Cordless electric chainsaw

Joel_BC

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I had to do some tree trunk and limb cutting when I was at the end of some sort of food poisoning or stomach flu… in any case, I was very weak. My usual chainsaw (a Stihl with an 18” bar), which isn’t really all that big, weighs a bit over 16 lb with oil & fuel in it. Holding and carrying it, along with lifting logs, was quickly wearing me out. So I borrowed my neighbor’s Husqvarna 120i for cutting logs on the ground. Wow, was using that a relief! I could actually work long enough to get something done.

So I went and bought one when it was “on sale”. (I may be late in the game of owning a cordless, so there's no obligation for you to read my post here.) This one weighs about 7 1/2 lb with a full chain-oil chamber, has a 37-volt Lithium battery, a brushless motor, and 14” bar. I find it to be well balanced. The saw is made so the chain can be tensioned by hand without any tool, and the chain cuts efficiently as long as it’s sharpened. Seems to generally give about 45 minutes of service on a charge.
husqvarna-120i.jpg

Apart from any specific brand & model, I like recent cordless electrics in general, for some obvious reasons: most are lighter in weight and more compact. They’re low noise (as compared with any 2-cycle gas saw) and smokeless. It’s also much safer to take one up a ladder, say for pruning, because the chain doesn’t move if you don’t pull the trigger with the power switch on. Neither do you need to pull a start cord, which can be an awkward and even dangerous move on a ladder.

My little saw doesn’t replace my workhorse gas-driven saw for hard work. But with firewood trees, it’s very handy to use for cutting branches, or even for cutting dense softwood logs up to, say, 6” diameter. The key there is the narrow-kerf cutting chain. The saw is also good for odd tasks like rough-cutting 2x6, 4x4 etc.
 
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sumi

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Thank you for sharing this! I'm looking to buy a chainsaw sooner rather than later and this sounds like what I'm looking for. I'm not very strong physically and I am rather accident prone (actually make that VERY), so this sounds like it can work for me.
 

milkmansdaughter

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I like this a lot too. I often have pecan limbs fall and then have to wait for someone to cut them up with the big chainsaw. And yet, I probably never would have considered a cordless electric chainsaw as an option. I'll be watching for one of these now.
 

Mini Horses

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As I had posted on another link, my daughter has one and it's really a little workhorse. Lightweight and great for the "smaller" jobs. She uses hers a lot.

hers is a Works.
 

sumi

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I really like the battery powered ones and what I heard about them, but the cheapest one I've seen so far cost €250 (similar to the one you posted the pic of, @Joel_BC) then going up to well over €500 for the bigger and better ones. I saw a petrol powered chainsaw in a garden centre a few months ago for just over €100… In the long run, with the cost of petrol and chainsaw oil, I'm wondering which would be best cost wise.

The one we used to cut the shed tree down and cut up a few sticks guzzled fuel and the oil was not cheap, I think we paid around €16 for a gallon of oil and used half of it. My electricity bill for running everything in the house averages to around €42 per month, so charging the battery would be a minimal cost…

Personal preference is absolutely with the battery powered one. It's quiet, lightweight, no emissions (I hate that). Right now, I'm leaning heavily towards the battery powered one. In the long run I think it will work out cheaper for me.
 

Joel_BC

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I really like the battery powered ones and what I heard about them, but the cheapest one I've seen so far cost €250 (similar to the one you posted the pic of, @Joel_BC) then going up to well over €500 for the bigger and better ones.
"Bigger" yes. There are some less compact & heavier cordless electric saws... more power, true. "Better" is maybe always a combination of things. Tends to boil down to what suits you & your needs.

Husqvarna is a good brand. BC, Canada, where I live has had a very major forest-products industry for about a century, and it seems the majority of professional loggers prefer Husqvarna chainsaws. I found that as a very handy secondary tool (for my needs), the model I bought and pictured is excellent. Translated into Euroes, I paid €263. for it. But I shy away from being a promoter of any brand.

In the long run, with the cost of petrol and chainsaw oil, I'm wondering which would be best cost wise.
This is hard for me to answer. The cordless I now have would not be a good "primary & sole" tool for me. There's too much in the way of trees and logs in my life for me to try always to use something as compact as my cordless all the time, something that needs a battery recharge every 45 minutes. A good 'petrol' powered machine can cut through large-diameter, dense logs and be run for hours on end with a simple refill of fuel every so often.

All chainsaws consume chain oil. The petrol-powered ones need, as well, a different kind of oil mixed into the fuel.

Probably the best option for you, to make a decision, would be to talk with some local people in your home area who have experience with various chainsaws. Mention what sorts of things you need to do with a saw. :)
 
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