Bought a Poulan Pro chainsaw.....

No, this is not common. You don't usually get a replacement when one dies. You will probably not get a replacement when the replacement one dies in three weeks.

Seriously, you do realise you have to mix oil in with the gas?

I have a wild thing and a pro. I used both for years and they were used for several years before they were given to me. The wild thing died from neglect. I didn't clean the cooling fins and it overheated and lost compression. I need to take the coil off and put it on the pro. That one came loose and rubs on the flywheel. The pro siezed up shortly after the original owner bought it. He gave it to us for parts. It was only hydrolocked because the throttle cable was routed wrong from the factory. It was against the head and melted and got stuck at full throttle.

I bought a bigger stihl but would like to get the pro running for smaller jobs. Carrying that big saw for small jobs wears me out.

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How can I be lost, if I've got no where to go?

Ya know, when the "authorized service" shop for Poulan tried to tell me that horse manure, I caught myself before I let him have it right there in the shop.
Instead, I recommended that he be taken off their list when I went to corporate HQ in Charlotte, work boots, flannel shirt, long hair and chainsaw in hand.

The engineer in charge of the repair shop came out and spoke with me and took the saw back, a new one was on my doorstep in 3 days. Like I said, that one quit a year later, it just shook apart and I got tired of fixing it while I was trying to work.

But telling a guy who has worked on stuff all his life, owned 2 cycle machines most of his life and had his own lawn business at one time that the saw died because there was no oil in the gas will likely get you a fat lip, if you're lucky.

I've NEVER run straight gas in a 2 cycle and check the gas each time myself even though I'm the only one who mixes it and runs them, just so I AM 100% sure.
The engineer at HQ had seen this so many times he didn't even try to run that scam on me like the shop did. I would have blown a fuse right there in the lobby and he could tell by the way I talked and my working hands that I knew what I was doing.

My brother bought this little polan in 1973 with the 12 inch bar. that thing fit nicely in the camper propane tank compartment and cut tons of camp fire wood for us. We also used the snot out of it trimming tress we cut for fire wood. It is still going strong today. Yes it does have a Allis logo on it but it is still a Polan 25 not sure what sears model number was.




Worst saw I have ever owned is a Jonsered. Thing ran so hot in the days with temps over 40F you wore a Ove glove to run it with out getting a bad burn. Melted part of the top cover and brake cover too. Plastic do hicky in the brake broke and the chain oiler quit.
even with all that crap going on it was still 10 times better than the 031 stil my dad bought.

I got a Echo CS 400 about a month ago and have about wore out the first chain it came with cutting storm damage trees. Next big saw I buy will also be a Echo I like the little one so well.

Al

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Garden View Apiaries. Where the view is as sweet as the honey.
A member of SEMBA & MBA.

From all I read here it seems that new chain saws of all brands have cheaped out so much in their bottom end saws that they do not hold up to the heat and vibration of sawing wood. Saws of 30+ years ago, however, were built to last, even the cheap ones. We see the same thing happening in many other products - microwave ovens are now built to last about 3 years. Years back it was not uncommon for microwave ovens to last 20+ years.

When I was a trashman some one threw out a little sears saw like that. It had some broken pieces. I put it on the shelf and planned on looking for parts when I got time. A few weeks later some one on the other side of the county threw another one out. I took the best parts and made a good saw. It would run if I rebuilt the carb.

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How can I be lost, if I've got no where to go?

Smart man.

They are what they are. Sometimes you get a good one that runs for years. More often you get one that runs ok for a year or two and then goes down for the count.

Ain't never seen one easy to start.

True.

My FIL is still running a Homelite...at one point, a pretty good saw. Absolute junk, now.

Dad ran a Mac 10-10 for years...also a good saw. They eventually became junk and then died out, I think. Haven't seen one in years...

Obviously the Pro in Poulon Pro doesn't mean professional.

The OP invited us to give him a hard time so I obliged. One of the biggest problems in this country is that you are not allowed to say anything that might offend someone. Sorry you were personally offended but I don't buy the current PC nonsense that is going around.

I bought something that had Pro in it's name and when it broke after a week called the manufacturer customer service number. When I was asked what model it was, I rattled off it's the (insert name here) Pro. They said "it really isn't a professional model, that's just the name."? Ok, that seems dishonest. Pro means nothing.

I did everything right. The repair shop told me it was a problem from the factory and he said they would send a new one.

The repair shop owner stated that the thing probably came straight from China....

By the way Nimrod, is English your second language?

on it. 2 from the manufacturer and 2 from rural king.

I feel much better now about using my electric chainsaws. I spend less, and normally get 2 or 3 years out of them at the least. I use a generator to power it out in the woods to cut down the trees and/or cut them to a size I can handle, then main power to cut them to the correct size. I'm not sure how many cords I've cut w/the current one.

I also got a battery operated chainsaw this past winter. We had such a crazy winter that I ran out of wood. And I couldn't get in the woods w/my truck. So I walked in and cut down several small trees at a time, then dragged them home and cut them up w/my electric saw.

No problem.
That remark just brought back my feelings when it was said to me by a shop that has a reputation for doing little for their customers around here.
Like the OP, I could tell from the start there was something wrong with it. Being a machinist, I know metal and know the importance of close tolerances.
The cylinder WAS cooked, so bad the ring disintegrated. I got two opinions from two different shops and neither was hopeful I'd get a factory replacement, only one tried to tell me it was no oil that caused it though.
I never wavered and went right to the source and got the results I expected.

Sometimes, being stubborn is an asset.......

I have a poulan pro I got it for free when it would not run for the previous owner I was working on a demo project last weekend cutting the deck off a porch, and it was running a little spotty , it probably needs a good dose of seafoam to clean out the carb again

my brother said don't you have a better chain saw , I said sure but I am not going to use it for demo If I ruin this one all I have to do is wait a week on craigs list and some one else will have one of these I can have for less than a bar and chain cost for my good saw, provided I don't find another free one


my uncle swore by poulan for years but they are not what they once were now they are a low dollar home owner chainsaw that most of the time run for a few projects before you break something or they clog the carb

Yea I sharpen my chains the chains just ain't like they used to be I heard from a coworker that there are some tougher ones that cost about 50 bucks but last. Thinking about getting one of those

do you sharpen them on saw or with a grinder , I had a grinder , ate through chain far to fast , hand file makes them last you only need to take 2-3 passes on a tooth then move to the next one each time you fill

but if your cutting mesquite you may have a lot of sand and grit in the wood

dirt seems to have more to do with chains getting dull than cutting for me

some times dirty logs , and some times chain contact with ground

Like has been said before the New saws seem to be a lot more finicky than the older saws were.

When I worked in La. in 1959 and '60 the pulpwood cutters were using Poulans and they were good saws. I bought used ones back in the late 90's and used the hell out of them clearing land. Then I bought new ones and they were JUNK. I bought an 18 inch bar Poulan and it died after about two hours --never got it running again. Failed to take it in, left it in the barn for a year. Repairman told me it was likely the coil and would cost more to repair it than it was worth. I junked a new saw and bought two Stihl's. Used them for two or three years and gave the big one to my son in law when we left the farm, brought the little one with me and have used it last week. I expect it to outlast me.