Customer Reviews

Factory Reconditioned Poulan Pro PP4218AVX 18-Inch 42cc 2-Stroke Gas Powered Anti-Vibration Chain Saw

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a very good saw for light to medium cutting around the house.
Yes the chain requires tensioning often, especially during the first few times of use. Yes the chain will come off often if not kept tight. Yes the chain is not the best quality on the market but what is expected for less than a hundred bucks. It has been easy to start right from the beginning and I love the easy tensioning method. For those complaining about this type saw I can only say, "when all else fails, read the instructions." This saw is all that I expected for the money. If I wanted to play Paul Bunyan I would have spent the five to eight hundred dollars for the type saw reqired.

Couldn't justify the $300-$500 the "name " saws wanted for a homeowner to mid-range saw that was only going to be used occasionally for mostly light/medium work around the home. That said, I was apprehensive about buying this saw at first because of the problems described with the new version of this saw but decided to take a chance with the reconditioned version based on the low price, warranty and servicing dealer nearby.
So far so good with this chainsaw, have not had any problems. I live on a 3+ acre wooded lot and use the saw mostly for trimming branches and other light duty yard work and occasionally felling and bucking 12-24" diameter trees. The saw has performed these duties without issue.
The saw was very easy to assemble, took me less than 10 min. Saw is very easy to pull start and has been consistent in starting, one or two pulls with full choke and one pull with 1/2 choke and saw is running. Saw idles smoothly without needing to be feathered and revs right up without skipping or bogging. Yes, initially the chain did require tightening often but it did stabilize after the first few uses and it is something that should be checked often which is true of any chainsaw. The chain tensioning system got a lot of negative reviews but I have had no problems with it and find it easy to use. One thing I noticed is that it seems to use a little more bar/chain oil than other saws I have used but nothing dramatic(when storing after use you will need to put something under the saw to absorb a little excess bar oil and again it's nothing dramatic). So far it has been very fuel efficient.
Understand what and how often you will be cutting before buying this chainsaw, it is designed as a light/medium duty chainsaw for infrequent homeowner use. If you have heavier cutting requirements such as bucking many cords of large diameter trees for firewood or felling lots of trees with large diameters(>24") or frequent sustained periods of running under heavy load then this saw is probably not for you and you should spend the money for one of the more powerful and heavier duty "name" saws.
For me this saw has performed well so far and been a great value for the money so I give it 5 stars.

Poulan Pro PP3516AVX 16-Inch 35cc 2-Cycle Gas Powered Anti-Vibration Chain Saw

I purchased this chain saw for $99 factory reconditioned. The first time I received the product it was minus a guide blade and I was told I would get another shipped and just to keep the one without the guide. The second one came and the guide was the original bent and out of alignment. The chain blade was also the original and had bent tines. I returned this and got my money back. Since all I needed for the other part of the chain saw was the proper guide and chain blade, I thought I had a further discount buying a new chain and blade for about $35, not bad for a chain saw. I have since junked the whole thing after buying more chains because for some unknown reason they keep kicking off after all of the adjustments and proper cutting techniques are employed. I bought an Echo that costs 3 times that and am very pleased

This saw made quick work of our wood pile during this spring's cold spell. The documentation is good and will lead you through the assembly instructions quickly. The tool-less chain tightening system is great and necessary. This saw does require that the chain is tightened quite a bit. During the break in period I was tightening the chain every 15 minutes or so. But, after a couple of hours of use, the chain seems to stabilize and I only find myself tightening the chain after a cold start.

Speaking of starting, this saw starts every time. I've had no trouble so far. One pull at full choke, a second one at half choke and the saw is running!

Do make sure that you oil the chain frequently as this chain seems to drink it. I'm cutting very dry, dead standing pine, so that may be the reason.

All in all, well worth the money and it cuts like a dream.

Got it cheap! Haven't had much time to use it but here are some initial findings that will be helpful to some of you guys:

Plug is crusty - check your sparkplug.

Won't idle, turned up the speed a hair, now I need to set mixture.

Bar oil leaks - Two causes. First was that the clear vent tube in the oil tank was pinned below the T-shaped part that retains the oil fill cap. This drove the tube down from the top of the tank and allowed it to more easily leak.

Second cause: the plate under the bar that covers the oiler hole has no gasket. This causes a lot of dripping when the saw is running and shortly after turning off. Clean with alcohol and apply RTV sealant to the underside of the metal cover - with excess at corners. I put a thin layer on the front of the plate to promote sealing between the oiler and oil holes in the bar.

The chain tensioner uses a plastic-to-metal gear mesh. Take the little cover off the gears and oil everything in there, along with the screw-shaft. This way there is less resistance to foul it up. Unfortunately I think the biggest culprit is probably over-tightening of the chain - which probably kills the plastic gear. Looks like if the gear strips you can use a tiny hex-socket on the end of the threaded shaft.

Anyhow - this looks like a great saw for cheap. Obviously it isn't some super-high-quality-cutting-machine so, treat it well. If you baby it and don't use stale gas (over 30 days old!! not 6 months like non-ethanol gas), and don't leave fuel in there when stored for more than 30 days (!!!!!!! This is serious guys, I am lazy too but fresh high octane (92ish) gas is a must these days with any small engine) it may last a long time.

I recieved the item like so many others, without the bar. But Amazon said to go ahead and buy the missing item and they would credit me. This they did. No problems. As others have said, you must open up both the idle and full throttle screws on the carb to get it to run good. It must be a pollution control thing as the way it is shipped it runs crummy. But once this is done, it runs fine and cuts thru wood nicely. A 3/4 turn on each screw (counterclockwise) does the trick. Because they have no slots for a screwdriver you may need a special tool. I used a small piece of pipe that caught the splined screw heads just enough to get it to turn. Put the slots back in the screw heads guys!!! Come on!!!!! I thought the chain tightening mechanism was easy to use, not sure why so many complain as it is easy enough to do. Overall a pretty good saw for the money. Not good for a lumberjack but just fine for a homeowner who will need normal duty and won't throw it around- as it has plastics. But doesn't just about everything these days? Starts up, runs good, cuts wood, guzzles oil for the chain lubing. Looks like all the reviews were pretty accurate.

I can only echo what previous reviewers said: this is a nice light duty saw, nothing professional. The quick tighten system for the chain is both blessing and curse, since it is really easy to use but needs to be retightened every two minutes. The chain is an oregon brand chain, but has a short life if used on any harder wood at all.
The first saw I got was DOA. My local mechanic took his sweet time to find that out but then AMAZON was great and shipped me another one immediately without any hassle. The second saw ran after only three minutes assembly and started without problems. Both saws were clean when they came.

Overall not a bad saw for the home user. But this was supposed to be factory reconditioned. I don't know exactly what that means, but I would think the unit would be cleaned up, damaged parts replaced, a new spark plug, and the carb properly adjusted. Instead, they just threw the used unit in the box and shipped it. Didn't even use compressed air to blow the dirt off of it. Normally this unit sells with a carrying case and extra chain. This unit did not come with either. These things get very dirty/oily, and I expected to have a case to put it in. I would almost recommend paying a little more for a new one. The price for this one is the only reason I purchased it.

On the day I received the saw I followed the starting instructions to the T. After about 100 attempts the saw finally started. The saw cut well and it was used for about a half hour. On the second day I could not get the saw started. Amazon was very helpful in resolving this problem.

The first day I used it I was bucking a small tree. I cut 4 - 2" limbs and one 3-4" and the motor seized. THen I come here to return it and they can ship items that use gas but you cannot return it? Makes no sense to me...

A REAL PIECE OF JUNK...