Bought a new Poulan Pro 5020 to see what there about

[digthediesel]

Try a pro chain, keep the one that came with it as a spare.

Of course if you are feeling nuts, you could send it to one of the pro porters here.

Yeah, that's it. Have it ported and carry a tank of nitrous in my backpack with a hose going directly into the carburetor. Oh, not to forget a 32" bar and chain. The ER doctors would be picking pieces of flywheel out of my body.

I think I will get a better chain though and keep the original for a spare like you said. It would be really interesting to see what porting would do to it.

I'd better get a few cords of wood put away before sending it off to the pros.

Doug

 

[zogger]

Yeah, that's it. Have it ported and carry a tank of nitrous in my backpack with a hose going directly into the carburetor. Oh, not to forget a 32" bar and chain. The ER doctors would be picking pieces of flywheel out of my body.

I think I will get a better chain though and keep the original for a spare like you said. It would be really interesting to see what porting would do to it.

I'd better get a few cords of wood put away before sending it off to the pros.

Doug

I don't think anyone has done one of those yet. Don't recall any threads on it so far.

 

[Chris J.]

I don't think anyone has done one of those yet. Don't recall any threads on it so far.

Someone here was considerring modding a 5020 when life got pretty complicated. I bumped his thread once, but have since let it be out of respect for his situation.

 

[yamawho]

I couldn't find the manual online a few weeks ago but today I did

Here ...
http://www.poulanpro.com/ddoc/PPOO/PPOO2012_NAen/PPOO2012_NAen_PP5020AV_115395626R5.pdf

I took the saw to a Husky/Stihl dealer near my cottage and inquired about getting a shorter bar and chain for this saw. Before taking it out of the car, I told him I believed this saw was with Husqvarna parts and he did not think so. I gave him the part number off the original 20" bar and asked for a Oregon bar at 16" long. He looked at the number 545196102 and said that's a Husqvarna number ... I noticed the manual shows a different number 577179801 maybe this is for the US market.

He took it in the back and fitted it with a Husqvarna 16" bar 508913160 and 73LPX060e chain. Chain info here ... http://www.oregonchain.com/pdf/chain/fb_LPX.pdf

Did some cutting yesterday with the stock bar and chain and more cutting today with the new setup in maple logs lengthwise to stick a wedge in to split them. Noticed the cutting is rougher than stock setup but cuts faster. This present setup is more prone to kickback however ...

 

[joecool85]

Did some cutting yesterday with the stock bar and chain and more cutting today with the new setup in maple logs lengthwise to stick a wedge in to split them. Noticed the cutting is rougher than stock setup but cuts faster. This present setup is more prone to kickback however ...

I run a 16" Husqvarna bar on my PP330. Love it.

 

[Vibes]

A buddy just got the MS 250 and side by side of course his looks better. I know his will cut better (we didn’t race) with the .325 chain, shorter bar and all. His saw also has the sticker that says Emissions Durability Period 50 Hours, same as my PP5020AV. Interesting.


I would like to see that race. MS 250'S never impressed me. My freind has one and he thought it was the shizznits. Until he ran my 20 year old Craftsman 3.0/ Poulan 3000. Both stock, his with a 16 and new chain, mine with an 18. Both .325. Wanna guess which one won in a 14 inch cherry log by better than 3 seconds.

 

[yamawho]

A buddy just got the MS 250 and side by side of course his looks better. I know his will cut better (we didn’t race) with the .325 chain, shorter bar and all. His saw also has the sticker that says Emissions Durability Period 50 Hours, same as my PP5020AV. Interesting.

Interesting that they one I purchased here in Canada does not have such a sticker ...

Also interesting that the bar is not the same as the US model according to the manual, what model number is stamped on yours?

 

[Chris-PA]

A buddy just got the MS 250 and side by side of course his looks better. I know his will cut better (we didn’t race) with the .325 chain, shorter bar and all. His saw also has the sticker that says Emissions Durability Period 50 Hours, same as my PP5020AV. Interesting.


