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.

The Milwaukee Fuel that I have easily surpasses my older Stihl . . . Easy to start. Charges quickly. And the torque of the electric motor makes cutting a breeze. I'm a convert.

At 80 years old, he'll get more fun out of not having to put as much work into using the saw as the others would require.
Just my opinion from 70 yrs old.

The 540i is the Husqvarna so it's a match for his Husqvarna trimmer. I'm gonna call him and see if he minds if the saw and batteries doesn't match the trimmer. I know he never runs the battery down on the trimmer because he doesn't have that much to trim around his house.

I think what makes the Husqvarna 540i really shine is the 9ah battery. It's by far the highest amp hour of all the other saws. But Dewalt offers a 60v 9ah battery that I think will compare favorably. I need to look at weight for each saw too.

Thanks for the input!

Sorry, I got confused there on what he had vs what was being looked at. Happens easily lately.

Don't watch one of the videos I posted on page 1. You'll end up being a Dewalt convert :)

I also don't see how that 'auto chain sharpening' stone would work. I've sharpened chainsaw chains and that doesn't look like it'd be sharpening the correct edge unless they've changed the configuration of the cutting surfaces significantly from what I remember them being.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1637263841.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1637263936.jpg

I'll be using this phrase!

I heard somewhere that all cordless tools will need to share batteries at some point?

If you are talking about the flexvolt, it is 9AH @ 20v (so 3 Ah @ 60v).

Total energy is conserved (Ah x V) or watt hours. Best to check the watt hour rating since dewalt and others use deceptive marketing on this sort of thing.

The 56v 7.5 Ah Ego battery (420 Whrs) on my lawnmower is about the size of a small shoe box. Batteries should be close to a couple lbs per hundred watt hours as a gut check

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200747002_200747002?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Power%20Tools %20%3E%20Power%20Tool%20Batteries%20%2B%20Chargers %20%3E%20Power%20Tool%20Batteries&utm_campaign=DEW ALT&utm_content=81044&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkNiMBhCxARIsAI DDKNULFblJBVRitJTu218WsvW3aaF0KjzvmzVH8bQdPnBjUp-804YL8i0aAn6BEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

It's a different angle to the blade. It's not sharpening the inner curve the way it looks. It appears to be sharpening the front edge of the chain. Or at least that's what it looked like to me. I wondered the same thing btw.

Duly noted. Old farts like me need to get past the "that's not the way I've always done it" syndrome.

Just did some more looking and that is indeed correct :mad: They actually show it on their website 20v 9ah, 60v 3ah
Thanks for pointing that out. The way that saw cuts, I still think he might be ahead of the game with a saw and three batteries vs a saw and two with one being a 9ah and the other being a 4ah.

More hand wringing!

Supe,
If you haven't watched the videos, check out the third one I posted. It compares some of the electric saws to a smaller Stihl gas powered. The Dewalt actually outperforms the Stihl. Granted it probably won't cut like that for as long but that's still pretty impressive.

without even looking at the reviews Id do the dewalt since those flexvolt batteries will be super useful for about a bajillion other things.


Electric power is ideal for high power low duty cycle things. Makes a bunch of sense for a chainsaw if you are not a professional logger I think

No question.

My son will be here next week and we will cut and split a lot of wood. He can run all day with the old Stihl Wood Boss. I am good for about an hour these days and I am back in shape for 65.

Where the electric chain saw really shines is branching, prunning and clean-up...maintenance tasks rather than making a living cutting wood. I also use it for wood fence repair. It cuts and notches oak boards like a surgeon.

I get it, trust me. I started with blowers in the barns for equipment and have not looked back.

They are the 75% solution here on the farm for certain tasks. The one area where the battery stuff just doesn't' work is weed whipping/the plastic-tined whips. The 27 year-old Stihl WW is great ergonomically and we will whip for hours at certain times of the year.

Yep. I was on the same page as Supe, very skeptical of them until we got a batt powered one for one of our fire rigs. I was an instant convert! Way surpassed my expectations. Went and ordered another one.
We have Milwaukee and a Stihl.

I picked up one of those harbor frieght Atlas's for myself. I cut up a lot of 6x6s for deck posts. It is perfect for that.


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Vinny,
Would you lay into some 8" or bigger ash with that Atlas. I'm watching some videos on it now but my primary concern is build quality and how it will do on larger stuff.

Nick,
I've only had it a couple months. Haven't got into any real heavy duty cutting yet. Mainly PT 6×6s and a few small tree branches like 4, 6in oak or pine. Build quality seems decent. Nowhere near Stihl or Husky level, but I've seen a lot worse. It's definitely w better than the corded Oregon I have.
Time will tell!

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I forgot about this thread....
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1071172-mini-cordless-chainsaw.html