Battery Powered Chainsaws

[NRA4LIFE]

I bought some gnarly tree cutting blades for my DeWalt cordless sawzall. I can get through 4-5 inchs pretty easy. Most often, if stuff bigger than that is down, I'm turning around.

 

[SloppyJ]

My FIL has an E-GO brand one. I laughed the first time he got it out to help me clear some shooting lanes. It worked like a charm.

I wouldn't mind having one but I hunt at thier property so I always have one where I need it. If I got one, I'd look into the 60v Dewalt because I have some of that stuff already.

 

[mtwarden]

It shouldn’t be too terribly long that the technology will progress enough that you can get a near commercial powered, 24” bar electric saw. That’s when I’ll jump.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Oh and chainsaw chaps will not stop them.

Far as I can tell, This is an old wives tale. I teach an advance faller course and have heard this at least once per class from students about torque and chaps. There’s nothing I’ve found to date to back this up besides rumors. But have dozens of anecdotal examples of them working with bat saws

I mean do the math all of the major manufacturers make battery saws that will eventually get stopped by a 8-10” hardwood bole and enough pressure but the same chaps that will stop a 661 or 395 won’t stop a 12” picco chain with less guts behind it than a 200T?

 

[Lowg08]

Far as I can tell, This is an old wives tale. I teach an advance faller course and have heard this at least once per class from students about torque and chaps. There’s nothing I’ve found to date to back this up besides rumors. But have dozens of anecdotal examples of them working with bat saws

I mean do the math all of the major manufacturers make battery saws that will eventually get stopped by a 8-10” hardwood bole and enough pressure but the same chaps that will stop a 661 or 395 won’t stop a 12” picco chain with less guts behind it than a 200T?

Our safety department actually tested it. Saw to chaps. Saw won. My understanding is the saw doesn’t operate in the same ranges as a gas. Doesn’t bind as quickly so therefore can goes through. That said. It is from the safety department so should be taken with a grain of salt

 

[fulldraw1972]

Last winter our deck collapsed from the snow load.
I used a DeWalt 60 volt to cut it up fir removal.
It made quick work cutting deck boards, 2 x 8’s and 4 x 4 posts.
Took me about 6 hours of cutting and removal. One battery lasted the entire project.

 

[RgrLW2012]

I bought one of the Stihl MSA 220's two years ago when a big spruce came down in our yard and the chainsaw was cheaper than a tree-cutter wanted to remove it. Great decision! Even with the low-end battery and charger it was more than adequate for a 18 in diameter softwood tree. It doesn't do quite as good on hardwood trees like oak and maple, though.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Our safety department actually tested it. Saw to chaps. Saw won. My understanding is the saw doesn’t operate in the same ranges as a gas. Doesn’t bind as quickly so therefore can goes through. That said. It is from the safety department so should be taken with a grain of salt

if you have the ability to, PM me that report if you can. I would be seriously interested in it and would help me a ton in my line of wirk. If it was a legit test under controlled conditions (ie tested against gas equivalents on 4,5,6 &7 layer UL listed chaps, speed of drop, etc…) it would be the first credible evidence I’ve seen on paper of failure. Let me know.

The initial fear over the issue was company disclaimers regarding chaps may not work with the new battery saws were seeing over the last 5-6 yrs. Essentially the motors will increase torque under load which is what caused the concern. That and their “direct drive”. Since then there’s a bazillion YouTube vids of chaps working with esaws and probably a few where they don’t.

I’ve personally only seen one pair of chaps hit since esaws became a thing. It stopped the saw fast enough though where the student had no idea and thought he engaged the chain brake. I could see from 20’ away Kevlar fibers hanging out of his saw but he kept trying to take the brake off. The rest have just been stories but so far 10-12 people with their own experience and not one trip to a hospital.

The overall, most recent consensus even from most of the naysayers has been, they might not work the same but they still will likely work or at worst help a ton…

 

[DangerRanger]

I have a kobalt 80v for a homeowner saw, for managing brush and downed limbs/trees on my forested acre. It is a good option for someone who isn’t relying on it for serious work. As in, for large trees with bind/pressure I borrow neighbors real saw because especially as the battery runs down it gets really touchy with thinking the bar is pinched and cutting off for “safety”

But on a big tree when you’re actually not getting pinched and really need to get it done in that moment if it starts stopping cutting it ends up being the opposite of safe.

All that said for your use case I think it would work well. Lol.

 

[danarnold]

I've got a lot of dewalt shop tools, went to get their saw but my friend showed me the dewalt vs makita vid he made, ended up with a makita, well worth its weight

 

[Lowg08]

if you have the ability to, PM me that report if you can. I would be seriously interested in it and would help me a ton in my line of wirk. If it was a legit test under controlled conditions (ie tested against gas equivalents on 4,5,6 &7 layer UL listed chaps, speed of drop, etc…) it would be the first credible evidence I’ve seen on paper of failure. Let me know.

The initial fear over the issue was company disclaimers regarding chaps may not work with the new battery saws were seeing over the last 5-6 yrs. Essentially the motors will increase torque under load which is what caused the concern. That and their “direct drive”. Since then there’s a bazillion YouTube vids of chaps working with esaws and probably a few where they don’t.

I’ve personally only seen one pair of chaps hit since esaws became a thing. It stopped the saw fast enough though where the student had no idea and thought he engaged the chain brake. I could see from 20’ away Kevlar fibers hanging out of his saw but he kept trying to take the brake off. The rest have just been stories but so far 10-12 people with their own experience and not one trip to a hospital.

The overall, most recent consensus even from most of the naysayers has been, they might not work the same but they still will likely work or at worst help a ton…

I messaged you. Any safety items I can pass on I most definitely will.

 

[rob86jeep]

I bought the tiny little Stihl for car camping / feeding a Seek stove, and then sometimes taking off deer/elk legs and zipping ribs. The first time I tried to use it it was pretty cold, in the teens or so, and the battery (despite being fully charged the day before) would not power the saw. Once it warmed up back home it worked. That's an extreme use case for me, but lesson learned, don't take it when it's really cold.

Just curious, have you used gas saws in the same temps without issue? I'm looking to get another chainsaw for hunting work (nothing big, just clearing fallen trees and shooting lanes) but have been debating a gas vs electric and am curious about your experience.

 

[Dos Perros]

Just curious, have you used gas saws in the same temps without issue? I'm looking to get another chainsaw for hunting work (nothing big, just clearing fallen trees and shooting lanes) but have been debating a gas vs electric and am curious about your experience.

I have not. Probably the coldest I've ever used a gas saw was around freezing.