Buying a chain saw

[Bearcarver]

It's hard to believe how far they've come with batteries already.
When I quit Chainsaw carving 12 years ago, the only Electric Chainsaw I ever saw was with a cord. Now Bear Jr has a Snowblower and a Mower that run on Batteries, and I have a Weed trimmer/edger, a Leaf blower, and a long reach hedge trimmer.

Bear

 

[texomakid]

We bought a 16" Kobalt @ Lowe's about 4 years ago and It's been a really good chainsaw. I have made the effort to keep it maintained and have replaced a bar and a couple of chains but those were from our miss-use. We've cut a LOT of wood with it. there's a good chance I won't own a gas powered chain saw again. Keep that chain oiled, snug, & sharp and the thing just gets it done!

 

[sandyut]

I have this one and its a beast! WORX WG303.1 14.5 Amp 16" Electric Chainsaw

I use it all the time now. Work 100X better than the ones I waas renting from HD. the chain has never been sharpened and is still working great! I use it randomly and the corded feature is great, lots of power.

 

[chopsaw]

I have the Milwaukee 18 volt fuel hackzall. And do the same thing. That little sucker is a eating machine.

Yup . I have the Makita 18 volt " sawzall " I used it to cut up my 9 person hot tub to make room on the patio . I use it to trim trees and cut up storm damage also .
My truck has the built in plug for charging cordless batteries . Get the truck close and set up the charger . Makes it easy for smaller work .

 

[motocrash]

I have the Ryobi 14". Have had it for 4-5 years and it works well for what it is designed to do. It took some getting used to as it is my first battery electric, let it cut without trying to act like it's my 56 cc gas saw (Poulan 3400) or my Stihl 021 and it does well. When I bought mine (on sale) it came with the smaller battery. I priced a larger battery and decided to buy the 40V straight shaft string trimmer when it was on sale that came with the larger battery. I bought the Ryobi for light stuff and limbing before bucking with my larger saw and climbing when needed. I use it quite a bit to maintain my trails, throw it on the quad and go. I have to say that it is very nice not having to use ear protection when it's hot out. I already have tinnitus, hindsight 20/20, heh. I can't give you a solid run time with the larger battery but I can say that using it for a 1/2 hour or so at a time drops the battery 1 to 2 lights. With any saw, keeping the chain sharp is key, It seems to be more so with the Ryobi because of the limited power and small chain size. Once again, let it cut and it does well. I have no regrets with it.

 

[SmokyMose]

I know batteries have come a long way, but I remember we always had to take 2 DeWalt drills to show site and 2 or 3 extra batteries.
I also have an offset and mentioned to my boss one day about looking for a small chainsaw to cut small pieces to fit the firebox.
He had been keeping me in firewood for a few years and I had given him a 24" Stihl that Dad had before he passed. I had no use for it.
So for Christmas one year he gave me a small version.
I only use it once or twice a year, use canned gas mix (the same as my Bolens weedeater) , and have never drained the tank or added Sta-Bil.
After the several steps needed it always starts, no matter how long it's been.
It's time to order firewood for the winter and use it again.

 

[Brokenhandle]

No doubt about it, gas or electric... try cutting with a dull blade and ya might as well get out the butter knife!

Ryan

 

[radioguy]

The battery powered stuff has come a long way. My friend has a Ryobi 16 inch battery and it does very well, he has a number of batteries that keep him going. My wife got me a Milwaukee hatchet M12 for my birthday. Its pricey I would have never bought it, but its very handy to keep in my yard tools. 6 inch blade but great for pruning and cutting an odd branch.

RG

 

[mike243]

Sharpness is the key, my son said my saw had compression problems, said bet it don't, sharpened the chain and it will fall thru the wood lol , bought the small 12v clip on the battery sharpener and in just a couple minutes your back in business, for less than $100 you can buy a bench grinder and if I did a lot of sawing I would own 1, perfect sharpen every time also can cut down the drag link as your chain gets worn, after a few sharpening's it will start making very fine dust, grind the height stub to get shavings again

 

[Bearcarver]

Battery powered Chainsaws would have been handy when Jason or Michael were around. You wouldn't be standing there, pulling the Rope, while he was cutting your throat!!

Just saying,

Bear

 

[chopsaw]

cut down the drag link

That's key right there , and something the occasional user over looks .

 

[motocrash]

Sharpness is the key, my son said my saw had compression problems, said bet it don't, sharpened the chain and it will fall thru the wood lol , bought the small 12v clip on the battery sharpener and in just a couple minutes your back in business, for less than $100 you can buy a bench grinder and if I did a lot of sawing I would own 1, perfect sharpen every time also can cut down the drag link as your chain gets worn, after a few sharpening's it will start making very fine dust, grind the height stub to get shavings again

That's key right there , and something the occasional user over looks .

Pigtails gentlemen, pigtails rock.

