Poulan P4028WT 'WILD THING!' Overview/Review

Go over the saw and put it to some wood.

[ryangossen]

I worked on a crew that had this as our beater saw, the one you use to buck and cut down branches in the trailer. It was terrible, underpowered, always breaking down, and worst of all, no matter what we did to it, it would not die. There was always someone who would take it apart, clean it out, and it was back in our lives like someone who needed the work but would never be any good at it. If you don't appreciate your ground crew, give them this saw.

[johndoh]

I bought one about a year ago for simple personal stuff. I wasn't expecting much and it surpassed my expectations. It's a good saw, maybe not great, but for simple trimming and cutting limbs, it does the job. Mine would also run better if I used gas that wasn't 2 yrs old.

[legendcrandale]

I have a few saws, I do decent amount of wood cutting and splitting. I got a basically brand new poulan wild thing from a buddy that couldn't get it to stay running. I adjusted the carb properly and i use it more than my stihl now just because I got it for free and don't really give a damn about it haha. But I honestly have been decently impressed with how dependable it's been.

[lucysdad]

1st saw I ever owned was a Poulan “wood shark” 14” bar. I had never used a chainsaw before in my life. It was a good saw to learn with and it got some small jobs done. I actually still have it...along with Echo and McCulloch

[firewatch]

The purpose of the upper air valve is for the Stratos charge system that keeps unburned fuel from going out of the exhaust by letting fresh air Into the transfers when the piston is at the top of the exhaust stroke. Husqvarna calls it xtorq and bought zenoah because they invented and had patents on that porting design but called it Stratocharged. Dolmar, stihl, and echo also have variations of that design on much of their newer saws.

[Rick_Sanchez_C_]

While you were cutting I swear I heard the Sponge Bob narrator say, “One hour later.”

[sweetmustang]

I bought a Wild Thing back when I bought my house in 98. The one I got cost about $100 and doesn't even have a chain brake. I've used it a lot over the years and it just keeps working. I bought it for residential use/ storm preparedness but i've since bought a farm and use it to clear fields and get firewood. I had to replace the fuel lines but that is about it. Bar and chain of course. It still starts great, idles fine and has no trouble powering a full 18" bar.

[hendy]

I’ve had 2 Poulans in my day. One the old man passed down to me when I was in my 20’s which I used for camping firewood. I think I got 2 uses out if it before the bar studs pulled right out of the body. Junk pile. The next one wasn’t bad but the carb failed on it and there was no rebuild kit or replacement carb to be found. Junk pile. I then moved onto a Stihl MS170 which while smaller than your Poulan, is twice the saw. I now own an MS261 which is incredible and will most likely have that saw until I’m pushing up daisies.

[toddnaples]

I absolutely appreciate your knowledge and sense of humor, Im subscribing and want to get to know everything there is to know about milling lumber from logs, Thank you for taking the time

[noelweightman]

Wow....i am selling my 660's and pickin up a few of these bad boys haha

[MrThenry]

I bought one exactly 14 years ago at Wal-Mart. I moved into a home with a wood burner then. I used it that winter. Things I found.
Good things
1. It always ran.
That is it.
Bad
If you pinched the bar at all even on small stuff you bent the bar. It would saw a half circle. It had no power anyway. After several bars I put a 14 on it and only cut things that were like branches. I bought a husky.

[Soknik]

I've got a wild thing that runs well enough. Perfect loaner saw, as if it comes back broken it's not a disappointment.

After opening the exhaust and adjusting the carb it actually does a fair job running the 18" bar with a low profile semi chisel chain. I'm pretty sure it comes with the skip tooth as an additional cost saving measure.
If you're looking for a homeowner 40cc saw that's reliable and won't break the bank I'd say it's probably a better bet to pay a little extra and grab an echo cs400. Fatten up the high end and open up the muffler a bit and you'll have a saw that, while its no stihl or husky, will far outperform that poulan and run for many years if well maintained.

As usual, good video and honest review. Keep it up Human!

[poulanpiper]

Your right the new poulan saws are questionable, the older 60's, 70, s and some 80's poulan saws were a lot better. Thank you for the review.

[dilligafdude]

Had one of these for my first saw, worked for a while cutting up trees and got my hands on a stihl and went to go buy one soon after.

[mikelankford]

I have that same saw man!!! Not one problem after five years of "minimal" fire wood use. I was actually surprised, bought it thinking it would at least get me through a year lol. Now it's my backup saw to my ms661...

[JwcubTHS]

I borrowed one of those once; I used it so hard cleaning up a large elm tree that I felt guilty returning it to the owner, so I kept it and bought the owner a new one. I never had any problems with it aside from the oil tank leaking, but I didn't like the saw''s vibration characteristics - it would make my hands numb using it. A few years later after a major ice storm, I bought a Stihl MS270-C; talk about a night and day difference in quality and vibration between the two saws. The Stihl cut through trees like they were soft butter while being silky smooth. I unloaded that Wild Thing on Craigslist and never looked back. Stihl is my go-to brand for any outdoor power equipment; I have never had any problems or complaints with them! 😎

[tomwechsler]

I bought a Poulan la long time ago for a specific job. 20”. Had to return it after a few frustrating hours spent. Got a Stihl MS21 16”. It ran circles around it and I finished the job. On the bright side, it got me converted over to Stihl, a real saw.

[HUSKERS]

Good gravy this review is funny, I feel like this needs to happen again with more of the bottom of the barrel saws for comedic relief once in awhile.

[daw]

These kinds of saws are around my neighborhood in garages, gotten out once every 3 years to try to cut down large yard trees. I"m sure the plastic parts aren't going to be durable, but most aren't used enough to work past them.


These and the 40cc modern saws labeled homelite with 20 inch bars - they don't have quite enough to pull the full length of easy cutting safety chain and what's typical here is listening to someone hammer away at a tree with them for hours, and then hearing a break, and then hearing other saws as people trade around their junk saws trying to find one that will run right and cut.


love the way they idle at 3k rpm.

[CORNBREADiAmME]

Legend has it he's still cutting that peice of wood today!!!