Do gas chainsaws make any sense for a homeowner?

[demarpaint]

When we used a wood stove as the major source of heat to heat the house a gas chainsaw IMO is the only way to go. Especially when I went to state parks to gather wood. To cut the occasional fallen tree limb etc, a battery or plug in electric chainsaw is fine.

 

[billt460]

There is always this.

 

[nthach]

IMO, for the suburban homeowner, no. Maybe if you lived on a rural plot of land where felling/pruning trees for fire mitigation is a fact of life. Even battery powered is overkill. We have an Ego for a project but it’s going to waste.

Renting makes sense for the average homeowner.

 

[wavinwayne]

After using my old heavy Craftsman 42cc gas saw this past weekend, I'm soooooo ready to swear it off in favor of a lighter, battery powered saw. Currently looking for good deals on a Makita saw.

 

[FlyingTexan]

I’ve had about a half dozen different gas chainsaws and after getting my imported Hikoki 36v in I’ll never mess with that junk again. IMHO no reason to go with gas for general use. My hikoki murders my Echo. If you only use a couple times a year it’s just too much to mess with. Invest in better chains and learn how to be effective with it. Plus I can toss my hikoki into the back of the suv and not worry about fuel smell or spills

 

[UncleDave]

I have both. A Stihl and a Makita 2X18 saw.

I keep at min a full gallon of non ethanol premix ready to go.
The battery saw has 5-6 full sets of standby batts charged and ready to go at all time.

I grab the battery saw 80% of the time.
The wife that does a substantial amount of trimming and pruning and uses the batt saw 100% of the time.

If I had to pick one - it'd be the battery saw.

 

[Ponchinizo]

I have a small dewalt battery saw for home (several large trees on my property) but for my winter woods work I am reaching for the stihl ms180 almost every time. The farm boss for the big stuff but there's maybe a days work of big stuff getting trails opened.

If you have woods work or heat with wood, gas saw all the way. If it's just sizing down fallen branches and other light clean up, battery. If I lived in a suburban neighborhood I wouldn't even bother buying a saw, just rent or borrow on the off chance I'd need one for a few hours.

 

[97prizm]

I have the Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw, and my neighbor has an Echo gas chainsaw. Both have 16 inch blades, and both get a similar number of cuts out of a tank of gas or charge. The M18 saw with my upgraded bar and chain is equally, if not slightly more effective.

One of my M18 FORGE 12.0 batteries cost $0.02c to charge up on grid power, or $0.006c to charge up if the sun is shining and I fill it on solar, or, $0.0000 if I were to charge it up via a solar panel connected to one of my Ecoflow batteries

He is buying the pre-mixed fuel from Home Depot, so a tank costs him a whopping $1.30. If he mixed his own gas, it would cost about $0.40

Gas needs to be purchased, and is hard to find in a hurricane. Electric on the other hand can be made for free via the sun, or via natural gas, etc

What am I missing here? Why do people keep telling me that battery saws are stupid?

Depends on the acreage and homeowners.

 

[billt460]

Electric equals light duty quick jobs.

Gas equals heavy cutting for long periods.

 

[97prizm]

Electric equals light duty quick jobs.

Gas equals heavy cutting for long periods.

Get a Stihl. Chicanic approves

 

[FlyingTexan]

I have the Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw, and my neighbor has an Echo gas chainsaw. Both have 16 inch blades, and both get a similar number of cuts out of a tank of gas or charge. The M18 saw with my upgraded bar and chain is equally, if not slightly more effective.

One of my M18 FORGE 12.0 batteries cost $0.02c to charge up on grid power, or $0.006c to charge up if the sun is shining and I fill it on solar, or, $0.0000 if I were to charge it up via a solar panel connected to one of my Ecoflow batteries

He is buying the pre-mixed fuel from Home Depot, so a tank costs him a whopping $1.30. If he mixed his own gas, it would cost about $0.40

Gas needs to be purchased, and is hard to find in a hurricane. Electric on the other hand can be made for free via the sun, or via natural gas, etc

What am I missing here? Why do people keep telling me that battery saws are stupid?

my hikoki 36v i ordered off ebay to use with my metabo batteries absolutey smokes my STIHL chainsaw. i can toss the electic in the back with no fear of gas spills.

 

[LeeA]

I picked up a Milwaukee M18 Hatchet and Pole saw over the holidays. Fantastic. They are all I need to take care of my few trees and shrubbery. I don't have dozens of trees so this is all I really need. I wouldn't have to pay a company to do minor trimming. So, yes some homeowners can use electric saws over gas models.

 

[wavinwayne]

Since making my last post in this thread, I have purchased a new Makita 40V battery saw and an Echo 41.6cc gas saw, both with 18" bars. If I'm cutting limbs 6" and under, the battery saw will cut until I'm worn out. If I need to make more than a few cuts in ≥12" diameter logs, the gas saw gets to eat. Anything ≥12" in diameter will drain the Makita's battery pretty quick. Also, I thought a battery saw would be lighter than a gas saw, but not in my case. The Makita is 2.5 pounds heavier than the gas saw, and that's without the battery.

 

[Selmorides]

Not anymore. I had an electric 25-30 years ago, I’m guessing, plug-in electric. If I were buying one today I would buy electric, battery powered. Still love my Echo gas.

 

[martinq]

As someone who has used, serviced and sold gas, corded and battery saws my experience tells me most people should not have a gas saw, go battery or rent. By most people, I'm not talking about commercial applications like farm operations or those that sell or heat with wood.

If you know how to use and maintain 2-stroke equipment then take your pick. Personally, I would not use a (quality) gas saw where a battery one would easily do the job. I've had plenty of experience with Stihl equipment, and appreciate both sides, but my time and health is better served by battery tools where possible.

Noise, vibration, heat, efficiency are just some of the reasons. Once you actually USE a quality battery saw it's hard to go back. Oh, and just about any cheap saw can be upgraded with quality chain.

 

[Jmoney7269]

I have the Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw, and my neighbor has an Echo gas chainsaw. Both have 16 inch blades, and both get a similar number of cuts out of a tank of gas or charge. The M18 saw with my upgraded bar and chain is equally, if not slightly more effective.

One of my M18 FORGE 12.0 batteries cost $0.02c to charge up on grid power, or $0.006c to charge up if the sun is shining and I fill it on solar, or, $0.0000 if I were to charge it up via a solar panel connected to one of my Ecoflow batteries

He is buying the pre-mixed fuel from Home Depot, so a tank costs him a whopping $1.30. If he mixed his own gas, it would cost about $0.40

Gas needs to be purchased, and is hard to find in a hurricane. Electric on the other hand can be made for free via the sun, or via natural gas, etc

What am I missing here? Why do people keep telling me that battery saws are stupid?

Absolutely! Just keep the vp40:1 small engine fuel in them. Ive had zero issues with my saws. All over a decade old. Electric is for someone that occasionally trims limbs.

 

[JHZR2]

Battery saws only make sense if there is very light use and you’re bought into the battery system.

I did a LOT of cleanup with a battery after cat5 version of Irma and Maria really damaged the Virgin Islands. My family was already running Ryobi tools so we got it. It worked well. But we had to stop, a lot, due to battery charge backlogs.

I bought a Stihl gas saw around 2006. Still
Starts and runs perfectly. Given sporadic use I run the Stihl 2-mix. Never an issue.

A battery from 2006 would be long gone.