Customer Reviews

Poulan Pro PP133 17-inch 33cc 2-Cycle Gas-Powered Straight-Shaft Attachment-Capable String Trimmer

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

With a 33cc engine, this trimmer is probably one of the most powerful 2 stroke out there. I bought it because I needed a strong trimmer to go with my edger attachment (I had read previously that smaller engines would jam with this attachment because they didn't have enough kick). So the first time I used it, I put it to the test: my yard was way overgrown and between the trimming and edging, I had the PP133 working at full throttle for a good two hours...and it delivered. At 12,000 RPM, this is one mean trimmer! Used with an edger attachment, it kicks dirt like nobody's business! So much in fact that after edging my drive way and sidewalk, my legs were covered in blood (tip to myself: wear a pant, or some sort of protection next time). What a difference from my previous 20 cc Weedeater! With that being said, this trimmer has several flaws; so on to the pros and cons:
PROS:
*This trimmer has some serious power
*Easy start
*`kill' button on the handle for quick and easy shut off
*Attachments capable (Poulan or other)
*Comes with a can of oil and spare strings
*Low price

CONS:
*It goes through a lot of the precut .115 strings (use .130 instead).
*Precut strings are hard to find
*Vibrate quite a bit
*Heavy trimmer
*Weird head system (no spool, you have to unclip a little plastic cover, remove the old string and feed the new one thru three holes while making sure that you have the same length on each side). It's a simple process, but it gets old quickly as you have to replace the string quite often (using the .130 string makes this less of a problem as you don't have to replace your string as often)
* The plastic guard on the trimmer is close to useless if you're right handed, and it's not adjustable either. Because this trimmer spins counterclockwise, everything is kicked right at you and you get hit in the legs and face a lot.
*Gas thirsty!

Despite all the flaws, I give it three stars because it packs a good punch which is what I need. With a better head system, I would give it 4 stars. With a better head system and a better guard, I would give it 5. I would recommend it to whoever has a need for a powerful trimmer (make sure you wear safety glasses and pants). For light applications look somewhere else as this would be too much trimmer.

First off, to Amazon who always has an excellence service as usual (at least to me). Thank Amazon, the tools arrived 1 day before your scheduled. After inspected, the condition of box are undamaged, and yes the trimmer (and edging attachment) are new... That's all I needed so far.
The trimmer, it looks bigger and heavier than my old one. My old one is a 25cc Weed-Eater which's died after 3yrs of service.
After 3 easy pulls for the first time, the engine start to run right away. What's surprised me is the head spool is ONLY rotate (slowly to high) when you press the throttle control switch. This is a BIG point of safety feature and convenience if you want to replace the trimmer line without shut off the engine.
Replacing the trimmer line (18" long) is only taken few seconds, a very nice design. This is the only reason that make me chose this model over the PP-125 (not because of 33cc engine).
So what is my impression during the job? Well, it's just like... I got a sharper knife. Stronger engine and a bigger trimmer line, you have to try it to feel it! I only press half way of the throttle control switch and is enough power to do the job.
Oh, about the trimmer line, it came with about 6 extras in the box so you don't have to worry about buying the replacement lines box right away.
I haven't try the edging attachment tool yet, but I will put it in a separate review.
In conclusion, for the price and its features, this trimmer is Highly-Recommended. This is not the first time I use the Poulan Pro product. My blower, which is still running since Summer 2005 and require only 1 pull to start. What's I hope to this trimmer in future is make its lighter and a 4cyc engine to eliminate the "oil mix" feature.

This review is for the "Poulan Pro 17-inch 33cc 2-Cycle Gas Powered Straight Shaft Attachment Capable String Trimmer #PP133"

Assembly -

Assembly was a breeze. I had already purchased a gas can and some 40:1 oil mix in anticipation of the trimmers delivery, but found that the trimmer actually came with (1) container of oil mix as well. All there was to do was attach the upper and lower halves of the trimmer together with literally a snap, and put the guard on. I was ready to go within 5 minutes.

First Start -

After the trimmer was together and filled with gas, I primed it, put it on "start", and proceeded to pull start it. It fired up right away, but I think I got a little over-zealous in trying to put it to run too fast. When you first fire this thing up out of the box, let it run on start for 30 seconds to a minute. You shouldn't really have to do this again, but it's just to let the gas get everywhere it needs to be, and to break the system in a little bit. Once it was warmed up, I let her rip.

