Electric Chain Saw???
- Thread starter jacobconroy
- Start date
Boatbuilder79
Well-known member
Ryobi and dewalt both make chargers that will plug into a 12 voltcigarette lighter socket.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
I recently upgraded my Ryobi kit with a pair of the 6ah lithium batteries and the 12v charger.
Haven't used 'em much as yet, so don't have much to say other than after replacing the flashlight bulb with a 3w 18v LED off Amazon, then running it 4 hours non-stop, the battery was still at 4 bars. Another 4 hours took it down to 3 bars.
Charger works good. Not sure how long a full charge will take, but I'm gonna guess maybe an hour.
Haven't used 'em much as yet, so don't have much to say other than after replacing the flashlight bulb with a 3w 18v LED off Amazon, then running it 4 hours non-stop, the battery was still at 4 bars. Another 4 hours took it down to 3 bars.
Charger works good. Not sure how long a full charge will take, but I'm gonna guess maybe an hour.
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
In my experience, it certainly depends upon location and areas traveled.
Some of the country has loads of hardwood, like oaks. Others, you are lucky to see something harder than a lodge-pole pine.
Also depends upon your usage. Many people I imagine dont like the idea of an electric (anything) to cut wood are ones that gather and burn wood.
Our travels are almost exclusively limited to pines and soft deciduous trees, and we never have a campfire.
So the uses are limited to clearing fallen trees in the trail, and mitigation vehicle damage by trimming trees as needed.
I used to haul a chainsaw myself. But due to the limited usage, and type of usage, I have opted to go 100% electric.
And it isnt a chainsaw. Im a 18V Makita guy, so recently I added the subcompact brushless 18V Makita sawsall with a pruning blade to our gear set.
No gas, no bar oil, inexpensive, blades are dirt cheap, already have piles of batteries and chargers, and one other thing that I dont recall has been mentioned yet....
Its QUIET. Electric chainsaw or sawsall are essentially silent when compared to a 2-stroke gas chainsaw.
Some of the country has loads of hardwood, like oaks. Others, you are lucky to see something harder than a lodge-pole pine.
Also depends upon your usage. Many people I imagine dont like the idea of an electric (anything) to cut wood are ones that gather and burn wood.
Our travels are almost exclusively limited to pines and soft deciduous trees, and we never have a campfire.
So the uses are limited to clearing fallen trees in the trail, and mitigation vehicle damage by trimming trees as needed.
I used to haul a chainsaw myself. But due to the limited usage, and type of usage, I have opted to go 100% electric.
And it isnt a chainsaw. Im a 18V Makita guy, so recently I added the subcompact brushless 18V Makita sawsall with a pruning blade to our gear set.
Makita XRJ07ZB 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Sub-Compact Brushless Cordless Recipro Saw, Tool Only - - Amazon.com
Makita XRJ07ZB 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Sub-Compact Brushless Cordless Recipro Saw, Tool Only - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
No gas, no bar oil, inexpensive, blades are dirt cheap, already have piles of batteries and chargers, and one other thing that I dont recall has been mentioned yet....
Its QUIET. Electric chainsaw or sawsall are essentially silent when compared to a 2-stroke gas chainsaw.
MikeJones6
New member
Thanks for the recommendation.
Do battery powered chainsaws really even have that much power though?
I can't help but think that a battery powered chainsaw just won't make the cut for some of the trees I have...
Bear in NM
Adventurer
Mike,
You have to bear in mind that this is an adventure forum, not an arborist or "lumberjack" website. My Makita is now the saw I grab when going to the ranch or back country, and I am even grabbing it when doing SAR trainings, and will do so on missions moving forward. If I were thinning 20 acres, laying in two or 3 cord of wood for the winter stove or maybe cleaning up after a Hurricane, I would grab my gas Stihl as primary, and my little Makita would still be there as a spare.
As camping Equipment (this subforum), yes I think if you do your homework and pick the correct saw and bar length, they are good to go. I have run an Oregon and Stihl chain on mine, to date. These chains are one size smaller than a full size gas saw, but they still have teeth and rakers. If the saw is running, the piece of wood does not know or care what is spinning the chain. Sort of ;^)
Craig
You have to bear in mind that this is an adventure forum, not an arborist or "lumberjack" website. My Makita is now the saw I grab when going to the ranch or back country, and I am even grabbing it when doing SAR trainings, and will do so on missions moving forward. If I were thinning 20 acres, laying in two or 3 cord of wood for the winter stove or maybe cleaning up after a Hurricane, I would grab my gas Stihl as primary, and my little Makita would still be there as a spare.
