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Don't like them? Don't use them. You're not the majority voice that sways the manufacturer's. If everyone were complaining about the saws then the manufacturer would figure out something. But they don't need to because the saws work. Making them "right" is an opinion. If they weren't making them "right" and meeting the needs of the majority of consumers they would be out of business.
It doesn't take an engineer to start it. It takes someone reading the directions on the saw itself and following them. If you do that, it starts every time.
I don't get the gripe here.... it really is simple. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Pay someone else to do the work, leave the work incomplete, buy subpar tools and choose to put yourself in harm's way to halfway do a job, or learn to use the proper tools and techniques and do it yourself safely. There are your options. Pick one.
No offense, but you bought a $99 chainsaw. What did you expect? You want features and reliability that come in high end chainsaws. A cheap Husqvarna is a $400+ saw and pro models start at $600.
If you want that ease of starting, and reliability, you are going to need to pony up the money because the age ole adage of "You get what you pay for" rings true here.
I'm in engineering/manufacturing. Despite what you say, we don't sit around scheming of ways to **** off the consumer by forcing them to suffer. Good way to lose a customer. But when a customer demands a product XYZ do ABC, they usually follow it up with a silly statement such as "But I want it to cost the same!"
It's just not going to happen. Over time, high end features may trickle down to lower end products, but the reality is that quality products cost money to design/build and generally aren't cheap. Cheap low-end products like a $99 chainsaw aren't the benchmarks to judge all chainsaws by.
I have a Husqvarna 455. Runs great and easy to start. When I click on the link to the saw on Husq. site, the first line I read is
"The 455 Rancher is an ideal saw for landowners and part-time users ".... MSRP $440.
So you are expecting your $99 chainsaw to do what other reputable manufacturers charge $400+ to do?
No offense, but you bought a $99 chainsaw. What did you expect? You want features and reliability that come in high end chainsaws. A cheap Husqvarna is a $400+ saw and pro models start at $600.
If you want that ease of starting, and reliability, you are going to need to pony up the money because the age ole adage of "You get what you pay for" rings true here.
I'm in engineering/manufacturing. Despite what you say, we don't sit around scheming of ways to **** off the consumer by forcing them to suffer. Good way to lose a customer. But when a customer demands a product XYZ do ABC, they usually follow it up with a silly statement such as "But I want it to cost the same!"
It's just not going to happen. Over time, high end features may trickle down to lower end products, but the reality is cheap low-end products like a $99 chainsaw aren't the benchmarks to judge all chainsaws by.
I have a Husqvarna 455. Runs great and easy to start. When I click on the link to the saw on Husq. site, the first line I read is
"The 455 Rancher is an ideal saw for landowners and part-time users ".... MSRP $440.
So you are expecting your $99 chainsaw to do what other reputable manufacturers charge $400+ to do?
Mike, this was spot on. I'm in manufacturing as well. It's a shame that some have this opinion without understanding what it takes to produce some of these things.
I switched to Trufuel gas (non-ethanol, 5 year shelf life) and all my two stroke engine issues went away. Sure you pay more for it, but the amount I use is very small. Maybe 4 containers a year. Yep, I'll pay a little more for the engine to start and run perfectly.
Home depot, lowes and some local hardware stores sell it.
Way too expensive.
Husqvarna two-stroke oil in the handy little bottles that are just the right size for mixing 2.5gal of fuel is a little more expensive than other brands, but it has fuel stabilizer already in it. I can leave my saw full of fuel all Winter, and in the Spring it still starts right up. No fuss, no muss, no measuring for the right ratio and it always works.
No offense, but you bought a $99 chainsaw. What did you expect? You want features and reliability that come in high end chainsaws. A cheap Husqvarna is a $400+ saw and pro models start at $600.
If you want that ease of starting, and reliability, you are going to need to pony up the money because the age ole adage of "You get what you pay for" rings true here.
{snip} Cheap low-end products like a $99 chainsaw aren't the benchmarks to judge all chainsaws by.
I have a Husqvarna 455. Runs great and easy to start. When I click on the link to the saw on Husq. site, the first line I read is
"The 455 Rancher is an ideal saw for landowners and part-time users ".... MSRP $440.
So you are expecting your $99 chainsaw to do what other reputable manufacturers charge $400+ to do?
If you are telling me that the experience I had last Tues, when this chainsaw just started right up no-fuss/no-muss and did its job without having to be massaged JUST SO to where a reasonable person could use it, if you are telling me that such a chainsaw actually exists and that it's just a matter of paying for it, I'm cool with that, I really am.
