50cc Craftsman/Poulan - looks nice

[Chris-PA]

We bought two spare caps and he has to rotate them to dry out so the swelling goes down and they are usable again.

The long story behind that is this - I called Poulan and they were quite rude and not helpful at all. Basically they said they would not send a new gas cap and I could buy another one or two and rotate them to let them dry out but it was not going to be any different, they have not changed the material despite knowing it doesn't work right for over 11 years - their words, not mine. I laid into them pretty good that they would keep using gas caps that they know darn well have big problems - safety problems from spilling gas because you can't close them properly half the time. There are threads out here about this issue.

By then I was speaking to a manager and explained to him that the flippy gas cap on my Stihl weed whacker wasn't right and before I even got to call the dealer I got a recall notice from Stihl and a hastle free replacement from the dealer and an apology from Stihl. I also explained how my Husqvarna dealer gladly swapped my bar/chain on my new saw after I brought it home when I decided I'd rather have the .325 narrow kerf. I asked how come they were so helpful, even when they didn't have to be, and Poulan service sucks. His response was, and I quote, "Well sir, this isn't Stihl or Husqvarna. Stihl and Husqvarna are different kinds of products than what we produce."

Now Poulan and Husqvarna are still owned by the same parent company I think but clearly very different products and different support. So there it is, straight from the horse's mouth (or maybe the other end), Poulan admits to being a second or third rate product compared to Stihl and Husqvarna. Now we all know this already but to have Poulan actually come right out and say it is pretty bad IMHO. Not to say that Poulan doesn't make an OK saw for the homeowner market and it's priced to reflect that it is not a Stihl or Husky, but I just can't believe they basically said, yeah we suck, sorry without at least trying to defend their products and service.

I wasn't even trying to say that Poulan should be as good as Husky or Stihl (or Dolmar, Solo, Efco, etc). I understand that they can't be for the price they sell Poulan saws for. I was just trying to get them to replace a clearly defective part that causes a potentially dangerous situation, not to mention the green people are gonna get mad from all the gas being spilled.

Interesting - I also bought two replacement caps. The first one failed in a similar way in a short time, only not quite as bad, but the second has held up well so far. I've tried to remember the timing but I'm not really sure, however I think the problem started before ethanol was really common. I do find it surprising that a fuel cap problem would be allowed to linger for so long, as that would seem to be the kind of thing they would be all over very quickly.

I used to store the saw in its side to keep the fuel off the cap, and that seemed to help.

 

[Carl Anderson]

I'll have to talk to my dad and see how things are going with his gas caps. I honestly don't recall if they were vented or not, I'm thinking no, but not sure. If not maybe some of those sealing suggestions will work. According to Poulan the swelling is from the ethanol and that's also what Stihl said was the reason their flippy caps failed, because the ethanol was causing some flippy cap parts to swell. Poulan claimed it takes several weeks for theirs to swell up and a day or two to dry out. That's not true from our experience, my dad's caps swell up in a few days and take at least a week or more to dry out. That's why he got two spares so he can rotate three of them. If it really is the ethanol, maybe the pre-mix in a can is a good idea since that saw probably goes through only a few tank fulls a year so cost won't be a big issue. He just had back surgery so he won't be cutting for a while, no heavy duty cutting ever again most likely but that's what I'm here for.

 

[Chris-PA]

There's a duck bill vent in the WT cap. When the caps swell, the retaining rings often let loose and the retaining strap and duck bill can fall off.

 

[Jerry King]

I bought one at a pawn shop a few months ago and have been using it to cut stumps down low enough for the grinder to get over them. MY will really scream but it does bog down easy, it is not near the same as my old Poulan 3600 that was 30 years old which i can not find parts for anymore. But it will do as a scrap saw till I find a real good one. I am working on a 45 in. across at the top stump right now It will take a good deal of time to get it down to size.

 

[indiansprings]

I hope they work out for the owners, they may be a great bang for the buck for the occasional user, a lot more saw than the 170/180 stihls. But personally I'd rather have a nice used husky 455/460 or a 290 stihl, you know you'll be able to find get parts quickly and for a long time for either one of those. I love craftsman hand tools/ shop tools, tried one of their backpack blowers, didn't make it thru the summer, nightmare to try to get it serviced, hanging on the shop wall still broke.

 

[Modifiedmark]

But personally I'd rather have a nice used husky 455/460 or a 290 stihl, you know you'll be able to find get parts quickly and for a long time for either one of those.

That might be true for you and your area/dealer but around here I find it to be just the other way around.

Besides the fact that I dont even have to leave the house to get Poulan parts! Just a couple of mouse clicks or a phone call and they magically appear in my mailbox or door step in just a couple of days.


Another plus for example is I just bought a new clutch cover for a Poulan 3000. It was less then $15 and I had it in three days. My friend just this summer ordered a new MS290 cover and it was about $60 and took a week and a half to get. He had to make two special trips to the dealer to get it and still got raped for shipping on it.

So, to each there own, but I have to say this new 50cc Poulan has my attention and would like to see one up close sometime.

I know just a while back when the PP330's returned for sale for a little while those were a smoking deal on a very good saw.

 

[Jerry King]

Becasue it works fine. My 46cc Poulan pulls its 20" bar very well, so there certainly no reason a 50cc would have a problem with it. This has become a kind of standard comment, and I'm not sure where it comes from. If you're a pro doing production cutting, then relatively minor cutting speed differences might be important, but otherwise I don't get it. The reality for anyone doing clean up and firewood cutting is that the part where you run the saw is probably 15% of the job time. Far more is spent hauling, splitting and cleaning up the junk. So what difference does, say 10% of 15% of the job matter? I dunno, maybe it's just regurgitated marketing hype to sell people up to bigger and more expensive saws.

