Customer Reviews

Poulan Pro PP125 17-Inch 25cc 2-Cycle Gas-Powered Straight-Shaft String Trimmer with Split Shaft

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

Bought this item about 10 days ago,(Poulan Pro 17-Inch 25cc Gas Powered String Trimmer #PP125), after I've sent another weedeater back that was hard to start. The first weedeater I bought was a curved shaft and it was very hard to start and keep running. So I was a little hesitant to purchase another one from amazon. Once I opened the box all I had to do was attach the 2 pieces together and also attach the safety guard. It took about 3 minutes to put together. Also if buying the attachments, you will be able to switch them with no problem. Also if you take your hand off the throttle, the weedeater will stop, and the engine will still be running (nice safety feature), and when you put your finger back on the throttle, the weedeater will be ready to start trimming again. I actually bought mine for $99.00 shipped when Amazon had their weekend sale. I think this is a really good weedeater at $150.00, but at $99.00 it's even better.

This is the greatest trimmer. It is easy assembly, easy start, and quiet running. It is a plus for me ( a female ) to have a great running trimmer like this one. I have owned several in the past, and this one is great. It is quiet running even when it is trimming, and stays running at a slow idle when not trimming. It starts so easily, and runs really good-cuts great as well. I am happy I got this one!!!!!!!

I just received mine a few days ago. It seems to be a decent tool; not a whole lot of power, but has a high revving engine. It is really easy to start, if the directions are followed. I wish the choke had a middle setting though. It seems to take a while for the engine to warm up and run smooth. If you don't leave it on the "start" setting long enough, it tends to bog and die on you, but once it gets warmed up, it runs well. Mine idles a little rough, and I had to adjust the idle setting a bit higher. It seems to be running better the longer I use it; probably still in the "break in" stage. I like the fact that the gas tank is on the bottom and is FLAT on the bottom. I had a Ryobi (which died, hence the Poulan purchase) and it had this triangular stand on the bottom which sucked. That stupid thing would NOT stay upright when you set it down, and it also had an exposed muffler which would burn the crap out of you if you made a wrong move. This one stays upright and has the muffler covered by fins in the cowling and doesn't smoke like the old one with it's 32/1 mix. The new one uses 40/1, same as my Poulan chain saw, and runs pretty well fume and smoke free. Yea for new stuff! It could use a shoulder strap. Even though it is pretty light weight, I found it a bit hand-fatiguing to carry for long. I attached one from an electric trimmer I had (also Poulan) and it helped a lot. It's no Stihl or Husqvarna, but for normal occasional use for the homeowner, it's fine. I've also used it with the chainsaw tree-limb trimming attachment, and it works well. I love that attachment for cutting branches on trees I've cut down. It's the nuts. I also looked at the model that came with the brush cutter attachment, but I didn't like the type of trimmer head it came with. It had the type with the pre-cut chunks of line, and I preferred this one with the feeder head ('Tap and Go'). I did have one worry when I ordered, and that is the fact that these things are shipped in the original package, no over-packing. No foam or bubble wrap, just cardboard holders inside to keep it in place. Not much protection, so I cross my fingers when I order and hope it isn't broken when it arrives. UPS, bless 'em, sometimes aren't very gentle. Mine arrived with a hole in the carton, and one end taped up, but fortunately it was OK. (The plastic cowling isn't very sturdy. It wouldn't take much abuse.) I wish the companies would do a better job of packing. They must know these things are getting shipped individually all over the place. So, for around 100 bucks, it's decent. Oh, and for the ladies, it's a cute orange color!

Update- Previously gave it just one star because of stalling when squeezing the throttle. On my day off, I put in some fresh gas and fooled around with the idle- sped it up a little bit. It now runs fine- used it for about 20 minutes with no problem. It helps to have some experience with these(and chain saws,etc.), but overall seems like a quality machine and changing the head looks like it will be an easy job too.

Amazon's great service shines again. Received the trimmer several days ahead of the original time estimate. Everytime I've ordered from Amazon I've been 100% satisfied.
I've probably had half a dozen trimmers over a period of time. Without a doubt this is by far the best I've ever had. The 2 most outstanding features for me are the effortless starting and the thickness of the string. Pulling the starter cord feels like trying to start an engine with the spark plug out. For this senior citizen that means a lot. The trimmer string is .093" and it is more durable than my previous .080" string trimmers. With the .080" string trimmers I would have bumped the head to extend the string at least twice as much as I have with this one which would mean replacing that darn string much more often.

Received my PP125 yesterday (9/15/2008) from Amazon and it had exactly the same problem as reviewer Richard Samford - press down on the throttle and the engine bogs down and stops running. I was very disappointed since the unit will only operate at slightly above idle speed - which is unusable.

