What do you think of the Poulan brand?

Blame Canada

Blame Canada

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May 19, 2020
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Our version of Harbor Freight is Princess Auto.

They had some 'refurbished' no-name brand gas powered trimmers, on for $75.00

Opened the box, did my best to interpret the labels, and it appears they are Weedeater branded, produced by Poulan.


Gotta admit, I mixed up some 50:1 fuel, filled the tank, pumped the primer 10X, pushed the choke, and it fired right up, and idled well.
Ran well for my needs, re-fired on a single pull each time, and the line advances when slammed to the lawn. (Kinda fuckers the lawn at the slam point)

(Before I fueled it up, I did my best to determine the model was a Poulan Pro PR25 CD.

I figured the LEAST I should do, was to replace the factory spark plug to a name brand, but didn't even need to (YET).
So, anyone have any KNOWLEDGEABLE opinions of the Brand?
 
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Blame Canada said:
Our version of Harbor Freight is Princess Auto.

They had some 'refurbished' no-name brand gas powered trimmers, on for $75.00

Opened the box, did my best to interpret the labels, and it appears they are Weedeater branded, produced by Poulan.


Gotta admit, I mixed up some 50:1 fuel, filled the tank, pumped the primer 10X, pushed the choke, and it fired right up, and idled well.
Ran well for my needs, re-fired on a single pull each time, and the line advances when slammed to the lawn. (Kinda fuckers the lawn at the slam point)

(Before I fueled it up, I did my best to determine the model was a Poulan Pro PR25 CD.

I figured the LEAST I should do, was to replace the factory spark plug to a name brand, but didn't even need to (YET).
So, anyone have any KNOWLEDGEABLE opinions of the Brand?
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Dad had a poulan chainsaw that lasted 15 years..We cleared cut 5 acres with it for the house they built and all the houses we had growing up were heated by a fireplace (mostly)

What im saying is it got used...hard its whole life
 
I have had a couple poulan saws One I got 20 years ago, it's still chuggin along. I need to go through it though. I snagged another used one at a garage sale a while back and it runs great.

I have had stihl, husq and homelite also...

Ones I have been really impressed with? husq and the poulan.
 
Ah, great to hear it. Sounds like it's not going to be just a one-season disposable device then. :smokin:
 
I have been watching a oung man build a log cabin in Canada one of the saws he uses is a Poulan. One vedio he fianlly told everbody that was telling him to get Stihl or someother brand that his family had bee using Poulan for over 20 years and because they used them year round they had never had any problems with them. If you want to see a really good cabin build check out "The Outsider"
 
I have a Craftsman (Poulan) chainsaw I bought 15 years ago that has always run good. It’s a backup for my Echo CS490 which is twice the saw.
 
Much older of course but I do know a local professional tree mechanic that calls polan his go to saw.
 
I used a buddy's Poulan chainsaw once...pretty sure it was named Poulan, because that's all I did. Keep pullin' and pullin' and pullin.

They're probably pretty decent if you run high test through them and keep up with the maintenance. Knowing his cheap ass he was running 87 ethanol in it.

I'm a Stihl and Husqvarna user. They just keep going and going. My Husqvarna trimmer is amazing.
 
I had a few of them over the years, sold all of them still working. They aren't as "refined" as a Husky or stihl, its going to get a little less power for the same size, not have some of the same features. But they seem to be well made. Good option for a "normal" homeowner that just needs to clear things out every now and then, maybe not for someone who needs to cut 5 cords every winter
 
FleshEater said:
I used a buddy's Poulan chainsaw once...pretty sure it was named Poulan, because that's all I did. Keep pullin' and pullin' and pullin.
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This is what my dad told me when he gave me his 20 year old Poulan. I used it 1 day and bought a Stihl.

Stihl makes homeowner grade saws that are cheap enough and work really well. I know every time I pick up this saw, it's 1/2 pull away from starting.
 
I used one of the green and purple ones from Taiwan tire. Underpowered and felt cheap and flimsy. I see poulan equipment for free or cheap all the time, could be because they're pieces of shit, or it could be because they are cheap and when they stop working, people get a new one.
 
If you let out of the skinny pedal before feeding out wire, it won't leave as big of a hole in the yard. Or tap a tree, tree root, fence post, sidewalk instead.

-veteran commercial weedeater bitch
 
For $75 I'd run it into the ground.
 
Ive got a poulan chainsaw that I've had for about 25 years. I did replace the coil and hand grip a few years ago but other than that it's been solid. As for what's being built today I can't say.
 
I've seen guys run them for years with no problems. I've seen them last a season. I put them in the category of decent parts with poor quality control during assembly. I will say even good ones just don't perform as well as similar sized stihl/echo. If you go to price comparison you can get more machine for the money, but then you are carrying more machine and more fatigue. In short it's a good bargain brand and I would rock a weedwacker for sure.
 
