Battery powered chainsaws... YIKES
 

My dad and I were talking the other day about chainsaws. Dad said he wanted to go to a battery powered chainsaw. So me being the good son I am :) I told him not to buy one and that my brothers and sister would go together and get him one. I was thinking $400 should do the trick... but HELL NO.

I started my journey into these saws looking at every video I could find. I feel compelled to stick with Husqvarna since he already has the battery powered trimmer and the batteries all work in the tools. I did look at other models that cost less but prices were $340 to $380. So I started with the 120i... tinker toy. 535i xp... still a toy.. Stumbled on the 540i xp... now that's what I'm talking about.. Problem? The damn thing costs $589 WITHOUT the battery. A 9 amp hour battery costs another $280. I'm thinking for $869 I'll go over with my husky gas powered saw and just cut down the trees he wants removed. But he wants a saw so.. here I am. Man I didn't think these things would be that nuts in price. But if he wants something capable of cutting 8-10" stuff fairly quickly the choices seem to be Echo, Dewalt (who would'a guessed?) and the new 540i xp which from all the videos I've watched is just a beast.

When I get the thing, I'll try to post a link to a video of the saw in action in case there are those here crazy enough to buy a saw at this price. The rest I mention, you'll find videos on youtube.

It is hard for me to imagine a battery powered chainsaw that could be more than a toy. If I were to buy a chainsaw, it would be an orange one made in Germany and it would have a fuel tank. I'd use ethanol-free gas and I would run the carb empty after uses. Those things perform like Porsches with the reliability of a fiberglass handled hammer.

Review of a few I looked at.

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540i xp in action skip to the later part so see this guy cutting a bunch of wood with it or watch the whole thing.

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Watch the videos. They're are a few that are really impressive. The echo would have been high on my list had it not been for my dad already having the battery powered Husky trimmer.

It depends on how you use them, I have 2 Ryobi 40v saws

one is a pole saw and the other a regular 18" bar saw

For the small incidental stuff that a typical small piece of property calls for they are great,

plus since I have a bum shoulder no pull start to worry about, no premix to fuss w/ and store either

My dad is in his 80's so he won't be out there tearing it up, at least not for extended periods of time. But I know my dad. He's why I am the way I am... "This damn thing is just too slow". He'll tell ya that he's built to work and get things done. If it isn't cutting fast he'll get horked off and won't use it. So I figure go big or go home.

I wanted something to trim limbs while on a ladder....using one hand to hang onto the ladder.
Already had the 20V batteries, so I picked this one up a few months back.
https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/outdoor-power-tools/chainsaws-chippers/20v-lithium-ion-cordless-chainsaw-tool-only-64940.html

Works great for what I wanted it for. 2-3 inch dia. limbs are about the max.

When the battery runs out will he just crank up the 2 stroke?
You see what I'm getting at?
But having said that, the guy has put his time in and deserves what he wants.

I have one, a Stihl...oops, a Dewalt. I have a lot of battery powered DW stuff for as much commonality as I can get.

I also have four gas powered chainsaws, all older Stihl's (pole and regular) that run perfectly.

The battery powered chain saw is absolutely perfect for some jobs.

Try one before you scoff at them.

I have the Echo. It continues to out perform my initial expectations...

Both of those would have been high on my list. If you watch the first video above, the standard to be beat was set by the Dewalt. The Echo pretty much dethroned the Dewalt. But I can't see buying another brand and needing two different types of battery along with charger. If it was for me, I'd probably own the dewalt for the same reason Paul does.

What is the weight of the average "beast" electric chainsaw compared to a comparable gas model. I 9 AH battery will be fairly heavy by itself ?

I think an electric trim saw would be nice, but i'll stick with my 20" MS310 Stihl for the big jobs.

That's my brother's concern too. But I think if the battery lasts for 15 to 20 minutes of cutting, he'll probably put in on charge and go take a nap :)

Also part of why I want a matching battery system. He already has a 4 amp hour battery so I figure he could burn that thing down, plug it in, and go back to cutting with the 9 amp hour battery which lasts about 30 minutes or more depending on what is being cut.

I don't think he'll be cranking up that horse of a Stihl he has very often. That'll probably get left for my oldest brother to use.

It's probably more what I think he'll want than what he wants. He'd walk into Rural King and buy the 120i without ever doing an ounce of research into the capability of the saw. Then he'd be ticked if it didn't do what he wanted. Me, I dig into stuff like this. Hell I dig into everything I buy which sometimes causes analysis paralysis.

That 540i XP is something else.

Impressive isn't it? Granted it's only going to be a beast with the BLI300 battery but still, that thing will cut.

Here's where "Project Farm" compares some of the battery powered saws to a gas powered.
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The thing that is really making the decision difficult is, I can buy the Dewalt with a battery for $349 and a 9ah battery for another $219. The higher a.h. battery will make a lot of difference in how the saw performs versus what is shown in the videos above.

But I still feel like I should stay in the same "family". But then again I can get the saw and two batteries for less than the saw and one battery. I might have to call my dad.

That no load test got pretty messy with all the chain oil running all over the floor.

I think he'd be happiest with the 540i even though it's 'out of family' with using a different battery.

Yeah I had to laugh at that.

I'm starting to lean towards the Dewalt saw even though he has a Husqvarna trimmer. I can buy the Dewalt saw with battery and charger for $349 and a two pack of 60v 9ah batteries for $329 so total $678 vs $869 for the Husqvarna. And I still think the 9ah battery will make a difference in performance. I have a Dewalt circular saw that is terrible to use with the standard 3ah battery but when I put the 5ah on it, it becomes a different saw.