 

[motocrash]

Battery powered Chainsaws would have been handy when Jason or Michael were around. You wouldn't be standing there, pulling the Rope, while he was cutting your throat!!

Just saying,

Bear

Funny you say that. When I got my Ryobi 40V straight shaft string trimmer, one of my buddy's said " Damn, put a blade on that and you could really keep someone at a distance!"

 

[1MoreFord]

Another recommendation for ethanol free gas if you go that way. I'd also recommend some fuel conditioner like Stabil or my favorite StarTron.

Here's a link to a resource to help everyone find E0 gas.

Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

Pure-gas.org is the definitive web site listing stations that sell pure gasoline in the U.S. and Canada.

www.pure-gas.org

 

[Fueling Around]

Another recommendation for ethanol free gas if you go that way. I'd also recommend some fuel conditioner like Stabil or my favorite StarTron.
...

Star*Tron by Star brite is the best fuel stabilizer I have used. Even though it is formulated to help prolong ethanol blended fuel, it is amazing with the pure premium gasoline I use in all my small engines.

Tastes great or less filling? Not going into gas vs electric, but start looking into sharpening it as it's a part of life with a chainsaw.

Sam (first page) brought up the most important part of chainsaw ownership that is the most neglected. Proactive maintenance (PM) as sharpening. 5 minutes with a file before you start.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I have a small 12 volt hand held sharpener can be hooked to car battery or plugged into cigarette lighter, came with different sized stones for sharpening chains... comes in very handy and not terribly expensive. Also has a guide for different angles.

Ryan

 

[retfr8flyr]

I got the EGO 18" saw https://egopowerplus.com/18-inch-chain-saw/ this year and have been really impressed with it. I already am invested in the EGO line of yard tools and the Milwaukee M18 Fuel tools, so it was very hard to choose which to go with but finally decided on the EGO. It is so nice to just grab the saw, throw a battery in it and quickly cut whatever I need. I am not a heavy saw user, just trimming the wooded areas of my yard and clearing downed trees from storms and such. This saw is perfect for me and I would put it up against the gas powered Echo that I had. I am so happy with the EGO that I gave my Echo saw, I always used blended fuel in it, to my youngest son. I think anyone that does normal homeowner usage of a saw would be very happy with this saw.

 

[pineywoods]

I have Stihl and Echo gas powered saws and use the premixed fuel in the can as has been said kind of expensive but has the stabilizer added already and does a good job of keeping the fuel good.
I also bought a 20 volt Dewalt 12" chainsaw and the Dewalt Pole Saw I have lots of Dewalt tools so have quite a few batteries.
The Dewalt saws are great for trimming and doing small stuff they are lighter and the batteries last a decent length of time. If you cutting bigger stuff or multiple trees the gas works much better in my opinion. The largest Dewalt I have is 12" the smallest gas saw have is 16" so I have no real direct comparison between a battery operated 16" vs gas 16" but if I was going to ever do much cutting that would be something I would look into for sure.

 

[idahopz]

I spent decades using the big-box store chainsaw and finally drew up the courage to go with my first Stihl, which was a weed trimmer. It worked so well I decided to replace my old mismatched set of gas powered tools when they died. It also kind of helped that the local Stihl dealer is also the JD dealer which I regularly visit for supplies. Sure they cost a bit more, but the difference between my old equipment and the newer Stihl versions is like the difference between driving an old beat-up VW Beetle versus a Nova SS 396.

A couple of years ago I had to cut down a few trees in the back to plant a couple of gardens and my old McCulloch was on it's last legs - hard to start and the chain had just failed. It served me well though, for over 30 years. Rather than repairing it yet again, my wife told me to pick up a Stihl, so off to JD I go with a smile on my face.

I picked up an MS 311 with a 24" bar, and it is kind of heavy at 14 lbs dry - I was glad of the weight though when I started it up. Man that thing rumbles and sure does torque when you blip the throttle. I tried it out on a 22" diameter pine and it went through in a fraction of time it would have taken me with the old Mac - safer too.

It is fantastic for the big jobs, and I bucked up that pine quicker than I have ever accomplished that task. It is kind of heavy for small jobs though, so I convinced my wife to let me get a teeny-weeny MS 150 C with a 12" bar that barely weighs 6 lbs" for limbing and general home stuff. Plus it is handy to keep in the truck during the windy season in our rural area (she calls it my toy chainsaw). All I had to do was bring her a battery powered Stihl hand held hedge trimmer with all the attachments.

The stories are similar for the backpack leaf blower and weed trimmer - before it took me all day to blow the driveway (kinda long) and trim the lawn. Now that time is cut in half and I've plenty of time to enjoy a beer or two on the back deck.

I could kick myself for not investing in the proper equipment sooner - I'd have saved countless hours of work time. Like they say, the cheap comes out expensive, and time is money.

PS: I still have an old Husky, and it does not compare to the Stihl

 

[crazymoon]

SO, IMHO -#1 Milwaukee M18 - #2 Dewalt -#3 refer to #1 or #2