As camping Equipment (this subforum), yes I think if you do your homework and pick the correct saw and bar length, they are good to go. I have run an Oregon and Stihl chain on mine, to date. These chains are one size smaller than a full size gas saw, but they still have teeth and rakers. If the saw is running, the piece of wood does not know or care what is spinning the chain. Sort of ;^)
Craig
jacobconroy
Hillbilly of Leisure
Last weekend I used my Stihl battery saw to remove a tree from the road (in order to get to one of my favorite camp sites). Gotta say that my "Testosterone Footprint" has increased dramatically.
Even though I've been storing it with the blade removed, it didn't take but a few minutes to install the blade, chain, and go to work.
For reference, yesterday I went camping with the family (old fashioned lumberjacks). Dad spent 30 minutes getting his gas-powered Stihl out, messing around with it, adding oil & gas, etc. In the end he said, "********, it's leaking gas"...and then he continued to screw around for a while.
When it finally started he proceeded to "fell" the tree. There was 10 minutes spent mid-cut while he yanked on that pull. Saw wasn't working for whatever reason. Eventually the saw started and he fell the tree.
So, real-life experience. For occasional wood work, gas saws are a ridiculously complicated waste of time and life. Period. Absolute statement.
Anyone that says otherwise if full of ******** and has a gas-powered saw.
Even though I've been storing it with the blade removed, it didn't take but a few minutes to install the blade, chain, and go to work.
For reference, yesterday I went camping with the family (old fashioned lumberjacks). Dad spent 30 minutes getting his gas-powered Stihl out, messing around with it, adding oil & gas, etc. In the end he said, "********, it's leaking gas"...and then he continued to screw around for a while.
When it finally started he proceeded to "fell" the tree. There was 10 minutes spent mid-cut while he yanked on that pull. Saw wasn't working for whatever reason. Eventually the saw started and he fell the tree.
So, real-life experience. For occasional wood work, gas saws are a ridiculously complicated waste of time and life. Period. Absolute statement.
Anyone that says otherwise if full of ******** and has a gas-powered saw.
Yes they do. Maybe those 18-24v ones don't. But my 58 volt Echo definitely will cut with anything with the same size bar. And do it quietly and reliably.
rayra
Expedition Leader
Anyone that says otherwise if full of ******** and has a gas-powered saw.
I say otherwise and I've got both a crappy gas saw (Homelite / Poulon) and an electric pole saw. In fact I just used that electric chainsaw off the 1000W inverter in my Suburban for 3hrs of pruning the large tree in our front yard. Worked great. The saw was rated at 8Amps, so just under the rated capacity of the inverter. Worked without a hiccup. Aux voltage was at 13.0 at the start, finished at 12.4. I'd just this past Friday dismounted my vehicle rooftop solar panel and was half tempted to set it up in the sunny front corner of the lawn and plug it in while we worked, but I wanted to see just how much the battery would be drawn down, how much work I could get done. If I were heading above the tree line I'd take this saw and the ridiculous 100' extension cord I just used with it. Even a 50' ought to be good enough.
dwatsonkc
Stilwell, KS
I have 3 Stihl gas chain saws. A big fan of them. Have 30+ trees on my property so always needing to trim here and there. On a whim I bought the Stihl electric chain saw and hedge trimmer.
First job I tried was cutting an entire tree down with the electric to see how it did. 8” trunk, oak, 25’ high. Cut up as firewood. Only used about 25% of the battery. Was very impressed. I haven’t even started my gas saws this summer except the long pole one.
It so nice on the occasional trim to just pull the trigger..... easy.
Also, love it on camping trips. So Quite. If you have neighbors camping they don’t even know your cutting wood.
I will never take the gas one camping again.
First job I tried was cutting an entire tree down with the electric to see how it did. 8” trunk, oak, 25’ high. Cut up as firewood. Only used about 25% of the battery. Was very impressed. I haven’t even started my gas saws this summer except the long pole one.