Operation -

This is ENTIRELY too much engine for a trimmer, but that's what I love about it! I'd rather have too much power than not enough. As a previous reviewer stated, it's a little heavy, but not as heavy as he made it sound. It's very managable. The string is very easy to replace and it comes with a few replacement strands to get you started. It doesn't have that "tap-feed" system that other trimmers have, and I like that. I've yet to see the "tap-feed" system work correctly on other trimmers.

Summary -

This is a GREAT trimmer for the money. I haven't had any problems with it yet, other than putting a small hole in my siding due to me ripping on the throttle while too close to the house. I'd recommend this to other potential buyers.

this trimmer is a great value.
it is by far the most powerful trimmer I've owned in the last 15 years.

3 observations:
1) the .115 line is fine for most folks, but the fixed line gave me some grief initially. Although it is only available precut thru Poulan, it's priced very fair at Walmart. I did not like the waste factor or the amount of replacements the .115 line took for my use.
2) .130 line can be purchased in bulk and works far better with this trimmer. The .130 line needed 1 replacement for my entire yard where the .115 line took 12 replacements...big difference.
3) the power & torque of this trimmer may be challenging for some, but was exhilarating in my case. It never needed full throttle for any line trimming application I've faced yet & I took down 3 foot stout weeds with it.

As far as this model being "too heavy," a "gas guzzler," or only useable with a strap: it was probably more trimmer than necessary for those users. As for the line, find .130 on ebaY, or somewhere else & you'll be amazed @ the amount of trimming possible without breakage.

We live in the country and after clearing land with a sythe my husband was looking for something to help him clear the brush and cut back the weeds/grass around the shed and other outbuildings. For us it's not about manicuring anything -- we need something that is a hard worker. First time my husband used this he was out there for 5 hours; of course he took some breaks so both he and the motor wouldn't overheat, but this was one solid worker. You know something is good when other people see it in action and ask to borrow it. It's been borrowed...his brother was so impressed he used it around his land (also out in the boonies). We also have the Poulan Pro PP4000C Brush Cutter Trimmer Attachment -- I highly recommend that attachment if you have brush to be cleared or want to trim back little trees and bushes. My husband says it's powerful, but it's better to go half throttle on it and save the engine than get something less powerful and burn the engine out. We just gave one of these trimmers (and the brush attachment) to my suburb-living sister who didn't want anything gas operated. She's changed her mind, they love it.

The trimmer has plenty of power for even heavy weeds. Half throttle is more than enough for average jobs. I flooded the engine the first time due to my standard practice of not reading an instruction manual. But it has cranked on the first or second pull since then. The edger attachment works great and I plan on getting all the attachment for the system and just have this to do everything but mow the grass. The only thing that keeps me from giving 5 stars is the trimmer vibrates so hard my hands were numb for a couple of hours after I finished. Also, the shoulder strap and handle bar that comes with the brush cutter attachment should come with the trimmer, not an attachment. The unit does get heavy if you have a large area to work, but with the shoulder strap its a breeze.

I've got 2 acres and some thick brush to cut through, this thing tore into it very handily. I followed the instructions for starting it the first time and it roared right to life after 6 pulls. Most of the time I only have the gas pulled about 1/2 way with no problems. When there is a particularly weedy patch (thick weeds 1/4 in thick or more) I kick it up to full throttle and it takes care of everything!

Its been mentioned this thing vibrates and at full throttle it does - not horribly, but noticeable. Thats the only thing wrong I've seen with it, but for this kind of power I am not surprised. My suggestion is wear gloves and it's fine.

Still warming up to the string replacement - it may be a problem around the driveway and the house, but I only went through 2 strings.

I'll update as time goes on, but I am happy with my purchase!

1st week I was impressed...lots of power, much quieter than other machines I've owned.

2nd week I was using it with the hedge trimmer attachment which is supposed to be ran at full throttle. After several minutes at full throttle the engine started bogging down and stalling when I let it idle. I increased the idle speed adjustment and it quit stalling though the engine would not operate at full throttle (still bogged down).

