The topic of battery operated chain saw pops up here on occasion and some may wonder just how well they work and how much they can cut so I thought I'd post this.
I bought a Stihl MSA200 a year ago, mostly for light duty limbing as well as to carry in the back of my UTV to clear fallen limbs and small trees. Normally I use one of my gas saws for cutting firewood but I had it (fully charged) with me yesterday and stumbled on a couple standing dead trees. I ended up cutting up two tall ones, a 9" oak and 8-9" cherry, each of which completely filled up the bed of my Mule. Toward the last cuts on the second tree the saw was starting to slow down (down to one charge light out of four) but still had a bit left when I finished. After splitting them I stacked it on the porch and snapped a pic just to give an idea what can be done on one charge in case anyone is considering a battery saw, which in all honesty was a bit more than I thought it could do.

All the wood, that in the ring, the stack to the left, and the one at the edge of the porch is what it did.

That's about what I've done with mine before going to 1 last light. It does get slower.

More to the point, that's about all I'm good for at any one charge.

Thanks for the photos.

I bought a Milwaukee 18v fuel, It has not let me down.

My uncle gave me some of his chainsaws when he finally had enough of tree work. My dad and I had helped him with different jobs and he knew I'd care for the saws and actually use them.

Last hurricane I fired up the larger saw to help my neighbor clear a partially fallen tree. He came out with a battery powered saw to limb the tree. I was internally skeptical but quickly observed that battery chainsaw do quite a number on those limbs.

I already have more chainsaws than I use so adding a battery powered saw isn't in my near future but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

At 81, regular chain saws got to be a PIA for me, Decided to try an electric (Greenworks) & was really surprised. Works great & much longer than I anticipated. Since original purchase, have added a pole saw & blower; all are great.

Impressive. I have a Stihl had chain for quite a few years that runs good. Sometimes I have to dump the gas out, even with stabilizer after sitting for a while. I've been eyeing a battery powered one lately.

I have a Stihl gas one that might get used twice a year it is more hassle than it’s worth for my uses.
I will be buying an EGO 56V 16” the next time they are put on sale. I bought the blower and am quite happy with it. Will also be buying the carbon fiber string trimmer.

My main use for the chainsaw will be when I am off-roading and a tree has fallen across the trail. I just don’t want to have to deal with the gas powered chainsaw in the cab with me and hauling mixed fuel.
So a spare battery and a charge in the vehicle should fit my needs just fine. I will likely keep the chainsaw in my police car during the winter months as frequently we get trees down in the county in bad weather and they can block up the two lane roads for awhile.

I have the Greenworks (14") also. It's done everything I've needed to do. One battery charge is about as much work as I want to do, though I did buy a spare because I also have their weed whip.

Looks like more and more people are using these battery saws now for light duty use.

We have a Milwaukee saw on our bucket truck at work and the guys talk highly of it

A couple of the guys have bought their own Milwaukee saws and while the saw and battery pack are expensive they have no regrets

I will be buying a Milwaukee saw in the spring
Big reason for the Milwaukee over any other saw is that I already have quite a few other tools
With similar charger and battery

Note the supplied saw battery is a larger amp hour battery than a drill or light stand battery but these would work in the saw if needed.

The big advantage of an electric chain saw is they always start, every time, no fouled plugs, no gas to mix, no fuel to carry, just pull the switch and you are cutting.

Since you have to mule your wood around, get a 12V converter and take a spare battery with charger with you, doubles the run time, no leaky gas cans to carry around, that way you can run battery one down until it slows, swap and put the run down back to charge, with the new battery tech you'll wear out before the charges do...

I used mine to cut down and section a 75' pine. Didn't need to be charged after I started. Now if I could get the thing to haul branches...

The last non fuel chain saw was an electric, which is not too useful, I’ve only heard a little prior to this thread. I’m impressed, because as we all no, NOTHING in life pisses you off more than a chainsaw not starting. Thanks for the pics and info!

I’m waiting for Milwaukee to produce a M12 Fuel trimming saw similar in size to my Stihl 192T. The MS192T is fine, but when I’m climbing, it would be convenient to have an electric. Having to reach around a trunk to pull a cord is a pain when you’re hanging on 25 feet up.

I must add, though, that since our town got three gas stations selling clear gas, the gas saws have been flawless. They run like my Dad’s saws did when I was a kid. It will take a lot of internal rationalization to justify going electric.

The battery technology has come so far and will only keep getting better. I own a hitachi gas blower and it's good, but used to haul it 1/2 a mile to a property I manage in my expedition and you'd smell some gas fumes and then have to let it cool before putting it back in the truck after using it. The owner bought a EGO or Worx 56 volt blower and it was 90% as powerful as the hitachi and I used it to blow off 4,000 sq feet of pavers and never a low battery issue, and it was lighter and quieter and no smell. For a home owner with a normal size lot 8,000 sq feet +/-, electric is the way to go just from a convenience stand point and the electric blower doesn't care if it sits there 4 months without being run.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The battery technology has come so far and will only keep getting better.

Agreed. The battery-powered tools they've been putting out for the last 5-10 years are light years ahead of what was available previously.

I can recall 20-30 years ago, when my Dad wouldn't even consider touching a battery-powered tool. "Not enough torque/Not enough power/Battery doesn't last long enough/etc."

This is great info. I think I will have to invest in one of these. I use a chain saw so infrequently that a gas powered saw is too hard to start when I need it. I currently have an electric, and dragging a cord around is a real PITA.

Have an EGO that my son bought me. Has a big 5.0 battery. I took it out with my weakest battery, a 2.0 version, got 13 cuts on a 12' round. Figure the 5.0 would do 25 rounds.

As I have 3 batteries (from the lawnmower, weedwacker, blower and Chainsaw) I could cut some wood with them.

Cavets -keep the chain sharp.

I have a battery chain saw but it’s only an 18 volt ryobi. I doubt it could do that

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I have a battery chain saw but it’s only an 18 volt ryobi. I doubt it could do that

Current generation batteries can deliver so much current that voltage isn't terribly meaningful anymore.

Internally, power tool batteries all use standard cylindrical 3.6V lithium ion cells.

A great big battery might have 15, 3.6V 4Ah cells in it.

Whether you wire the 15 cells in three parallel banks of five in series (which is 18V and 12Ah and I believe is the configuration of the huge batteries Milwaukee ships with their "20V" (actually 18V) chainsaw) or wire the 15 cells all in series (which is 54V and 4Ah, and the tool companies would call this "60V"), the total amount of energy in the battery back is the same.

Operating at lower voltage and higher current is less efficient, but the individual cells can deliver so much current so easily now that the difference is pretty small.