small Poulain saws

[Bernhard]

The Poulain saws never had been common in Germany. As far as I know, they belong to Electrolux now. The design now looks like Husky, only in green. Has anyone here experience with them? Reason of my question is: There is a wholesaler here, which is offering a small Poulain for around 80$...and I´m thinking about buying some of them for resaling. Are they worth it...and is the quality nearly as good as the Huskies???

[jjmk98k]

I believe the Husky 136 and 141 lines are made by Poulan but in Husky colors.... I was told this some time ago, perhaps i was told wrong.

My husky 141 that I use for cutting skids ( for fire starter wood) and other little odd jobs runs fine and has been very dependable.  It starts quickly, revs up nice and cuts just fine with no problems since i have been using it for the last year..

You get what you pay for ...but for a homeowner who just needs one once in a while for limbing or cutting small firewood, it should be fine.

I think wal-mart here in the states sells them for about $140-150, seem then on clearance as low as $89.

good luck

[sawguy21]

There are good chainsaws and there are cheap chainsaws but there is no such thing as a good cheap chainsaw. Nuff said?

[jjmk98k]

sawguy21,

you are right to a degree in my humble opinion and I think you'll agree with me on the following  :P

I think there are  good ( not great, good) cheap chainsaws ( those small poulan, Homelite, sears) out there. These machines are made for and targeted towards suburban type folks who only will use it once or twice a year for a little yard cleanup and small firewood cutting, VERY SMALL AMOUNTS.
Paying $100-150 for a only to be used twice a year saw makes more sense than spending $275+ for a Stihl, Husky or whatever.... just that will sit in the shed hardly to be used.


There are guys here at work happy with thier little Poulans and Homelites.... and cannot understand why I bought such a big saw ( If you'll call a Husky 350 big?) Anyway, they do little cutting, mainly yard cleanup and cutting small stuff.

I end up cutting all summer long getting ready for winter.  I don't have acres or really any trees in my yard, I go around town and as I find fallen trees or logs laying around on curbsides.. unwanted.

I toss them in my blazer and take them home to be cut to a useable size..... some friends that have acres of land, but no fireplace, have trees cut down then ask me to come clean up and haul the wood away... Also, where I bought my camp there are loads of downed trees just asking to be cut up and taken away! So my saw does see a good bit of work

For those who cut a lot of firewood or who just like having a big "arh arh arh" factor, you just can't get that with the smaller cheaper saws.

[sawguy21]

I still maintain you get what you pay for. Agreed, some people are very happy with the box store saws but we see so many in for warranty repairs. The customer thinks a saw is a saw and why won't his $129.95 special start everytime he wants it like a Stihl or Husky.
One other thing, a tuneup and sharpening is almost the price of a new saw.

[jjmk98k]

And I'll agree with that,you get what you pay for.   8)

But I'll have to say this, my little 141 has been through some tough workouts with me and has not missed a beat. But then again, it's not a wally world $129 special either, but not too far from it.

Around here, most of the "urban yuppies" buy a saw, use it once and toss it in the shed. 5 years later it's sold at a yard sale for $15 with a note saying, "ran fine last time I used it" and they are usually Poulan, Craftsman Homelite.

I never find a Stihl or Husky for $15  >:(

[Al_Smith]

Well,for what it's worth,I have 2 little Poulans,both dependable saws.I have had a little 2.1 cu inch saw ,for over 30 years,it's given me no problems.The other,a 1.9 cu in,is my climbing saw,same good service.Both of these saws are '70's vintange,all metal .They are,what they are.Comparing them to a Stihl 020T,is like comparing a Vw to a Rolls-Royce .

[tnlogger]

 :D :D guess i'll stick my nose in here too ;D
the old steel cased pulins were a good saw for what they were built for something to piddle around with and they worked fine for that pupose.
the new ones like the wild thing are disposable saws use them untill they quit and trash them. I know i have bought them to stick on the floor of the log truck to have something to too saw a branch or limb off when needed and in case someone wanted a lot more then me  :D.
The best all around small saw i've found is the 359 huskie or a small echo. but i've been known to be wrong too  :D :D

[pigman]

I used my little Poulan today fencing. When I bought it 7 years ago it said on the box it was for  occasional use only :. I fence only occasionaly, so it works fine for that.  ;D  It starts easy and is light to carry around. If I forget and leave it in the field not much is lost. ;)  I have a bigger Husky if I really want to cut something. 8)
Bob -the fencer

[Lobo]

I used my little Poulan today fencing. When I bought it 7 years ago it said on the box it was for  occasional use only
Bob -the fencer

The older ones were far better than todays, the oil pumps, carbs etc on the current ones are not very good.

