I'm looking at getting a cordless battery powered chainsaw. It will be used to cut up fallen limbs at my residence and for cutting paths and shooting lanes at my hunting spot. Right now I'm eyeballing the 60 volt Dewalt. Anyone have any experience with battery powered chainsaws?
My Milwaukee is nice for just that, a small limb here and there a little trim here and there but it is just like my Milwaukee weed eater is great for a little homeowner use but big jobs demand power of a gas one
I have an 80v Kobalt from Lowes. It cuts as well as a friend's Dewalt. The Kobalt charger is a quick type, 30 min while his Dewalt takes closer to 1 hr.
Check the amp hrs on the batteries. My Kobalt only has 2ah. That's low compared to some of the others. Larger batteries are available but quite expensive.
Do you own any other power tools, or plan on buying any. I would go with the brand you own. All of my stuff is Milwaukee and I have had excellent results with all of their chainsaws. They cut outside the pay grade. I have the 16" 18 volt and the polesaw that interchanges with string trimmer and lawn edger. I just bought there 12 volt hatchet model which is a 8" chainsaw and its awesome for its size. I've taken down 12" poplars with it to clear shooting lanes when I don't want to drag a chainsaw in the woods or use a hand saw. And its quiet.
I have a B&D chainsaw and also a pole saw which is really about the same thing on a pole. The 20V leaves a lot to be desired as a chainsaw, but the concept is great. I probably use a chain saw 20 times a year, about 17 of those its some job so small its not worth firing up one of the gassers and the little B&D gets me by.
I have a lot of the Ryobi 18V cordless tools. The only one I don't like is the chainsaw. It doesn't generate enough RPMs in my opinion, so with smaller/lighter weight limbs, it bounces rather than cuts. I know that's not a recommendation, but it is a caution that RPMs matter.
I have an 80v Kobalt from Lowes. It cuts as well as a friend's Dewalt. The Kobalt charger is a quick type, 30 min while his Dewalt takes closer to 1 hr.
I have a Husky battery powered.It has a 14" bar and a charge lasts about 2 hours of continuous running.Cuts better then my 16" gasser.Only weighs about 6 pounds.
Homelite made a battery powered kit with a chainsaw, hedge trimmer and weed eater. The batteries that came with it were not worth a chit but I found Ryobi 18v batteries worked. Sixteen years later I'm still using the chainsaw a nd hedge trimmer (someone stole the weed eater) I clean my shooting lanes with them every year and have cut saplings up to 4 inches in diameter with the saw
I have an 80v Kobalt from Lowes. It cuts as well as a friend's Dewalt. The Kobalt charger is a quick type, 30 min while his Dewalt takes closer to 1 hr.
This.
Yep. I use the Kobalt 80v chainsaw, and, also grass trimmer with hedge trimmer & pole saw attachments. They all work great. I have no need or desire to go back to gas saws and trimmers.
I'm looking at getting a cordless battery powered chainsaw. It will be used to cut up fallen limbs at my residence and for cutting paths and shooting lanes at my hunting spot. Right now I'm eyeballing the 60 volt Dewalt. Anyone have any experience with battery powered chainsaws?
Ron
I bought and use a Ryobi 18volt Pole saw with the extension if you need extra length. It has the 8” blade.
I’ve used it a lot around my place and at the deer lease. I really like it.
I just got the Stihl battery saw for light duty cutting. They only have 12 inch bars but for so far it works for me. Nice for cutting shooting lanes etc... I got tired of not having the gas saw ready to go as I don’t use if much and always dealt with fuel issues. The eGo got good reviews but I already had three Stihl batteries fro the blower, trimmer, and mower so it was a an easy choice. Trying to keep batteries simple with only going with Stihl and Dewalt (New Craftsman same batteries).
To answer your question without going off track....................I bought an Echo battery saw over 4 years ago and use it often. It is my go to saw for smaller jobs, On average the battery seems to last for about 30 minutes of cutting which is fine. We both seem to run out of "gas" about the same time.
If the job is mainly cutting up 3 inch limbs or smaller my go to is a Dewalt battery reciprocating saw with a coarse blade.