I agree partly but a 50 cc with a 20 inch bar just does not cut it IF you really want to get some work done. I have been working cutting the tops off stumps so a grinder will fit over them. I am now working on one that is 45 Inch's across the top 4 foot up from the ground and the little 50 cc while it will get the job done it will take forever and that is keeping a sharp chain (not the cheapo anti kick chain) but then the saw is not made for a job like this you would only think so if you were one of the hundreds of newbies that are cleaning up after the windstorm that went through here. The saw is plenty good on smaller wood say 12-15 in,s across if you take it easy. Since I bought mine from a pawn shop for 65$ I cannot complain much, the saw is getting the work done and it will take a beating. JMHO

 

[Chris-PA]

Cutting off stumps is a different ballgame, especially that big with a 20" saw. You're down on the ground on your knees with poor leverage. You'd want to get it over with as quick as possible. But that is not really what I was describing.

 

[Da83moon]

Poulan. 5020

I got this chainsaw a few weeks back. I've been very pleased. I ran around 4 tanks of gas through it. It's not hiccuped at all. It seems to be ggod so far. I've cut some big and small and handles it well.

 

[zogger]

I got this chainsaw a few weeks back. I've been very pleased. I ran around 4 tanks of gas through it. It's not hiccuped at all. It seems to be ggod so far. I've cut some big and small and handles it well.

Good to hear that! Maybe finally they are starting to give a hoot again and will go back to building competitive saws at affordable prices.

Did you readjust the carb any for breakin, or just running it stock as it comes? And in the owner manual are they still saying run 40:1?

and oh ya, pics or it didn't happen!

 

[Jerry King]

Cutting off stumps is a different ballgame, especially that big with a 20" saw. You're down on the ground on your knees with poor leverage. You'd want to get it over with as quick as possible. But that is not really what I was describing.

Yea you are right, nothing worse then cutting off stumps digging in the dirt. seams I go through more chains on rock and wire hidden in the stump. The saw was not really made for this work but one thing it does not complain , it is low on torque high on RPMs but in the end it gets the job done and I will get rid of it once I get all the trash around the lot. Then I will buy a decent saw.

 

[Da83moon]

Good to hear that! Maybe finally they are starting to give a hoot again and will go back to building competitive saws at affordable prices.

Did you readjust the carb any for breakin, or just running it stock as it comes? And in the owner manual are they still saying run 40:1?

and oh ya, pics or it didn't happen!

I'll get some pics next time out. Was I supposed to adjust the carb? This is my first new chainsaw. The other one I got passed down to is a homelite xl12. Yes running 40:1.

 

[zogger]

I'll get some pics next time out. Was I supposed to adjust the carb? This is my first new chainsaw. The other one I got passed down to is a homelite xl12. Yes running 40:1.

--wouldn't hurt to take it to a dealer that carries or used to carry poulans. Maybe a husky dealer. Have them take a look at the carb settings. New saws tend to be adjusted sort of lean to hit EPA emissions regulations. A little richer for the first ten tanks or so shouldn't hurt. Worth it to pay his minimum to have it adjusted correctly, then after breakin do it again.

 

[joecool85]

Good to hear folks are liking them. Any issues with the starters breaking? Lots of complaints on the sears.com website about that. There was also a complaint on the lowes.com website about it not running right, so he ran it "WOT for 3-4 minutes with no load"! Then he was surprised it "stalled" and wouldn't run...I don't know about some people.

 

[Jerry King]

I don't know about others but I bought mine from a Pawn shop to cut down stumps so I can get a stump grinder over them. The one I am working on now is 45 Inches across the top and had wire and barb wire in it. So far the only problem in the 50cc is under powered for this work but I knew that when I bought it. Hope to get another chain UPS tomorrow from Bailey's In CA> and get this last stump out of here.

 

[Wileyone27]

Sure does appear to be Poulan judging by the looks of things. Reminds me of the insides of my 330 with exception to the newer carb and the adjuster being on the cover.

I talked to a buddy of mine in Chicago, he used to be a VP of marketing for sears holding company. He said that the craftsman 50cc 20" saw is a "hybrid" for the lack of better words. He said you will never hear sears say this, but the craftsman 07135098000 saw is actually parts of the poulan 5020, husky 445 and the husky 455 rancher all mashed together to make this saw. Just thought I would throw that out there.

 

[Jerry King]

I talked to a buddy of mine in Chicago, he used to be a VP of marketing for sears holding company. He said that the craftsman 50cc 20" saw is a "hybrid" for the lack of better words. He said you will never hear sears say this, but the craftsman 07135098000 saw is actually parts of the poulan 5020, husky 445 and the husky 455 rancher all mashed together to make this saw. Just thought I would throw that out there.

The way it runs may be it is, I have beat it to death cutting down stumps so I can get a grinder over them and it keeps going. The work is hard on chains with all the stones and crap in the stumps but for a under powered saw it keeps on running. Paid 65$ at pawn shop for it and it had less then a year on it according to the serial numbers on it.

 

[Worrdogg]

I just bought one based on some research that it's a Poulan Clone tagged for Craftsman. Poulan is owned my Husqvarna and that is why I decided to try it out. Before starting it up I wanted to replace the spark plug with which I assumed was a champion with an NGK and to my surprise the spark plug that was on the chainsaw is a Husqvarna plug.