Electric Chainsaws

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Blaine
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Electric Chainsaws

Post by Blaine »

I don't cut wood for heat. I would like to have one for the camper in case I need a little camp firewood, or need to get a tree out of the way trying to get back off the mountain.
Which battery chainsaw do you have? How do you like it. It doesn't need to run all afternoon, just "long enough" to be useful when out and about in the Cascades.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by fordwannabe »

Sorry mine says STIHL and uses dead dinosaur guts to run
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Blaine »

fordwannabe wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:39 pm Sorry mine says STIHL and uses dead dinosaur guts to run
When I was cutting a couple cords a year for a fireplace, that was the way to go.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Bronco »

Unless you got a way to recharge... just in case; IMHO a small gas rig or even a bow saw that works all the time is the way to go. I always have the axe and bow saw when camping and sometimes the gas rig comes along.
I know I didn't answer your question about a battery electric saw, don't have one .
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by JB »

I'd go with a small gas saw as well. I don't have a lot of faith in the battery ones. With brands it's kind of a Chevy vs. Ford thing. There's really not a much difference between the same price level saws of Husqvarna, Stihl, and even Echo.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Grizz »

YaBut, if you carry a generator, I would go with a 'lectric saw. I used them in house construction and cutting pilings. Big pilings. So, big-ish trees. Whichever one has the highest amp consumption with a 14" bar will do amazing stuff. Otherwise, I'd stay with gas. I think the battery one could have uses, such as the ones above, but for being out and about, I wouldn't want to get a job half done with a crapped out battery.

plus, if I had a battery job for maintenance stuff around the house, I'd still take a gas saw, or genset and 110v saw, and leave the battery one at the house.


I used a poulan with a 14" bar all winter in alaska when my stihl went south. I cut BIG logs into rounds with it. Just keep it sharp, it won't lug if you don't lean on it...

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Old No7 »

I'd normally agree gas is the way to go...

But the man asked for electric. :wink:

My brother has had really good luck with his 20v DeWalt 12" Compact Chainsaw. I just checked it out on Amazon and see it's rated 4.5 of 5 stars with over 750 raters -- not too shabby.

It's $126 without a charger or battery, which isn't an issue if you're already setup with DeWalt tools.

For your limited uses Blaine, I think this might do the job.

FWIW, I've been very impressed with my selection (or is now a collection?) of DeWalt 20V tools. Their Inflator/Deflator might be handy to have in your camper too.

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Griff »

fordwannabe wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:39 pmSorry mine says STIHL and uses dead dinosaur guts to run
Ditto. The very 1st one /i owned was a McColluch hand-me-down from my Dad. 12" bar and still runs... Dad bought it new sometime in the '60s. I've owned several Craftsmen over the years.. they always give up the ghost after 3 or 4 years. When the latest gives it up, I'm buying another Stihl. (Yeah, I've always had at least two saws... chains dull quickly when cutting mesquite or Bois d'arc.

Here's mt latest tussle with a Black Locust tree:
IMAG0247.jpg
Yesterday morning, during a thunderstorm, my cows crashed through my back fence into the neighbor's woods. Trying to find 'em this branch got flung back into my face. If it'd been MY tree, I'd have introduced him to Mr. Stihl!

When I started on my fence improvements in anticipation of havin' cattle instead of horses, I bought a 4-stroke Craftsman trimmer, and got a chainsaw attachment, it'll cut about a 4" branch pretty easily. It's been a real winner in keeping tree branches off the fence!

I have a collection of DeWalt 20V tools also and what I've found is that you need at least 2 batteries.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by jnyork »

You might want to pick up the current issue of Popular Mechanics, very good article where they test and rate various battery powered chain saws.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Blaine »

What I used to run into was leaving old gas in the saw tank....PITA cleaning the gunk out of the carb. I know: Whine Whine Whine :lol:
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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jnyork wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 3:49 pm You might want to pick up the current issue of Popular Mechanics, very good article where they test and rate various battery powered chain saws.
Did they have a winner? 8)
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Malamute »

This came up elsewhere, there were a couple people that either used them professionally or knew people that did, they were liking the battery saw for climbing around in the top of trees and could get a half day or more out of them before changing the battery. Any battery tool should have spares on hand. I got a car charger for my Dewalt tools, you cant charge more than one battery with the vehicle turned off, but its mobile and goes wherever you do. Way better than a house charger and no house handy.

