Lets Talk Cordless Electric Chain Saws

jbolt

jbolt

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Last year I posted about recommendations for a gas powered chain saw. I am now rethinking my current needs while the home is rented until we make the move in a few years. Since we are not up there full time and most times we are there is during the fire season which can have restrictions on gas powered tools. I am now thinking about a cordless electric saw to handle the smaller maintenance stuff we do.

Stihl seems the get the highest recommendations but by the time you buy the saw, battery and charger it looks like a $700+ investment. Curious what experience others have had with different brands.
 
Milwaukee .. took down two elms , bucked them up and cut major branches , trunks , ect into 4 ft lengths to fit in a tractor bucket on one battery charge . It has the closest to gas saw construction ( bars chain tensioner , metal dogs , ect.. ) that I have seen on the cordless saws . They say that it is the equivalent of a 40 cc gas saw and I think that is about right . It has no problem pulling the 16 inch bar it comes with and honestly I think it would handle a 20 incher if you didn't get in a big hurry and over use the dogs . Still not cheap at $ 400 or a bit more for the kit with the saw , 12 amp hour m18 fuel battery , and charger but money well spent in my estimation .
 
For deer hunting we go 22 miles from the nearest paved road. the road we go in is the only way back out. I carry an electric chain saw for when a tree falls across the road. I use a corded electric saw and I have a 2000/4000W inverter mounted in the truck to power it I also have a big deep cycle batterry mounted under the hood and set up to always be charging if the engine is running. the cord I have is a 100 ft #10AWG extension cord. This way everything is always ready for anything. I looked into the cordless, but if you do not use them often enough to exercise the batteries the battery will die of boredom and not work when you need them. The inverter also comes in handy for a lot of other jobs away from the house. I also have a small 700W inverter monted to power small things like laptops lights and such.
 
I'm looking for the same thing for yard maintenance. I have gas saws but would like something to take out, use, put away without fueling, adjusting, cleaning carb. etc. Usually half-hour jobs. I read many (online) reviews of the Milwaukee saw. Mostly were good or very good reviews. There were two recurring complaints. 1. The chain tightener was inadequate or in one case stripped a bolt. 2. Problems with oiler. One wood turner complained that when cutting the pith out of a log that the saw clogged easy. All in all it reportedly does the job for most of the reviewers.
 
I looked at the bo chain saws and then went with the sawzall. In addition to being far more versatile than a chain saw due to the selection of blades available it is a whole lot easier for anyone to handle for yard sized work. If one of the 80 foot trees needs to come down I will pony up for a gas chain saw or just hire it out. But for the little maples that sprout freaking everywhere and general pruning the sawzall works like a charm.

It does have limits and realistically that limit is smaller than 6 inches, but you wouldn't take the chain saw to do demo work on plaster and lath either.

We had a tornado hit the end of the street a couple of years back. It knocked the tops out of several trees on the block. The sawzall had them cut to a size they could be moved to the side of the road before the neighbors could find their chain saws, gas and bar oil. And blades are cheap, so when the neighbor wants to try his hand, you don't cringe quite so hard when they run it into the ground.
 
I've had a Makita for around 5-6 years, geez its worked HARD and has never let me down.
 
I was looking at battery powered chainsaws last year and the EGO battery powered tools seemed like they were very highly reguarded by their owners. 56v batteries available in a variety of ah sizes. Everyone really seems to like their build quality. Appears to be a lot of bang for the buck!
 
I went with this Dewalt:
www.homedepot.com

DEWALT 60V MAX 16in. Brushless Battery Powered Chainsaw Kit with (2) FLEXVOLT Batteries & Charger DCCS670X1606 - The Home Depot

Tackle your construction or outdoor cutting applications with this DEWALT 60-Volt MAX Chainsaw. It features a low kick back 16 in. bar and chain for versatility. Delivering up to 70 cuts a charge, a 60-Volt
www.homedepot.com

Been extremely happy with it. Got no where near the power of my gas saws, but it sure starts good :) My application is pruning, so I make one cut, set the saw down. A few minutes later, repeat. A SUPER sharp chain really helps. On gas saws, everybody just pushes a bit when the chain is slightly dull. cannot do that here if you don't like dead batteries.
 
Don't get a Ryobi, I tried one out side by side with a sawzall with a pruning blade and the sawzall was faster.
 
I guess I'm not that sold on anything cordless that doesn't get used on a regular basis. Over the years I've had battery powered drills, saws, rotary hammers, and air compressors. The tools that were used on a regular basis like the drills and skill saws seemed to get adequate battery life. The ones that weren't regularly used like the air compressor, chain saw, and rotary hammers seemed to have a shorter battery life even though they were charged per the manufacturers instructions.

Given the cost of replacing the batteries for the number of hours the tools were used I switched back to a corded chain saw, (in addition to the gas powered one) air compressor, and rotary hammer. The cheapest batteries were around $100.00 with the more expensive ones running closer to $200.00. That's fairly expensive for 30 hours or less of work.
 
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