It so nice on the occasional trim to just pull the trigger..... easy.
Also, love it on camping trips. So Quite. If you have neighbors camping they don’t even know your cutting wood.
I will never take the gas one camping again.
mobydick 11
Active member
Hi all, so i clicked on the greenworks box. not sure but maybe the same safety rules apply to an electric chainsaw . if you are ever certified to use a chainsaw in the work place ,one of the main rules is you never cut over your head . if the saw kicks back it is coming right back on you. all a chain saw has to do is touch you and you have serious damage . one of the fun things i learned on 110v saw was the safety brake also cuts the power supply . after 10 minuets of trying to figure why the cords were not working ,i clicked the brake and it worked . dumb mistakes is how i learn ,but sometimes it hurts .
Bear in NM
Adventurer
Certainly all of the actual cutting safety rules should apply. They are real saws, real chains and real power. The physics of the bar and wood and skin and bone are the same.
But, you may want to review additional "rules" for yourself, that give you a comfort level. On my Makita, I do not power off the main switch when setting it down, between cuts. I have become religious about the chain brake being forward at all times when not cutting. Any time the saw is assembled and not cutting, the brakes stays on. I certainly do not do this with my gas saws, as if the engine is not running, there is no need to have the brake on. Finish a cut, as soon as the cut is done, before moving a foot to a new position, brake goes on.
The other thing that I do, and have made a rule for myself is that I do not touch the bar or adjustment wheel or bar nut unless the batteries are out. And as is obvious, when assembling the saw the batteries do not go in until I am ready to cut.
Just as a firearm will not magically go off while sitting on a table, the saw is not going to suddenly power up and start spinning. But as we have a list of rules when handling firearms that allow for any single rule to be broken with no injury, not a bad idea to have at least a couple of safeties in place to have a little redundancy.
Craig
But, you may want to review additional "rules" for yourself, that give you a comfort level. On my Makita, I do not power off the main switch when setting it down, between cuts. I have become religious about the chain brake being forward at all times when not cutting. Any time the saw is assembled and not cutting, the brakes stays on. I certainly do not do this with my gas saws, as if the engine is not running, there is no need to have the brake on. Finish a cut, as soon as the cut is done, before moving a foot to a new position, brake goes on.
The other thing that I do, and have made a rule for myself is that I do not touch the bar or adjustment wheel or bar nut unless the batteries are out. And as is obvious, when assembling the saw the batteries do not go in until I am ready to cut.
Just as a firearm will not magically go off while sitting on a table, the saw is not going to suddenly power up and start spinning. But as we have a list of rules when handling firearms that allow for any single rule to be broken with no injury, not a bad idea to have at least a couple of safeties in place to have a little redundancy.
Craig
This one?
Greenworks battery powered model
This Electric Chainsaw Is My Must-Carry Trail Maintenance Tool
You might not think you need this electric chainsaw, but you’re wrong. Stash the Greenworks GS 110 in your pack, and you’ll clear trail with lightning speed.gearjunkie.com
107 cuts on one charge
No.
Mine is made by Echo and has 50% more voltage than that saw as well as a 16" bar rather than the tiny 10" bar on that Greenworks.
https://www.echocordless.com/products/chain-saw/
That review says that an 8" tree overpowered the Greenworks saw. That means it's a toy in my book. The Echo is rated at 112 cuts on 6" logs. An 8" tree is no problem.
BritKLR
Kapitis Indagatoris
Any interest in seeing some DeWalt cordless saws at OE East? We carry their mechanics tools and I have access to all their cordless products and demo tools, so if there's enough interest in cordless chainsaws I can bring a couple out to OE East 19 for people to test. LMK. cheers.
AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Yeah, I “saw” this little cutter as more of a “get some firewood saw” to use for slicing up smaller branches. I don’t go for a campfire with huge chunks of wood in it. I prefer sitting nearby, feeding a smaller fire with 2” to 4” thick branches....they usually burn cleaner, faster and hotter and produce less smoke, while also making a fire that’s much easier to put completely out (smaller, fewer coals) when it’s time to turn in.
So this saw would only be a firewood saw for someone with not a lot of gear storage room looking, but it’d be worthless if your trail was locked by a fallen tree.