Years ago they sold them in Walmart. I told myself then that they're probably not that good. I love Stihls but have found myself in the Echo department for a while. I still have an old Echo 650EVL that's a mean bitch. I also have a 750 but it's just too heavy to tote all day. My old boss gave me an Echo CS450 for free and that damn thing is still gnawing through wood like a champ.

Based on some of these reviews, I may give one of those Poulans a shot if the price is right.
 
There was a poulan weed eater in the shed when I bought my house in 2012. I literally did nothing but put fuel in it up until last year when I switched over to battery, never had a single issue with it.
 
FleshEater said:
I used a buddy's Poulan chainsaw once...pretty sure it was named Poulan, because that's all I did. Keep pullin' and pullin' and pullin.

They're probably pretty decent if you run high test through them and keep up with the maintenance. Knowing his cheap ass he was running 87 ethanol in it.

I'm a Stihl and Husqvarna user. They just keep going and going. My Husqvarna trimmer is amazing.
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Don't look too hard at a lot of Husqvarna trimmers and cheaper saws. They are poulons with a $150 orange paint job.

Poulons are and always have been the cheapest bargain basement outdoor power equipment that is 90% as good as a name brand product, but since they are are so cheap they get sold to the people who are least likely to take care of them so they get a pretty bad reputation. I call it the bayliner syndrome.

95% of the problems on OPE products are carb/fuel related and regardless of brand the pretty much all have the same basic Zama or Walbro carb. I worked in a small engine shop for years, it was rare to see a base engine issue that wasn't caused by straight-gassing but when I did it was a crank seal on a poulon.

I've worked on and run a TON of trimmers and probably my favorite for actual grass trimming is the poulon/weedeater 18cc featherlite. It's hands down the lightest weight trimmer ever made, no clutch so you don't have to keep it reved up all the time, and they were $60 brand new at walmart. They were so light you could easily one hand them and do the whole yard.
 
larboc said:
Poulons are and always have been the cheapest bargain basement outdoor power equipment that is 90% as good as a name brand product, but since they are are so cheap they get sold to the people who are least likely to take care of them so they get a pretty bad reputation. I call it the bayliner syndrome.
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Worst analogy ever. Bayliners are shit, they're not even 90% of a Tahoe or Sea Swirl.

But I get what you mean...
 
Never had luck with them but I suspect it was an infrequency of use and fucking ethanol that destroyed them.

I would for sure get some TrueFuel from Lowes or somewhere if I was to run ANY small engine tool again. I am slowly converting everything to battery powered now but I don't have acreage that I have to maintain either.
 
Personally i have found the Poulan to be a big miss for me. Anything that sat over the winter with gas wouldn't start in the spring, but my stihl or jonserred or Deere with the same gas sitting in it fired right up. They really are great homeowner throwaway product. Most people just throw them away when they stop working and go get another one when needed cause they are the cheapest out there
 
FleshEater said:
I used a buddy's Poulan chainsaw once...pretty sure it was named Poulan, because that's all I did. Keep pullin' and pullin' and pullin.

They're probably pretty decent if you run high test through them and keep up with the maintenance. Knowing his cheap ass he was running 87 ethanol in it.

I'm a Stihl and Husqvarna user. They just keep going and going. My Husqvarna trimmer is amazing.
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Was the chain fucking sharp, Sparky?
 
I have two sitting on my shelf. One is brand new but will not stay on to save it’s life. The other used looking one will start up but has this weird thing going on where it will go full throttle on its own when you turn it on risking all your limbs. Once you get on the throttle there’s no letting go of it as it’ll immediately bog down And turn off. Guess it’s time to take them both in for maintenance.
 
Homeowner grade tools are homeowner grade tools. If you give it the slightest bit of care it'll last you a season or two or three. If it does break don't expect to find parts for it, or if you do they'll be a good chunk of the replacement cost. They're throw away tools at a throw away price. I'm on I think my 4th season now with a shitty $50 Homelite trimmer, I'm running it till it dies then I'll buy something better.
 
I had a 50cc 20" bar Poulan saw that was hard to beat. It had some type of vibration resistant handle/grip that broke within the first three uses, but I just drilled a hole and ran a bolt through to make it a solid mount. Other than that, it had really good power. I have since owned Jonsered and Stihl (comparable saws) but the Poulan was better in my opinion.
 
Years ago I went wheeling & camping with a bunch of people. The guys showed up with their big saws so they could have a testosterone festival while cutting a fallen tree for wood. One of the chicks stopped at wallworld and bought an $89 poulon saw. It was the smallest saw in camp and also the only one that ran. :lmao: She kept the fire burning all weekend while the douche canoes wrenched on their saws it was comical.
 
DWT said:
Years ago I went wheeling & camping with a bunch of people. The guys showed up with their big saws so they could have a testosterone festival while cutting a fallen tree for wood. One of the chicks stopped at wallworld and bought an $89 poulon saw. It was the smallest saw in camp and also the only one that ran. :lmao: She kept the fire burning all weekend while the douche canoes wrenched on their saws it was comical.
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Who doesn't test their saw before a trip?!
 
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