Full Overview

Poulan Pro chainsaws provide the latest and greatest features at industry leading prices. "Nothing cuts like a Pro" The Poulan Pro PP5020AV features an effortless pull start system and reduced vibration handle to reduce operator fatigue, 50cc DuraLife engine, Dual Post, Purge and Spring Assist, Aluminum -inchprofessional-inch style clutch cover, SuperClean air filter system, automatic chain oiler, tool-less access to air filter and spark plug, on-board locking scrench holder and is packaged with a carrying case. This has the most power (50cc) for any consumer chainsaw on the market.

Technical Details

- DuraLife Engine - for longer engine life
- Super clean air filter system - extends the life of the air filter
- Effortless pull starting system and reduced vibration handle, reduces operator fatigue
- Automatic chain oiler
- Includes carrying case and on-board locking scrench holder

Chainsaws are funny things - it is amazing and surprising the amount of brand loyalty. Stihl is a great brand (I think the best) but very expensive, and honestly the last one I had could be a real bear to start, same as many cheaper saws. After a fair amount of research, and actually holding various saws in my hand, I decided to go with this 5020AV which is their newest version saw including many design upgrades. It is a tough little saw with a quality feel overall. Note : the older model Poulans are being clearanced out everywhere, they are "AVX" models featuring a potentially troublesome finger controlled chain adjuster (plastic that can break). You can find lots of negative reviews regarding the AVX models because of that and some other durability issues. The "AV" models on the other hand have the old style chain adjuster which is tried and true. In the end, I chose this saw because of the 50cc engine,and newer, tougher design and materials, and of course an excellent price point. $179 - $199 is doable online, and my next choice would have been an ECHO but for +$100 more and less engine displacement. Husky owns Poulan and many of the parts and literature say Husqvarna on them. I spent last weekend cleaning up a lot I own, out of the box the saw performed great (nothing like a new chain with 50cc behind it). It also, comes with a plastic case to keep the mess in one place. Tips : (1) Don't ever eyeball the gas/oil mixture (measure it).(2) Order a carb adjust tool (easy access from outside the saw) to fine tune the carb to your elevation. (3)Always drain the remaining gas out of the tank and then run the engine out of gas before you store the saw for anything longer than a month.

Time will tell, but this is a lot of saw for the money, and since I am only an occasional user, it should last me for many years. Yeah, if I was making my $$ cutting timber I would spring the extra $2-300 for a Stihl pro model, but for my needs this appears to be a very good deal.

i bought this saw a few weeks ago and the only real problem i have had with it is the green dot chain it comes with.. it will saw through large trees like a knife though butter... that is until it gets dull and you sharpen it... it will not cut properly until you buy a new one. I have almost 11 years in the tree business and have never had so many problems with a chain.. good luck finding a sprocket for it that will allow you to put a red dot or yellow dot chain on it. as long as you keep a new chain on it this saw will serve you well. the only other problem i've had with the saw (and i almost forgot) is after only about 9 hours on the saw i had to replace the POS spark plug it came with because it was losing power and stalling (good luck getting it fired up again) i have since replaced it with the next degree up plug and this did solve the problem

I was one of those "buy pro grade and you'll save money in the long run" people. I don't often need a chain saw -- maybe two or three times a year -- but when I do, I want it to start.

I bought a top name-brand chain saw for nearly $500 a few years ago, and it served me well -- started reliably every year. But one day while cutting up a tree I let the motor "lean out" -- something happened to the carb adjustment and it ran too fast for too long and scored the piston and cylinder -- and that was that. It stopped and wouldn't restart.

I purchased an aftermarket kit for a little over $100 and rebuilt the top end. It still didn't start. I fiddled with it until I finally got tired of working on it.

There's a point of diminishing returns, a point when it's no longer economical to put more money in something. I knew it would cost at least another hundred dollars to take it to a shop. I decided instead that it was time to get a new saw.

I figured that if I was going to have to repair saws after just a few seasons anyway, maybe top pro grade isn't the most efficient way to go after all. So this time I decided to go with consumer grade saws.

I bought this one and the McCulloch MCC1635A 16-Inch 35cc 2-Cycle Gas-Powered Chain Saw. I figure if I get three seasons out of them I'll come out about the same. Any extra seasons and I'll come out ahead.

As far as the performance of the saw, so far I've cut up one 22" diameter pine and an 18" diameter white oak with it. (I used the smaller McCulloch for the smaller cuts.) It doesn't have quite the muscle of the pro saw, and it bogged down a little on the larger cuts, but it handled the job quite nicely.

I was careful to follow all the operating and starting instructions carefully. Many 2-stroke motors can be a bit persnickety, and it's important to follow manufacturer's instructions. So far it's worked fine, starting easily and running well.

