Poulan Pro 400E 18-Inch 4 HP Electric Chain Saw
by Poulan
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List Price: Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Poulan Pro 400E 18-Inch 4 HP Electric Chain Saw
Customer Review: PLEASE READ BEFORE RETURNING!
Summary: 5 Stars
YOU MAY NOTICE THAT ABOUT 90% OF THE REVIEWS FOR THIS SAW ARE GUSHING WITH PRAISE, AND THE REMAINING 10% SAY SOMETHING LIKE "QUIT WORKING AFTER 20 MINUTES." WELL, I THINK I HAVE SOLVED THE MYSTERY...
TURNS OUT, UNLIKE MOST ELECTRIC CHAINSAWS, IT HAS A "CHAIN BRAKE" WHICH IS DESIGNED TO STOP THE SAW QUICKLY IF YOU BUMP IT, AS YOU MIGHT IF YOU LOST CONTROL OF IT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE OWNER'S MANUAL DOESN'T SHOW THE CHAIN BRAKE IN THE DIAGRAM, IT REFERS TO IT AS A "HAND GUARD."
ALSO, THE TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION DOESN'T MENTION TO CHECK THE CHAIN BRAKE (I.E., HAND GUARD) POSITION EITHER. TO USE, IT NEEDS TO BE PULLED TOWARDS THE USER.
I WAS PERPLEXED DURING MY FIRST USE WHY AN EXCELLENT SAW JUST DIED. I CALLED AMAZON AND THEY PROMPTLY SENT A REPLACEMENT. WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR IT TO ARRIVE, I TOOK ANOTHER LOOK AT THE "DEFECTIVE" SAW AND REALIZED THE HAND GUARD HAD MOVED FORWARD, ENGAGING THE BRAKE.
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT SAFETY FEATURE FOUND ON ALL GAS SAWS, BUT I WOULD HAZARD A GUESS THAT MOST OF THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ARE THE RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE OWNER'S MANUAL, NOT A DEFECTIVE UNIT, SO CHECK THIS OUT BEFORE RETURNING YOURS TO AMAZON!
AS FOR THE SAW, I LOVE IT. I'VE USED MANY GAS AND ELECTRIC CHAINSAWS OVER THE YEARS AND THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST ELECTRIC SAW I'VE EVER OWNED. IT IS QUIET, POWERFUL AND AFTER FAIRLY STEADY USE, HAS YET TO REQUIRE CHAIN RE-TENSIONING. I'VE OWNED REMINGTON SAWS THAT WERE PRETTY GOOD EXCEPT FOR THE TENSIONER.
THIS SAW DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF LUBRICATING THE CHAIN. JUST BE SURE TO EMPTY IT WHEN YOU'RE DONE SO IT DOESN'T DRIP DURING STORAGE.
UPDATE: AFTER A YEAR OF HEAVY, ALMOST WEEKLY USE CLEARING BRAZILIAN PEPPER TREES, THE CHAINSAW CONTINUES TO WORK FINE.
Customer Review: Poulan Pro 400E 18" 4HP
Summary: 5 Stars
I have now cut through many 20+ inch Red & White Oak as well as Yellow Popular. I raced a MS460 and MS660 Stihl ($900 and $1200 saws) and I was about 3 seconds behind both cutting a 20 inch Yellow Popular log to firewood length. We (owner of his own tree service and I) did this for about an hour. I had to tighten the chain once and the motor housing got pretty hot. This saw didn't miss once and chewed through the same wood with a $900 and $1200 saw. I had two 75 foot heavy gage extension cords on it. Keep the chain sharp and I can do anything as long as I have an outlet (the generator is the next purchase). The owner of the business kept laughing at the saw, because he said "I could buy those all season and save money"! Laughing about the $100 he spends on the service of each of his saws each season. The money I saved on this one saw I can now buy my family (10 kids) a nice generator. My family counts on me to feed them, keep them warm in the winter and to provide over all. I have been using chainsaws for 18 years, 3 of them as a combat engineer in the army. Read the manual and if you are going to split more than 2 cords of wood a year, then get two quarts of chain oil. This saw does go through the chain oil (if that is your worry, I like it). If you are worried about this chainsaw, I don't blame you. I took the risk for you (yes, was called girly names at work) and have done it all with it. If you are looking to save money and not worry about mixing gas, breaking your arm trying to start a saw; buy this one! Otherwise enjoy your tinkering, fixing, and repair bills on your gas saw! I saved time and money with this one! Good job Poulan (I never thought I would be saying that)
My family of 10 is the testing grounds and we give the real world exam!
