Black+Decker LCS1020 cordless chainsaw

y_p_w

y_p_w

Joined
May 6, 2005
Messages
12,027
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
My dad ordered one of these to cut up a tree that was felled in his yard. He paid someone to cut it down but he wanted too much to haul it away. They have a regular green waste pickup (just one can a week though unlike my area with unlimited) and will just load it slowly until it's gone. He asked for help with ordering and then using it. I downloaded the owners manual and found that they recommend bar oil but say that SAE 30 is OK in a pinch. He went out to O'Reillys and bought their house brand SAE 30. The oil tank has a hole in the primer button, and the instructions are to pump three times before starting.
LCS1020_1.jpg


However, it's been a little bit interesting and he suffered a fall where doctor's orders are to not work in the yard, so I've been conscripted into doing this for him. After his injury I put it aside for them but when I got back to it I noticed oil on the bottom that doesn't seem right. It was sitting horizontally for a couple of weeks.

I never really like using chainsaws, but I tried it out and figured that a 10 inch electric chainsaw is pretty easy to use as long as my grip is good.

Any tips on using these? I don't know how long the battery is going to last, but it says about 5 hours to charge the battery that came with it. There are extra batteries, but they've got so many different sizes and I think different voltages too. I'm thinking that it might be worth it to get another battery.
 
Even a small tree will take forever to get rid of weekly can by can. I'd return the chainsaw and pay to have Dad's tree removed.

I know this from experience, in a moment of extreme cheapskatedness I attempted the same. One small branch and I quickly saw there was no way to get rid of the tree without it taking forever.
 
y_p_w said:
My dad ordered one of these to cut up a tree that was felled in his yard. He paid someone to cut it down but he wanted too much to haul it away. They have a regular green waste pickup (just one can a week though unlike my area with unlimited) and will just load it slowly until it's gone. He asked for help with ordering and then using it. I downloaded the owners manual and found that they recommend bar oil but say that SAE 30 is OK in a pinch. He went out to O'Reillys and bought their house brand SAE 30. The oil tank has a hole in the primer button, and the instructions are to pump three times before starting.
LCS1020_1.jpg


However, it's been a little bit interesting and he suffered a fall where doctor's orders are to not work in the yard, so I've been conscripted into doing this for him. After his injury I put it aside for them but when I got back to it I noticed oil on the bottom that doesn't seem right. It was sitting horizontally for a couple of weeks.

I never really like using chainsaws, but I tried it out and figured that a 10 inch electric chainsaw is pretty easy to use as long as my grip is good.

Any tips on using these? I don't know how long the battery is going to last, but it says about 5 hours to charge the battery that came with it. There are extra batteries, but they've got so many different sizes and I think different voltages too. I'm thinking that it might be worth it to get another battery.
Click to expand...
I have a Ryobi 10 Battery chain saw and it will leak oil out of the bottom of the saw from just sitting unused. My 16" Husqvarna gas saw does the same. The 10" battery saw is more of a pruning saw, it's not meant for serious cutting.
 
dishdude said:
Even a small tree will take forever to get rid of weekly can by can. I'd return the chainsaw and pay to have Dad's tree removed.

I know this from experience, in a moment of extreme cheapskatedness I attempted the same. One small branch and I quickly saw there was no way to get rid of the tree without it taking forever.
Click to expand...

I don't know if Amazon is going to take it back after it's been used, leaked oil, and had the battery dropped (my fault). It still works but it's at the point where I doubt that it can be returned.

They're simply not going to pay for it to be completely hauled away. I guess worst case is that I find how to dispose of this stuff. I remember years ago my parents had a large palm tree trimmed where we used to live and they arranged to have the garbage hauler take a large quantity. I looked it up and they can arrange for extra yard waste pickup with their refuse provider, but it has to be in paper bags. Not sure what the cost would be, but it's not unlimited like for me. I've seen some homes had about two dozen of those paper lawn waste bags lined up for green waste pickup day. All they get is a single 64 gallon plastic rolling toter that has to be able to close shut.
 
I assume nobody in your area would want the wood if you advertised it for free? Perhaps you can get someone from Craigslist to haul it away cheaper than the arborist would.
 
Personally, I'd cut up the tree, stack the wood so it can dry for a year or more, buy a fire pit, and enjoy a few evenings sitting around the fire.