Current chain saw inventory: 50 yo Homelite 150 Automatic 14"; MS250 Stihl 16"; new Poulan Pro 18"; McCulloch 14" 120V and a DeWalt 20V 12". They all cut wood, some better than others. Haven't used the old Homelite lately, need to make a new cork gasket for the fuel cap.
Stihl gets most of the work in the woods, although I cut up enough wood with the 20V DeWalt last year, for cabin firewood in deer season. Mostly dead apple from 4 to 8 inches. 18 yo Stihl was on the fritz and didn't make the trip to camp in deer season. The 20V DeWalt was a gift, also came with a hedge trimmer. I like the little critter so far? Handy for small jobs around home and cabin.
The 120V Mac stays at camp, can cut up wood I fetch back to the cabin, where there's electricity. It was free from a customer years ago. Only thing wrong with it, sumbitch throws bar oil like a field sprayer.
Got another Poulan Pro because I had one years ago as a spare to the Stihl, eventually gave it to a farm boy cousin. He finally killed it after about 10 years. Got another $200 one, because he had the Poulan case and a half dozen chains I gave him.
I burn from 3 to 4 cords of firewood a year at home. Most of that was handled with the Stihl. I've done up to 24" red and white oak with it over the years, along with some ash and locust. Finally have a local source for ethanol-free gas, so that's all the Stihl gets now.
Away from home? It's simple to install a 1000w inverter to recharge saw batteries in the woods. If you want to plug it into your trailer light plug, make sure you have a large enough wire and fuse to the hot prong on the plug to handle the amps. You might need to beef up the ground wire, too.
Hey Bristoe, Thanks for the recommendation. My Echo 58V arrived today.
Ron
I think you'll like it. As mentioned, it takes a .043 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain.
After using mine for a while I put a .050 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain on it. It's fits the groove in the bar pretty tight at first, but it runs in after a few seconds.
You can also buy a .050 gauge bar for it and that's what I'll do soon.
Hey Bristoe, Thanks for the recommendation. My Echo 58V arrived today.
Ron
I think you'll like it. As mentioned, it takes a .043 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain.
After using mine for a while I put a .050 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain on it. It's fits the groove in the bar pretty tight at first, but it runs in after a few seconds.
You can also buy a .050 gauge bar for it and that's what I'll do soon.
This guy puts an 18", 50 gauge bar on his.
Bristoe As an aside....With a gas powered saw when your bar starts getting worn out it starts to cut circles, that's when a guy can put a thicker chain on to take up the bar groove making it cut straight again. I see no difference with a battery saw.
Hey Bristoe, Thanks for the recommendation. My Echo 58V arrived today.
Ron
I think you'll like it. As mentioned, it takes a .043 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain.
After using mine for a while I put a .050 gauge, 3/8", 56 link chain on it. It's fits the groove in the bar pretty tight at first, but it runs in after a few seconds.
You can also buy a .050 gauge bar for it and that's what I'll do soon.
This guy puts an 18", 50 gauge bar on his.
Bristoe As an aside....With a gas powered saw when your bar starts getting worn out it starts to cut circles, that's when a guy can put a thicker chain on to take up the bar groove making it cut straight again. I see no difference with a battery saw.
Mine walks around a bit when the chain starts getting dull. But it's probably time for a new bar too. I'll put a 50 gauge bar on it when I replace it. As mentioned, I'm already running a 50 gauge chain in the original .043 gauge bar.
The saw has plenty of torque to run a .050 gauge chain. The company should put a .050 gauge bar on them to start with in my opinion. But the .043 chain will do the job, also. It's just that a .050 gauge setup is better.
Here's a comparison video which includes the Echo 58V and the Stihl. Overall, the Echo either ties or beats all of them,..including the Stihl,..which is an $800 saw. The Stihl has the fastest sprocket speed, but it doesn't have the torque to enable it to cut as fast as the Echo.
Echo 58V, $339 (including battery and charger)
Stihl 220C, $815 (including the biggest battery available and a charger)