I had hoped to be posting a video of me using a Granberg Mini-Mill to turn logs into lumber.

This isn’t happening because I made a poor choice when I purchased a chainsaw for the mill.  I’m not posting this as a rant.  This blog does pretty well in Internet searches and I hope that someone will Google before they buy, find this post and avoid some pain.

I bought a PoulanPro 20″ chainsaw (Model PP5020AV).

Here’s the review I left on Amazon.

How do you spell regret?  One way is P-o-u-l-a-n.

Purchased this chainsaw a month ago to be a ripping saw for a Granberg Mill. Made numerous calls/Internet searches to find a ripping chain from Poulan. No luck. This was my first experience with their website, FAQs, etc. Not a great experience.

Finally I was able to get the ripping chain. Time for a test drive. Poured in the fuel and it drained out the bottom. Not a trickle–this was the whole tank on the ground in less than a minute. So, I thought I’d take it apart to see if I could find an unhooked fuel hose. No-go. This chainsaw is held together with star bolts, star/flat head bolts and phillips head bolts. I didn’t bring star wrenches with me to the field. Why the heck should I have to fix this anyway?

So, I called the support number. There’s no way to talk to a human btw. I go through several choices and determine that there isn’t anything in the performance issues section. I choose the option for warranty. Again, no human and it…TELLS ME TO GET ON THE INTERNET??? Why have it as a menu option where I have to press a button when you could have said that in the menu description? Idiotic.

So, I jump on the Internet and go to poulan.com and look for service providers. There are seven listed in my area. I had to call six of them to find a business that actually does warranty work for Poulan. I got to hear things like, “we’ve been trying to get off their list for a couple years”, “We just can’t get parts for them” and a couple disconnect numbers. Now I get to drive over 40 miles and over an hour one way to get this saw looked at.

To summarize: The saw doesn’t work. Poulan doesn’t have web or phone support. It’s very difficult to find anyone who does warranty work.

I could have bought something from Harbor Freight and had an easier time. I recommend buying a Stihl or Husqvarna.

I wish I could have no stars. Even one star is too good for this product/company. I’ve missed the project dates I had because of their poor quality control. And this is their Pro line???

My odyssey with this PoulanPro chainsaw isn’t over yet.  I have to take to the warranty place.  I’m assuming it’s going to take a week to fix (at least).  By the time I drop it off and come back to get it, I’ll have driven about 180 miles and wasted four more hours of my time.

Ironically, this chainsaw is supposed to be high quality.  It’s the PP5020AV model and there’s not much plastic to it.