Back to your original questions, it takes B&D 20V max batteries. The 2.0 Ah models are around $50 on sale; I would buy several of them. The saw will do fine for 5-6" diam trees but bigger ones require a bigger saw. And if you aren't comfortable using the saw, definitely get instructions/safety info before starting. And a good set of safety glasses.
 
My 75 or 80 year old neighbor thought he was going to save some money by hauling saw dust and branches from some trees and stumps that he had removed. He was taking them out to the county landfill/compost site little by little in the hatchback of his small car. He never came home and they found him dead of a presumed heart attack at the compost site. Maybe would have went anyway, but it seemed silly to save a little money.
 
I’ve got a little ryobi 9” rechargeable. It’s good up to 5 slow inches, and really only as the chain is kept sharp. It’s lightweight and I don’t fear chain-related accidents with it. BUT, it’s limited in what it can do, and the battery is only good for 3-4 cuts in a 7“ log tops.

I’ve used the heck out of it and it’s starting to wear. Will probably pick up the heavier 40v saw at some point. The 18v is just super limited in what it can do.
 
I have a B&D saw very similar to yours. It does way more than I expected. I have a Husq and Poulan and Stihl saws also but I usually just pickup the battery saw. No trying to get it to start and it doesn't stay running when you set it down. I bought a 5.0 A battery for it. Just keeps cutting on that. I alway slip my saw in a Wal-Mart bag or two. Then when it leaks I throw out the bag. Chain tension is very easy to set on that saw. I heated our home for 7 years with wood so I know a good chain saw. You just can't beat a Husqvarna or a Stihl for that kind of work.
 
I’ve come over to work on it, and it ran out after about 20 minutes of work. It cuts just fine but after being drained it might work for a couple of seconds before it cuts out under load. Without a load it runs indefinitely, but of course that’s not terribly useful.

It’s decent for what it is, but it would be nice if there was a plug-in AC adapter for the battery slot. I’ve heard of those for some cameras.
 
If you like it, a larger or second battery can add a lot of utility. mine lived in the bed box for a quite awhile clearing deadwood at camp sites. It was quiet, bothered nobody, and was super helpful in that setting.
 
meep said:
If you like it, a larger or second battery can add a lot of utility. mine lived in the bed box for a quite awhile clearing deadwood at camp sites. It was quiet, bothered nobody, and was super helpful in that setting.
Click to expand...

I looked into it. It seems almost like how printers are sold where the device is pretty cheap, but the toner or ink costs so much. The 40 Wh battery is $65 on Amazon.
 
y_p_w said:
I looked into it. It seems almost like how printers are sold where the device is pretty cheap, but the toner or ink costs so much. The 40 Wh battery is $65 on Amazon.
Click to expand...
Sounds about right. When on sale you might find them around $50ish but

Regardless, NEVER cut corners and buy a generic battery (or a branded battery from a questionable seller) for cordless tools. When I tried this approach for my old Dewalt 18V, the new knock-offs were no more powerful than my nearly-dead branded batteries.
 
Have you considered calling one of those tree places that grind up tree limbs into chips? Not sure if it was mentioned
 
RyanY said:
Sounds about right. When on sale you might find them around $50ish but

Regardless, NEVER cut corners and buy a generic battery (or a branded battery from a questionable seller) for cordless tools. When I tried this approach for my old Dewalt 18V, the new knock-offs were no more powerful than my nearly-dead branded batteries.
Click to expand...


They seem to be out of the 20 Wh version and it's sold by some marketplace seller.

I headed back today and just cranked out what I could. This time I was using bang-bang on some larger logs and it was tapped out in about 15 minutes. I'm kind of wondering why my dad didn't just get a corded chainsaw for about $65. This area is 20-30 from the house and there's already a heavy duty cord being used for something else.

But the key here is that my parents are stubborn. They can't return this and want me to make use of the chainsaw. They're not going to get a new battery or a new chainsaw. And they're not going to pay any more to have the green waste hauled away other than through their weekly allowance.
 
y_p_w said:
But the key here is that my parents are stubborn. They can't return this and want me to make use of the chainsaw. They're not going to get a new battery or a new chainsaw. And they're not going to pay any more to have the green waste hauled away other than through their weekly allowance.
Click to expand...
I don't know how old you or your parents are. But if you are an adult living not under their roof, its honesty time. Tell them it's a crappy saw , only good for twigs and you are not wasting time using it. They need a tree service or you can rent a decent quality gas saw and have it done in an hour or so.
 
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