A sawsall will cut a lot of smaller stuff, not so good on log type stuff. We had a logjam on a bridge over a creek a few years ago, several neighbors were helping work on it, if it washed out there wouldnt be a way to get out for many people and I wouldnt have been able to get to work. The sawsall did pretty good work, even some slightly underwater.

I do have a good small generator now, so id be happy with an electric saw for road clearing and camp wood. The cheapo electric ones at walmart or for homeowners to clear branches in the yard arent very good, but may be adequate for camp wood and such. Stihl makes electric saws, they cost as much or more as a gas saw. My days of needing that grade of electric saw are probably gone. They would be handy for cabin building though. Starting a saw while standing on top of a log wall or ridge was always interesting.

Another thing came to mind, if using a 110v saw, dont use the little skinny cheap extension cords unless the saw maker recommends them, using too small of a power cord, particularly a long one can end up damaging the electric tool with low voltage. Good power cords arent cheap, but are worth the money of you have decent tools. My air compressor wouldnt even start with a 15 ft small gauge cord, but runs fine on a 50 ft 12 ga cord. FWIW I also figured out 300 ft of air hose was way cheaper than 300 ft of adequate power cords where compressors were concerned.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Blaine »

Car charge is very interesting ..camper is 12v solar. Sthil is right down the road.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by GunnyMack »

Even though I have 5 gas saws I have thought about the Dewalt saw just to keep in the truck. Be handy when setting up a tree stand and not leave dinosaur fumes or make tons of noise. Besides I have a bunch of Dewalt 20v tools.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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GunnyMack wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:43 am Even though I have 5 gas saws I have thought about the Dewalt saw just to keep in the truck. Be handy when setting up a tree stand and not leave dinosaur fumes or make tons of noise. Besides I have a bunch of Dewalt 20v tools.
Dewalt is getting good reviews...Thanks...
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by jkbrea »

I bought a Ryobi battery powered chainsaw for $10 at a second hand store because I had a couple Ryobi power tools. I've used it a few times and it works pretty good. It has a much slower speed but works. I used to have a Poulen electric chainsaw that I got free. It also worked great and no messing with fuel/oil, except chain oil. Just had to be mindfull of the extension cord. My gas one is a used McCulloch Mac 3200 that after a tune up, oil cap, and primer bulb, runs like new. wow...I sound cheap! :P😳
If I recall you got a newer truck awhile back. If it has a power outlet, or you have a small generator for your camper, electric may be the way to go. No fuel to pack, just an extension cord, and no worry about a dead battery when you need it.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Malamute »

Yes, 110v electric tools arent too particular about how long they sit around between uses. I will likely get a decent 110v saw at some point for camping/vehicle use. My Dewalt tools are 18v, I dont have enough need to start over with 20v.

