black. This saw will be used for felling smaller sizes trees, debraching trees, and cutting larger sizes logs into 3 foot lengths for the wood spliter.

Been comparing to some similar sized engines in the Poulan Pro line and the Husqvarna line and it appears a slightly smaller engine up to 55 cc in these lines run $100 - $200. I am curious if anyone knew who Sears is having make this saw for them (LOL, maybe I will be lucky and its Husqvarna or Stihl).

Not entirely convinced if you are getting any extra quality in the Poulan Pro line as opposed to regular Poulans other than a more powerful engine? Poulan seems to use a similar plastic to McCullough (which I prefer) while Husqvarna's plastic seems a little cheap, at least to the touch and eye, but they do sell a lot of saws. Sadly it appears there are no more more Stihl dealers in the immediate area.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...Yes&vertical=LAWN&pid=07135084000&tab=ser#tab

 

[slipknot]

I own this saw and it sucks really bad! Parts are impossible to get, it is super fragile, oiler sucks, and for 55 cc it is weak! Also you mentioned it to replace your mcculloch, nooooooooo! The new macs and troy bilt, and sears 55 cc are all the same saw just different name slapped on them, I think they are made by sheng fang or something stupid like that! BAD deal, you will get what you pay for! Mine leaks gas in between the 2 halves of gas tank and they won't fix it!!
Won't be long before the spring starter snaps also! :umpkin:

 

[Cut4fun]

Somewhere on that saw 55cc, I think left side saw says made in Taiwan too. Seen it at sears when looking around.

 

[pallis]

At $229.99 you're getting into the price range of a Solo 650 or Dolmar/Makita 540, if you buy off the Internet. They would be a considerable step up in quality.

 

[Diesel JD]

I think you should spend the extra $50 and get a Stihl MS250, I know it only has 44.3 CCS but I asked mine to do the work of a small pro saw firewood cutting. I never wanted for power even running the 18" bar and full chisel chain. Buy it set it up with the 18" bar, but tell the dealer to give you a real chain not that saftey green 26RM2 crap. Set up with Stihl 26RS or Oregon 35LG. As to the Craftsmans, I thought they were saws made by Poulan, when did this change? Those saws were decent, good strong saws, just not powerful enopugh or setup right for a pro or serious firewood cutter.

 

[DanManofStihl]

For $70.00 more you could get a ms 290 59 ccs and alot better value and more reliable. I personaly would not get a craftsman get a husky echo or stihl they are worth the extra money.

 

[2Coilinveins]

For $230 you could find a ???? nice used saw; I bought my Stihl MS360 for $200. A quick Google search revealed a site selling a DCS540 for $300, if you need a saw RFN.

 

[Simonizer]

I own this saw and it sucks really bad! Parts are impossible to get, it is super fragile, oiler sucks, and for 55 cc it is weak! Also you mentioned it to replace your mcculloch, nooooooooo! The new macs and troy bilt, and sears 55 cc are all the same saw just different name slapped on them, I think they are made by sheng fang or something stupid like that! BAD deal, you will get what you pay for! Mine leaks gas in between the 2 halves of gas tank and they won't fix it!!
Won't be long before the spring starter snaps also! :umpkin:

Well put. If you pay $250.00 for a chainsaw,...you get a $250.00 chainsaw.

 

[McCullough]

I passed ont his saw. I going to wait to see what happens with warranty on the sucky MS1839AV. I hoping I can get a trade-in for it from the local Stihl dealer for a new Stihl since he is authorized repairer for McCullough/MTD in the area and sells used reconditioned items. I guess its better to take a hit on the McCullough and upgrade.

LOL - when I called MTD's toll line number to find a uthorized repairer for the warranty they bragged about also manufacturing YardMan and YardMachine brands (hoped they are spelled right). I see on Stihl's site they claim to the largest manufacturer of saws in the world; however, MTD appears to have the title on being the largest manufacturer of junk?

 

[slipknot]

Hey, might have found a more powerful rated saw to replace that nasty new McCullough MS1839AV Taiwan made model I am taking back to the store tomorrow.

Craftsman 55cc 18 inch model for $229.99 (less $23 until Saturday 23rd if use use your Sears card). Includes a case; and I liked the fact that the access panel covering the mounted end of the bar appears to be made from (cast) metal and not plastic. Sprocket seems a little wider also. Oh yes, and I love black. This saw will be used for felling smaller sizes trees, debraching trees, and cutting larger sizes logs into 3 foot lengths for the wood spliter.

Been comparing to some similar sized engines in the Poulan Pro line and the Husqvarna line and it appears a slightly smaller engine up to 55 cc in these lines run $100 - $200. I am curious if anyone knew who Sears is having make this saw for them (LOL, maybe I will be lucky and its Husqvarna or Stihl).

