Poulan Pro 17" 33cc Gas Trimmer

You're thinking that for the price, even if it only lasts one year, you still got your money's worth out of it. And you're right, it's not a well made trimmer. Harder to start every Saturday. Heavy. Pain-in-the-butt trimmer head (not a spool). After about 3 months (that's 9 uses) choke no longer starts it, and you have to hold the throttle down to start it up. Another 6 months of that and it only starts "when it wants to." After 9 months, I can't get it to start after 2 minutes of pulling and I hesitate to pay almost as much as a new (well a new Poulan at least) trimmer to get it repaired. So, if you are poor and you don't really care about quality and you just "need to get the job done today, who cares about tomorrow?" this is a decent value. If you can afford a better one, you DO get what you pay for.

Bought in June of 2010. In the past month it began to quit before the gas tank was empty. Now it will only run for a few seconds. I have used properly mixed gasoline and the engine cover doesn't even have a scratch on it. My house is on 2.7 arces and I usually trim every two weeks. I also have the pole saw attachment which I have used twice for about an hour each time. My two nearest Poulan dealers say it will cost more to repair (most likely rebuild the carburetor) than it will cost to buy a new trimer. In short I now have over two hundred dollars invested for a useless piece of equipment that the manufacturer claims I never filed a warranty card for.

I read several reviews on this product before purchasing. I chose to go with those that sounded reasonable. So I bought it. I'm glad I did. I almost went with the weedeater model for $20 less. I fear that would have been a mistake. If you follow directions and mix the fuel properly, you will be very pleased with this product. I have 5 acres to maintain. The house, the out buildings, mail box and utility pole...went off without a hitch. Great cutting pattern (takes a little getting used to), easy reload. I gave it 4 stars simply because nothing's perfect, and It was a little heavier than I anticipated. Also, because of the weight, there is a tendency to rest your arm on the casing. That get's a little warm. I spent a lot more money on a Ryobi a couple of years ago, didn't last two seasons. Durability is the unknown factor here, if it's like my other Poulan products, it won't be an issue.

I read all the other reviews. They left me wondering if I should purchase this trimmer. But I went ahead and did purchase it. I have only small complaints about it. 1. The line- I had to put line on it often, but with very little effort because there are no parts to remove in the process. I do recommend that you purchase a roll of line and cut it to the lengths you need and carry them in your pocket.It seems to be less expensive than the precut. Just thread through holes and you are good to go. But as I got used to it I found that if I pay more attention to the cutting path you will not have to replace line as often. 2- There is no strap. As I read the other reviews I wondered if maybe the trouble the others had with the cranking and running was due to the gas/oil mixture- IT HAS TO BE RIGHT. Mine cranked right up and did the cutting I needed it for. So far I have had no real problems. It is easy to crank and is the only trimmer I could find that had a 33cc engine that I needed. I also like the fact that I will be able to purchase attachments to use with it. I can't wait.

I've had this product for four months now. From the beginning, the trimmer was powerful, but a bit on the loud side. I changed the trimmer head for a universal head that accepted any size line. I would recommend this instead of buying the pre-cut size from poulan. After four months of use, I had to have the carb adjusted at a local repair shop. It was under warranty and took one day. The trimmer began running really rough and would die before being adjusted. I think it was knocked out of adjustment from vibrations. Bottom line: I would buy this trimmer again. It has a lot of power and gets the job done.