School me on cordless chainsaws

[andyd]

My 45 yr old Stihl 041 Farmboss is getting old and lazy. It basically works for 5-10 minutes and takes a rest. I tried my brother's cordless saw and it is pretty neat. Can I find a 16" bar e-saw that will run 45 minutes- hr on 2 batteries for ~ $ 200 - ? Also what the heck did I miss on Drews thread?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

The real story they are as useful as electric forks!

 

[UncleDave]

My 45 yr old Stihl 041 Farmboss is getting old and lazy. It basically works for 5-10 minutes and takes a rest. I tried my brother's cordless saw and it is pretty neat. Can I find a 16" bar e-saw that will run 45 minutes- hr on 2 batteries for ~ $ 200 - ? Also what the heck did I miss on Drews thread?

A new carb and a set of rings goes a long way in an old saw.

No. The electrics won't cut that long, but are pretty awesome no less Ive got the makita 36V.
I grab it before my Stihl 250 for everything but felling.


Might want to wait and see what the makita 180V will be like.

 

[Stinger63]

The real story they are as useful as electric forks!

I love mine
It makes eating spaghetti so much easier

 

[E365]

 

[wwillson]

I have a Makita, which was the largest model they had when I bought it six years ago. I'll also add that I have a lot of time time running various gas chainsaws. The Makita electric is one heck of a chainsaw. Keep it sharp and it will run neck and neck with the same bar size gas chainsaw. The only drawback I've found is it's pretty hard to find a 120v outlet in the woods. My use is around the house and for my purposes, I wouldn't own a gas saw anymore.

 

[Sonic]

I too have been thinking about getting an electric chainsaw. I have two gas saws, a Stihl with a 16” bar and a Poulan with an 18”. The Stihl runs well and strong. Poulan is decent enough for what it cost. But for smaller jobs around the yard an electric saw would be welcome. No gas, no smelling like exhaust. I’d actually prefer a saw I can plug in. I have plenty of extension cords. I’ve cut down some trees on my property over the last few years and may do more. Wouldn’t get rid of the gas saws. But a handy dandy electric saw may be a nice addition.

 

[FZ1]

My 45 yr old Stihl 041 Farmboss is getting old and lazy. It basically works for 5-10 minutes and takes a rest. I tried my brother's cordless saw and it is pretty neat. Can I find a 16" bar e-saw that will run 45 minutes- hr on 2 batteries for ~ $ 200 - ? Also what the heck did I miss on Drews thread?

Main issue for tools for me is I want the lightest weight and easiest to use tool. Corded electrics seem cheap light and easy. Make sure you get an orange cord. Lol

 

[samven]

If you need a chainsaw for small jobs but need to use it many times a year a cordless electric would be great. It saves time just picking it up and going with no mixing gas/oil and time on the back end draining. They are also great when you are climbing around in a down tree crown trying to limb it out so you can haul it away. I feel much better climbing over branches and stuff with the saw off and you dont have to be careful how you lay it down. The corded ones are a bit of a pain because something is always falling or laying on top the cord. The down side is if you only need the saw in the spring and maybe in the fall and you loose a battery to age after 4 or 5 years you may end up paying more for a battery than you paid for the saw and only used it 15 or 20 times. If its part of a system though where you have other tools using the same battery its a no brainer

 

[double vanos]

I had a cheap electric chain saw and loved it! It got lost somehow in a number of moves and nowadays I use my M18 Milwaukee sawzall with pruning blades. I also have an m18 hackzall for one handed jobs (like branches). True, a sawzall / hackzall is limited as to what it can do but I’ve taken down a lot of small trees and bushes with the two of them. Plus you can run a pruning blade in dirt for roots and cutting small stumps below ground level.
If I ever do wind up needing another chainsaw it’ll be battery powered, like this: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Safety-Solutions/Emissions/2727-21HD.
I have 3 m18-5 and 1 m18-6 for powering my stuff and as far as running time goes I wear out before they do….

 

[atikovi]

Unless the reason you want cordless is you're too far from from an outlet, I'd go for electric. Battery life will diminish after a few years making it nearly useless.

 

[UncleDave]

I have a Makita, which was the largest model they had when I bought it six years ago. I'll also add that I have a lot of time time running various gas chainsaws. The Makita electric is one heck of a chainsaw. Keep it sharp and it will run neck and neck with the same bar size gas chainsaw. The only drawback I've found is it's pretty hard to find a 120v outlet in the woods. My use is around the house and for my purposes, I wouldn't own a gas saw anymore.

Same here, although I've got an acre and half with about 1/4 overgrown woods I've been thinning and I'll grab the Mak every time.

I watched the contractors across the road from me run 3 dual battery chargers off a honda 2K, and they ran a ton of stuff all day long radial arms saws, drills, drivers, numerous circulars, a finish nail gun, all off batteries and a little 2K.

When I was a kid you had to be running a 7K to run all that stuff and it was amazing how quiet it would be at the end the day when you finally killed that off.

The one thing project farm doenst test is what happens after a year or more hard use.

All my dewalt stuff stopped after a patio and a shed... worn out.
Went back to Makita. Maybe the new Dewaltstuff is better?

 

[RazorsEdge]

I've got a 20v Worx chainsaw for doing small jobs around the yard.