Chainsaw recommendation

[Damon Mailand]

I use a chainsaw once every couple months. For years I’ve been using a Poulan Pro PP4218A but it’s really temperamental, and I spend more time trying to get it to run than cutting wood. I’m about to throw it over the house this morning. Any recommendations on a dependable saw that won’t break the bank? I occasionally cut up small/medium trees for guitar making.

 

[sean donato]

Echo is decent for the money. Cs400 is a fan favorite. Not the most powerful vs stihl or husqy offerings but cheaper and pretty dependable.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Any time budget is the main concern echo is going to the go to however the question is vague. My break the bank and yours can be polar opposites. What’s your budget and how big/what type of wood are you cutting? This has been covered here many, many times.

 

[Paul Bunions]

Painful experience has taught me that a good dealer is really important, as is putting in the time to learn how to take care of and run your saw. I had a good saw (CS-590), no dealer support, and bad information, and I suffered for several years.

I learned some things about making "difficult" saws run.

1. Never turn the ignition off, if your saw has one. You will leave it off one day and flood the saw. Use the choke to shut the saw off.

2. Engage the choke every time you start the saw. If it's hot, push it back in before starting. It will give the saw gas when you try to start it. If it's cold, leave it out. As soon as the saw makes any kind of noise indicating it's thinking about starting, disengage the choke and resume yanking the cord. Don't expect the saw to start and run with the choke engaged. It may not do that, but the choke will get it ready to start with the choke disengaged.

3. Treat your gas. I use Biobor EB, and I use Red Armor oil, which everyone seems to recommend. Sta-bil red does not work. Throw your gas out after a couple of months.

4. Start your saw once every week or so, unless you store it dry or with oil in the gas tank. Don't store it dry with gas station gas. Even no-ethanol gas forms varnish, and dry isn't always dry.

I just fired up three saws because of Hurricane Milton, and they all run fine, even though the gas is getting old. I have a couple of tools I rarely use, so I put motor oil in their tanks and ran it into the carbs to prevent gas from killing the diaphragms and forming varnish. So far, this has worked.

If you're not cutting much, consider a cordless Makita. I have one, and it's stupendous. Always, always runs. Cuts really well. No hearing protection. Stops instantly when you release the trigger. If you have 4 5-Ah batteries, you can do a lot of work without recharging.

 

[J D]

If the poulan does what you need it to (when it works) it may be worth having someone give it a once over, tune it, etc. A saw thats been neglected (old fuel, poorly tuned, not maintained, etc) will be problematic to start, regardles of where it came from or how much it cost

 

[Bludenz]

My slightly biased opinion

I would go with a Stihl ms230 if you don't want an upgrade. Don't go with the quick tensioner model, I find those to be a pain. From what I can find, your current saw is 42 cc, the Stihl ms230 is just over 45cc. They are pretty equal.

However, you haven't specified how large the logs are that you are cutting, so a Stihl ms170 or Stihl ms180 (30/32 cc respectively) may also be enough for your needs.

The Stihl ms230 can run bars from 16 to 18 inches, I've never used a Stihl ms230 so I can't say how it handles those bars.

I personally wouldn't buy new, I'd find something from facebook that has been serviced recently, or it's in newish condition. Whilst this may cost you a couple hundred (I'd say MAX 250-300usd), it's a saw that will last you a lifetime with the proper maintenance. I've owned a Stihl ms170, a Stihl ms261c-m and they never let me down, always started second or third pull and preformed well. I've got a larger Stihl ms461 arriving tomorrow that I purchased from a member on this forum.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Damon Mailand]

Echo is decent for the money. Cs400 is a fan favorite. Not the most powerful vs stihl or husqy offerings but cheaper and pretty dependable.

Thanks for the recommendation! Much appreciated.

 

[Damon Mailand]

Painful experience has taught me that a good dealer is really important, as is putting in the time to learn how to take care of and run your saw. I had a good saw (CS-590), no dealer support, and bad information, and I suffered for several years.

I learned some things about making "difficult" saws run.

1. Never turn the ignition off, if your saw has one. You will leave it off one day and flood the saw. Use the choke to shut the saw off.

2. Engage the choke every time you start the saw. If it's hot, push it back in before starting. It will give the saw gas when you try to start it. If it's cold, leave it out. As soon as the saw makes any kind of noise indicating it's thinking about starting, disengage the choke and resume yanking the cord. Don't expect the saw to start and run with the choke engaged. It may not do that, but the choke will get it ready to start with the choke disengaged.

3. Treat your gas. I use Biobor EB, and I use Red Armor oil, which everyone seems to recommend. Sta-bil red does not work. Throw your gas out after a couple of months.

4. Start your saw once every week or so, unless you store it dry or with oil in the gas tank. Don't store it dry with gas station gas. Even no-ethanol gas forms varnish, and dry isn't always dry.