I would like to see that race. MS 250'S never impressed me. My freind has one and he thought it was the shizznits. Until he ran my 20 year old Craftsman 3.0/ Poulan 3000. Both stock, his with a 16 and new chain, mine with an 18. Both .325. Wanna guess which one won in a 14 inch cherry log by better than 3 seconds.

No reason an MS250 should impress you - it's a 45cc plastic saw. Compared to my 42cc Craftsman/Poulan I saw or felt very little difference. It's got an inboard clutch and a little square piece of plastic to allow warm air into the air box. Big deal. Both had 18" bars, but my Craftsman runs LoPro so it has to move less wood.

Compared to a newer 42cc Poulan (which now has an inboard clutch) it lacks a strato engine and an adjustable carb. With a muffler mod my 46cc Poulan would blow it away, but I suppose that was unfair because the MS250 had a stock muffler. A 5020 is far more saw than an MS250 for much less money.

I don't understand how people can constantly trash a plastic saw from Poulan on one hand, but when Stihl makes a saw of basically identical construction, materials, performance and quality they somehow expect it to be special.

 

[Vibes]

I don't understand how people can constantly trash a plastic saw from Poulan on one hand, but when Stihl makes a saw of basically identical construction, materials, performance and quality they somehow expect it to be special.


Expect it to be special, and pay crazy money for them also.

Another thing that I never get about the plastic Stihls is why do you have to go through several procedures to do basic maintenance on those things. I'm selling a parts 025 on Ebay right now and wanted to take a picture of it with my compression tester plugged into it. To pull the top cover off of it was a 3 or 4 step process. I didn't bother figuring the extra time spent on it would only result in a few dollars in my pocket. They always bring crazy money on the bay and in that reguard Stihls have been good to me.

 

[Fedaburger]

Plastics aside Im impressed with poulan saws. It's been said.before most of the complaints are from people that have no idea how to even use a powersaw let alone tune the carb on one. On the china saw thread someone said some good points on poulan. Most who don't even know anything about saws have an anti-poulan attitude. Hopefully the brand is gonna make a comeback. Glad to see these 2050 saws get some good reviews.
A lot of good reviews on poulan saws with husky names are out there and in he same reviews they'll trash talk on poulan. If they only knew they'd Probly have a different view on poulan.

Made in the USA

God bless the USA

Yes I know the 5020 is husky

 

[Chris J.]

Plastics aside Im impressed with poulan saws. It's been said.before most of the complaints are from people that have no idea how to even use a powersaw let alone tune the carb on one. On the china saw thread someone said some good points on poulan. Most who don't even know anything about saws have an anti-poulan attitude. Hopefully the brand is gonna make a comeback. Glad to see these 2050 saws get some good reviews.
A lot of good reviews on poulan saws with husky names are out there and in he same reviews they'll trash talk on poulan. If they only knew they'd Probly have a different view on poulan.

Made in the USA

God bless the USA

Yes I know the 5020 is husky

I'm sure that you meant the 5020, since the 2050 is a completely different saw.

Without the benefit of re-reading this entire thread and the other 5020 threads, I don't think that the 5020 has a Husqvarna equivalent model. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it has some parts made in Sweden.

 

[SawTroll]

I'm sure that you meant the 5020, since the 2050 is a completely different saw.

Without the benefit of re-reading this entire thread and the other 5020 threads, I don't think that the 5020 has a Husqvarna equivalent model. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it has some parts made in Sweden.

Right, and among the Husky owned brands, Made in USA = Made by Poulan!

 

[SawTroll]

Yeah, a perfectly functional saw for the homeowner or firewood cutter at a reasonable price. An alternative to overpriced European saws.

No quality chainsaws are overpriced in the US, as the prices are silly low.....

 

[Chris-PA]

No quality chainsaws are overpriced in the US, as the prices are silly low.....