Not entirely convinced if you are getting any extra quality in the Poulan Pro line as opposed to regular Poulans other than a more powerful engine? Poulan seems to use a similar plastic to McCullough (which I prefer) while Husqvarna's plastic seems a little cheap, at least to the touch and eye, but they do sell a lot of saws. Sadly it appears there are no more more Stihl dealers in the immediate area.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...Yes&vertical=LAWN&pid=07135084000&tab=ser#tab

JENN FENG is the manufacturer of the sears 55cc(316.350840), troy bilt, mcculloch, and ryobi saws! www.jennfeng.com
To be dead honest your better off with a pullon(poulan) YOU CANNOT get parts for this saw! SEARS cannot even get parts for this saw, I don't even think they make spare parts, they just make saws!
But hey if you decide to get this POS I have parts, I have a complete leaking 55cc then another whole saw less engine.(some guy bought a new sears 55cc took the motor out for an R/C plane and sold me the rest brandnew for like $30 plus shipping!)new bar &chain, new carb(thought he needed it for the engine,guess not)everything but engine block! To this day I am not sure what the purpose of this saw is! They could'nt mean for that thing to cut wood,nooo way!j/k

 

[McCullough]

If look at McCullough's web site you'll eventually find a online parts store for the various brands imported or sold via MTD (didn't bother to check for Sears). Was able to find exploded image views of a MS1839AVCC and a few other saws I sampled. However, when I placed some parts on the shopping cart just to see what they cost the shopping cart completely malfunctioned and would not let me check out to see the prices (perhaps it does not like IE on a Mac so maybe I'll try another browser later). LOL, looking at chain brake they appear to list the entire assembly as one part as opposed to listing the parts seperately - that little thin metal band inside the chain brake tended to wear out or brake occasionally on my 3516 and the construction looks similar on the 1839 - bad sign, as the assembly will cost a lot more.

 

[slipknot]

All I know is that I took it back to sears to get the gas tank fixed...2 weeks later it comes back....not fixed....they say parts unavailable. Then they had a $53 bill for me when I went to go pick it up, 4th time back on warranty coverage. :angel: Sears will not even sell me a saw anymore! I went to buy this husky 55 rancher they had marked down to $239 and they took it from me, and told me due to warranty issues on other products I have purchased from them, they are no longer doing business with me. Kinda like they occused me of warranty fraud in a nice way! I was PI$$ED! I had everything from the oiler failing, to chain break gaurd snapping off, to muffler selfdestructing(the baffle tube broke loose..bad weld) antivibe springs (a part they can get) break all the time. And the fuel tank halves(gasket) leaks.
Just be careful!

 

[Chris J.]

Slipknot, are you serious about Sears not being willing to sell you a saw?

 

[DanManofStihl]

I can't beleve some buddy pissed sears off so much that they would not sell you a saw. I could understand at a little hokey saw shop on the outskirts of town but Sears? Man you must have left your mark their. Everytime I retured something they could care less they are just like go get a new one off the shelf and bring it up here.

 

[McCullough]

In our Sears store they've strategically divided the store in half with the appliance center so you have to walk through this area to get one department to any other department. Try try walking through there, I dare you!, without being asked by a salesman if you need help with buying a new $2500 stainless steel appliance.

 

[slipknot]

Slipknot, are you serious about Sears not being willing to sell you a saw?

Sounds like BS I know!!! Here in my town we have a sears but its private owned, they can't get parts,just tell you to go to nearest sears service center!
The reason why is this...in the spring I bought a 18in 42 cc saw it vapor locked and the some of the antivibe springs fell off. So I took it back and traded up to the sears 55cc which we are discussing now, I've mentioned above what happened to it. Well I also purchased one of those white 36 cc 16in saws, it vapor locked so I took it back and traded it for another, which the clutch spring let loose so I took it back which they have had now going on 4 weeks. They said they forgot to put it on the service truck that comes around once a week! Also the lady that owns the store caused me to turn into an ass, she pissed me off asking how many trees I was cutting up, she said I must be using them commercially for the saws to fail like that. Yes fellas poulan must have a tree quota clause in the warranty. You cut to many you void the warranty. I was also offended by a lady who sells washer and dryers and refrigerators and microwaves telling me whats up with chainsaws, If she knew thats ok but she tried to tell me sears makes their chainsaws, I say nooo poulan makes most of them, well it wouldn't sink in!
She just didn't know her a$$ from a hole in the ground! Also I cracked the sears secret on getting good deals! go to sears every sunday after 2 pm. Corporate comes down tells them to move it, mark it down till it sells. They can't just have a product sit on there shelves It has a time period before corporate makes them mark it down......alot! So I sit around till corporate leaves them within minutes after being marked down.....I SNIPE whatever it may be before anyone else gets to see it! Thats when I went to pay for the saw and they took it and wouldn't sell it to me! So find out when corporate comes to your sears and makes them mark things down and get some deals!