Customer Review: Excellent Chain Saw!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was dubious about how useful an electric chain saw might be. But I have an electric edger and an electric string trimmer and they both do a good job for me. I had several dead Mimosa trees, up to about 7 inches in diameter, in my back yard and wanted to cut them down and then cut them into the relatively short lengths that the trash pickup people will accept at the curb. So I ordered the Poulan Pro 400E 18-inch 4 HP saw from Amazon. I read the instructions, paying particular attention to the extension cord recommendations. Poulan recommends a minimum wire gauge of 14 AWG for a 25-foot cord and 12 AWG for a 50 foot cord. Use of a 100-foot cord is not recommended. However, I bought a 50-foot 12 AWG cord and also a 100-foot 12 AWG cord. The Mimosa trees were close enough that the 50-foot cord would reach them. The saw worked extremely well. It had plenty of power to handle the trees and made short work of the job. Although the use of a 100-foot cord wasn't recommended, I had a Chinese Tallow (Popcorn) tree further away than 50 feet that had a large limb extending toward my house that I wanted to remove. So I used the 100-foot 12 AWG cord and removed that limb. I didn't notice any reduction in power and the limb was quickly cut off and reduced to curb-sized pieces.
Before ordering this saw, I read the reviews here and I was careful to ensure that the chain brake was disengaged when using the saw. From some of the reviews, it appears that several people had ruined their saws by not observing this precaution.
A handyman who is experienced in using both gas-powered and electric chain saws helped me with some of the work mentioned above and he had high praises for this saw and has since recommended it to some of his other clients.
Customer Review: Read reviews, bought anyway, here's what you should know:
Summary: 5 Stars
Some reviewers said the saw came DOA (wouldn't start). Mine came that way because the saw has a built in safety feature to avoid kick-back injuries. In front of the handle is a guard that will shut the saw off if it is pushed towards the blade. All that is needed is to pull it back until it snaps into place closer to the top handle. I owned a Stihl gas saw for many years and it had the same feature and so do other chain saws.
Excessive chain saw oil useage was also a complaint for some reveiwers. My Stihl used about the same amount of chain oil. The chain creates lots of friction and needs constant oil to keep it from getting prematurely dull and wearing out other parts. All chain saws need chain oil. Check the reservour every half hour or so.
One lesson for chain saw cutting that is best learned early is to not allow the blade to contact dirt or sand. If it does, and it will at some point, stop cutting and remove the chain from the bar and soak it in cleaning solvent (not gasoline). Dirt will wear the bar and sprocket out fast.
This Poulan saw is a very good value. It has more power than I expected from an electic saw. With that said, do not decide to buy one and start your own tree business. The Poulan will not last as long as professional saws nor can it truely compete against the big gas powered models. It does hold its own quite well for most home chores. I cut a dead tree down that had a trunk diameter of about 9 inches. In my opinion, that is probably as big as this saw should be pushed.
For my purposes and at my age of 62, this saw is perfect. It's light and it does the job. Keep the blade sharp and the oil filled and it's just fine for occasional home cutting.
Customer Review: Very Good Chainsaw
Summary: 5 Stars
I originally bought the Poulan Pro 42 CC 18" Gas Chainsaw but after reading the reviews here I took it back without even taking it out of the case and bought this one instead. I am very glad I did. I only need a chainsaw for around the house to cut fallen trees or the odd job. So the idea of keeping a can of mixed gas and oil didn't appeal to me. Not to mention the saw would sit on the shelf for months at a time between uses and I didn't care for the starting problems or engine repairs of a gas chainsaw. However I was worried that this electric chainsaw would not be powerful enough. I had 2 fallen trees with a bases of about 15 inches that I needed to cut into firewood immediately. This chainsaw performed perfectly. I realize that it was new so the chain was nice and sharp but it still had no problem cutting through everything quickly. I loved being able to start it and stop it at will without the hassle of priming a gas engine or overheating problems or running out of gas or messing with the choke. I stopped whenever I felt like it and came in the house for a drink of water. Went right back out and with just a squeeze of the trigger was back to cutting again. I have a perfectly cut half cord of firewood in just a few hours. Amazon delivered the saw to my doorstep in 7 days with the free shipping. The saw did not come with a case or chain oil so I had to make a quick run to the store for some oil. I was happy to see that the saw used almost a quart of chain oil for the 2 trees. This told me that chain stayed nice and wet. Afterwards I spent about 10 minutes cleaning the saw back up like new and put it back on my shelf for the next time. It only took removing the two lugs and the chain and bar came right off for cleanup. Nice job Poulan.