I plan to take very good care of it. So if it holds up for a few years -- and I see no reason why it won't -- good quality consumer grade chain saws may be what I choose from now on.

This review is from: Poulan Pro PP5020AV 20-Inch 50cc 2 Stroke Gas Powered Chain Saw With Carrying Case (Lawn & Patio)
Received saw & followed Quick Start Guide. I used new gas & mixed with supplied oil to get 40/1 ratio. Saw wouldn't start. Called Poulan, was told it needed the carburator adjusted, & if done within 30 days of purchase would be free. I was given a phone number of a certified Poulan technician. When I called, I was told he didn't know about a free carb. adj. I called Poulan back & asked them to call the technician. They said they wouldn't do that, but he could call them on his SOS line. The technician said, he didn't have an SOS line, but called Poulan. He informed me that Poulan told him the adjustment would be covered but not if the problem was caused by bad gas or dirt in the carb. I told him it couldn't be bad gas because I put fresh gas & oil in. I used the same gas in another saw I had & just cut a tree down with it. I informed him that if the saw couldn't be repaired under warranty, I would be returning it. I received the saw on Friday & was told he could get to it by Tues. I needed to get some work done, so thought I'd try to find another authorized technician to set the carb. I called Poulan back, & spoke to a woman who asked me if the fresh gas I used was purchased the same day I tried to start the saw. I told her it was and the same gas worked JUST FINE in my other 2 cycle engines. She then asked if I was sure that I purchased the gas the day that I used the saw. I then decided I was going to get the saw & return it. Then I got a call from the technician on Sat. morning saying the saw was adjusted & I could pick it up. I picked up the saw & it had plenty of power & cut good. It just would stop after about 10 minutes use. I'd crank it up again & it'd work for a few minutes then die. I drained the gas & refilled the tank. The same problem. I tried the same gas in another saw & no problems. Later I tried to start my new saw & it wouldn't work. It probably needed another carb. adj. but after the hassle Poulan gave me, I didn't want to bother dealing with their customer service department. I figured I'd need a lawyer to get satisfaction on their 2 year warranty. I called Amazon's Customer Service, & had no problem in returning the Problem Poulan Pro for a refund. Amazon even paid for the return shipping. THANK YOU Amazon.

Used this chainsaw to clean up all the downed trees from CT's big Oct. snow storm and it worked great on all different size trees. In the few months I've owned this chainsaw I've had no issues and love it. So far it has been a great product at a great price, nice case too.

