Poulan saw

[dschroeder]

Don't bash me too hard here, I do own a pair of nice saws (redmax 380 and echo cs300 top handle)

I'm seriously looking at a cheap poulan 33cc 14" to throw in the truck to take with on lawn jobs (its just a side gig on weekends). Can these be tuned to run decent? I know they get lots of bad reviews on the big box store sites but can't help but wonder how much is operator error. It'll be used/abused and don't want to risk one of the nicer saws being trashed ect.

 

[67L36Driver]

Open up the muffler exit (two tiny slits.......................................Really!) and lose the limiter caps from the H & L jets they perform well for what they are.

 

[dschroeder]

Does it need the limiter caps to keep the needles from moving? And can I use a reg screwdriver once I pull the caps?

 

[1Alpha1]

I used to have a Poulan 2150 Wood Shark. Bought it NIB at a target Store years ago on close-out for $49.00

It ran great and performed as intended. Easy to start, idle all day if you wanted, and light-weight. It came with a 14" b/c. While in Walmart on day, they were closing out a bunch of Poulan supplies. I picked up a bunch of 14", 16", and 18" bars for $5.00 ea. Poulan chains were priced at $3.50 ea. I pretty much bought what they had on the shelf.

Ended up selling the saw and all the extra equipment I bought for it, for $225.00, to a guy who kept pestering me to sell it to him.

 

[dschroeder]

Did you tweak the carb or was it good right out of the box?

 

[zogger]

I would think the H screw at least would need a little richening.

With that said, I would go whole hog and find one with some antyivibe to it. You should be able to get one cheap most any day of the week on most any local CL listing.

I think quite a lot of the negative reviews on cheaper poulans are from guys running the saw chain backwards and cranked down so tight it hardly budges, yanking the starter rope 189 times with the choke on, leaving ethanol contaminated fuel in it for like months, then expecting it to work, etc. Dull chain means just push harder while swearing at the saw like it is the saw's fault.

and stuff like that.

I have gotten quite a few poulans now, all they needed was the little screen inside the carb cleaned out, some new fuel lines, etc.

Just start asking around , looking around, even ask at repair shops. Get enough non runners, you can start to make runners from the parts.

One of the cool things about looking for junker poulans is frequently you will get a case with them...

 

[Brian B.]

The pp3314 is the best one in the (42cc) line, not as much saw as the pp5020 obviously, but the 42 cc engine with carb tuned properly, mated to the 14" bar, and its a fine little package, IMO

 

[dschroeder]

I thought it was 32cc from what I read

 

[Macman125]

I have a 3314. Its a great little saw. Its not my first choice out of my stable but it makes a great loner saw. And it runs well for what it is. As for the adjustment needles you will need to take the limiters out, remove the needles and use a dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut slots in the head of both needles. With that done you can adjust it with a small flat. The needles have springs behind them to hold them in tune so no need of worrying about putting the limiters back on. And definitely open the muffler up a little bit. For the price there hard to beat. And if taken care of and maintained properly they will last forever.

 

[dschroeder]

Noob here when it comes to the carbs, is the high needle closer or farther away from the engine side of the carb?

Any tips/tricks on where to start with the needles when I put them back in after cutting the slots and how to go about tweaking the carb? I'm not completely new to the 2 stroke world and their carbs. I fly RC airplanes just never tuned a saw.

As for the muffler just open up the outlet...is there such thing as opening it too far within reason? I know all this will void the warranty, just didn't want to mess it up and be stuck with it not running lol

 

[Brian B.]

T

I thought it was 32cc from what I read

New Poulan saws save for the 5020 are all 42cc, that's why unfortunately the "small" pp3314 is so darned heavy for a smaller saw.

 

[Brian B.]

Noob here when it comes to the carbs, is the high needle closer or farther away from the engine side of the carb?

Any tips/tricks on where to start with the needles when I put them back in after cutting the slots and how to go about tweaking the carb? I'm not completely new to the 2 stroke world and their carbs. I fly RC airplanes just never tuned a saw.

As for the muffler just open up the outlet...is there such thing as opening it too far within reason? I know all this will void the warranty, just didn't want to mess it up and be stuck with it not running lol

Before you remove them, count how many turns approx to needle closed, reinstall to that point after notching the needle heads. There are two or three really good carb adjustment videos on Poulan saws on you tube. Once you do it once you really kinda get it, and can "tune" most any two cycle hi/low/idle from there. Sometimes with summer to winter you have to adjust idle speed just a little, other than that once you find where the carb wants to be- than its good to go.

Check out you tube, more descriptive than any text we can type in here.

 

[dschroeder]

Thanks ill dig up some videos.

Any opinion on new vs factory refurb saws?

 

[Brian B.]

Thanks ill dig up some videos.

Any opinion on new vs factory refurb saws?

I am a newb too, to be clear, I cut for fun, for firewood, to hang with her Dad, I have only been cutting a year or so... Not a pro by any means,

But since you ask @ new vs refurb, look at the "dissecting an earthquake chainsaw" thread on this site. This saw is a much better saw than the Poulan, especially considering the price point, $55 to your door.

If you are committed to a Poulan, that's fine too, me personally, I would go new.

 

[dschroeder]

I cut for "fun" as we'll, get outdoors, can't hear the cell ring, guy time lol. Have a firepit I cut wood for...girlfriend likes the fire lol. Not committed to the poulan just still looking around.

 

[dboyd351]

look at the "dissecting an earthquake chainsaw" thread on this site. This saw is a much better saw than the Poulan, especially considering the price point, $55 to your door.

I'm not so sure it is a much better saw, but it is cheaper.
I don't own an Earthquake, and haven't read that thread, so I can't say for sure, but I am of the opinion that much of the bad rep Poulan has gotten is undeserved. I've got a Wild Thing that runs pretty decent, and has for 7 years, despite their rep. The older Poulans, like the 3400/3700, will kick some seroius butt over 30 years after they were manufactured. I'd put one up against a Stihl, or anything else, any day - and yes, I do own both.

 

[Macman125]

How do you go about getting one for $55 to your door?

 

[Macman125]

I'm not so sure it is a much better saw, but it is cheaper.
I don't own an Earthquake, and haven't read that thread, so I can't say for sure, but I am of the opinion that much of the bad rep Poulan has gotten is undeserved. I've got a Wild Thing that runs pretty decent, and has for 7 years, despite their rep. The older Poulans, like the 3400/3700, will kick some seroius butt over 30 years after they were manufactured. I'd put one up against a Stihl, or anything else, any day - and yes, I do own both.

Stock for stock I will put my 4000 up against any stihl or husqvarna of comparable size.

 

[Brian B.]

How do you go about getting one for $55 to your door?

eBay "ardisam cs4518"
(From tc-store)
45cc, 18" bar, great anti vibe, adj bar oiler, fantastic saw- provided you muff mod it

 

[Brian B.]

I'm not so sure it is a much better saw, but it is cheaper.
I don't own an Earthquake, and haven't read that thread, so I can't say for sure, but I am of the opinion that much of the bad rep Poulan has gotten is undeserved. I've got a Wild Thing that runs pretty decent, and has for 7 years, despite their rep. The older Poulans, like the 3400/3700, will kick some seroius butt over 30 years after they were manufactured. I'd put one up against a Stihl, or anything else, any day - and yes, I do own both.

Yes, they positively DO get a bad rap, for the most part by folks that never attempt to tune the carb, it doesn't run dead on out of the ox and they trash the brand... (Buy a tool, learn to tune.. Not that difficult)