Poulan Pro 5020AV

[JA600L]

Is anybody else running one of these?

I bought one in the summer of 2014 and really love the performance. I did remove the factory bar and installed an Oregon Pro-Lite and a non safety chain to match. The original bar threw the chain a time or two but the Pro-Lite has worked flawlessly. I run good quality fuel through it with ethanol treatment. I did notice that the air filter does not completely seal, so I put sealer on it and all is well. I plan to give it lots of love and care and expect it to do well for me for years to come.

I've cut up a lot of locust trees with it and some white oak. I'm very impressed with how well it works for a $200 saw. Of course I added some mods, so add $60.

Before that I had a Poulan Pro 42cc 18'' saw that did very well for me. I cut many trees down with that saw before it died. To be fair to it I did buy it used for $70 and used it for much more then it was designed for. It does still run and could be fixed properly, but the coil came loose and smashed itself against the flywheel. I put it on Craigslist for $10 and the guy that bought it said he will fix it. So it is on to its second life.

 

[Vibes]

That's a good review, and consistent with the rest of the reviews I've read about that model. A friend of mine bought a used remanufactured Craftsman on EBAY for $129 and runs it pretty hard without any problems. He's had it going on 4 years now and he just runs it how it came out of the box.

 

[zogger]

Been about 90% + good reviews on them here to my reckoning. I have read a few incidents of failed this or that, the starter was one I recall. I do know my local husky wrench (they work on everything) has done a couple with burnt top ends, but he said it looked like bad gas or straight gas. For the money, hard to beat. I wish they made a cheap 70. If they can make a 50 and retail it for 200 bucks, maybe they could make a 70 and come in around 300. That would be a great cheap two saw plan right there.

 

[cornfused]

JA600L....
I've had mine since Feb.2013....been an excellent saw, especially for the price. After the first season I had to retune as it broke in and wanted to run rich. Got about 20 cord through it now and only problem was with the oem (Vangaurd) chain and bar. Pita to keep the depth gauges set correctly. Replaced them with pro grade 18" Oregon bar and chains and really made a difference in performance. So far been a great little saw.
Jim

 

[shorty2000us]

I like mine. It's not a stihl, but when I started burning a year ago, it fit the bill. Kept OEM bar, but put a 72lgx chain on it. Oils good & run 40:1 with rest of the saws. For $200, I don't think you can go wrong

 

[svk]

Well I don't think they have flippy caps so that's a bonus.

I've used one and will say for the money it's not a bad saw. Not comparable to a similar sized Husky or Stihl (despite what a certain fanboy will say) but you get what you pay for.

My main complaints were it feels heavy and has poor balance.

 

[JA600L]

Well I don't think they have flippy caps so that's a bonus.

I've used one and will say for the money it's not a bad saw. Not comparable to a similar sized Husky or Stihl (despite what a certain fanboy will say) but you get what you pay for.

My main complaints were it feels heavy and has poor balance.

Heavy and not as balanced suits me fine. I have not run a lot of other saws, so I can't compare. For me to use it 5-10 times a year I can't complain about it being a little heavy.

 

[cap33]

Just got one the other day . Haven't had time or weather to run it yet. Hope to have the same luck Yall have

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JA600L]

Just got one the other day . Haven't had time or weather to run it yet. Hope to have the same luck Yall have

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

I would advise you to check how well the air filter seals. Mine was pulling dirt in. Luckily, I didn't run it for very long before reading about that being a problem.

 

[cap33]

What did u seal it with

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CTYank]

What did u seal it with

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

Funny, I'm the one that brought that sealing problem up. Small world, eh? A very light bead of silicone at the seal face works just fine, to keep the fines from getting past. Give the silicone time to cure fully before putting the cover back on. Also, the carb-retaining nuts worked loose on mine. Can't put too much torque on them, could crush plastic bits, so I used a drop of Loctite blue each. And, the fuel filter fell off the line, so I trimmed 1/4" off the line & stuffed it back in.

I've had mine for 3 yrs. now, and it runs better than new, on steady diet of 40:1 full-syn. Still running OEM bar, with its oddball 70 DL chain-length. Got mine as backup for heavy artillery, before getting much more powerful saws, but it still has a place with sticks it can reach through, like heavy-limbing.

Anybody ever seen such a bargain, in public, from the boys in Weiblingen/VA Beach?

 

[Deleted member 83629]

still got mine i bought in july 2012 i have replaced the bar and chain once along with the clutch drum and bearing and it has had a few plugs and filters since then.
i ran that saw on a diet of 40:1 husky xp oil for 2 yrs and it is holding up fine.

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

I've had mine for a couple years now and it's served me pretty well. About 6 months or so after getting it, it refused to start. Checked out all the main culprits and everything came back okay. Did a compression check on it and it came up way low. So I pulled it apart and found the piston ring carbon seized to the piston. I went over to the chainsaw forum and inquired as to why this might happen. At that time I was running Klotz SuperTechniplate, which a couple of the guys advised me not to run saying the castor oil in there probably is what did it. I changed to regular old Techniplate and fattened up the main jet a little and haven't had any issues since. Do like CTYank said and seal off the air filter with some silicone. Nothing sneaks by the filter on mine now. Decent saw for the money.

 

[Eagleknight]

I have been looking at this saw or an Echo cs-590. Thanks for the review. I am hesitant to pull the trigger on the Poulan. I would be spending $100 more on the Echo though. Decisions, decisions.

 

[svk]

I have been looking at this saw or an Echo cs-590. Thanks for the review. I am hesitant to pull the trigger on the Poulan. I would be spending $100 more on the Echo though. Decisions, decisions.

590 is the best bargain on the market IMO. You are getting a lot more saw in all aspects.

 

[Deleted member 83629]

590 is the best bargain on the market IMO. You are getting a lot more saw in all aspects.

truly a great saw, you need to buy one it give it a try to.

 

[svk]

For what you are getting, the 590 is much more of a value than other Echo saws. If they priced their 400 and 500 comparatively to the 590, they would take a lot of sales from Poulan.

 

[sunfish]

5020 isn't a bad saw for the money, but I personally prefer better saws.
I ran a couple older Poulans for over 20 years and never had any trouble with em...

 

[Vibes]

I don't have any Echo's, other than a trimmer. But know guys who do and other than a few guys on this site have never heard bad thing about them. We have an Echo dealer in my area and they advertise that 590 on sale sometimes at a really good number.

I would choose the Echo out of the 2.

 

[Ambull01]

Well I don't think they have flippy caps so that's a bonus.

I've used one and will say for the money it's not a bad saw. Not comparable to a similar sized Husky or Stihl (despite what a certain fanboy will say) but you get what you pay for.

My main complaints were it feels heavy and has poor balance.

Isn't the 5020 just a rebadged Husqvarna? Thought I read somewhere there's the "H" logo stamped all over it and it was comparable to a 450 or something like that.

Anyway, the Makita 6421 is the best bargain out there! Shame on you for forgetting.