 

[wvdreamer]

35084 Safety Recall

Bought a 35084 55cc 18 inch chainsaw 4/2005. Was the biggest, newest most featured saw that was under 300 bucks. Used for around 12 hours over a year. Was a good saw till I couldn't get it started. Had the service agreement on it and took it to the service department 5/2006. After getting the saw back three times with them saying that all was working. The saw was adjusted so it would flood. Couldn't follow the instructions to start the saw. Used it for about an hour and the next day, couldn't get it started again the next day. Started to spit gas out of the carb. Took it back for the forth time, this all in the course of two months. Then got a call from the repair center that they were giving me a 199.99 replacment. Went to the retail shop, the manager was very well informed and I wanted a 55cc chainsaw. They had one but could not sell it to me since the saw had a safety recall on it. The next closest they had was a 42cc looked like a cheap Poulan. Already have a 42cc 18inch Poulan and wanted something with a bit more guts since I have a load of trees to take down. Bad thing about buying a house on a wooded lot.
Well after talking to the department manager and department manager calling the repair center trying to find out how to get my money back on the saw. The repair manager will call me tommrow.
Ok, so I wanted a cheap solution to a costly problem, had this chainsaw for about a year and used it for about 12 total running hours. Hopefully I can get all my money back, including the service agreement, add a couple of hundred dollars to by a real chainsaw.
You won't be able to buy this saw in the store or online since they have pulled all of them. Strange thing is, my saw was in the repair center for the last two months and no one at the repair center even mentioned the recall.
If you have very little to do and can get it done before a craftsman saw can give out on you, then it's a great saw. But if you want a real tool, something that will give you years of service, look for a much better saw. May cost you twice the price but if you are a high skilled professional, your time is worth more than the hassle you will get by owning a Craftsman chain saw. But then again, that is my opinion and results may vary.

:bang:

Next time...could someone please...

 

[motti]

For a quarter of the price, you could also buy a good ol' Homelite XL12 (the bigger, metal ones), a Super XL, a Mac 10-10, or one of the metal Poulans from Ebay or a garage sale. If you want service protection, and service, you may find a sweet deal on a Husky at Lowes, before they sell them off.

 

[wvdreamer]

Husky, Homelite, Metal Poulans....

For a quarter of the price, you could also buy a good ol' Homelite XL12 (the bigger, metal ones), a Super XL, a Mac 10-10, or one of the metal Poulans from Ebay or a garage sale. If you want service protection, and service, you may find a sweet deal on a Husky at Lowes, before they sell them off.

Thanks, looked on ebay for the homelite XL12 and there is one that is currently a "barn find" that looked pretty rough and since I'm not the tinkering type when it comes to combustion engines, really would like something that can take some newbie abuse and get the job done. I have a Poulan 260 42cc with an 18inch bar and it does pretty well, but some of the trees I'll soon need to fall and get out of the way seem to be bigger than my Poulan can handle.
Looked at the Husqvarna Rancher 455 at Lowes and Sears (around 399.00) but worry about the notion there is a pro version and "homeuser" version. Trying to save money by taking about a dozen trees down myself since here in Harrisburg a professional tree cutter wants around 700 bucks per tree and I really don't have the over 5k to take care of these trees.
I borrowed a STIHL MS310 with 20inch bar and that was a beast that seemed to take several logs in stride, but on ebay they run around 300 bucks and I wouldn't know if that is a good deal or what.
If I get the 220.00 I paid for the Craftsman saw back, I might be able to add another 150.00 into it to get a good saw, but with everything I've read, it's really a crap shoot for a saw under 500.00 new.
STIHL, Husqvarna and Poulan (not listing Craftsman since i've had it with that) are the ones at my local stores (lowes, homedepot, etc) and I'm wondering which of the dozen or so in my price range to bet on.
Guessing I need to be better educated in buying a worth wild chainsaw that will take a licking and keep on running...hey does Timex make chainsaws

 

[Marco]

If they are so poor don't buy them, pretty simple. There are Poulan dealers that would sell you a running, properly setup saw if you frugal consumers would care to come take a look. And if the Poulan is out of the league of use you are looking for I bet that dealer caries a line of saws that WILL meet your needs.
If you don't know anything about it and the punk who is stocking shelves that looks like he was in a fishing accident doesn't know anything about it, you probably should seek out a dealer of any brand that tickles your fancy to sell you something that runs when it leaves his/her shop.