Well, you know I look at it differently, in terms of what the tool can do for what you pay. I have found that for what I need to do with it, something like this Poulan is perfectly appropriate. And I would get one, except that I can get used saws even cheaper.

Keep in mind that what these saws cost has little to no relationship to what it costs to make them, it's based on what they can get you to pay. The fact that within a family of saws the larger displacement versions cost more is a perfect illustration - it cannot cost but a tiny amount more to make them. Yet people are convinced that if they pay more they are getting more in proportion.

The marketing and advertising wizards have everyone under their spell, but this spell will be broken as the availability of credit dries up. Then the cost of everything will go up relative to what people can afford to pay, and people will be much more focused on needs, rather than wants. So you shall have your higher costs, but Stihl and Husqvarna may not survive it.....

It may yet come to pass that Poulan is spun off again.

 

[hangfirew8]

It may yet come to pass that Poulan is spun off again.

Or it becomes the salvation of its more expensive owner... they need the high volume sales income... and they start moving more and more of their brand saws to Poulan manufacture!

Oh wait... that's already happening!

HF

 

[SasquatchMan]

Just bought one of these on sale at Canadian Tire.

Pulled it out of the box, loaded it with gas mix and bar lube, fired it up, and cut up 1,000 square feet of deck, all 2x10 construction, and built over and around an old deck built of 2x4s. Just a big stupid mess of wood and nails.

3 tanks of gas (and 3 tanks of lube - this thing pours bar lube), a few chain adjustments, and 2 hours later the job was done and yes, the chain was pretty well wrecked. I spent a couple hours filing later that night, but nails and dirt is bad for chains, it turns out.

I needed a saw that day. My old 290 finally died, and I had a huge deck to cut up. Decided to buy a "disposable" saw for these purposes, and I couldn't be happier.

Got a Stihl 271 for cutting wood, and will use the 5020av for chopping up dirty crap and beating the hell out of. The reduced-kick chain is perfect for this, and the overdriven oiler is great too. For me? Perfect contractor tool.

The Stihl cuts faster, runs smoother, starts easier. Comes with better cutting chain, uses less fuel, less lube, produces far less stinky exhaust. It's way nicer. A Range-Rover vs a Jeep.

But for $229.00, basically half of what I paid for the Stihl, I'm totally happy with the Poulan. If it lasts one year of chopping up decks, cutting down garages, stumping, and whatever else I decide it's the right tool for, I'll buy another next September and call it a good unit.

It seems a far cry from all the other Poulans at the store.

 

[joecool85]

The Stihl cuts faster, runs smoother, starts easier. Comes with better cutting chain, uses less fuel, less lube, produces far less stinky exhaust. It's way nicer. A Range-Rover vs a Jeep.

Does the Poulan really use more fuel than your 271 and it's a lot more stinky? That's too bad. I've not run either saw though.

 

[SasquatchMan]

Yeah I think it's using more fuel, but it's hard to tell for sure - different chains cutting different material. And the Stihl runs cleaner (for now), without a doubt.

 

[Chris J.]

Yeah I think it's using more fuel, but it's hard to tell for sure - different chains cutting different material. And the Stihl runs cleaner (for now), without a doubt.

It's my understanding that strato engines need quite a few tanks for proper break-in; how that will affect the 5020 fuel economy I'm not sure.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Just bought one of these on sale at Canadian Tire.

I bought a Stihl MS271 at the same time for cutting firewood only. This saw comes with a Stihl RS chain on it, and the cutting is just effortless. This saw cost about double the Poulan, about 500 bucks. What do you get? More power for sure, and the saw is happy at 13,000 rpms or wherever it runs at, just smooth as silk. Think the Poulan is running about 9,000.

I read where you said the poulan was 9000 rpm out of the box and untouched carb.

Sounds to me she is way rich and needs a carb tuning. Could be why she is smelly and stinking with fumes.