economy chainsaw

[BillyP]

It's a toss up. All of those saws are probably made in Mexico and I would expect the quality to be even. Personally I would buy the 16" Poulan.

Actually the medium to smaller Poulans are built in DeQueen, AR. When I say built I mean from parts from all over the world, they are assembled there. Along with the Poulans there's the Husqvarna, Johnsonred, Craftsman and a few other brands.

 

[Highbeam]

I own the bright green poulan 16" bar version bought from Walmart. It is my second or third one. They work great, start very well, are quiet, and cut with the best of them. I don't expect to get 10,000 hours of use out of it so the ease with which the piston rings are replaced is of no concern. Don't buy a camoflauge chainsaw. I have spent weeks looking for a saw before I found it partially buried in a windrow made by my bulldozer.

I clear with the saw so what usually happens is I accidentally drop a tree on the saw, run it over with a tractor, push a pile of slash over it, or forget it is in the bucket and dump it with a load of junk. Being disposable can really be a good thing.

The only failure that was sort of the saws fault was the starter rope broke on my current poulan. It broke at the end so I just shortened the rope and tied a new knot. You need to know when to "total" the saw if a repair part is too expensive meaning like 20 bucks on a well broken in Poulan.

I always keep it full of fuel and oil to be ready for storm duty. It always starts within a few pulls and has plenty of power for the bar that came with it.

I bought three extra chains and simply run one till it's dull and then replace it with a sharp one until I have three dead chains to have sharpened all at once. The aftermarket chains from the saw shop don't have all of the safety and other wussy compromises so they really chew the wood.

Some people are proud of their 400$ saws but in my experience the cheap ones work at least as well during their expected lifespan. I have converted at least one dedicated Husquavarna user to cheap Poulan.

 

[greenedeere]

Been there. Owned all mentioned,I like the stihl 017 for @175.dollars by far the most small saw for the money.However as with all power saws things happen! Use one you like, but, can get parts and such for it all year round, some of the box stores I have found only stock supplies (chains,bars,chain oil,starter ropes and handles etc.)during the cold months,not all the time.I have a good local dealer that keeps the local loggers in stock and also has the best prices on parts and saws.He has the rebuilt and traded in used saws for @half price.

 

[tallyho8]

The best deal I got on a cheap chain saw in the last few years was a McCulloch McCat 16" chain saw on sale at Home Depot for $99 in the case. There have been no chain saws ON SALE in this area since hurricane Katrina. Probably the best buy for someone who uses it very rarely is the Poulan Wild Thing which is usually about $20 cheaper than the Poulan Pro.

All chain saws now have durability period ratings on stickers on the saws. The McCulloch Durability Period is 50 hours. The Poulan Wild Thing Durability Period is 125 hours. I forgot the rating on the Pro. The durability period rating is a good guide to how long it will last. Forget about how long your friend's grandfather's chain saw lasted. New ones are made different and don't last as long. I would like to know what the durability period rating is on a professional Stihl saw.

Hurricane Katrina blew down 60 large trees in my yard and I spent 6 months, 7 days a week, 10 hour days, cutting down and cutting up these trees. An average of 45 hours per week running time on chainsaws. My McCulloch, which was already a year old, lasted about 3 weeks before every thing wore out on it. I bought a Poulan Pro and it lasted about 4 weeks before the compression was too low for it to start when hot. I brought it back to Lowe's and they replaced it. The replacement lasted about 4 more weeks and wore out. I got a Wild Thing and it lasted about 4 weeks and I brought it back to Home Depot and they replaced it. About 4 weeks later they replaced it again. 4 weeks later the clutch sprocket wore out and they would not exchange it anymore. I bought a new spocket and bar and it lasted about 3 more weeks.

I put on new chains about once a week. All the replacement chains were better than the oem chains. They had larger teeth and more teeth which means they took longer to sharpen but they cut faster. Low-kickback chains cut slooooow.

I borrowed a friends 24" antique Homelite for a few weeks to cut some very large trees. It was still working great when I returned it. My arms were worn out from using this monster for 3 weeks.

Then I bought another Wild Thing which I accidently dumped out of my fel into a fire after a couple weeks use. Then bought another Wild Thing which I used for a couple weeks till I finished the job and now use only occasionaly.

A cheap one will last an occasional user a much longer time if you mix the gas correctly and use Stabil, keep the bar oil full and grease the bar-end sprocket, keep the blade sharp, and stay out the dirt.

 

[hazmat]

Granted Soundguy lives in FL and isn't cutting firewood, but...

BUY A GOOD SAW - CRY ONCE.

I've used an older model craftsman (poulan) and in every way imaginable it pales in comparison to my new Stihl. The Stihl is a joy to use. I've cut 30 cords of firewood with it & absolutely zero problems. Mine is a "Woodboss" - MS270 - cost $350. It's one of their bigger "homeowner" models. Sounds like you can get one of the smaller models for $200.

Do you really want to replace it after a couple year's use?

Whatever you choose, make sure it has an inertial chain brake (not just the paddle operated one). It will trigger the brake in a kickback situation (in theory anyway).

You mention giving it "good maintanance" - what's your time worth? For $80 difference, just gas and go.

I'll probably get blasted for spending someone elses money, but I'm just trying to save him potential pain later...

 

[hazmat]

tallyhoe - am I doing the math right - you are on saw #8? having paid for 5

Aside from the one you dumped on the fire, you'd be money and time ahead to have bought a Stihl/Husky/Echo not to mention they cut faster (more HP).

 

[tallyho8]

tallyhoe - am I doing the math right - you are on saw #8? having paid for 5

Aside from the one you dumped on the fire, you'd be money and time ahead to have bought a Stihl/Husky/Echo not to mention they cut faster (more HP).

Yes I would have been, but I was not looking for an economy chain saw for occasional use like the thread is about. After Katrina, you could not just walk to a store and buy a Stihl. I had to drive 200 miles on backroads dodging debris and police barricades to get my first Poulan which was the only saw Lowes had left. In the next several months I was still unable to get saws from anywhere within many miles except Home Depot and Lowes (when they had them) and all they had was Poulan and cheap Homelite. We did not even have mail, UPS or Fedex for me to mail order one for several months. (Unbelievable?) I had to siphon all the gas out one of my trucks just to run the chainsaws and generator. Now when this one wears out, I just might buy a Stihl, but then I might not need one (I hope) for several years. We still have no local Stihl dealers. With my luck, I'll probably run over my new Stihl.

 

[tallyho8]

Hazmat
Could you tell me what the Durability Period rating on your Stihl is?

 

[deerefan]

Soundguy, we are in a similar boat. I have a McCulloch 3516 that is great. My only problem is the two bolts that hold the bar tight are stripped and it is getting difficult to find chains for it b/c McCulloch is no longer made. I've looked at the stihls and the box store brands and have come to the conclusion that I can fix my McCulloch and buy a new poulan pro for less than the new stihl i was looking at. Then I'll have two saws for less than the price of one.

 

[N80]

If you have a good,local, real hardware store (I know, rare as hens teeth) a lot of them can make a chain for you. We have a Farmer's Exchange here and they have a guy who can make chains for just about anything.