For the part timer electric saws the way to go. I have a Makita 36v and the best feature is anti kick back it'll cut power if you jam/bind it.

Regarding those talking about dead batteries in an emergency in this situation what's more likely the person have dead batteries or they haven't gotten new fuel in a year or 2 yrs+ ?

I burn firewood for heating and also run a ms362c for felling and bucking. When it comes to quick work/trimming I grab the electric.

I’ll jump in with my $0.02 cents.

I have used a Stihl chainsaw for over 30 years and still have my trusty 290. However, I wanted another chainsaw to keep at our Mountain home and purchased a battery operated one and have to say I was impressed with its performance. Unless you are planning on cutting 15” diameter trees I would go battery.

quote:

For the part timer electric saws the way to go. I have a Makita 36v and the best feature is anti kick back it'll cut power if you jam/bind it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nope, unless you have a generator. When limbs fall, the power goes out. You would be waiting weeks to cut after a Major Hurricane or ice storm.

quote:

I have used a Stihl chainsaw for over 30 years and still have my trusty 290.
Unless you are planning on cutting 15” diameter trees I would go battery.

+1
It all depends on how much you're going to use it, and what for?

Gas engines don't do well if left sitting for long periods of time. Also, don't use ethanol-gas.

OP, whatever you decide to do just be CAREFUL. NO children around it ever. I also believe very strongly in practicing the rule of nobody in front of the saw in case the chain breaks.

Chainsaws are great tools but can be very dangerous in the wrong hands.

Gas saws are going to be around a long time, well, not in CA, but that's a political issue. You could just drive to NV, buy one and bring it back, other than you neighborhood Karen who would know, you could just be "borrowing" it LOL

JMO for 99% of the work an average homeowner is going to encounter the electric is going to be the best bet. No fuel to mix, No Fuel to store, no problems with fuel eating into seals or rubber lines as it sits.

Starting an electric to use is as simple as pulling the trigger, maintaining it is nothing more than cleaning, adjusting and lubing the chain, same as gas.

I have both, the gas is 20 years old, I haven't started it since the EGO arrived, frankly thinking I'd sell it...

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

I have used a Stihl chainsaw for over 30 years and still have my trusty 290.
Unless you are planning on cutting 15” diameter trees I would go battery.

+1
It all depends on how much you're going to use it, and what for?

Gas engines don't do well if left sitting for long periods of time. Also, don't use ethanol-gas.

I use mine fairly infrequently, but I owned an e-go battery saw for approximately 6 cuts before I got rid of it in favor of a gas model.

I only use pre-mixed ethanol free 2 cycle in it. For how frequently I need it, it's cheap enough. My saw sits in an uninsulated shed all winter and will start on the second pull in a couple months when I bring it out of hibernation.

I have experience with a couple different brands and sizes of saws. I personally chose a Husqvarna 455 rancher with a 20" bar. Is it overkill for taking down the smaller stuff I have around my house? Yes. Could I easily use it for 90% of the 60-80ft oak/pine/birch that I have too? Yes. That ultimately drove my decision. Both Stihl and Husqy have certain models with certain 'features' you want to avoid, that community is very detail oriented. I'd suggest finding a local small engine shop to talk to and buy from, don't bother with the big box store stuff.

It's a fantastic saw. I would say buy the biggest saw you can afford and comfortably hold for a decent period. If the saw is too heavy, you'll get tired quicker, and that's when you make mistakes. You can always put a smaller bar on a bigger saw, but not the other way around. I also prefer the kill switch operation (down) compared to Stihl (up).

I have been toying with getting the Milwaukee M18 14" saw just as a lighter weight option for when I need to deal with smaller diameter stuff. I also have the M12 fuel hatchet, they make it in M18 fuel now, that's incredible for dealing with pruning smaller branches or brush.

Battery operated would be fine for limbing or cutting small diameter trunks, but for real cutting (which is a majority of my usage) I’ll stick with gas and proper run-dry and storage practices. My small saw is a 14” bar Stihl 192TC that punches way above its weight. It will cut larger than bar sized hardwood with little effort. I have three Stihl’s that fill different roles so personally don’t have the need to spend anything on something I don’t need.

I’ve been cutting recently at a frantic rate as the highway department dropped MANY big trees, many of which are red oaks along several miles of the I-81 corridor last spring and is in the thankfully slow process of finally removing it all. So far I have amassed roughly 2 cords and no portable electric saw on the planet is going to keep up with the pace, rate, and convenience of ready to go gas.

My Stihl family- 192TC, 250, and 390.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/

Thoughts? Is this good enough for emergency use and maybe off pavement driving? Ego or M18 Fuel better?

