It don't work; buy it reduced

I went to TSC today. Found two Poulans 42cc; one tagged won't run, and the other with an idle issue. I got burned on Poulan so I don't want them unless they give them to me. Reduced $49.99 but that seemed silly to me when they will probably Black Friday these again for $99.99. These particular Poulans have a design defect as I outlined in my post.



Went around the aisle and there were several cub cadet weed whackers with problems. I thought cub cadet was good stuff; maybe not. Of course these could have all been purchased by the same person that did not know how to mix fuel, or used old fuel that had been sitting around for a year.


Won't idle but will run at full throttle; so the low end is bad, correct? There were two more hanging that I did not take a photo of that had a different problem. Seems strange that five weed whackers of the same model won't run properly. What is going on here? Making stuff cheap or is it due to trying to meet emission standards?

Buying something reduce is good and all but not if it is going to be nothing but trouble and I would have my doubts with purchasing any of these unless it was really reduced, like 50% or more.

 

They make stuff so cheap anymore it is sickening.

 

For that price I'd have snagged both saws. I have 3 of 'em and have had no major issues with 'em. My oldest one is due for a new top end but it has earned its keep.
Likely they just need the carbs "cleaned" or tuned...maybe just a fresh plug and fuel...nothing major as long as you can do it yourself. If not, then yeah, maybe move on

 

?

 

New saws need the carb adjusted, that's why they fail and get referred

 

In a few months, I can get one in the box on Black Friday if they hold to the same. I would have to get them cheaper than $100 for a saw that is known not to work. A new saw should not need anything done to it, it should have been tuned and tested at the factory before shipping unless that is how they sell them; no testing, you may get a dud.

 

Seriously, I read reviews on several different websites, TSC, Home Depot, etc and I bet 75% or more were negative reviews of chain jumping off; mine did that twice while I have not had The Beast or the Echo to throw a chain; so it is not me; not wanting to start, not idling properly etc. To me that means design flaws.

 

Should they also throw a properly adjusted chain? Many of the reviews I read about my saw complained of the chain jumping off; not so good when you are in the middle of felling a tree and could be dangerous as well. I might take the saw home at $50 but not the hundred they had on the sticker.

 

Offer them 50, maybe they'll take it.

 

I'll have to wonder into a TSC near me to see if they have any that won't run. Heck, maybe they'll have a 5020 or two for cheap that won't run or something. I want to pick up some of those Eco Bricks to try them out. Not that I have a firewood issue, but that way I will have some experience with them if there ever should be a need.

As for those weed eaters, I would wonder if whomever put them together didn't attach the fuel lines properly. The fuel lines on mine were reversed. Once I discovered that and made the correction I was able to make the proper adjustments (in my living room at 3:00am ) and now it screams! Otherwise it ran for crap when it did run, but more often than not, I couldn't get it running.

 

Oh, I thought you said they were $49.99. Yeah, no way I'd pay $99.99 for one not running. They can be had for $95 shipped for a re-man from these guys on feebay all the time...sometimes they have the 5020s for $125 too. Refurbished Poulan Pro PP4218A 18" 42CC 2 Cycle Gas Powered Tree Chainsaw w/Case
There is actually a 5020 re-man on there from a different vendor right now for $105 shipped! Poulan Pro PP5020AV 20" 50cc 2 Cycle Gas Powered Chainsaw Home/Tree Chain saw

Yeah, seriously. How am I supposed to know what the heck you are referring to when you throw out a random thought like that. Common courtesy would be to provide a link to something when you make a statement like that unless it has been discussed at length and it is common knowledge that "most" people reading will be familiar with...like I did above for the fleebay saw. This is the first I have heard of all these "defects", like I said I have 3 of these lil buggers and they don't throw chains as long as they aren't run loose. As far as idling, yeah many brands of saws will need to be adjusted to idle correctly when new...its just that the saws you buy from a dealer, have already been adjusted (in their shop) before you pick it up.
I personally (and I know I'm in good company) take those "reviews" with a grain of salt. A homeowner that buys a saw for the first time just to cut down a branch will not know how to adjust the chain and such...and that is exactly the kind of person that is making these reviews for the most part since these models are sold off the shelf at TSC and the like instead of over the counter at a dealer. They are still great little saws for the money, its just that you don't get the dealers support/knowledge on 'em so everybody goes blaming the saws. If you want a perfect running saw right outta the box, go buy a 18" "pro" saw for $300-$500...and even those aren't always perfect and trouble free

 

There are a lot of variables to consider when properly tuning a saw... Different fuels, mix ratio, elevation, humidity, temperature. A saw could be tuned perfectly in a factory, but I doubt the woods, or your back yard will ever match the conditions used in the factory.

