Picked up a Ryobi 18" 15019 for $75 with Warranty

[reddogrunner]

I have two Stihl saws and kept trying to talk myself outta this thing, but its brand new with a 3 year warranty for $75.00. It came with a case and a pretty solid looking .325 chain and bar. Going to run the piss outta this thing for as long as I can. Maybe some muffler mods, but I just couldn't pass it up..... I may even put a 16" bar on it to help my life out a bit. Will see.

 

[dave_376]

Good luck with it. That model has been riddled with problems from day 1. If I recall its a homelite in green plastic. My buddy picked one up and made about 10 cuts before it stopped, lost spark.

 

[bigdaddy3]

Good luck with it. That model has been riddled with problems from day 1. If I recall its a homelite in green plastic. My buddy picked one up and made about 10 cuts before it stopped, lost spark.

I see you have a Poulan 3400 listed, I had one I bought back in the 80's tuffest dam saw I ever owned, was not as high rpm as most saw but it was one tuff dependable saw, had a 20" bar, after about 20 years I put a fresh set of rings in it and it ran like new right up until I left it in the back of my truck about 4 years ago and some bastard stole it.
I know alot of people trash talk Poulans and I can only speak for that but I own Huskys, Sthils, Echos and other but it was as solid a

 

[Dirtboy]

Cheap stuff like that is funny sometimes, sometimes you hit a good one that surprises you, and with the 3 year warranty you have nothing to lose. If it don't crap out on you soon, chances are you got a good one. Besides, its always nice to have a "lender saw" when the neighbor or in-law comes a knocking looking to borrow a chainsaw.

 

[zogger]

Good luck with it. That model has been riddled with problems from day 1. If I recall its a homelite in green plastic. My buddy picked one up and made about 10 cuts before it stopped, lost spark.

Maybe it came with a cheap chinese sparkplug?

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

I remember reading a thread over in the chainsaw forum from Chris-PA about a Ryobi build he did. I'm not sure if you have the same model as he did, but it might be worth checking out. It was a good read.

 

[Chris-PA]

I remember reading a thread over in the chainsaw forum from Chris-PA about a Ryobi build he did. I'm not sure if you have the same model as he did, but it might be worth checking out. It was a good read.

Thanks, but this is a totally different saw. That was a Zenoah GZ400 in gray, and this is a 46cc Homelite.

I cut my firewood with homeowner saws, mostly Poulan, but I've never tried the Homelite clamshell stuff - I'm sure they can be made to run well and if taken care of will hold up well enough, but I didn't see any reason to get into another similar saw. Besides, the Poulans are made in USA.

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

The Poulans have been cutting up the wood for me fine too for all these years. I've actually been throwing the idea around of getting another 5020 and keeping it in my shed for backup purposes. Most of the guys over in the chainsaw section will break your balls just for even saying you own a newer box store homeowner clamshell saw, to which I like to remember a quote someone on here once said; "the wood will never know the difference".

 

[reddogrunner]

Oh trust me, my stihls are still the go to saws and there is absolutely no comparison. Just thought I would tinker a bit. After cutting several tanks worth I am pretty sure it needs a down grade on the bar and definitely the muffler mod, which is coming this week.

 

[7sleeper]

Well one should always compare apples to apples. And I don't know the exact model you are talking about but the homeowner saws from Stihl are not that much better than the homeowner saws from any other brand in my experience. Same goes for the farmer and pro class.

7

 

[Chris-PA]

Well one should always compare apples to apples. And I don't know the exact model you are talking about but the homeowner saws from Stihl are not that much better than the homeowner saws from any other brand in my experience. Same goes for the farmer and pro class.

7

You are a master of the understatement!

 

[513yj]

Well one should always compare apples to apples. And I don't know the exact model you are talking about but the homeowner saws from Stihl are not that much better than the homeowner saws from any other brand in my experience. Same goes for the farmer and pro class.

7

I'm not sure I would agree about that. My 025 is not a pro saw and it's seen a heck of a lot of use since 2003 including 3 winters piececutting cedar. My neighbor cuts wood slabs he gets form the local sawmill and his new green saw didn't make it 2 years. It very well could be operator error making it then apples to cement blocks then.

 

[reddogrunner]

I've cut lots and lots and lots of wood with my two orange saws. One is a homeowner model which is a kick azz little saw. Its a hopped up 180 with a 14inch bar that is my favorite saw to run. I also have 310 which I use for stump work and big logs. It's too heavy for the majority of the cuttig I do. Mostly what I cut is firewood stuff out of fencelines and woodlots, but I put plenty of hour on macines and those stihls have never ever let me down. The Ryobi is under powered and not matched to the bar appropriately and you can tell the build quality is nowhere even close to the stihls. But, it's still fun to try something different. I've only ccut about 1/4 cord with it so far. It needs some more rpms and a thinner bar. That .325 is not the right chain for that thing.