I just fired up three saws because of Hurricane Milton, and they all run fine, even though the gas is getting old. I have a couple of tools I rarely use, so I put motor oil in their tanks and ran it into the carbs to prevent gas from killing the diaphragms and forming varnish. So far, this has worked.

If you're not cutting much, consider a cordless Makita. I have one, and it's stupendous. Always, always runs. Cuts really well. No hearing protection. Stops instantly when you release the trigger. If you have 4 5-Ah batteries, you can do a lot of work without recharging.

Great response. Thanks so much for all the tips. Is there a resource you'd recommend for learning to maintain a saw? I've replaced the carb/spark plug/air filter/fuel lines, but I don't know much about tuning the saw. People posting on YouTube don't necessarily have much experience either. Perhaps there is a go-to channel with quality content?

 

[Damon Mailand]

Any time budget is the main concern echo is going to the go to however the question is vague. My break the bank and yours can be polar opposites. What’s your budget and how big/what type of wood are you cutting? This has been covered here many, many times.

Thanks for the response. I cut a variety of materials in a variety of sizes, so a "general use" saw is probably what I'm looking for. Most recently it was a Magnolia log with about a 30" diameter. Sometimes I'm just cutting up oak branches. I will do some searing on the forum for similar threads that already discussed this issue. Thank you!

 

[Damon Mailand]

If the poulan does what you need it to (when it works) it may be worth having someone give it a once over, tune it, etc. A saw thats been neglected (old fuel, poorly tuned, not maintained, etc) will be problematic to start, regardles of where it came from or how much it cost

This is very good advice, thank you. It seems to be very difficult to find someone to work on these around here, but I could definitely hone my tuning skills. Any recommended resourced for learning to do this yourself?

 

[diver64]

How about a Husky 435 or 440? You are looking for another 40cc saw I take it or something in that size? I cut a lot of wood for 15yrs or so with a Husky 41. You seem to indicate that you don't cut much large stuff so I'd think one of those would work. The biggest thing to remember for people who may cut a little then put the saw away for several months or a year is to do it right. Others have their methods, I always put StaBil in the gas. Before putting it away for the year I run it dry then pull the spark plug and squirt a little oil in the cylinder, give it a few pulls and replace the plug. Seems to work for me.

 

[Damon Mailand]

My slightly biased opinion

I would go with a Stihl ms230 if you don't want an upgrade. Don't go with the quick tensioner model, I find those to be a pain. From what I can find, your current saw is 42 cc, the Stihl ms230 is just over 45cc. They are pretty equal.

However, you haven't specified how large the logs are that you are cutting, so a Stihl ms170 or Stihl ms180 (30/32 cc respectively) may also be enough for your needs.

The Stihl ms230 can run bars from 16 to 18 inches, I've never used a Stihl ms230 so I can't say how it handles those bars.

I personally wouldn't buy new, I'd find something from facebook that has been serviced recently, or it's in newish condition. Whilst this may cost you a couple hundred (I'd say MAX 250-300usd), it's a saw that will last you a lifetime with the proper maintenance. I've owned a Stihl ms170, a Stihl ms261c-m and they never let me down, always started second or third pull and preformed well. I've got a larger Stihl ms461 arriving tomorrow that I purchased from a member on this forum.

That's my 2 cents.

Thanks a bunch for the advice!

 

[Damon Mailand]

How about a Husky 435 or 440? You are looking for another 40cc saw I take it or something in that size? I cut a lot of wood for 15yrs or so with a Husky 41. You seem to indicate that you don't cut much large stuff so I'd think one of those would work. The biggest thing to remember for people who may cut a little then put the saw away for several months or a year is to do it right. Others have their methods, I always put StaBil in the gas. Before putting it away for the year I run it dry then pull the spark plug and squirt a little oil in the cylinder, give it a few pulls and replace the plug. Seems to work for me.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[J D]

Great response. Thanks so much for all the tips. Is there a resource you'd recommend for learning to maintain a saw? I've replaced the carb/spark plug/air filter/fuel lines, but I don't know much about tuning the saw. People posting on YouTube don't necessarily have much experience either. Perhaps there is a go-to channel with quality content?

If you've replaced the carb with a cheap Chinese one that may not be helping, but most likely your Poulan just isn't properly tuned. Tom @Vintage Engine Repairs has some good content on here & on youtube (including a tuning tutorial). Madsens also has quite a good write up on how to tune a chainsaw

 

[Damon Mailand]

If you've replaced the carb with a cheap Chinese one that may not be helping, but most likely your Poulan just isn't properly tuned. Tom @Vintage Engine Repairs has some good content on here & on youtube (including a tuning tutorial). Madsens also has quite a good write up on how to tune a chainsaw

The carb was a cheapo, but I still have the original so I'm thinking of rebuilding it.
I will check out those resources - thanks!