pouland chain saw and lawn tractor starter drag

Well, I enjoy your tenacity, and can even understand your logic. However, it seems you are betting against yourself here. If you have problems with a particular brand and model, why buy another one? Poulin is not really a high end brand. Sort of a Wal-Mart light duty item. If your burning them up, you need a more rugged machine. Perhaps a Stihl or a Husqvarna, a little more money, but built for heavy-duty use. I have a Stihl 20in, and have been using it for the last 23 yrs. My motto is, buy the best, that way you'll never be disappointed.

Yup, run the lawn tractor into the ground, then go buy a John Deere, not from Home Depot ( they are not the same), but from a real John Deere dealer.

I'm from Boxboro see your from Grafton

I constantly get saws from the dump people throw them away with minor problems it seems that fuel lines are usually the reason I've found that most saws even Husky's are prone to this problem .

The lines become rubbery and collapse or dry out and crack

Those poulons are the same as sears and the fuel lines are routed around the handles a ten minute $2 fix .

Husky is being sold at Sears there are few saws immune from problems these days

I've had the best luck with the Husky 55 rancher ,the old style without the primer pump carb and the 272 xp but they all develop fuel problems I think new fuel additives have not been compensated for in fuel line designs .

A good trick to replace fuel lines is to cut off a screw and thread it into the old line to the new one and pull right through rather than having to disassemble the saw

[quote]I think new fuel additives have not been compensated for in fuel line designs. [/quote]

You are correct, at least in the USA. Federal mandate requires 10% ethanol in our gasoline, and most flexible plastic tubing does not tolerate this very well. The volatile components of the plastic are leached out over time, causing the decay of the tubing to accelerate.

Good tip on the quick replacement btw, thanks!

I work in Grafton, but actually live in Auburn. Ah, the dump, nothing but a fond memory now. The Auburn dump's been closed and capped about 17 years now. When I went to the dump, I usually brought home more than I took. I got a 5hp Evenrude outboard there once that all I had to do is replace a fuel line. I still have it. I used to get all my lawn mowers there too.

Yup, if you can keep it running, great. Sometimes it's something simple, sometimes not. In still think traditional needs a more robust machine though.

As I'm older now, and much more financially secure, I tend to buy new high end stuff now. But when I was younger, I collected stuff that didn't work, put some time in and got it running.

Most stuff today is disposable, because it's built to be disposable. Who fixes TV's anymore? Or washers and driers. My drier just went, and the new part to fix it was $100. I went and bought a new one. Stuff today is made to last just beyond the warranties.

I had two Poulan Pro chain saws. One ran great until it did a meltdown the other was just junk, hard to start, and no power. The best bets are Sthil, Huskavarna, and Jonesred. I just bought a Husky 450 Rancher. It is one mean wood eating machine.

So . . . , how exactly did you get the tractor to cooperate? You had multiple electrical and mechanical suggestions, which ones worked for you?

The first thing I would check would be the spark.Just pull the plug and reattach it back to the plug wire and pull the cord.From there you should see the spark from the plug,if not then either your coil is no good or the setting for the coil is off.Most have a crank trigger system which uses a magnet placed on a metal cap if you will and the coil is held there above it by two screws.Most(I) beleive are set at .o10 gap between the magnet on the "flywheel" and the coil which is above.You would want to check manufacturers specks for your model.If spark is all good pull the front cover off to expose the carb,leave the plug out and spray carb cleaner in the carb and in all the lines if you can.Then pull the crank cord a few times to clear the comb chamber,put it all back together and give a yank.The only other idea is the muffler,sometimes the screen on the inside of the muffler gets clogged up and won't let it start,if this is the case you can ditch it or replace it. If you ditch it though it'll be louder than it was before so earplugs may be a good idea.