I have been under this impression that all chainsaws behave as mine did last Sunday and that you have to put up with that bunch of nonsense. If you are telling me I'm mistaken, I'm very pleased to hear of this.
That is what I want, a chainsaw made by somebody who gets it. I don't mind a reasonable amount of diligence, for instance I used to have problems with lawnmowers but I have one now which works great, all I have to do is drain the fuel in October and use fresh fuel in March, it just works without the hassle. I was willing to do that, what I wasn't willing to do was follow a set of instructions only slightly shorter than the entire book of "War and Peace" and have to spend my entire weekend cleaning the thing like I'm Bob Vila. With that small amount of maintenance, it just works. I'd be GLAD to pay extra for a chainsaw like that, I would be GLAD to give them by business. I've got better things to do with my time than go to Bob Vila University just to do some light cleanup in the yard and quickly get back to ENJOYING life.
I have an electric chain saw...cut down a live maple tree that was at least 6 inches in diameter with very little effort. 'm not interested in tackling anything bigger, taking it apart and stacking it on the curb was hard work.
But I really like the saw, and I CAN'T start a gas one.
Electric chainsaws work well for trimming and pruning, cutting, small saplings and some small limbing jobs. Not knocking them there. But the OP's original claim (I missed this part until re-reading just now) was that he fell an 8' in circumference (2.5' in diameter for us normal folks) tree, which unfortunately an electric chainsaw is going to struggle with if it can even get through it.
The OP's 16" light duty chainsaw was in reality undersized to tackle that job as it is (In reality a 30" tree base should be cut with a 20" or larger bar on a heavy duty saw) so it was likely overworked to begin with. Bucking that tree would be a chore and probably close to impossible with an electric saw unless you have plenty of patience and files for sharpening teeth.
Electric saws and gas powered saws both have their place in the market. Saying that one doesn't function properly because the operator is inexperienced with cutting trees and operating the equipment was where I caught heartburn. Had the OP attempted to fall this tree using an electric chainsaw, he would have probably been in here complaining that he either a) tripped a circuit breaker, b) burnt up the electric motor on the saw, or c) hurt himself attempting to take it down and in any of those scenarios he would be blaming the manufacturer for designing such a terrible saw.
Off topic BTW....... for the folks knocking on Poulans..... I'll give you a hint on who owns the brand (bright orange and is owned by Electrolux) for the residential market. Mine is a small Poulan Pro PP4218AVX(rebadged Husqvarna 440 series) 18" bar and works extremely well when called upon. I keep the teeth sharp and the maintenance done. Knock on wood it hasn't failed me yet. It was less than $200. If there isn't a black tag on it's orange brother that says "Made in Sweden".... it's a Poulan.
Electrolux also owns Johnsered, Partner, RedMax, and McCulloch (good backpack blowers, and I had a decent little chainsaw by them once).
I had same problem.mostly from non use,By chance I read about fuel without ethanol and 93 octane,I never knew it existed,bought it at Home Depot,expensive but the little I use weed eater or chain saw,worth it,no problem starting after sitting.
My Sears tractor with Kohler engine backfired from crankcase.The mower was around 9 years old,still in good shape.
I found crankcase with a lot of fuel in it.The trouble was rubber tip on needle valve dissolved by ethanol.
I repaired and placed a shut off valve on gas line.I shut gas valve and when engine stops,I turn key off to prevent from happening again.
Small engines are fairly simple in concept, but very difficult to idiot-proof. They simply require the appropriate mixture of fuel and air to mix, and then a spark. The reason they can seem so frustrating for the newbie is that the "correct" mixture of fuel and air depends on more than just the position of the choke. It also depends on the porosity of the air filter, the air temperature, the motor temperature, the volatility of the partially evaporated fuel, and a host of other small details that would not be economical to monitor with gauges or compensate for with a computer like in car engines.
The good news is that a complete novice can learn how to operate and troubleshoot a tool like a chainsaw in less than an hour with proper instruction, and after obtaining proficiency with one type of implement, learning how to use new tools becomes progressively easier. Many of us learned these things from our fathers when we were small children, but others had to teach themselves after buying a home or some other reason as an adult.
My suggestion to the OP is that he just bite the bullet and learn how the motor operates. Honestly it will take less time than he has already spent complaining about it on this forum.
My 30 plus year old Stihl O28 Woodboss starts on the 2nd pull....every single time.
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