Poulan Chainsaw Review
When it died, I had moved to a smaller place, didn't use wood as a primary source of heating and assumed my chainsaw needs had changed and I could "get by" with a less expensive chainsaw.
Bad choice as it turns out.
Here's the deal with the Poulan. I picked it up at Home Depot on special for just over a hundred bucks. Had it two years but didn't do a lot of cutting - heck, the chain was still sharp and I hadn't sharpened it yet (telling you how much serious wood cutting I do) and as you can tell from the picture, the bar is still well-painted with no fading or wear. (not much use on this machine)
The machine was hard starting - right out of the box. Even reseting the plug gap didn't help this - it was a hard machine to kick over.
The pull string was short - very short. So I had to seriously shorten the length of the pull to turn over the engine or I'd run out of string and jam the starter mechanism. I did this once or twice before I got it straight and had to take the starter system apart to unjam it.
So we have a hard-starting machine with a short length of cord to turn it over.
Again - let me remind you that the chain hadn't had enough wear to require sharpening.
I had some apple tree trimmings to chew up and decided to use the saw - pulled and the cord assembly went south on me. It wouldn't rewind. So I pulled it apart again and the entire starting assembly was chewed up (it's a plastic one) and the gears stripped off it.
Combining the hard starting with the short pull rope and the cheap plastic parts was a recipe for short-lived machine.
The part to fix it is more than the cost of the chainsaw if anybody could find one. The machine is out of warranty because it's been sitting in the garage for two years.
Researching
Reading up on the industry, it turns out that the major manufacturers are either selling out to larger corporations who "cheapen" down the brand or simply take a generic, cheap chainsaw and repaint, re-logo it to hit a price point. Disposable chainsaws! And I had bought one. You can't buy a good, relliable chainsaw from a big box store without facing this issue.
To get a good saw, you have to go to an independent who still carry premium manufactured chainsaws.
Bottom Line on this Poulan Chainsaw Review
The cheap 14-inch Poulan chainsaw is a piece of junk and I should have known better than to have bought it. Short ropes, cheap plastic innards. Older saws last for years and older Poulan chainsaws might be quite good. But don't buy a new one from a box store expecting that old quality.
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Agreed
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Poulan, 18", a real son of a witch to get started, and then when it warms up, every time I pull the trigger to cut, it stalls. Then, it won't start until ...
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