Still, I keep a Dewalt screw gun (drill) and a couple batteries and both type chargers in my vehicle, and sometimes leave the sawsall in also. All have been useful for various things on several occasions. I now have a small honda generator for the dog AC, so will generally have power available if out in the sticks camping or adventuring.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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jkbrea wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 11:50 am I bought a Ryobi battery powered chainsaw for $10 at a second hand store because I had a couple Ryobi power tools. I've used it a few times and it works pretty good. It has a much slower speed but works. I used to have a Poulen electric chainsaw that I got free. It also worked great and no messing with fuel/oil, except chain oil. Just had to be mindfull of the extension cord. My gas one is a used McCulloch Mac 3200 that after a tune up, oil cap, and primer bulb, runs like new. wow...I sound cheap! :P😳
If I recall you got a newer truck awhile back. If it has a power outlet, or you have a small generator for your camper, electric may be the way to go. No fuel to pack, just an extension cord, and no worry about a dead battery when you need it.
I'm learning a lot from this thread.....I found out DeWalt makes a 12v charger for their batteries that plug into the power port on the dash....
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Let us know what you get, and what you think of it, Blaine. I have a Husky gasser in the garage, but have sure been thinking about the electric pole saws to manage my mulberry trees.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Bill in Oregon wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:23 pm Let us know what you get, and what you think of it, Blaine. I have a Husky gasser in the garage, but have sure been thinking about the electric pole saws to manage my mulberry trees.
My buddy just made it tough on me. :lol: :lol: ....He sez what I really want is a top of the line Dewalt 20v SawzAll... :roll: :roll: :roll:
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Blaine wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:50 pm
Bill in Oregon wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 2:23 pm Let us know what you get, and what you think of it, Blaine. I have a Husky gasser in the garage, but have sure been thinking about the electric pole saws to manage my mulberry trees.
My buddy just made it tough on me. :lol: :lol: ....He sez what I really want is a top of the line Dewalt 20v SawzAll... :roll: :roll: :roll:

you need BOTH 'cause there's stuff a recip can do better than a chain saw, but there's stuff a chainsaw can do better than a recip. So, you need BOTH... and you know, you gain on the battery expenses because they both use the same one. I think.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Blaine wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:50 pm My buddy just made it tough on me. :lol: :lol: ....He sez what I really want is a top of the line Dewalt 20v SawzAll... :roll: :roll: :roll:
Now that you mention it Blaine...

I DO have that DeWalt tool in my "collection". While I've only used it to cut down the annual Christmas Tree at the local farm, my wife likes using it to trim branches and small trees around the backyard and side woods. She says -- with the right blade -- it has plenty of power and lasts a long time, and it will easily cut trees or limbs up to 6" or so with an 8" or 9" blade on it; but she admits most of the stuff she cuts is 1" to 3".

Mine is the 20V Compact model and it works great:
DeWalt Compact Sawzall.jpg

Good luck!

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by GunnyMack »

There are a couple of PRUNING blades on the market for reciprocating saws. The tooth pattern is more like a bow saw than a normal sawzall blade. I have a package in the truck but haven't had need to try them out.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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GunnyMack wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:08 pm There are a couple of PRUNING blades on the market for reciprocating saws. The tooth pattern is more like a bow saw than a normal sawzall blade. I have a package in the truck but haven't had need to try them out.
This is starting to look like a viable option...thanks. :) (and, I usually have a good machette and small hatchet along with most times)
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Malamute »

I havent tried pruning blades in a sawsall, but the long coarse toothed blades work fairly well on moderate sized stuff. I think I have some 12" blades besides some smaller stuff. Some,... I probably have 50 sawsall blades.....
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Here ya go Blaine, no gas, no electricity and no battery to charge

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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harry wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:39 pm Here ya go Blaine, no gas, no electricity and no battery to charge

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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Grizz »

I used to buck firewood with one when I was a kid. Dad wouldn't let me use his gas saw. :lol:
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

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Grizz wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:00 pm I used to buck firewood with one when I was a kid. Dad wouldn't let me use his gas saw. :lol:
I used to help Grandpa cut wood with his 2 man saw....That was a pretty good workout. :)
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by horsesoldier2019 »

I would go with a small gas chainsaw and buy the ethanol free premixed fuel solely to feed it.
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Re: Electric Chainsaws

Post by Ysabel Kid »

I have a "regular" gas/oil one and an electric/corded one. I end up using the latter 95% of the time. Just don't run into a situation needing the larger chain saw. Then again, the monster tree that fell from my neighbors yard in June, into mine, wiped out five mature Leyland Cyprus trees. :evil: On that one I actually had to call in professionals; neither chain saw would come close to doing what was needed.
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