Battery chain saws

[RogerS]

Having suffered another 'stutter to go' - even after it running OK a few weeks back, I know I can stick the carb in an ultrasonic cleaner...along with the one from the hedge trimmer but that necessitates finding everything and so given deadlines I was thinking about simply getting a new one then doing up and selling then old one when I had more time. But then I thought....

I've alrady got a good selection of Milwaukee batteries and tools...so why not get a battery one ? I'm not a lumberjack and the use is sporadic so battery fis ideal but what are they actually like to use ? Is there enough oomph ?

 

[AndyP]

Just had a quick look at the Husqvarna range ( I’ve had a corded electric for 18 years) and it seems their cordless ( they no longer do corded it seems ) are just as expensive as the petrol. I suspect, again no experience, that there is a better chance of fixing/repairing/servicing a petrol than an electric in a few years time.
I went electric because I did not want the weight nor the noise of the petrol. I’ve used a ripping as well as a crosscut chain on mine. Can’t recall the length of the bar at the moment. It has cut trees of no more than about a foot in diameter .

 

[Malc2098]

My gardener was showing me his new collection of Stihl battery powered stuff today. The secateur apparently can cut through an inch no trouble. The small hedge trimmer is so light and the short bar ideal for small shrubs and hedges, and he said the same for the short bar chainsaw. So for him he said that although it was expensive to change, they are light, powerful and quiet, with less maintenance and no need to carry fuel in the van making his job less irksome.

 

[akirk]

I don't have a chainsaw (am married to a hand surgeon!) but friends who have made the move including tree surgeons have all raved about electric - however there does seem to be a split view (in the profession) between the Sithl / Husqavana type level of professional electric kit and what might be seen as the more amateur Bosch / Ryobi etc. kit - where Milwaukee or Makita etc. fit in I don't know... so worth looking at reviews of specific items - but in principle electric can work well

 

[Lons]

My make has a DeWalt cordless and it's pretty good though it does seem to eat batteries, no issues for him as he has about a dozen and several other suitable tools.

I have a Stihl petrol combi which is damned heavy and awkward especially with the extension bars fitted, it's too expensive to change but I'd swap for the same in cordless in a heartbeat having had a go with one a few months ago. I don't know about other makes all the pros I know use Stihl.

 

[Spectric]

With garden machinery, infact anything that runs a fuel system open to the atmosphere which means carburettor then E10 fuel is not good, only buy E5 or look for Aspen. E10 seems to destroy the fuel system and I have had to replace several carbs.

 

[CHJ]

My gardener was showing me his new collection of Stihl battery powered stuff today. The secateur apparently can cut through an inch no trouble. The small hedge trimmer is so light and the short bar ideal for small shrubs and hedges, and he said the same for the short bar chainsaw. So for him he said that although it was expensive to change, they are light, powerful and quiet, with less maintenance and no need to carry fuel in the van making his job less irksome.

Due to enforced serious rethink about plot maintenance we have indulged in a selection of Stihl battery items, we have both the secateurs** , which have made the manual loppers more or less redundant, and they do indeed cut 25mm mature wood with ease; and the small grass/shrub trimmer which is proving more than capable of tackling shrub and hedge trimming up to 6-8 mm thick stems. both items don't even show any significant battery usage between coffee breaks.

So far I can't envision any of their battery chainsaw models not being capable of adequate performance.

The only negative we have experienced is battery working time with the likes of the the small strimmer which is far more thirsty than the two already mentioned using the same small battery, having a couple of spare batteries to hand removes the frustration of just needing a few more minutes working time.
The scarifyer works well but is battery thirsty. The largest of the Battery Hedge trimmers, it's an excellent machine but is no lightweight to handle,

(**scary keep other hand well away from front end)

So my thoughts regarding a chainsaw would be that battery run time would be the only niggle not the performance

 

[Mike]

My house in rural Virginia was heated in the winter with firewood that I harvested and split for the woodstove. I had three Stihl 028 chainsaws with different bar lengths (13, 16, and 20 inches) for felling, cutting, and trimming trees and routine yard maintenance during the year.

At the time, battery versions didn't exist and any corded electric versions were useless for my purposes. A five-gallon can of fuel and a gallon of bar oil lasted all day, so I can't imagine how many batteries would be needed for the same amount of work.

If I had a need for a chainsaw in my current urban environment, it would be the Stihl MSA 60 C-B. This chainsaw uses the same batteries as the rest of my garden machines. When my 15-year old Viking gas mower makes the journey to mower Valhala, I'll replace it with a Stihl RMA 443 (or the equivalent non-self propelled version) and stay with the same battery family.

I used to have the RLA 240 scarifier because it used the same batteries but it struggled with my yard and went through the AK20 and AK30 batteries quickly. I replaced it with the gas powered RL 540. Fortunately, my local Stihl distributor gave me full credit for the RLA 240.