Poulan vs. Stihl : part II

I have to admit, I only use the Poulan when the Stihl is in the shop.

And all things considered, it's not in the shop that often. Had to drop it off for a new bar and chain not too long ago. The guy behind the counter went all out trying to sell me a thousand dollar "professional grade" Stihl.

My unprofessional $500 Stihl has been doing yeomans's work. I'm taking down twenty and twenty-four inch stuff with that 18" bar all the time. You just have to be smart in how you go about it.

Not that I'm all that smart. Everybody here at Falling Downs has a story about their narrow escape when the sixty foot elm just missed the spot they were standing on.

My main quibble with the Poulan is that it doesn't let the fuel flow properly. You'll be half way through a 24" trunk and it'll starve out for fuel, not because the tank is empty, but because the fuel tank isn't vented properly. That's a design flaw. They're a global brand and it shouldn't take a back-woods hillbilly like me to point out the flaws that their highly educated and way over-paid design team built into the machine.

So I'm thumbs up for the Stihl all the way, but I do have to mention it does seem to like the shop. I've only had it for a couple years so I don't know if that's a characteristic of the machine or of me. I know there was the big trip for major surgery after Junior ran over it with the truck.

Wasn't really Junior's fault. Had a bit of a grass fire going on, and if panic wasn't in the air, it was just over the hill. We were trying to move things out fast.

The fire had spread to where the truck was parked, and I was too busy beating back the flames to move it, so I yell at Junior MOVE THE FUCKING TRUCK!

Didn't have time to specify move it forward or move it backward. In my mind, over-busy as I was, I figured it was obvious I meant move it forward. After all, I'm right behind the truck, the Stihl is right behind the truck, the biggest flames are right behind the truck, so the only possible thing you could ever do is move the truck forward out of the impending disaster.

So Junior gets behind the wheel and backs up the truck.

Runs over the Stihl. That repair pretty much cost the price of a new one.

Keeps coming at me. I run for my life. Barely made it.

Keeps backing up right to the fence-line.

Junior gets the truck jammed up against the trees. The flames are heading for him. Oh my God the little shithead's gonna get immolated right there in front of my eyes... his mother's gonna kill me!

I run for the truck, grab the wheel, race through the flames, running over the Stihl a second time, and we make it to safety.

So like I said, the Stihl being in the shop more often than the Poulan might not entirely be the fault of the saw.