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Both of my old poolans crapped out. first I had to re route the fuel lines around the primers. Then they cracked 5 min later. I replaced the fuel line on one now the needle will not seat. Flooded. pulled out the other poolan and same thing. except I stopped there. both saws were indestructable until this point, giving me at least 100 hours of service apiece. I am getting to know too much about the ol poolans.

Well i went to lowes to check out the new ones. I coulde't bring myself to purchase one with the oddball new carbs. The carbs on the new ones are the same minus the throttle butterfly. It is up top on the plastic thing that holds the carb on:thumbdown:. Does anyone know of a saw that does not have this setup?

I took a trip the Hillcountrypowerandoutdoor parts trees sister company and they don't stock the needle.
while I was there i took a look at the stihls , eccos, and the huskies. they both have the oddball carb setup. has anyone had an experiance with a Mccoulla?

Almost all the new saws will have the EPAspec carbs, and they are a 4 star PITA. I've had really good luck with the Echo and Stihl saws I owned over the years. 2 of each brand, some synthetic 2-stroke oil, and they're still going strong.:biggrin:

benski said:

Almost all the new saws will have the EPAspec carbs, and they are a 4 star PITA. I've had really good luck with the Echo and Stihl saws I owned over the years. 2 of each brand, some synthetic 2-stroke oil, and they're still going strong.:biggrin:

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I like Stihl over the other brands but I go with the older models. It takes some fiddling and replacing parts to get an old one really right but it's worth the time and money. When you're finished you've got a better saw.

I like stihl saws. But also like husq saws. McCoughla or whatever are garbage. Had three of them. Have a little 14" poulan that's been a beast. But now are told have stop using it cause it doesn't have a chain brake.

There are different breeds of mcculloch. the old ones were the good ones but parts are hard to find. THe new ones use the same parts as some poulans.

Stihl has always been my top selling brand, I carry echo as well but Stihl's chain is definately a better quality.

All my mccullochs were older and I still think they weren't worth it. Buy a stihl or husq and you'll be good for good!

Parkmower said:

I like stihl saws. But also like husq saws. McCoughla or whatever are garbage. Had three of them. Have a little 14" poulan that's been a beast. But now are told have stop using it cause it doesn't have a chain brake.

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Let me tell ya a story about the chain brake. For years I have been felling some trees, cutting fire wood, etc. Up till about four years ago with an old pro McCulloch saw, 70 -10 or something like that. Anyhow it had monster power. Got tired of fiddling with the oil pump, etc. so went and got a new Stihl MS 310. About two weeks latter while digging around some large piles of tree tops getting out fire wood, I took a dive over the side. Landed on top of the new MS 310. A branch was inside the handle pressing the throttle wide open, I was laying across the safety button and on top of the chain bar. Not a good feeling having the chain pressed against my chest, while wearing a T shirt, the saw trying to scream wide open. Sometime during my flight I must have hit the break. If I would have landed on the old McCulloch in this same manner, I would not have made this post today. I would highly recommend anyone that has a saw without a break to hang it on the wall or toss it. Chain saws are one of the most dangerous tools a person can use, and do case nasty and or fatal injuries. Do not take unnecessary risks. Take advantage of the much safer saws we have today. They are still a dangerous tool, but the new safety features surely reduce the risk. Keep on cutting.

I have always been very careful and I've had good service from several Poulins. The first was stolen, the second got burned up in a garage fire and the third one is going strong but has developed a problem where the starter rope jumps the pulley and I have to take it apart. That being said, since I'm getting older and am not as quick, and because I like my local dealer (where I bought the Toro), I'm pretty sure I'll be looking at a Stihl, probably the MS 180 (16 inch) or MS 250 (18 inch); both have a chain brake and toolless chain adjuster.

Stihl, Dolmar or a Husqvarna would be the way to go.

Hi Troops,
I'm 68, been cutting wood on and off for years. When the chain brake first came out my thought was not another pain in the butt thingy on tools. But several years later while cutting, the chain brake did it's thing and since then I have a different respect for it as I still have all my hands and fingers and can still use them. Stihl is a good make of saw, I prefer Husqvarna saws myself and I've had many over the years. I prefer the way Husqvarnas handle during operation, but this is just my opinion. All of the local professional tree guys that I know use Stihl saws but I see it as a Chevy verses Ford truck thingy. I do know several southern and northwestern tree cutters and they use modified Husqvarnas. Having had torn rotor cuffs in both shoulders 12-14 years ago I don't climb anymore.
In 1970 I was a marine mechanic at a boat dealership in CT and I was doing a service call to Fishers Island, NY. When I arrived at the dock I was met by the local ambulance who had a patient on board that had a serious chain saw injury. They asked me if I could bring them to New London, CT where the patient could be transfered to the nearby hospital. We loaded up and with calm seas and a 70 MPH boat I had them to the dock in New London, CT in no time. The patient almost died from blood loss and probably would have had my boat not been a fast one. The patient had been injured while cutting down trees and if the saw had a chain brake on it, his injuries probably would not have been near as serious.
Mad Mackie in CT

That's what I'm saying. I've been careful, but I'm getting older (58) and I'd rather not find out that I've slowed down the hard way. Used to not like ABS brakes until someone slid/pulled out in front of me in a snowstorm. Missed him and didn't lose control of the car.

If you like your poulan saws try to repair them. The carb probably has some crap in it causing it to flood and got sucked in when the fuel lines cracked,especially if the fuel filter fell off.If they ran good until then maybe all you need is the carb cleaned and ALL new fuel lines.If one line is bad they all should be replaced.The older saws were good.

Here's my two cents....I love my Husqvarna...love it,love it,love it.I have owned it for about 15 years...starts everytime...idles perfect,runs like new.It's a model 51,18 inch bar.Just regular maintenance,that's it.jc

Been an expensive year so far, major unplanned purchase of the laptop computer I'm typing this on. So I'm going to get the Solder Seal/Gunk parts cleaner with a basket in a can and dump the muffler/spark arrestors from my old Poulan and my old Ryobi in there. Perform other cleaning and tuning to get another year or so out of them. But when they go, I'm thinking Stihl for both.