Brand Opinion

[Mad Dog]

So what's the general consensus concerning Poulan chainsaws? I've only used one once that I borrowed from a friend and I thought it was a piece of crap, however; it's lack of performance could've been due to poor owner maintenance or something. I always thought of 'em as just a cheap consumer saw. The old ones made back in the '50s seem to be OK, though.

 

[Cope1024]

Back in the day, Poulan was a great saw. Not so much any more.

 

[JimM]

So what's the general consensus concerning Poulan chainsaws? I've only used one once that I borrowed from a friend and I thought it was a piece of crap, however; it's lack of performance could've been due to poor owner maintenance or something. I always thought of 'em as just a cheap consumer saw. The old ones made back in the '50s seem to be OK, though.

I realize new guys want to post something. Read some more on this site. Plenty of Poulan respect.

 

[Marley5]

They sell and simply fit the needs of many....just not pro's.

 

[Mustang71]

The poulan pro's do not excite me. I had one and was not a fan of it. I would be willing to try the 50cc one. The generation before the pro's are what I like, the wild thing n such. But they were sold in 2 different cc sizes. Something like 36 and 42cc. Easy to work on reliable and they make decent power. There's a lot of other slightly older poulan saws that get a lot of respect. I would buy an older poulan if the price was right with no hesitation. I would take a new poulan over a homelite/royobi any day. Craftsman doesn't mean much as a brand anymore but they used to put their name on good stuff like poulan chainsaws.

 

[Jasonrkba]

They serve there purpose well. Cheap saws that do the job for someone who gets it out once or twice a year for clean up. I've cut a lot of firewood with them.

 

[Mustang71]

I like to exercise mine and I throw them into my yearly fire wood cutting. Yea I mainly run stihl for fire wood but I break out the craftsman to cut some wood too. The small poulan gets all the storm clean up or what ever else is small. It's due for a rebuild though. 20 dollars gets you what you need.

This was a month ago or so.

 

[Jon1212]

Poulan and Poulan PRO's from the 70's 80's and 90's are still relevant.

 

[Bret4207]

Many of the older Poulans are fine saws. Get into the 90's and newer and they went downhill real fast.

 

[Softdraw]

I am probably in the minority, but I like the two I have: a pp5020 and a pp4218. I only use them to cut firewood. I am not a pro or require a pro saw and I have never run a Stihl or Husky. However, my two have run flawlessly. Given some of the negative comments about the brand, I might be fortunate in that my Poulans must have come from good manufacturing batches. I could probably upgrade the bars/chains but the engine themselves start every time and idle smoothly. The most I've done to mine is to turn the low screw a touch on the pp4218 because its idle was too low. I used a BIC pen some fellow on the Internet suggested rather than investing in the special tool.

 

[LoveStihlQuality]

I am probably in the minority, but I like the two I have: a pp5020 and a pp4218. I only use them to cut firewood. I am not a pro or require a pro saw and I have never run a Stihl or Husky. However, my two have run flawlessly. Given some of the negative comments about the brand, I might be fortunate in that my Poulans must have come from good manufacturing batches. I could probably upgrade the bars/chains but the engine themselves start every time and idle smoothly. The most I've done to mine is to turn the low screw a touch on the pp4218 because its idle was too low. I used a BIC pen some fellow on the Internet suggested rather than investing in the special tool.

Like any, take care of it. Keep tuned and not too lean, good fuel and sharp chain. Re: older, I have older grey Craftsman / Poulan 3800. A keeper.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

 

[sonny580]

Well,----I have 2 of the 5020's, --- 4 of the 4218's,---2 wild things,---dad's 1800, and have done an awful lot of cutting with them.--no complaints from this end.---I do like the 5020's the best!--They seam to be a LOT different than the 4218's in the way they cut/run/sound/etc., and it may be just that the other 6cc's make the difference, but they just feel more solid?--can't put a finger on the word right now!
I have dads 1800 and did want to rebuild it. --- I know the chain oiler quit on it and don't know what the chance of fixing that will entail! thanks; sonny580

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

For Poulan's current offerings, if you cross reference the part numbers for the jug and piston, you will find that the parts are also used in many of the other saws under 50cc. The crank may change a bit but that's mainly due to the clutch end of the shaft (inboard/outboard clutch). For example, they bill the PP3314 as a 33cc saw, but if you look at the EPA sticker, it states that it is a 42cc class engine. The piston and jug cross reference to the same ones that are also used on the PP4218, my PP3516, the 4016, and many of the Sears/Craftsman saws.

Like anything else, if you use it within its design limits and care for it well, it will last you many years. If you treat it and maintain it like a cheap throw-away, it will be thrown away in a few years. Don't expect to take down the mightiest tree in the forest. It's not designed for that.

 

[AlfA01]

I only talk down about two sorts of saws: those that are hard to work on and those that get other folk's panties in a bunch. Nothing like teasing folks that are diehard brand loyal to a certain saw.

I've cut wood with a bunch of different saws and the only ones that were bad, is the ones I couldn't get the job done with and couldn't get fixed easily.

 

[Mustang71]

I

Well,----I have 2 of the 5020's, --- 4 of the 4218's,---2 wild things,---dad's 1800, and have done an awful lot of cutting with them.--no complaints from this end.---I do like the 5020's the best!--They seam to be a LOT different than the 4218's in the way they cut/run/sound/etc., and it may be just that the other 6cc's make the difference, but they just feel more solid?--can't put a finger on the word right now!
I have dads 1800 and did want to rebuild it. --- I know the chain oiler quit on it and don't know what the chance of fixing that will entail! thanks; sonny580

I personally think my 4218 was a piece of crap but maybe I pushed it to hard. I hear many great things about the 5020 and on paper it sounds like a better saw then my more expensive husky 450. I would like to try one.

After all I kept the old 42cc craftsman and gave the pp4218 away. 2 different saws all the way around.

 

[TBS]

The 4218 my grandpa had was a pos and I ended up buying a ryobi 10532(redmax) which was miles better. The 5020 i had seemed like a much better saw than the husqy 445/craftsman I had. After running the new orange poulan at work and my ryobi 3714, the 3714 is better, even my craftsman 42cc(not poulan) is better but they are redmax/zenoah clones. Nothing wrong with the new poulans after you get them tuned right.

 

[Mustang71]

I believe the pp2050 comes with a 3/8 chain so wonder to myself how a 50cc saw handles a 3/8 20" bar. I'm running a .325 on my 64cc muffler modded stihl 290 with a 20 inch bar and that handles it fine. 3/8 20 inch bar seems like a bit much for a 50cc saw.

 

[sonny580]

Mine does fine.--I run 20" on all 50cc saws here.--Other guys may feel differently about it! thanks; sonny580

 

[Ed Crawford]

I like them. I feel they're pretty good for the money. The ones I've had have been anyway. I had a "McCulloch" (yellow Poulan) and that was one reliable little sucker. If I had put a good bar & chain on it, I probably would have been even happier with it.

 

[dmb2613]

They are as good as any cheaper line saw, would I buy one, no, would I get one out of the dumpster, yes