I have a Milwaukee M18 chain saw. No complaints.
I had 3 gas saws sitting in my garage, none of them were reliable because they were hardly used.
I must add, I HATE 2 cycle engines.
The Milwaukee has handled every thing I have tried to cut with it. For occasional use its great.
Nice to see a use for it and know all I have to do is slap a battery in it and get the job over with.
I have many Milwaukee M18 tools and batteries.

I have 2 Stihls, a farm boss and a 250. I like them both, when they're tuned and maintained. I bought an 18" Ego not long ago; when our last freeze broke so many limbs I put it to work. I don't think the wood pile would look any different had I used a gas saw. Not gonna get rid of my Stihls any time soon, but this battery saw did just fine.

quote:

why broken / leaning / hung / dead trees are so dangerous and how to handle them.

They can move in strange ways when being cut. One side can snap up as the other side wants to head your direction. Things rarely happen the way you think they should.

You need to look learn and watch everything going on.

quote:

Originally posted by MRBTX:
Not gonna get rid of my Stihls any time soon, but this battery saw did just fine.

This is a good example and am using it since I don't have any pics like this of what my battery saw has done. Just ask yourself "in what emergency would you be *needing* to cut much more than this?" Maybe one large tree? A battery saw will cut through a few sections of a large oak to allow you to move it out of the way as well. Watch some Youtube videos of what a good battery saw can cut and I'd be surprised if you feel one won't do everything you need.

I had the top of a good size tree come down in my yard during a gale.

Another time I had a huge limb fall almost in the same spot.

I called a bunch of tree companies, more like all the ones I could find.

There were so many trees down in the area they said weeks before anyone would come out.

I bought one of the Ego saws and filled up a pickup with the wood and branches.

I would not try to take down a standing tree with it but cutting up stuff already down I can handle.

I had the stuff cut up in about a day.

Sounds good to me
But
Chaps ,muffs gloves ,boots are essentials
Plus
Another chain ,chain oil chain sharpening tools.
https://www.eblofficial.com/pr...riant=39857902485586

Aux . Pwr. Unit

A shroud for the bar or better yet a case.

I wouldn't call it a money pit
But it ain't going to be cheap.
Plus

Chain saw use is not a two hour course on a Saturday afternoon.
You gotta know stuff.

The thing with chainsawing is you have to ease into it, carefully. If you get one, gas or electric, read, watch, then practice with it. You don’t want to get it out after a storm & try to start cutting.

One bad accident & none of it was worth it.

This doesn’t mean you can’t get schooled up. Maybe shadow that relative out cutting firewood.

I also keep gas tools, and store fuel. I store fuel in Wavian cans. Think NATO Jerry cans. They seal well and keep gas fresh for a very long time. Mix gas-oil as needed for 2 stroke, and run dry. I will mix up a cup of fuel for a chain saw job if that's all I need.

Edit to add: All of the safety advice here is spot on. Use it.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks guys. I'm waffling a lot here because I really don't know anything about these things. Honestly, (giving up my man card), I'm a little apprehensive using circular saws. Table, reciprocating, jigsaw and miter saws are okay though. For some reason, circular saws and chain saws seemed more dangerous to me (perhaps I've heard more horror stories in my youth with those saws than the other types).

Since I'm not limiting to limbs (who knows what the emergency will be), perhaps gas powered is the way to go. Battery may be all I really need but gas sounds more universal. And if I buy something now, gas may be the way to go; I can always buy a battery one but this may be my last change to buy gas powered in this stupid area.

I don't know anybody with a chain saw. I'll need to find videos on how to use them. And what to look for in these chaps things. And why broken / leaning / hung / dead trees are so dangerous and how to handle them.

Lots to learn I guess.

Using a chainsaw is a concern, a respectable concern just like the circular saw if not more so. If I may recommend, try to find someone or even ask a chainsaw store to give you lessons, you will be glad you did. I have used chainsaws for 50 years, both small and large jobs, and am still learning every time.

Am curious, are you in an area where having a chainsaw in an oh crap situation will be necessary ?

My go to saw is a Husqvarna 455 king rancher with a 20" bar. It is a beast that will work harder then I can.
If I was to get a "truck saw" i would get a battery powered saw with the longest bar available. I can charge the battery off the truck if needed and not having to manage fuel makes it a no brainer. It will only be used to clear a path, not to lay up firewood for the winter.

Did you just move or something? Otherwise, if you haven't needed a chainsaw in your life before, you probably don't need one now, and won't need one in the future. It's not a tool you just have around just in case. Learning to use one safely takes time. Even then, there's a difference between cutting logs for firewood and cutting trees down or clearing stuff in an emergency.

Three quick stories. First, a buddy in high school showed up one day with stitches across his nose and forehead. Second, my across the street neighbor took a tree down in his back yard which took out the power lines to his house and 12 others. Third, they found one of my dad's cousins on his property in Michigan dead because a tree he was taking down didn't fgo the way he planned. The first two were clueless and the third was probably under the influence of alcohol.