This is an 'I got my hands all over it, at the store and then at home' review. SO, this is only an 'out of box' experience with details, LOTS of details; I hope some folks can use them. Purchased at Lowe's for $208 today. SKU 996055201 UPC 0-24761-03499-9 EPA Small Off Road Engine Poulan/Weedeater Family Disp BPWES.0505CA/50CC:EM. Serial Number 11318N200110. 577-180501 chain and 577-179801 bar replacements. It has log spikes inboard of the chain bar in front of the engine body. Husqvarna units lower than 435 and Poulan (both now owned by same company, apparently) units lower than this unit do NOT have these, although they DO have the machining to ADD them, after purchase. I like to have them to protect plastic engine casing up front and to 'hold' the chain down in the kerf when cutting the near end of the cut. [With smaller(all?) saws, do NOT use log spikes to 'lever down' the saw and add pressure into the cut - many(all?) homeowner/smaller CC saws will bog down - let the running chain do the cutting - at its own speed. If it's slowing down, you're forcing the bar and chain down into the cut. A recipe for user fatigue and possible user injury, IMHO.] Bar/chain oil and gas/oil mix fill caps have tall wings to hand tighten OR use the screw/wrench tool to tighten. Tool-less knob to remove top cover to access sparkplug and the air filter. Champion spark plug and Walbro plug wire. Start instructions are on decal applied to the back of this cover, ready to remind you how to start [I hope it's an 'easy, reliable start' unit!] One benefit of the size and angle of the access port is that you can see down and in to all of the mechanical linkages, and their effects, of the throttle trigger and the start/stop red lever and the blue three-stop choke lever. Of course, the plug and filter are easily accessed. I like the wire bail pulled up from below the filter cartridge - easy to fix in place. It looks like the filter can hold up to cleaning but is does NOT have a rubber gasket sealing its perimeter to its lower case. There are two 'valves' or 'butterfly valves' under this filter to evaluate their action with controls. Wide bottom of rear handle houses the screwdriver/wrench tool firmly on its bottom side by a metal spring. Nice feature. The bottom of rear handle is ready to be stepped on with foot to hold while pulling on the starter rope. (This is also where the Model and Serial Numbers and the replacement bar and chain information decals are located...so they could get worn off...) Box said "EPS = Effortless Pull Starting"; we'll see... 2-year [consumer] warranty [Don't forget, it's FOUR years in MAINE, folks! Everything but used cars.] Assembled in USA. Cast metal clutch/sprocket cover held down by two lockdown nuts. Only the Husqvarna units were metal, and these had only ONE lockdown nut, and only this Poulan model and upward were metal - others were plastic. (So it was on my Homelite; and it lasted 10 years and did NOT fail because of that.) I find this aspect is important to unobstructed pass-through/ejection of sawdust. Plastic covers have more reinforcing ribs and grooves to maintain its shape and strength, but the cavities slow airflow and collect chain oil and then sawdust and then it's all packed tight and crowding the running chain. I have to believe that this causes more wear on chain than needed and I know it makes a mess when you set down the saw and out drops clods of packed sawdust. I also know that it's a big sawdust mess when I pull off the cover. Another good feature of the metal cover is that this finished 'open' straight down and straight out the back, for good sawdust throw; most plastic covers have rolled or curved or returned edges/sides in these positions and this adds to sawdust clogging under the sprocket cover. The front handle is a full anti-vibration one that wraps around the engine casing to the rear handle like an untwisted figure eight. I do not think the Husqvarna model lower than 435 and the Poulan lower than the 18in bar (4318 or 4218?) also do NOT have AV handlebars. (This feature is a 'must have' for me. Even before carpal tunnel injury to both arms, controlled-hold tight-grip use of these small engine items withOUT AV always 'vibrated' my hands into submission. I have a Homelite Mighty Leaf blower/vac that is NOT AV and I can hold it only with an open-finger, no-thumb fashion...) The drive sprocket/clutch is OUTboard of the chain, so that you have to remove chain from bar to then remove it from the sprocket/engine. The Poulan models lower than this have this INboard of the chain, which is great for chain removal, but I'm sure that ANY chain run off will smash up this thin metal disk that spins freely atop the drive sprocket, so it's outboard of the chain. I do NOT think this disk will hold up to any chain run-off under full throttle. Further, these models have only a PLASTIC bar on the bottom front of the sprocket cover that can arrest a wild, off-the-bar chain. I'm thinking that will snap off. This model, the higher Poulan and all the Husqvarna units at which I looked have a metal wild chain arrestor. The chain tensioner is integral to the cover and is OUTboard of the chain bar and in the best position; if it were inboard, like on my Homelite and others, it's between the log spikes and the chain bar. A dark, sawdust covered crevice... Gas cap has oil/gas ratio embossed into it. There are indicators molded into the respective parts for the bar/chain oil fill port, the mixed gas fill port, the chain mount/run direction, and the safety chain brake/arrestor bar on/off positions. The Oregon chain (20 3/8-70 PV, 545196102 marked on bar) is aggressive cutting tooth ever other chain link. There is a mark on top of each tooth indicating the proper filing angle with respect to the bar. NICE feature. Comes with cube shaped carry case with bar/chain scabbard and it folds open on top and front face. VERY NICE case improvement. Black for Poulan and orange for Husqvarna - made by same company for them. Even has 'left handed saw' slot for scabbard for such an animal! Very sturdy and has LOTS of room inside for bar grease and spare chains and cleaning rags and sharpeners and ear protection and gloves and...you get my drift. This shape also allows stacking with anything of similar shape. More detailed use and care instructions are on a big decal inside the top panel of the case. I hope this helps the 'detail-oriented' buyer/user.

Works great love it .....went through oak like butter had no.problem starting ...when .it got running it ran like a champion

This chainsaw has impressed me. Was needing a chainsaw for firewood cutting after my old one died, and I decided to choose the Poulan Pro. It is well built, well powered, and has some really good features. The chain tension is the old style which is AAA to me, and it has a place under the throttle handle to store the spark plug wrench on board, nice. It starts great right out of the box, and cuts sizeable diameter hardwood with ease. Great case was included. A great buy for the price.

I can't tell you how many times this chain saw would not start on me. I had to remove the safety kickback device because that would not allow me to start it. When it runs it is very good, has a lot of power and will do the job. But it will drive you nuts trying to start it and keep it running. I ended up cutting two tree's and it paid for itself but I will hire someone next time.

I needed this one to augment a 16".
I was not disapointed, it has plenty of power for deep trunk cuts. The first start-up was a learning experience which took a little longer than I would have wanted but subsequent start-ups were fast and trouble free. Hopefully it will last many years. So far the Poulan Pro to me is a bargain for the quailty received.