I also find it hard to believe that a properly tensioned chain just pops off for no reason.

 

I happen to like Poulan's (look at my signature below - PP=PoulanPro for those who may not know). They do need periodic adjustments as they age, and of course straight from the factory. I would imagine even the refurbished ones do too. If I purchase one that doesn't run quite right or not at all, I don't bring it back unless it's something serious like the factory forgetting to put in a piston, I'll analyze the problem and correct it.

I too have never had a chainsaw throw a chain, but then I always make sure they are under proper tension. AND, new chains also tend to stretch. It might be tight at the beginning of the cut, and ready to fall off by the end, so you need to pay attention. Smaller chains like that on an Poulan 40 or 42cc 18 inch will probably be the first to stretch simply because it is a small chain all the way around. There is no comparison to the larger or pro class chainsaws!

 

I haven't had any trouble with my refurb saws but they did need to be tuned when I got them
Husq 445, $220, PoulanPro 5020, $110

 

I like these Poulans, although I like 1990-2005 42cc Poulans better. 18" bar is a bit much, but 16" is fine, and even better with 14". But I won't buy them for more than $10 cuz they sell for only $50-$60 as great runners.
My first and only new saw is a 1994 42cc Poulan wearing Craftsman red. Never have thrown a chain after 30-40 cords. Don't use it much now.
I agree that negative reviews from 1st time saw buyers hurt the brand - and bet it's mostly operator error.

 

I agree and the reason is probably something with the bar and/or sprocket. Never had that happen with The Beast or the echo.
What I need to do I guess since others are not going to go out and do it themselves is to copy all the reviews; both good and bad, and paste them into a forum. I am not making this up folks, no reason to. I am taking about a particular model of Poulan, others may be top saws but don't buy that $149.00 Poulan Pro saw that TSC sells.

 

They dont tune every saw , they tune one saw and then a very accuracy machine tune only the other carbs for this saw model then theese carbs go to the assembley line
even if your house is one meter out of the factory you have diferences in the tuning

 

No need to copy/paste, not sayin I don't believe you, I do. I just don't put any faith in the people writing those reviews...because, as was mentioned before, they are very often inexperienced homeowners that don't know what they are doing. So did they have a bad experience with this saw...yeah, maybe...is there a inherent "defect" with this model saw, no. I would venture a guess that if you look up reviews on almost any saw that is sold mainly by retailers (not a dealer with an actual repair shop) you will find a lot of the same goofy kinds of reviews.
Now, with that said, I would also expect that as you climb in price range, some of those poor reviews will go away just because a pricier saw should be higher quality (with better assembly QC?) and maybe slightly more idiot proof..maybe. But as I (and others) have said before, even those saws often need tuned to your elevation/ambient operating temperature.
Bottom line, for most homeowners and even many of us firewood hoarders, the PP line is a lot of "bang for the buck" and work just fine for said owners.

 

What I found interesting was there was way too many, the majority of the reviews, describing the same events that I experienced with the saw. I got the saw because I needed one and it was $99.99 on offer during Black Friday. My friend was down and he has used saws for many years, knows 2 cycle engines; he was the one that repaired the Echo that was gifted to me. So it was not just me, it was my friend as well. The saw could have been made to work well but throwing the chain twice was the breaker; I did not managed to get a direct refund but a gift card I used for other things like T-posts and fence wire. The saw was hard to start, and then it was hard to restart, threw the chain twice, etc. When I see review after review parroting the same conditions then I figured that saw was made cheap for such things as Black Friday events.

Here is an example, Walmart use to demand (may still do) manufacturers offer a cheap product, say a microwave oven, they could place on centre aisles etc., or they would not carry any of their products. To have a cheap in price often means cheap in build in some way. I think that is what these cheap $149 Poulan saws may be; shops such as TSC can put them out at cost to attract customers during Black Friday. That is why I think they had two of them sitting on the self that had running issues; throw mine in and that makes three. If cheap enough, they would be worth buying to see if one could get them running decent enough to use as a trimming saw; as someone stated, they probably should have a shorter bar on them than 18".

 

I suppose that is possible...a different SKU # than the normal stock...