Just used this during last wet snowfall for clean up on a dropped medium sized maple. Worked great kept charge so was ready to go. Have had it for about a year used it half dozen times. I do have a gas one but for grab and go clean up this is a keeper. Good luck in what ever you choose, definitely having any good chainsaw available is better than none!

I've a Stihl 025 with an 18 in. bar and a top-handle Tanaka with a 12 in. bar. The Tanaka sees the most use. The Stihl is over-kill for most of what I do.

Oh yeah: And a Stihl pole saw. Beautiful thing

For "emergency use" I'd want gasoline. No question in my mind.

I also have a pair of Stihl chaps and a Stihl helmet with integrated face shield and earpro. Despite quite a bit of experience with my saws I use them every time.

I am considering a saw to put in the Jeep when going into the north woods. That will be battery, because I don't want to fill the Jeep's cabin with fuel fumes.

Finally: Doing "emergency" cleanup is not the time to learn how to use a chain saw. Besides the purely mechanical and safety aspects of safely using a chain saw, cutting live wood requires an understanding of what it's likely to do when cut. The key word there being likely. Live wood can, and will, do unexpected things. Particularly when it's under stress/load.

I just went through hurricane Ian. 4 days non-stop chopping up Oak trees and branches in my yard.

I have a gas saw but I only used it for like 5 minutes honestly. I'm in the Ryobi 18V battery system and I purchased the brushless 18V Ryobi chainsaw. I thought it was a toy when I bought it. But after using it for 4 days straight, 8 hour days, I can honestly say that its a real tool, with real tool performance.

Yes a battery chainsaw will be an excellent tool to have at your house for emergencies.

The latest battery saws actually have better performance than gas saws.

If I was picking between the Milwaukee and the Ego, I would probably purchase the Ego.

You can get around the gas issue by keeping a can of Trufuel pre-mixed fuel, it lasts a very very long time compared to normal gas.

I have the 80 volt 18" Greenworks Pro, It has been great. I'm fully invested in their system (mower/trimmer/blower/worklight etc.) and have several batteries for it. Charges up quickly. I've had it for years and gone through a couple of hurricanes in FL and a couple of windstorms and downed trees in VA. I'd say it's on par with a 40 or 50 cc gas model in cutting power but headache free, push the "on" button and go.

Some of the best Stihl saws were the early 80's without the smog control such as the 011 and 012 models. Light weight and lots of power.

Just to add personal experience.... I was able to use a chainsaw for the first time without any special training. A tree had crashed into my friend's patio awning, and had to be removed. She rented a chainsaw, and I carefully tried it out. Seemed to get a handle on it very quickly, and was able to cut up and extricate this huge tree no problem. In fact, she said I looked like an old pro who'd been doing this stuff for years.

That said, you should still get some instruction first, even watching a few videos is better than nothing. Every year, you hear about accidents with these things.

Because I have a couple of DeWalt cordless tools, I've been toying with the idea of getting a 12" DeWalt chain saw for small jobs around the house.

I'm still waffling a bit between gas and battery. Putting that aside for now what bar length should I get?

1. gas vs battery - tbd
2. bar length - 14"? 16"? 18"?
3. brand: gas: Stihl or Husqvarna; battery: Ego
4. Must have features: chain brake, chain catcher, ??

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'm still waffling a bit between gas and battery. Putting that aside for now what bar length should I get?

1. gas vs battery - tbd
2. bar length - 14"? 16"? 18"?
3. brand: gas: Stihl or Husqvarna; battery: Ego
4. Must have features: chain brake, chain catcher, ??

every new saw has a chain brake unless you’re buying something real old.

Bar length has a lot to do with what you plan to cut and for how long. If I could only have one, I’d buy a 16. Don’t know if I’ve seen any in 18”, most are 20”. You can cut small stuff with a long bar, but it’s much harder to cut big stuff with a small bar.

Do some research on some of the features each offers. I know some husqvarnas have engine features that are less liked than others. Generally chainsaws are very simple. The more complex one appears to be with features, the more I’d stay away.

As for husqy vs stihl, you may as well ask ford vs Chevy, glock vs sig, or Italian vs USA berettas. I think it comes down to ergonomics and how comfortable you feel with each.

