enjoys cutting
ArboristSite Operative
just wondering if there is any quality left in the poulan pro saw line?i heard some of the big saws were alright, just wondering about the small ones?
thoughts on poulan pro?
- Thread starter enjoys cutting
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As a general rule, they're junk. Occasionally one sneaks through and works well.
An analagous situation: my buddy's dad purchased one of those 33cc Homelites a while back and it has actually been a rock-solid reliable saw once the rough piece where the starter cord comes out was smoothed out so it would stop ripping the starter rope up. However, a couple other people I know bought the same saw and theirs have can't be made to run properly, period.
Though these saws - Poulan, Homelite, McCulloch - are junk by all measures and I'd never encourage someone to buy one, the can and do work sometimes.
An analagous situation: my buddy's dad purchased one of those 33cc Homelites a while back and it has actually been a rock-solid reliable saw once the rough piece where the starter cord comes out was smoothed out so it would stop ripping the starter rope up. However, a couple other people I know bought the same saw and theirs have can't be made to run properly, period.
Though these saws - Poulan, Homelite, McCulloch - are junk by all measures and I'd never encourage someone to buy one, the can and do work sometimes.
enjoys cutting
ArboristSite Operative
thanks for the reply,as a general rule i stick with red and black.just seen a few around but had no experience with them.
retoocs555
Addicted to ArboristSite
A poulan pro if kept clean, and run on correctly mixed fuel, with an appropriate length bar, is a very good saw for the money.
The problem with cheap saws isn't so much quality of construction as it is quality of maintenance.
You do pay for quality, and the more you pay (in general) the better the quality will be.
I consider poulan pro a step above what is offered from homelite, mcculloch, and plain old poulan.
The problem with cheap saws isn't so much quality of construction as it is quality of maintenance.
You do pay for quality, and the more you pay (in general) the better the quality will be.
I consider poulan pro a step above what is offered from homelite, mcculloch, and plain old poulan.
retoocs555 said:
That probably explains why the few I've seen in person have not worked very well.
"Hey, do I have to use mixed gas in my saw every time I fill it up?"
THALL10326
The Champ
enjoys cutting said:
Can't say all Poulans are bad and hell for no more than they cost some are pretty good. The problem with Poulan is a very puzzling one. They have made saws for years and years and at one time put out some damn good ones. The 3400 is still out there running strong. The problem seems Poulan has given up on top notch stuff and goes after only the low end market. They have the know how and tooling to make good stuff like they once did but just don't seem interested anymore. They want only the low cost, low end market. Who knows, maybe thats where the money is.......
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
enjoys cutting said:
The only quality that was ever really in Poulan "Pro", was in the various Partner and Pioneer models that were in the line up about 15 years ago when Electrolux consolidated those brands together with some actual Poulan designs and painted them all yellow. At the time, the yellow, or pro versions of the Poulan designs were supposed to have chrome cylinders to differentiate them from the green ones. I don't believe the 3400/3700's ever made it to the yellow paint, as the bigger sizes were far better covered by the Partners and Pioneers.
Looking back, you have to wonder what the heck Electrolux was thinking. Did they ever really intend to market all of those brands? Several of the Partners also made it into the Jonsered catelog, and they were great saws. What was the point of buying Pioneer, selling them as Poulans for a few years and then closing it down? Maybe it was just to eliminate some of the competition, and we will never know how long any of the "3 P's" would have lasted if they had stayed independent.
I'd kind of like to add a 475 or a 505 to the collection some day.
Stumper
One Man Band
Thall-As Spike has mentioned-Poulan was absorbed by Electrolux-the consortium that owns Husqvarna and Jonsered. Some of the Poulan Pro's were very good saws but the current lineup are really consumer grade saws despite the "Pro" name. I consider them a bit better grade of consumer saw than the current Homelites and Poulan Wild things-though some standard Poulans and Poulan Pros and low end Huskies are all the same design.
THALL10326
The Champ
Stumper said:
Awwwwwwwwww I'm learning something about Poulan. Can't say I ever got all that interested in them but must admit they do puzzle me. Seems to me they go after the low end market and don't bother with the high end at all. I guess those decisons are made by Electrolux. I still see alot of older Poulans come in from time to time for a new chain or something and they , the old ones, seem like solid saws.
SawTroll
Information Collector
enjoys cutting said:
I don't think there is much quality left, after the Pioneer models and the models made in Sweden disappeared.
NWCS
Addicted to ArboristSite
i just stripped apart my old Poulan Pro 255. this was my first chainsaw. the first month i used it i ran poulan oil and scored the piston and lost all compression. dealer put a new piston/cyl in and i switched to stihl oil, never had problems with this one again. the piston looks great through the ports. this is one of the old "durachrome" cyl yellow and black ones. i see at my local walmart they have 2 diffrent kinds of poulans with the pro label, a burgandy color pro label and in a diffrent section of the store the yellow and black pro label ones. my poulan gets used for the jobs i would never use a good saw, creosoted railroad ties and in the dirt root cutting. i think i got this thing about 1996
SawTroll
Information Collector
NWCS
Addicted to ArboristSite
here is the crank and piston out of the Poulan Pro 255. i expected the worst but i was rather supprised with a decently stout looking 3pc crank, nice connecting rod. this saw will be woods ported, why not have some fun!
http://www.nwchainsaw.com/poulan1.jpg
http://www.nwchainsaw.com/poulan2.jpg
http://www.nwchainsaw.com/poulan1.jpg
http://www.nwchainsaw.com/poulan2.jpg
I don't believe the 3400/3700's ever made it to the yellow paint 375 was what it was in the pro line
I like Poulans myself and like any saw company out there. There are ones I would not buy either. Just research it and ask and save some money. The only new poulan worth a darn to me right now is the PP 330 and I heard they quit making it too. Heres a few of the good ones imo.
Stumper
One Man Band
The 330 was a lot of saw for the $$-You'll find old threads on this site where I highly recommended it. Alas it may of have been too good -- E-lux pulled it. I don't know if that was because it was competeing too heavily with the Husky Ranchers or perhaps it was because doofi kept ripping the intake boots trying to pull stuck saws out of pinched bar situations.
I was told emissions was the problem with the bigger ones
BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
spike60 said:
It's been done. I don't know anything about this particular situation, but I do know that it's generally frowned on to buy a competitor just to shut him down. Fines and even jail time can result.
Soooooo.... You buy the competitor, continue to market the stuff for a few years, and gradually dismember it. Oh, all in the name of efficiency, of course!
Could have been what happened here, or it could have been just a boneheaded decision.