I've had the Ego for a couple of years now for trimming around the property. I'm quite pleased with it.

See my post script, tag line.

Thanks for the additional inputs.

Ridewv - that pile looks like a bunch of oak and most likely what I would encounter other than perhaps some kind of juniper / pine. I think that may be about the same thickness I'd encounter (30-40 year old); much thicker is probably going to be too heavy for me to manage anyway. So, looks like Ego would be sufficient.

It may be overkill but if these things are $200-300, maybe I can get both a gas and Ego. Get the gas first since that has an expiration date (1.5 years until they are banned?); just keep it NIB. Then get an Ego - that may be the first one to use if needed. Gas will be the backup.

I've never thought about the need for chainsaw until recently. Over the past few months, a number of trees (young-ish and older oaks and pine) nearby have fallen. Local parks and nearby residences. Trees that are 20-60 feet tall. Even today, I heard chain saws running. There were a couple that blocked roads. I've never needed one personally, but seems like chain saw is not a bad thing to have. Or at least an axe. Not planning to cut down a tree; emergency use would be just to clear a path and even then, only in an emergency (vs waiting for someone else to clear it).

I'll look into safety equipment and also learning how to use one safely. I wonder if the fire department could give a crash course to start.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
No, not the buttless chaps, the type used for chain-saw safety.

Just pointing out that All chaps are buttless…

To the OP

If you never plan to use regularly but want just in case, pick up a craftsman or similar from big box store for cheap. Keep a bottle of bar oil and can of fuel handy. Break glass in case of emergency

Not many pawn shops in the Bay Area but they are everywhere here in the FL panhandle. I picked up a stihl with an 18” bar cheap. Took it to my local stihl dealer who also services my riding mower and where I bought my stihl weedwacker serviced it and put a new chain on it for not much. I’m about 1/2 into a new one and this one runs like a top. Runs same fuel as my weedwacker that I’m already carrying. My worst case scenario is after a hurricane I need to jump on a truck with my next door neighbor who’s an arborist and help him clear the road out of our neighborhood and other neighbors’ down trees.

Were I in the same boat, I'd go electric.

1) Lithium batteries are low self discharge. These are not the NiMH batteries of yore. They'll retain 80% capacity for the better part of a year if left untouched. Even a neglected battery will have some useful charge in it should you need it--whereas a neglected small gas engine simply might not work at all.

2) If you have a car, you have electricity and you can find any number of ways to charge a spent battery. In fact, in an emergency, I bet you'd be able to find a spare M18 battery that nobody is using easier than a container of good fuel nobody needs.

3) Fumes, combustion hazard, and noise advantage go to the electric saw.

4) An m18 angle grinder could also be useful for cutting padlocks and the like....just saying.

If you go with a gas saw, fill it with tru-fuel or a similar non-ethanol fuel, it will save the gaskets in the motor and start reliably every time.

Whatever you get, try to find a carbide tooth chain. They’re designed for cutting dirty wood or doing demon work. More expensive but they stay sharp much longer than a regular chain.

A chain saw is much safer for cutting limbs, trees, etc than a circular saw. Circular saws are great for cutting lumber. Limbs, not so much.

The beauty of using avgas is that you don’t need to run the machine out. It is stable over time, completely unlike the garbage that passes as gasoline in CA. Small motors are being outlawed in general in CA - saws, blowers, weed walkers, generators, etc. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, as no way do I see CalFire going to batteries for their chainsaws or hot saws. I don’t remember whether it takes effect 1/1/2024, or sometime after. One can buy stuff up until then. In theory at least one can still buy supplies and get service after then, just no new small motors.

A chainsaw is a great tool to have in an emergency, but like many powerful tools, it requires some expertise to use safely and effectively. There is a learning curve and it might be best to not be trying to climb that curve in the middle of an emergency.

Heck, if you want some practice, come on down to SLO. We’ve got at least a half dozen large to huge coast live oaks down over the last couple days, some blocking roads. I’ll provide the saws, gas, bar oil, chaps, and some basic instruction.

I’m in the gas chain saw camp, especially if an emergency situation where the power could be out for an extended period. I have two - an MS170 16”, a light homeowner type saw and an MS290 Farm Boss 18”. I use mine mostly on my hunting property but I have also used it when a neighbors tree fell during a wind storm and crushed my fence as well as when a tree fell on a neighbors car during another windy day.

For what you are wanting that Ego will be just fine you can probably even back down to the 16” model.
For emergency use it will be plenty two batteries and a charger with an inverter in a vehicle and you will be just fine.
A tow strap and a chain added to the mix and you’ll be fine unless we are talking the Apocalypse.
Lots of electric chainsaws in folks off-road rigs these days.

It’s not a bad skill to have. The National Forest Service has some training opportunities.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/managi...national-saw-program