Electric chainsaw?

One of my friends who lives in AZ has a Makita that he's been happy with (I just happened to ask him about it last time I talked to him as I was looking at them; I have a Makita [Dolmar] gas saw). Bonus with battery powered saws is they're quiet so you can, uh, use them discretely.

 

Oh yeah....I also use a Stihl weed-whacker (is that a word?) that takes the same battery as the chainsaw.

 

Again as @tacomaboned said, just because the critical parts come from the same supplier does not necessarily make the final product equal. Can you elaborate on what differences in quality we might see (or not)? A blanket statement really isnt going to do much to convince me.

Like most people, I have my preferred brand due to already being invested in the batteries & chargers. But Im always interested to know about the other brands / not a brand snob.

 

Took my Stihl MS271 18" Farm Boss on a trip up to flag pole in VA immediately after a series of bad storms came through a few years ago. I wound up using it 3x to clear some very large trees that come down across the trail.

The purpose of the saw was just for those jobs, I also had a bow saw for fire wood. I did not bring much spare pre-mix or bar oil.

On another trip, my brother brought an electric saw, maybe 12-14". It came in very handy. We did not have to clear any huge trees like I did in VA, but we did clear a smaller one and used it for fire wood as well. That opened my eyes to battery powered saws, though I would want something on the order of an 18" bar.

Edit to add-i don't know about other brands, but Stihl specifies 91 octane methanol free fuel mixed at 50:1. Using something other than that could potentially cause starting/running issues. I also use a graduated cylinder to measure oil before mixing. Getting this wrong could cause problems as well. My Stihl tools have been run hard and have had no issues at all. I do use 93 octane E10 from the pump, but get the pre-mix in a can once in a while.

 

I like my EGO with an 18" bar.

 

I’ll mix it myself to keep costs down. After 30 days I dump it on the weeds, sometimes light it on fire after. But when I’m having a hard time getting it to start, the premix in the can gets it to start.

 

I have this battery saw and while I've been impressed with its performance for what it is, it's not even close to a good gas saw. I've used that saw for clearing trees off mountain bike trails. I like that it's light enough to put in a pack and ride my bike with, since the trees can be miles back in the woods, but if you get a tree bigger than the 16" blade the 4 Ah battery runs down quick, to the point that a few times I've had to ride back home, charge the battery, and go back to finish the job which was only two to three cuts through the tree to get it off the trail. The performance of any battery saw also heavily depends on the sharpness of the chain. And if you're cutting smaller trees that saw goes a long way. It's only when you bury the blade that you can watch the battery meter go down.

You're carrying the saw on a truck so weight isn't an issue. I'd argue gas stability isn't an issue either... gas tanks on saws are small so if it's old, pour it out and pour in some new. I've seen gas in tanks for yard tools last for years including 2-cycle mixtures.

Contrast the Oregon battery saw to something like a Stihl Farm Boss. I've spent some time with one of these and they melt through trees like a hot knife through butter, and one tank of gas on that thing will get you through felling, cleaning, and bucking a mature hardwood tree. That's maybe more than you need to get a tree off a trail but I'd want to have the safety of being able to get bigger trees out of the way if I needed to... seen plenty of those.

 

I appreciate that you asked a chainsaw question in the second gen forum, you are a wise man. Even if it is electric.

I have several gas saws. You won’t can’t me with an electric saw anytime soon, but mostly cause I am set in my ways. Electricity is the way of the future.

 

Out of curiosity how much tree can the truck pull out with a strap? Even better with a 10k winch? I carry a small hand saw, but if the tree is more than 12" diameter it would be a bear.

 

I have used this method on with a chain saw but primarily with a bow saw to save time. Just cut about halfway through the diameter of the downed tree on the side facing your truck. Tie onto it at the cut and pull. This is assuming a couple things-you can get a strap under the tree and there are other trees on each side of the downed tree that will stop it from just sliding towards you. If that is not the case then you can just swing it out of the way.

 

I use mine to cut smaller trees that fall across the trail. If it was standing deadwood, I will often cut it the firewood lengths on the spot and toss them into the truck since I am usually on the way to the cabin. It is not my Husky Rancher but it has worked great for what I needed. No complaints except the the proprietary "micro blade".

 

I bought a

$124 Milwaukee M18 Cordless Lithium-Ion 6-1/2" Circular Saw - 2630-20 - ( MILWAUKEE ) - BARE TOOL

Milwaukee M18 after selling my two Stihl chainsaws. I modified the saw and I am very satisfied with it for now. M18 chainsaw review with 12” Oregon Bar and chain.

Good replacement for Stihl MS 192TC that I used to have. It is by no means a replacement for the FarmBoss 290!

The Oregon bar and chain are slightly larger gauge but the chain is shorter and oils well with the existing oiler. 0.043 narrow kerf of the Milwaukee stock bar and chain IMHO are too small and leads to more binding when cutting. The Oregon bar I chose came with a chain and had a part number of 27792.

I feel like the M18 chainsaw is a better fit for the 12” bar combination and would recommend it to others at this point. We are still talking that the M18 with a 12” bar can handle a tree diameter of 20-24” which is much larger than any on the properties I currently own. I’m only a few cuts in but feel confident this is the right modification to the saw.

 

Been using my Greenworks 80V solid now. All the trees that needed cutting are down and bucked. This saw is GREAT. And that is with stock bar and chain. I am going to change over to the Oregon stuff as soon as the chain gets dull or hinked.

As a side note, some of the Amazon reviews - just a few - noted the chain jumped for them repeatedly and they got frustrated. 10:1 they didn't tension it correctly. The stock chain slackens pretty early in life. Clean it, lube it well and put in back together, tension it properly and mine never jumped again.

 

I have the EGO 56v with the 16" bar and it really rips, too.

 

I’m gonna get an EGO chainsaw this year. Already have a lawnmower and the big snowblower and they’ve both been great. I’m all in.

 

I have one of the snowblowers, too. Biggest one they made about 3 or 4 years ago. And a string trimmer and blower. Those things are amazing, too.

 

Yeah pretty much the smart move. Mixing batteries is painful several ways.

Keep it to three low mid high voltages. Like for example I go Milwaukee 12V DeWalt 20V and Greenworks 80V.

 

They come in handy esp when one arming

 

Or consider going with a Silky Katanaboy 500. It is like a bow saw on steroids. Clearly not a chainsaw but it is very compact cuts anything under 8-10 in w/o issue and avoids gas/oil/space related chainsaw issues. I've been very happy with mine.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=youttube+...www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZogRcZ3SUw4&ia=videos

 

Well after reading this I'm getting the chainsaw itch!

Got a big ole gasser Stihl but always wondered about the electric. Thinking maybe Ryobi 40v since I already have batteries.

I usually try to use my ryobi sawzall with a 9" pruner blade for downed trees if I can. But I feel like I normally ask too much of the sawzall...even though it is my weapon of choice