Keep Poulan 306A or buy a new one?

[dave2saw]

I thought forums like this only existed for golfers - you guys are as bad as I am with golf clubs. Never knew there were chain saw ho's out there...

Anyways, I bought a McCulloch MacCat 16" from HD several years ago. The oiler never worked properly - always clogged up the port on the bar after 5 minutes of use, apparently just a really bad design.

I was on my way out the door to get a new Husky 346xp when my neighbor offered to let me use his to finish the job. He brought over an old Poulan 306A from the 70's. This thing is an absolute tank. 59cc and all metal, heavy as heck and no chain brake. It looked like it hadn't been used in years. After a thorough cleaning and chain adjustment and sharpening, with some fresh gas and a little starting fluid I got it running in an hour. I was amazed at how much power this thing had, it was slicing through stumps like butter compared to my "new" 16" Mac. Just an absolute pleasure to cut with, in spite of being very heavy - and I really liked the manual oiler option!!

I think my neighbor will sell me (or give me) this saw since he's probably never going to use it again. But now I have a dilemma. Should I still go out and get the new Husky, or be content with this older but great performing Poulan? I have some reservations about using the Poulan, mainly because of the lack of safety features - but the performance is outstanding!

 

[huskydave]

I think you should see if you can get that poulan. You like cutting with it and you can get it cheap or free. I can tell you that a new husky will also put a grin on your face too and you will have higher rpms a chainbrake and it will be lighter.Get both! use the poulan for big jobs like felling and have the new 346xp for everything else sounds like a good combo to me.

 

[dave2saw]

I think you should see if you can get that poulan. You like cutting with it and you can get it cheap or free. I can tell you that a new husky will also put a grin on your face too and you will have higher rpms a chainbrake and it will be lighter.Get both! use the poulan for big jobs like felling and have the new 346xp for everything else sounds like a good combo to me.

The Poulan would be great for felling, not so great for limbing just due to the weight. If I keep the Poulan, can anyone point me in the direction of specs for this old beast? Chain type, mixing ratio, parts availability etc.? I kind of like the "old school" design of the Poulan compared to anything new, and the fact that this thing is 25-30 years old and still going strong speaks volumes about the build quality. I just worry that spending money for a newer Husky might be the wiser thing to do, just for the safety features alone. I'm not an advanced user, just an occasional use homeowner, and don't want to lose any of my appendages just because I was to cheap to spring for a newer saw.

 

[Log Splitter]

If I keep the Poulan, can anyone point me in the direction of specs for this old beast? Chain type, mixing ratio, parts availability etc.?.

http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.n...2cbe1e366f08e8d588256b35002309f1?OpenDocument

 

[Locoweed]

I used one back in the 80's and remember it as a powerhouse. Anyone have a comparison with one of the modern saws of similar size?