The key words are '' For occasional use only''  they are throwaways really not worth repairing.

[weimedog]

On questions like this I would like to hear from those who actually own these saws and use them either to success or to failure. I got a little Homelite Ranger 33cc toy saw for kicks to see if they are even worth the 60 bucks I eBayed it for....its been worked hard and has done nothing wrong. I don't like its feel..the trigger is stiff and the anti vibe springs never let you feel the cut...but its still kicking. I used it for limbing on some tree and for carpentry in our barn. For kicks we cut up a large Ash tree to beat see how it did with tough work. I also don't like its chain. If it lasts the year it will get a real chain.

I wonder about the Poulan Pro 330 sold by Tractor Farm & Country. Looks like a reasonable saw for the money.

[rebocardo]

I "had" a Wildthing 2375 with the 18" bar, it was pretty good. I lost track of my time after 100 hours and probably put 200+ hours on it trying to break it before the 1 year warranty ran out.  I did while splitting/ripping firewood.

For the $139, it was a great saw. I made the money to pay for the saw on my very first tree job.  I just kept cleaning the plug and air filter, both original along with the bar. I probably greased things taht did not need greasing too.

The only additional money I spent was two chains.  I made at least $3000 using it and I bought it for $139. I think the ROI was there, for the work it did, a better brand would not have made the work faster, just my wallet lighter.

Yea, my Husky's are better, bigger, heavier, and use more gas, then again they cost 4x more.

The only reason I have not bought another one for replacement is I have kind of gotten use to the anti-vibration system in the Huskys  ;)

[Al_Smith]

Oh,and another thing,I used that 2.1 cu in saw to cut firewood ,for sale.For about 8 years,I used the little Poulan  and a pro mac 610,which were all I had at the time.I find it interesting that the 2  saws with the most  negative feedback,I have had good luck with,hmm.At the time I had around 50 people I sold wood to,and cut around 4 cords per week,from Oct to March.It's kind of ironic,I only cut wood for myself,now,and have around 40 saws,duh.I might further note ,that both saws are alive and well,and run as good as they did 30 years ago.Not too bad for cheap saws. 8)I paid $125 for the Mac,used,and $139 for the Poulan new[the only new saw I ever bought,and also the first]

[MakitaDcs400]

I have a little poulan  2050 Saw that I own  the engine has blown up once already !  But that was due to the carb being improperly adjusted from factory.  The saw runs way better than my Makita Dcs 400.  The little Poulan usually strats on the first or second pull when cold (if I grab the throttle at the right time to turn the choke off the saw will start up on one pull (most times).  The thing I hate about it is no anti vibe. Would I buy another Poulan no due to having a poor dealer here for warranty work and parts (very hard to deal with).

[Lewis Brander]

Hello to everyone. I have a Poulan 3400 AV I got new in 1982.  Hasn't had much use, still has the original plug ( have only pulled it once to check it), bar and chain, fuel filter and the carb has never been touched. I run 32/1 mix with MX2T Mobil oil, keep the chain touched up and have had no problems starting or running it. Last year I modded the muffler and it made a big difference in the saw. I readjussted the carb and she revs faster and has more torque. It's been my only new saw I've had for all these years and it has always done what has been asked of it. Now I collect saws and hardly every use it. But she has more than paid for itself in cutting what wood I have cut, limbing and trimming and carpetry work. Everyone take care. Lewis Brander.

[Bernhard]

Ok, I have been at the shop, www.obi.de, the day, after the offer starts...saws had been sold off!!! So it looks, that they only wanted to take people into the shop...and if the special offer isn´t available anymore...they buy another, expensiver one. The cheaper ones they offer are looking like a piece of junk to me....and for around 320 $ (cheapest Dolmar) I don´t buy a saw at a wholesaler.

PS: I´ve seen some customers looking for the Poulan there....but they had have a look at another saw...I told them, they should go to a Stihl or Husky dealer anyways :-)  nearly same price and good sales and repair background...

[Bernhard]

Saw was a 2050, price was  79,95€