Any poulan lovers out there

[RonMar]

I bought a Poulan Wild Thing about 7 years ago. I couldn't tell you how many bars and chains I have ran thru it, but it is still going strong. I just used it again this evening. The first 4 years I did several cords of firewood per year and a LOT of cleanup and stump work(hence the high bar count) The weight and 18" bar are a good combo, easy to tote and use without getting too tired, but with a bar long enough to do a reasonable ammount of work.

It starts the same every time. When cold, Squeeze primer bulb 5 times, full choke, set the trigger lock to fast idle position and pull till it pops, which is usually the second or third pull. If you are quick, you bump the choke to the 1/2 position and it will keep idling till warm, then push the choke all the way in and go to work. If not so quick, set choke to 1/2 and pull once more. If it has been ran in the past few hours, the most you need is 1/2 choke and it is running first or second pull. It has been a pretty good saw, but like all small saws, it is real sensetive to the chain sharpness. Keep the chain properly tuned up and they cut like mad...

 

[kenmac]

Not to start anything with the poulan lovers....I've owned 1 in my life . I wouldn't trade my husky for a truck load of poulans.. Unless,I had a buyer for them

 

[wolc123]

I have had stihl, huskevarna, and poulan, and I would say the poulan gives the most bang for the buck. I use my little 14" woodshark for any job it is big enough for, and only use the big, old huskevarna when I have to. That little saw has never let me down. I have needed to replace the fuel line on the husky twice in 6 years, while the poulan has needed nothing in that time and has operated for roughly the same hours.

 

[QRTRHRS]

While shopping for a new manual pole saw at Lowes, I looked at the Poulan pole saw. I justified the ~200 dollar price tag because I had enough work to make a manual look ugly but not enough to spring for a 500+ Stihl or similar.

The Poulan is one of those models that can take various attachments. The engine is minimally okay for starting, power, etc. About what you would expect. The saw head however was not usable out of the box.

First time I used it, the head rotated around the tube. The head has a split case with four bolts that hold it together with only compression holding it onto the tube that the drive cable runs through. No matter how hard I tightened the bolts, the head would rotate when I tried to cut a branch.

I should have just returned it but I managed to modify it enough to use it.

 

[EastTexFrank]

My FS55RC is three and a half years old and no problems at all yet.

I had the FS55RC for many years. It worked great for about 6 months and then started having starting problems. Like you, I ran it dry after every use. After struggling with it for several years and having it worked on 2/3 times a year, I finally junked it. I was disappointed because I had only heard good things about Stihl equipment. I replaced it with an Echo to go with the other older Echo that just keeps on running.

As far as Poulan chain saws go, that's all I've ever used. I'm on my second one now in 15 years. It still works good and does what I need it to do but I'm not a heavy year in, year out user. I will say that a few years ago, a friend came over to help cut up a huge oak tree that came down and his Husky outcut my Poulan by about two to one. I must admit that I've had a hankering for one of those ever since but that Wild Thing just keeps on cutting. It's been a good saw and I'm just about to put it back to work clearing up the "thicket" this winter. I hope it makes it.

 

[the_sandman_454]

A friend has a Poulan saw that he used alongside my Stihl 460 when clearing a few acres of his place for a house. I think the poulan still runs, but iirc it doesn't start the best anymore and has some other issue I can't think of at the moment. Still, I was fairly impressed with how it did its' thing.

 

[kossetx]

I forgot to mention in original post that I recently had some dozer work done. I had left my saw at home but needed one to separate some cedars from their rootballs. The dozer guy brought me his poulan wild thing the next day to use. It started and ran so good too. It idled and stayed running as moved tree to tree, and had obiously been well used. I was impressed with it also.

I'm just curious. The thread was about poulan. Never said anything bad about any other saw. Why do you stihl owners feel the need to chime in telling us how much better your saw is.

 

[N80]

I've got a 15+ year old Homelite that still runs pretty good. I've taken it apart and put it back together a good many times. Replaced the bar recently. It is very light. Very easy to start. Getting a little finicky about throttle response but still a good saw.

My Dad has a 5 year old Stihl. It was expensive. It never started well from the time it was new. Dad now has Alzheimers and doesn't use it any more and I thought maybe as his mental processes were slowing down he was doing something wrong. But even when I tried it by the book I could rarely get a good start. He took it in to the Stihl place 4 or 5 times (a few years ago) and they finally told him they couldn't fix it. I'm going to see if he will give it to me and see what I can do with it, but to me, it is very heavy, very expensive and never worked well so I have not been too impressed. If I can get it running well, my opinion may change.

I have no doubt that the Stihls and Huskys are the best. I do doubt if weekend warriors like myself who use a chainsaw maybe 5 or 6 times a year need to spend the money for the high end saws. A Poulan (some of which look very very cheaply made) is probably all that infrequent users need,

 

[EastTexFrank]

I have no doubt that the Stihls and Huskys are the best. I do doubt if weekend warriors like myself who use a chainsaw maybe 5 or 6 times a year need to spend the money for the high end saws. A Poulan (some of which look very very cheaply made) is probably all that infrequent users need,

That was my reasoning. The good Stihls and Huskys cost 3 or 4 times as much so are a little difficult to justify for the occasional user. If I can get 12 years out of a Poulan, I need to get 36 to 48 years out of a Stihl. Maybe it will or maybe it won't but it won't be me who is getting the benefit of its longevity. I don't think I'll be swinging a chain saw when I'm a 110 years old. Besides, when my first Poulan cratered, I stripped everything worth keeping off it for spares on it's replacement so it should be a relatively inexpensive next 12 years .... I hope.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I have a Poulan that I use for occasional trimming, or for cutting the tops off of cedar fence posts. Sometimes goes for a year between uses. Stihl starts and runs good (sorry about that one) My only complaint is, if I forget to drain out the chain oil after using the saw, it all leaks out and makes a mess.