Worst chainsaw ever made?

[TBS]

Some of the early battery pole saws were atrocious, the chain moved so slow the cutters looked like ants walking around the bar. Utterly useless.

Had one of those early greenworks ones and you were lucky to get through a 3 inch branch on a battery.

 

[Hand Splitter]

Poulan 50/20. Good thing there’s a 2 year warranty cause you’re gonna need it!

 

[Pioneer]

I once picked up a mini Mac..... and then put it right back down again.

 

[d45]

Poulan pro 4620 avx, 1st saw i ever bought about 18 years ago. Also the last poulan i ever bought.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[MacAttack]

Yes...Pull flywheel to change fuel lines unless you want to spend 2 hours with long needle nose. Oil pump is under the flywheel (WTH???) - long line to bar exit. Clutch isn't threaded to crank - usually works but weird.

Worst saw - 1990-2010 Homelite with hard plastic pull handle and RuiXing carb. Plastics so thin that you can see thru them. A/V like a bowl of jello.

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely pop the flywheel off then to work on the lines. As far as the clutch, it's not physically attached to the crank by threads, a key, taper, nothing? Just bolted on and friction?

 

[MacAttack]

I once picked up a mini Mac..... and then put it right back down again.

In all seriousness though, they're good running saws and not bad if you know how to work on them and make some modifications to the oiling system, recoil, etc. Their worst design flaw is having to strip them down completely to access the carb, coil, etc

 

[jltrent]

I am going to make a broad statement here. The worst saws are the ones pre 1980 and post 2015. You cant get parts for the old slow dogs and the new EPA saws are a POS compared to the 1990 to 2015 saws.

 

[Brent Nowell]

I do NOT like these models at all. I much prefer the 2150 model. Easier to work on and tune. Those strato poulans are very failure prone.

I must say that my Neighbor brought over a poulan pro 50cc the newer model and it was a much design. From what I could tell the intake seemed to be almost identical to the rancher. He has had good use out of it and it tuned well.

 

[Brent Nowell]

mini mac, and stihl 019

I have heard many times that the mini Mac is a dog.. too bad cause it is a Mac after all
From what the others have said here it sure sounds like you should stay away

 

[GeorgiaVol]

I must say that my Neighbor brought over a poulan pro 50cc the newer model and it was a much design. From what I could tell the intake seemed to be almost identical to the rancher. He has had good use out of it and it tuned well.

I'm not talking about the 5020. That one isn't half bad. I don't like the 3816 type

 

[dougand3]

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely pop the flywheel off then to work on the lines. As far as the clutch, it's not physically attached to the crank by threads, a key, taper, nothing? Just bolted on and friction?

IPL here..http://s30387.gridserver.com/partsDiagrams/McCulloch Late models.pdf. The whole L side of the case had to come off to easily get to the fuel tank holes. I'm wrong - the flywheel ONLY had to come off to replace the oil pump. Which is only parted down to the whole assy - so pricey for a cheap saw.

 

[TBS]

Poulan 50/20. Good thing there’s a 2 year warranty cause you’re gonna need it!

Retuning the carburetor on those makes a big difference because they are set so lean.

 

[MacAttack]

IPL here..http://s30387.gridserver.com/partsDiagrams/McCulloch Late models.pdf. The whole L side of the case had to come off to easily get to the fuel tank holes. I'm wrong - the flywheel ONLY had to come off to replace the oil pump. Which is only parted down to the whole assy - so pricey for a cheap saw.

Thank you again!

As soon as i have a few other saws off my workbench, I will tear into the 3818.

 

[MacAttack]

I have heard many times that the mini Mac is a dog.. too bad cause it is a Mac after all
From what the others have said here it sure sounds like you should stay away

Everyone should just send me their unwanted Mini Macs.

They suck to work on but mine are screamers, snappy and pull strong.

 

[GeorgiaVol]

Everyone should just send me their unwanted Mini Macs.

They suck to work on but mine are screamers, snappy and pull strong.

are those the Eager Beaver ones?

 

[MacAttack]

are those the Eager Beaver ones?

The Mini Macs were before the Eager Beaver saws, Mini Macs were all-metal construction made mostly in the 1970's. I think Eager Beavers had some similarities, but more plastic parts and electronic ignition.

 

[dougand3]

As far as the clutch, it's not physically attached to the crank by threads, a key, taper, nothing? Just bolted on and friction?

It's been years, but I think the clutch is smooth bore and has a dust plate and nut cinching it on the crank. Thrust washer behind sprocket. When you torque nut, I'm not sure how it doesn't compress sprocket, so that it doesn't turn. Maybe crank has a shoulder that sprocket bearing rides on. Or it could be just voodoo.
I think of these MAC 3500 as a re-incarnation of the Micro 25/Homey Little Red genre.

 

[Chris-PA]

The little Mac3200 family saws are not that hard to work on and make great little trim saws, and very sturdy too. The ones without AV will numb your hands fast though. Mine is 32cc and a 12" bar is perfect for it. A little trim on the piston edge for more intake duration and a muffler mod makes a big difference.

I honestly have to say the poulan 3314 strato... it really is a turd. I have played with them extensively and there really is not much room for improvement. They run terrible out of the box and even with carb adjustment it’s still a boggy stally mess haha.
every single one I have worked on had metering lever adjustment way out of whack, fixing it allowed for a reliable saw at least. But they really pack very little punch as notes by the full skip 14” 3/8 lopro...

their saving grace I suppose is their easability to work on, and their strong abs plastics.

For the 200$ CAD you can easily buy a non-clamshell craftsman and or champion saw which have amazing little engines. They also come with adjustable oilers and pack lots of room for improvement. There is also the ms180 but imo the champion and or craftsman coming with adjustable carbs and non clamshell for the same price are much better choices.

I love the older PoulanPro260, and I always wanted to play with one of the newer strato PP4218. I finally got one, but I hate it and I'm giving it away. Yes, it's anemic, but that could be fixed with a bit of port work, but on this saw Poulan stupidly copied the inboard clutch from Stihl. That moved the bar a good distance to the right and made the saw hopelessly unbalanced. I can't make two cuts match up to save my life with the thing. Not to mention it has a Stihl (ZAMA) C1 carb, almost all of which have leaky check valves and won't start reliably. Also the filter is much more restrictive than the old foam pads on the non-strato saws.

 

[dougand3]

Chris's PTO crank pic solves clutch mystery...sprocket on 1 level, then clutch on lower level.

 

[Okie]

Guy gave me a Poulan strato, looked like low hour saw, sometimes back and it defeated me. I should have made him pay me to take it off his hands.
Don't remember the model but I'm very cautious of strato saws now days.
I have a good bar and chain. I need to see if the bar and chain will fit any other non-Poulan/craftsman saws and if the bar can be modded to fit Homies, Stihls, Mac's.
Whoa, I would not put it on a Stihl (and drag the Stihl down)if it was a direct fit because it has the Poulan name on the bar. (I'm a Stihl guy)