Bar size on Poulan 2450

[JPP]

I have a Poulan 2450 with an 18" bar and 38cc engine.
I have been using it a lot cutting firewood lately and was wondering if changing to a 16" bar would give me any advantage other than slightly better balance and less weight.
I noticed that they do sell 16" Oregon bars for the 2450 and
I am thinking that the shorter chain will allow the engine to rev faster and give me more power to cut through some thicker wood. Am I right? or will I have more cutting power with the 18" bar?

Thanks.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Either bar and chain will task your saw equally enough to not notice...out of the wood. If you bury the 18 and then bury the 16, the 16 should theoretically have more power to spare with the 16, as you've got fewer teeth cutting. But if you have the 18 in 16" of wood, you'd be on par with a 16" bar. Make sense?

A longer bar won't give you more "cutting power" as you put it. It just allows you to cut larger stuff.

Jeff

 

[Patrick62]

Maybe

I will reserve my opinion of Poulan. That aside,
Difference between 18 and a 16 in bar length might make a difference, but it would be hard to measure. it is the power required to drag a chain another 4 inches or so. I have run both 16 and 18 on the same basic saw and the only difference I noticed is that the 18 gives me better reach.
I would not spend any $$ to try it, but if you had a bar and chain, give it a go!

-Pat

 

[JPP]

Either bar and chain will task your saw equally enough to not notice...out of the wood. If you bury the 18 and then bury the 16, the 16 should theoretically have more power to spare with the 16, as you've got fewer teeth cutting. But if you have the 18 in 16" of wood, you'd be on par with a 16" bar. Make sense?

A longer bar won't give you more "cutting power" as you put it. It just allows you to cut larger stuff.

Jeff

Makes sense. Thanks, Jeff.

 

[JPP]

I will reserve my opinion of Poulan. That aside,
Difference between 18 and a 16 in bar length might make a difference, but it would be hard to measure. it is the power required to drag a chain another 4 inches or so. I have run both 16 and 18 on the same basic saw and the only difference I noticed is that the 18 gives me better reach.
I would not spend any $$ to try it, but if you had a bar and chain, give it a go!

-Pat

Pat,
I know most people here will laugh at me for owning a Poulan. But, that is all I could afford when I bought it in 1995. It is still running great and still cutting everything I need to cut with it so haven't replaced it yet. It has been cutting 11-12 cords of wood for 10 years now and still starts and runs great. I just do the routine maintenance on it yearly myself, thats it.
I have been looking at buying a Stihl 280 because I am now cutting a lot of oak on my new property, and this is where the Poulan struggles a little. Takes me more time to cut the oak but it still cuts. That is why I was thinking the 16" will be a little better to give me some more juice to cut the oak. None of the wood is more than 16" in diameter.
I would have to say that Poulan was one of my best investments, although I am embarrassed to admit I own one.
I also have a cheap Homelite my parents bought for me about 8 years ago that I use for limbing. Nice and light.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Pat,
I know most people here will laugh at me for owning a Poulan. But, that is all I could afford when I bought it in 1995. It is still running great and still cutting everything I need to cut with it so haven't replaced it yet. It has been cutting 11-12 cords of wood for 10 years now and still starts and runs great. I just do the routine maintenance on it yearly myself, thats it.
I have been looking at buying a Stihl 280 because I am now cutting a lot of oak on my new property, and this is where the Poulan struggles a little. Takes me more time to cut the oak but it still cuts. That is why I was thinking the 16" will be a little better to give me some more juice to cut the oak. None of the wood is more than 16" in diameter.
I would have to say that Poulan was one of my best investments, although I am embarrassed to admit I own one.
I also have a cheap Homelite my parents bought for me about 8 years ago that I use for limbing. Nice and light.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

Don't appologize for what you own. Sounds to me like it's served you well. Don't worry about what anyone says.

But if you can work that 280, go for it!

Jeff

 

[TimberPig]

As you have noticed, Poulan has a bad habit of putting too much bar on their saws. 18" is too much bar for a 38cc saw, but they do it anyhow. As already discussed, a shorter bar will help it in bar buried cuts, but the difference between them otherwise is minimal. If you find it taxing the saw too much, and are going to be needing to more heavy duty cutting in the future, a larger, more powerful saw may be a good choice.

As to the issue of Poulan saws, yes, they aren't built as well as most Stihl, Husky, Jonsered, Dolmar, and other more expensive saws, but if its done what you've needed, don't be sorry and apologize for it. They can be a good value for the limited use some people like yourself use them for. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you've had one of the frustrating POS Poulans instead of the more rare good ones) for most of us, they are underpowered and not built tough enough for our uses. This is the main reason they have a poor rap around here, is because they aren't as suited to hard use. Don't let it get you down though, it sounds like your saw has been good to you and served you well.

 

[Diesel JD]

I agree, don't apologize...just realize that is a very small saw... at 38cc Are you running 3/8" lo profile or .325 pitch? If you need something that cuts a bit better, you might try some Oregon 33LG or Stihl 23RS if 325 or 91VS or Baileys 30LP if it's 3/8 Lo pro. These chains are a little faster than the stuff that came with it, but also ahve higher kickback tendency so take that under advisement. In 1995 Poulan might still have made a decent product. I never heard any bad things about their pro line.

 

[JPP]

Diesel,
I think it is 3/8 Low profile, low kickbback chain. I have a brand new Oregon low kickback bar on the saw, the one that has the chain adjustment screw on the bar.

 

[Cut4fun]

Why not go to a 14". Save the 18" for the bigger stuff, unless most of the wood you are cutting is over 14". I put a 12" on the 38cc and took the 16" bar from it and put on a 54cc. Took a 16" off a 33cc (way to much bar that poulan put on the little guy top handle) and stuck a 10" back on for trim work.

 

[retoocs555]

Why not go to a 14". Save the 18" for the bigger stuff, unless most of the wood you are cutting is over 14". I put a 12" on the 38cc and took the 16" bar from it and put on a 54cc. Took a 16" off a 33cc (way to much bar that poulan put on the little guy top handle) and stuck a 10" back on for trim work.

I work on inexpensive poulans a lot. 14" is the way to go, you will actually notice a difference between 14" and 18". Taking it down 4" in length makes it easier to work with too. I like Oregon 91vs chain with an oregon bar.

When possible I try to do the same on any of those smaller saws, the mccullochs, & homelites too.

Put the 18" away for when you need to cut something big and I'll bet you rarely, if ever put it back on. How often do you cut trees with a diameter over 28"?

 

[rjh245]

I had a 14 inch bar on my poulan 3314. I was using the oregon 90 chain on the bar for limbing. The 90 series has the .043 gauge bar. It would really tear through the stuff. I know some people here are not fans of the .043 gauge stuff but i liked it when i was using it. I used little poulans to do a lot of work and they have been great saws for the money. I would think about trying the Oregon 90 series chain and bar for you saw. Just my .02


I can't believe that poulan still sells the Poulan-pro 295 with a 20 inch bar. It only has a 46cc motor. I think that it should not have anything over a 16 inch bar on it.

 

[SawTroll]

Why not go to a 14". Save the 18" for the bigger stuff, unless most of the wood you are cutting is over 14". .....

I work on inexpensive poulans a lot. 14" is the way to go, you will actually notice a difference between 14" and 18". Taking it down 4" in length makes it easier to work with too. I like Oregon 91vs chain with an oregon bar...
...Put the 18" away for when you need to cut something big and I'll bet you rarely, if ever put it back on. ....

The best advice in this tread so far, I think.

Also scrap the 91VG chain and replace it with Oregon 91VS/91V or Stihl PM (not PM1).