The trimmer could not be returned to Amazon (it's gas) so I decided to re-adjust the carburetor myself to resolve the problem. Upon inspection, I noted the carb adjustment screws are of the tamper proof kind and a special tool is required to make adjustments. Undaunted, I found a pair of blue electrical crimp connectors that slipped nicely over the carburetor adjustments screws. Within 5 minutes, I had my PP125 Trimmer running smoother than a top... nice acceleration from idle, good power at high speed, and starts reliablely.

Delivery was on-time and setup was easy. Unit appears well constructed. Since this was a new out of the box trimmer, I'll give it only 4 stars because it required a tune-up to get the unit to function properly.

I bought this a few months ago from Amazon to replace an ancient Homelite trimmer that after 20 years just gave up the ghost. It arrived when promised, and price was good. Assembly took just a few minutes, and the accompanying manual is good. I also own a Poulan edger and chainsaw, and both worked well so I figured this would too. I was wrong. Very wrong.

As others have posted on this trimmer, there is a serious stalling problem once it has started. From the get-go this has been an issue with the Poulan PP125. Authorized repair could take up to two weeks. Their website is useless as is technical support. Here is what happens.

The trimmer starts easily enough. Prime the carb with about 5 or 6 pumps, set the choke to start (there are only two settings start and run), and pull the cord. It started on the second pull. Let it warm up for about a minute. Then I pressed the handle to rev the engine, which also takes the choke out of start and automatically puts it in the run position. As soon as that happened, the rpms decreased dramatically. I tried various positions, but within 10 seconds, the engine stalled. Put it back in start, bulled the cord and it started again. Again the result was the same.

The trimmer seems to be getting too much gas, and there is no way to adjust the carburetor because of the special screws, although several people have posted ways to do this with a blue electrical crimp epoxied to a thin screwdriver, which I have yet to do.

Anyhow, I was outside today using it with a Ryobi edger attachment I bought at Home Depot (my Poulan edger gas lines broke last week and this was an emergency purchase), and of course the attachment stops working (twists about 90 degrees) as the pressure button on the Ryobi edger attachment won''t stay in the Poulan hole. Plus the Poulan is doing its usual stalling out routine. I live in south Florida and grass cutting, edging and trimming is a weekly chore, and I like my stuff to work correctly.

A worker who was doing repairs on a neighbor's house comes over and tells me that my problem with stalling is that my oil/gas mixture has too much oil, and he knows that because he had a similar problem. I followed the Poulan directions and have a 40:1 ratio, and I have mixed gas for over 30 years with never a problem, but who knows? I may add a little gas to the mix and see what happens.

As for my recommendation after a month of using this: 1. it is fairly quiet and starts easily. 2. it runs badly (stalls), and if you put any load on it (i.e. with an edger attachment) it slows down appreciably. 3. the guard on the string trimmer is akward and virtually useless. 4. The lower handle is held on with a wing nut, and I guarantee you that it will loosen within two minutes and your handle will be in the wrong position.

I just think the 25 cc engine is just not robust enough. If I had to do it over, I'd get a different brand and a bigger engine, which I may end up doing anyhow.

I give this one lowly star.

Ordered the item on Saturday, and two days later (Monday) discovered a price reduction. One call to Amazon customer service gave me a no hassle credit for the price difference. Could not have been easier! Amazon customer service is Superb; better than Nordstrom's, and you don't have to go to the store. UPS delivered the item on Wednesday. A quick read of the instructions, and 15 minutes out of the box the trimmer was assembled. Took only three (easy) pulls to start the first time. Poulan Pro 17-Inch 25cc Gas-Powered Trimmer #PP125

I have now had my Poulan trimmer for about 6 months. I have no major complaints about it at all. I really like the straight shaft design because i believe that it consumes less power than the bent shaft models. Plus, in about 10 seconds you can detach it and put on another attachment. I would highly suggest getting the brush cutting attachment. Even if you aren't planning on cutting brush, it is great for trimming trees, and larger weeds. It also comes with a shoulder strap and a much larger handle which i think the trimmer needs anyways. I do wish it had a little more power, but for the size and weight of the trimmer, it can't be beat. Starts and runs well every time. I also have a Poulan chain saw that runs and performs great. Will stick with this brand in the future.

Just read the instructions, it's easy to assemble, put some gas and just start it, it works as a charm. It is really powerful and can cut some significant weeds. I recommend the brush cutter for more serious work otherwise the string is not going to last long. The brush cutter extension comes with a second handle and a shoulder strap that does not come standard with the trimmer.
The machine has a reasonable weight and allows anyone to use it even for extended periods of time.