 

[Chris-PA]

I've cut lots and lots and lots of wood with my two orange saws. One is a homeowner model which is a kick azz little saw. Its a hopped up 180 with a 14inch bar that is my favorite saw to run. I also have 310 which I use for stump work and big logs. It's too heavy for the majority of the cuttig I do. Mostly what I cut is firewood stuff out of fencelines and woodlots, but I put plenty of hour on macines and those stihls have never ever let me down. The Ryobi is under powered and not matched to the bar appropriately and you can tell the build quality is nowhere even close to the stihls. But, it's still fun to try something different. I've only ccut about 1/4 cord with it so far. It needs some more rpms and a thinner bar. That .325 is not the right chain for that thing.

I have a ported 46cc plastic Poulan clamshell (2775) that pulls a 20" .325 chain quite well. I run 20BPX on it and it blows chips nicely. I'd be curious as to what the engine & porting looks like in that Ryobi for comparison. It probably has a cat muffler if they can sell it now without strato.

 

[7sleeper]

As I already mentioned comparing a Stihl homeowner to a Ryobi homeowner is like comparing an apple to a rotten pear...

I'm not sure I would agree about that. My 025 is not a pro saw and it's seen a heck of a lot of use since 2003 including 3 winters piececutting cedar. My neighbor cuts wood slabs he gets form the local sawmill and his new green saw didn't make it 2 years. It very well could be operator error making it then apples to cement blocks then.

Green saw is I presume a wildthing with an 20 inch bar on a 40cc saw!? That is the same comparison like above. Although I have a wildthing with a 15 inch bar and it has been an excelent saw over the years. Sharp quality chain, good carb settings, good 2 stroke mix and some regular maintenance make all the difference

I am talking about Stihl 250, Husqvarna 445, Dolmar 421, Echo 440, Efco 147 etc. All these saws with a 15inch bar, always sharp chain, same gas quality, correctly set carbs, regular maintenance and same type of wood are going to last about equally long.

7

 

[reddogrunner]

I am going to pull the muffler off and see what I can do to mod it. The tuning of the carb is going to be a challenge. The adjusters are not something I have seen before. Thy look like a small nut and not a small screw. Lets put it this way, I was cutting a load of seasoned logs (dead standing timber) and the thing would flat out stall in the middle of a cut. The cut took 2-3 times as long to make as my little 180. Maybe I will take pics before and after. I still think a narrower bite on the chain presents less resistance and would help the saw.

I don't expect a diamond in the rough. I was hoping to tinker around and get an acceptable back-up saw or loaner saw. I used to have a little poulan I bought off a Husky mechanic who tuned it and that thing ran like a raped ape until I ran it over with hte tractor. It was light, fast and I had 12 chains for it. I cried when I had to bury it

 

[KenJax Tree]

My Dolmar 421 doesn't believe its only a 40cc saw. Also im not sure you can put the 421 in that group with it having a magnesium case and the rest clam shells

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zogger]

I am going to pull the muffler off and see what I can do to mod it. The tuning of the carb is going to be a challenge. The adjusters are not something I have seen before. Thy look like a small nut and not a small screw. Lets put it this way, I was cutting a load of seasoned logs (dead standing timber) and the thing would flat out stall in the middle of a cut. The cut took 2-3 times as long to make as my little 180. Maybe I will take pics before and after. I still think a narrower bite on the chain presents less resistance and would help the saw.

I don't expect a diamond in the rough. I was hoping to tinker around and get an acceptable back-up saw or loaner saw. I used to have a little poulan I bought off a Husky mechanic who tuned it and that thing ran like a raped ape until I ran it over with hte tractor. It was light, fast and I had 12 chains for it. I cried when I had to bury it

You need at least to muffler mod it and richen it up on the H side. I would think just almost every new saw needs that today. (not counting autotune/mtronic) saws ship choked up and lean.

 

[Vibes]

There are certainly much better cheap saws out there especially if you are looking at clearance deals or factory remanufacted saws. I have the old gray Ryobi that I bought at one of those tool truck sales that they used to have at the firehall up the street. I paid $89 for it. Other than putting on the proper weighted full filter that's all I have done to that saw other than replacing the 18 inch bar with a 16 from a Wildthing. That saw is dead on reliable and it did run the 18 inch bar without a problem. I did buy good chain for it to.

That being said, there is a guy who I work with who puts up a pretty impressive pile of wood each year with one of those Poulan Predators that he got at the midnite sale at Wallys on Black Friday for $50.

 

[513yj]

As I already mentioned comparing a Stihl homeowner to a Ryobi homeowner is like comparing an apple to a rotten pear...


Green saw is I presume a wildthing with an 20 inch bar on a 40cc saw!? That is the same comparison like above. Although I have a wildthing with a 15 inch bar and it has been an excelent saw over the years. Sharp quality chain, good carb settings, good 2 stroke mix and some regular maintenance make all the difference

I am talking about Stihl 250, Husqvarna 445, Dolmar 421, Echo 440, Efco 147 etc. All these saws with a 15inch bar, always sharp chain, same gas quality, correctly set carbs, regular maintenance and same type of wood are going to last about equally long.

7

It was a poulan somehting with approximately 16-18" bar that he has. It didn't last nearly as long as my 18" 025 that is still running like a top and this saw is about the same as a ms250. As I said possibly operator error but I'm still gonna say the stihl will still be running for longer than those green saws.