Here goes about 50 years of experience cutting trees in volume. First in the end it doesn't matter too much about the gas versus electric in the actual cutting part at an equivalent size of bar and chain. What matters is that you can get much much bigger and way more powerful saws that are gas. And its way easier to toss some fuel and bar oil in a gas saw than recharge an electric. I'm a Stihl guy so that's the products I know. I have dozens of them currently. Stihl made a decision on the electrics to use a smaller bar and chain to lower drag but in the end at that size of the bar and chain they cut fine. Putting a bigger bar on a powerhead that can't run it is just silly. I see it all the time people think wow its got a 18" bar so it must be great, but the reality is the powerhead is sized for a 14" one and so performance sucks. I have bars from 12" to 48". You can mechanically put a 48" bar on a saw designed for a 14" one and guess where that goes.
Me personally for the limited use you have suggested is just get an electric one. With zero experience you aren't going to be tackling big trees. And the idea that you have weeks without power and the key item you have to keep running is your chain saw is just dumb. I bought my younger sister who can't pull start a gas one (is that an issue for you?) a Stihl electric. I wanted to see how good it was and so I cut cords of wood with it for a couple of days. Its great within its power range and anything up to its bar size is fine. And that will be all you need. The smaller chains need more maintenance but that's the price you pay. And if you travel with one your car doesn't smell like gas and oil. Overall my experience in chain saws is get Stihl. But in the battery ones, the main cost is batteries and if you have dozens of another brand have at it. But if I was buying 'new' get the Stihl one.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'm still waffling a bit between gas and battery. Putting that aside for now what bar length should I get?

1. gas vs battery - tbd
2. bar length - 14"? 16"? 18"?
3. brand: gas: Stihl or Husqvarna; battery: Ego
4. Must have features: chain brake, chain catcher, ??

First, last, and middle is learning how to safely use a saw. Accidents occur to even the most experienced users. I've had narrow misses from trees falling in the wrong direction. Had branches & trunks snap back at me in unexpected ways, mainly due to binding forces acting on the wood. Last year I slipped/tripped while thinning a thicket of overgrown saplings. The saw cut into a few layers of my chaps, as I went down. Only minor bruising occurred, but I could have experienced a seriously leg cut. Had my helmet whacked a few times by branches. The helmet's face shield stopped a few high-speed twigs flying towards my face.

I have no idea how many trees I've felled -- from saplings to monsters over 3 feet in diameter. Probably felled well over a thousand trees big enough to mess up a human, if the trees fell in the wrong way. Trimmed even more trees than I've felled.

Many good comments on gas vs. battery. I have both types. We maintain family ranches and have used almost every brand of gas saw over the decades.
Gas:
- More power for a given saw weight.
- More torque and chain speed for faster cutting, especially with big logs.
- More noise.
- Fumes can be bad with auto-type gas. Not quite as bad with alcohol-free gas. Minimal fumes with pre-mixed alkylate fuel.
- Gas with ethanol should be used within a month or two. Alcohol-free gas should be used in 6-8 months. Alkylate fuel has a shelf life of 2+ years. We now only use pre-mixed alkylate fuel.

Battery:
- Much quieter. Most of the noise is from the chain, which by they way produces a fair amount of noise.
- Batteries generally take a long time to self discharge, but they do self discharge. As they get older, they discharge faster and have less capacity.
- Generally lighter in weight. Almost always cheaper construction than comparable gas saws.
- Smaller batteries have limited cutting capacity. I find EGO's 2.5Ah batteries kinda wimpy. The 5Ah batteries are head and shoulders better for extended cutting.

A shorter bar saw is easier to control. Longer bars can cut larger diameter logs. Your maximum log cutting diameter is 2 times the length of the bar. Battery saws come with a given bar length. A quality gas saw dealer will assemble your desired bar length to your desired power head. For your emergency use, a 14" or 16" bar should be fine.

We prefer Stihl over Husky, but Husky is a good brand. Newer gas saws have electronic controls on the carb which assist with starting/running in various temps and altitudes. My new saw with the carb controls is way better than our older models. Older saws often struggle to start when warm -- they generally start great when cold or really hot.

We have 2 EGO saws, with 14" and 16" bars. They cut well for their size. Unfortunately they are made in China. As Americans we need to stop buying things from China, and it's a decision that must be made every day, with every product. EGO's weakness is the bar oiling system. In 3 years use, 2 saws have crapped out. Ace Hardware replaced both for free. My current (3rd) saw's oiler is beginning to show signs of inconsistent oil flow, and of oil leakage. My original 5Ah batter crapped out a couple of weeks before the 3-year warranty period. Ace Hardware replaced it for free. Once I'm out of the EGO 5-year warranty period and once I burn out another saw, I will likely ditch EGO. I suspect Stihl would be on my short list for a small-ish battery saw.

For your needs, adding an EGO saw likely makes the most sense. You already have compatible batteries.