Electric / Cordless / Battery Powered Chainsaw recommendations

[Redfin]

There's mention of keeping the blade sharp. I've seen the sharpeners at the store. Is it a big deal to sharpen the chain? Does it take quite a while?

Looks like a fiddly job, but a necessary one...

It doesn't matter what type or brand chainy you have, a sharp chain is a must.
I use an electronic sharpener and a dozen chains. I cycle through them till all blunt then maybe 90 minutes at a leisurely pace to do the lot.
Alternatively carry a suitable file and touch up in the field every 30 minutes or so.

 

[ctxkid]

i just carry spare chains, as 1/4 picco mini is to hard to see to sharpen

 

[1968falconxt]

Did you really cut this giant log with that chainsaw? that looks clean cut with no change of direction

 

[ctxkid]

Did you really cut this giant log with that chainsaw? that looks clean cut with no change of direction

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/11897/1553123405_capture.jpg

several trips out mate , i have a knack of finding wood on the road side, and yes i did cut that with that saw

 

[ctxkid]

1/4 picco mini cuts very smooth erfect:

 

[PabloP]

I have a small Stihl MSA140 and it lives in the back of the van, mainly intended for collecting a bit of wood while camping.

I was at a friends place up near Grafton when he came in to say there was an old tree down across a boundary fence and he came back for his Dang Dang machine. I offered to take my little battery saw along to help and he said, give it a go. Well to cut a long story short, I had 80% of the tree chopped up and cleared on both sides of the fence, before he got his machine working. The tree was about 2 feet in diameter, but was fairly hollow, so it was an easy job.

May be a bit small, but can do some serious chopping. Only downside that I have found, is that the chains are fairly lightweight and can be damaged reasonably easily if you hit something nasty. But I carry several spares and fix them later, and at about $45 each that is well worth the extra few $$. I have several fuel based chainsaws (Stihl and others), but the little Stihl MSA140 is my favourite as a goto saw.

Rob P.

 

[Ded Driver]

interesting story PabloP
In the winter if theres storms or high wind around I often carry my little McCullouch Saw as I sometimes come across big branches & odd occassions a full tree across a road. Im not a fan of having anything with petrol in it in the vehicle, but Ive generally thought of electric saws as being a bit weak.
Might have to go have a closer look at them before this winter arrives :Y:

 

[RM Outback]

My daughter and her partner have a Husqvarna dealership and quite a few arborists come in and buy some gear. With the release of the battery gear they couldn't stock enough. The arborists aren't silly and use both Husqvarna and Stihl. Interestingly the battery gear spins the chain faster than the petrol engine when it comes to arborists there are battery packs that are a harness fit for longer run times and safety while climbing :Y:. The BIG upside to the sales is the amount of women who have taken their husbands/partners in to pay for the items they want :lol:. The battery range of garden/home/light duty equipment that was once only powered by petrol is amazing and will only get better imo. As for the chains there the same as used on the petrol saws no change that I'm aware of, looked after properly will serve you well. When it comes to cutting green and dry wood choice of chain will help the load on the petrol engine and battery life. Green wood is best cut with the semi chisel (standard chain, cutting tooth is rounded on the vertical side to the cutting edge) and Dry wood is best cut with a full chisel (cutting tooth is vertically straight at 90 degrees to the cutting edge).

(Edit 1) When sharpening a chain always remember to file down the raker (the vertical cleaning tooth between each cutting tooth) each time you sharpen your chain. A decent hand chain sharper is all you need (I've got the stihl units :Y depending on what chain size you are running will depend on how many you need. The stihl hand file has 2 round files for the cutting teeth and a flat file for the rakers :Y: paid around $50.00 each, they live in the pocket of my car door. (Edit 2) hand file's, which ever you use as with any sharpening tool for that matter, you will need to buy replacements depending on how often you sharpen your chain and how well you look after the file's. As for frequency of sharpening I sharpen each time before I go out and give'm a tickle every hour of cutting time on clean wood. When cutting hollow dirty wood I will always carry multiple spares (preferably older chains) and change them rather than sharpen on the job.

 

[guipago]

With the Stihl 1/4 blade battery unit you do need the right sized file for sharpening, it's an 1/8" file I think, so double check what Stihl recommends, it's not the same as other 1/4 blades as it's a light weight blade, either way they are the ducks guts.

 

[Crushed]

Hi all, I was thinking about buying an electric chainsaw. I have a Stihl farm boss great saw but for a short camping trip or a bit of pruning at home ,heavy and requires petrol and oil.So looked in Bunnings, 3 hundred gets me a cheapy brand,Ozito or Ryobi but 6 hundred for Makita or AEG . Has any one got any advise on which way to go . Will not use the electric saw a lot but no sense in spending 3 hundred dollars only to have to go back and spend 6 hundred to get something decent!
Cheers Crushed

 

[7.62marksman]

JMO i have the Ryobi one and it works well for me
although i have only had it for a few months it has not let me down
well none of my Ryobi stuff has

 

[Greenhornet_au]

The Stihl version has a good rap and they had a recent price drop, the is also a Huskvana job.

Put it to ALDI that they should get one on the market.

 

[Muk]

Ive got a ryobi only good for small stuff would not be able to supply camp fire wood pruning is what its good for.

 

[xcvator]

Ego :Y: :Y: :Y:

 

[Rockhunter62]

Get a battery powered circular saw. Lasts better cutting dead wood rather than burning out your chain. Have found the circular saw much better on the dead mulga and gidgee when getting firewood over here in the WA outback.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Redfin]

Don't buy an electric saw, then you need a gennie.
Get a brushless battery powered saw.

 

[19.3]

Get a battery powered circular saw. Lasts better cutting dead wood rather than burning out your chain. Have found the circular saw much better on the dead mulga and gidgee when getting firewood over here in the WA outback.

Cheers

Doug

Ditto...
I have a small Makita circular saw - does a great job - unless you want a trailer load of big logs.

 

[fishing99]

Go Milwaukee. I got one works great.

 

[Guest]

i got Makita but only reason i got one of the because i already run Makita tools so had batteries but it does the job around home but i haven't tried out in the bush too much but it goes allright but when u got 70,000 dollar van and flick of switch u got everything why cut wood but i did it for years trust me , and as a gardener by trade 32 yrs you can say i hate the sound of chainsaws electric just beautiful

 

[Crushed]

What is the difference between the electric chainsaw and an electric circular saw.Don't they both use a battery pack ?