3rd week the unit worked OK, though I only did light trimming.

4th week I attempted more heavier work and found that the assist handle would not stay straight (constantly had to jerk it back upright). Completely frustrated with this (plus the bogging problem) I contacted Poulan and explained my issues. They sent me another assist handle and recommended I take the unit to a local authorized repair center (they gave 4 names and phone numbers in my area). All 4 of them told me that it would be a minimum of 2 weeks before they would do the repair. Still frustrated with the assist handle I asked them for advice. They contacted Poulan for me and Poulan agreed to send them a J-Handle (optional handle for the blade attachment-which I don't have) to replace the stupid piece of crap handle that came with the machine. I could not do without the machine for 2 weeks so I decided to take it back home for another try.

5th week I used it for about 1 hour with no really big problems, though still frustrated with having to constantly jerk the assist handle back upright. The replacement handle sent to me by Poulan was NO BETTER than the original. I stopped using it for lunch and went back to start it again and the starter cord would not recoil. Here I go again to the repair shop...once again they can't fix it for at least 2 weeks...but I did pickup the J-Handle and took both it and the machine back home. I called 3 more authorized service centers and all of them again told me it would be at least 2 weeks before they could fix it. Completely frustrated with the machine (which of course us useless at this point), I called Amazon to see what my options were. Amazon could not authorize any return/refund since it was past 30 days. They advised me to cantact Poulan to see if they would authorize a return. I contacted Poulan and explained that I could not wait 2 weeks for repairs and the unit was just over 30 days old. Poulan authorized me to return the unit for a refund, though I would have to pay the cost of return shipping. I returned the unit to Poulan and I am waiting for the check.

I went to Tractor Supply and purchased the Husqvarna 128LD. Tractor Supply assured me that they would exchange the unit in-store if I purchased the extended warranty. The price for the unit was 179.99 (on sale) + 29.99 for the 2-year extended warranty. With the extended warranty the machine has full in-store replacement warranty for 4 years (2 year factory warranty + 2 year extended warranty). The Husqvarna 128LD is also sold at Lowes for 199.00, though Lowes onle offers a 1 year extended warranty for 24.95. There was a lot of features I liked MUCH better than the Poulan even though they are actually the same company (Husqvarna owns Poulan). I considered this to be a worthwhile purchase even though it was considerably more expensive. I could have gone to Sears and purchased the same machine as the Poulan PP133 (different color under the Sears Craftsman name...though the exact same machine, only cheaper), though I was not convinced that that would be a good idea (I'm very unsure of the Sears stability at this time).

I bought one of these last year at the local Walmart along with the edger attachment. I had previously owned nothing but low-end Weedeater trimmers and I had good experiences with them. Weedeater is a Poulan brand. Both previous Weedeaters performed well for several years and had to be junked simply because I could not find parts anymore. So I decided to go for the upper-scale Poulan Pro with interchangeable attachments. I got the first one home and immediately had to return it--it would not run. Walmart replaced it without question. When I started using it, I liked the power but found it heavy and tiring to use for long periods, however, it performed fine for my purposes. lt worked for a little over a year. This morning I went to start it and the cranking rope did not rewind. This is usually fairly simple to fix. I took off the motor cover and discovered the mount next to the cranking mechanism had broken off of the motor casting. There is no way to repair this without replacing the motor. So much for the "pro" in Poulan Pro. I took it to the curb with the rest of the trash.

Avoid Poulan Pro. In my opinion they rank with Ryobi as some of the worst outdoor products available. Just buy a low-end Weedeater. I just got back from Home Depot where I bought an Echo trimmer with edger attachment. Five year warranty for residential use. I have an Echo blower that has performed perfectly for 6-8 years with minimal care. I only hope their trimmer/edgers are as reliable. I was disappointed that the Echo does not use the Universal attachments that are common to several other brands. But the bottom line on this is that you should buy good quality first, otherwise you will have to spend more in the long run.

These are the biggest pieces of junk available- do not waste your time. I have 2 of these- both of which do not work. The first one lasted 1 month and the second one lasted just over a year. My neighbor purchased one also and his died in 4 months. I purchased this because I have a Mcculloch that lasted 20 years which now falls under Poulan. In this case, past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Junk, Junk, Junk. No other way to describe it.