Battery Husky vs Echo vs Stihl

[walhondingnashua]

As I have stated in another thread, I am considering replacing my ms170. I know Husky has a sale on a few of the "better" battery saws, but I am not ready to buy just yet and don't know how long that sale will last.

I am currently debating 3 saws from the 3 main manufacturers... the Husky 120i (40v, 14" bar, 259.00), the Stihl msa60 C-B (40v, 12" bar, 299.00) and the Echo DCS-5000 (56v, 18" bar, 299.00). The Stihl sits lowest in my ranking so far based off of what you get for the money. Between the Echo and the Husky, you get more bar and battery for $50 more but is this because it is inferior to the Husky? Or is the Husky priced on name also?

I am just looking for opinions and advice based on people's experiences with any of the saws. If you have made a similar decision lately and want to let me know how you decided.

 

[AsylumResident]

I almost pulled the trigger and bought the Stihl MSA 220 C but then decided to look into other brands. I am very interested to see what thoughts come out on this. Hopefully someone has some good experience with these different brands.

 

[vbu]

I talked to a tree guy and he swears by the husqvarna for the battery saws, says they're much better than the stihls. All his battery equipment is husqvarna

 

[Ashful]

I talked to a tree guy and he swears by the husqvarna for the battery saws, says they're much better than the stihls. All his battery equipment is husqvarna

As the tech is still maturing, it seems likely that each manufacturer will leapfrog the other, with each new generation of their product releases. It is realistic to assume this will continue for at least a few years, until each settle into the types of reliable pros and cons and "brand personalities" we've come to recognize from their gas saws.

 

[Nick Mystic]

One if the more important things to compare on battery saws is the Ah rating. The higher the number the longer the battery will last (running time). The Echo has 5.0 Ah while the Husky only has 4.0 Ah. The 18" Husky that is $349 at Lowes has a 7.5 Ah (that's the one I purchased). I couldn't find information on Ah on the Stihl.

 

[Ashful]

One if the more important things to compare on battery saws is the Ah rating. The higher the number the longer the battery will last (running time). The Echo has 5.0 Ah while the Husky only has 4.0 Ah. The 18" Husky that is $349 at Lowes has a 7.5 Ah (that's the one I purchased). I couldn't find information on Ah on the Stihl.

But battery weight is also usually proportional to capacity, so it's a bit of a trade-off. Higher capacity batteries may be more important to some, but less to those with access to a charger while working, who might actually favor the lower weight of smaller batteries.

Of super-critical importance to me would be a recharge time that's shorter than my depletion time, given average usage while bucking logs. As long as the replacement is fully charged and ready for swap, before I kill the one I'm using, life is good. More batteries in the pool are of no help, unless you also have multiple chargers, and that becomes a lot to carry from the shop to the wood lot.

 

[hedge wood]

I too was just looking at battery powered chain saws. I was in JD picking up some tractor parts and priced a Stihl 300 sixteen inch bar 500 battery and charger and it was $1400 and you could buy a 261 with a 16 inch bar for $620. I about fell over when he gave me the price on the 300. I ended up buying a Milwaukee 18 volt 16 inch bar 11 amp battery and charger for $350 on Cyber Monday. I have other Milwaukee tools so I have other batteries and chargers. I don't plan on bucking fire wood with it. Just use it in my bucket lift and for small trimming jobs. We will see how it goes. Battery and charger are worth $250 so I only have a hundred in the saw.

 

[Newbie78]

What dismays me in these discussions is that handling is seldom brought up. I have run only 1 battery saw and "handled" another and "looked" at a couple more and saw pictures of a bunch on the 'net.

The greenworks I ran and the echo I handled were both heavy for their power, awkward, and generally cumbersome feeling. Just no. The greenworks cut wood tho and was owned by a real, bona fide retired logger/sawhand. He'd run all manner of logging and sawing equipment from the forest to his mill for many years. Anyway, he bought the greenworks and was quite happy with it for bucking his small firewood. I agree to that. You can buck wood with almost anything and barely notice handling. If you want to limb and trim, then handling is paramount.

Is there an excellent handling battery saw available??

 

[DonTee]

I have the Echo and love it. I don’t even get out my gas saw anymore if the tree is less than 12” diameter.

For trees bigger than that I’ll usually cut up the trunk with my gas saw and use the Echo for the limb wood.

I had 2000 board feet of ash sawn up this year. I cut all those trees down with the Echo. And I cut about 12 face cords of firewood with it too.

I did replace the chain with a more aggressive Oregon chain.

My uncle has the Milwaukee chainsaw with a 16” bar. He doesn’t use his as much as I use my Echo, but he likes the saw overall

 

[Montanalocal]

This is the kind of electric saw I got. $33.00 plus shipping. I already have a full set of Makita 18V batteries and charger to go with it. It zips right through branches. Great for getting into thick bushes to prune off bent and dead ones.

4 Inch 800W Electric Chain Saw Handheld Logging Saws For Makita18V-21V Battery

Only US$33.00, buy best 4 inch 800w electric chain saw handheld logging saws for makita18v-21v battery sale online store at wholesale price.

www.banggood.com

 

[Ashful]

This is the kind of electric saw I got. $33.00 plus shipping. I already have a full set of Makita 18V batteries and charger to go with it. It zips right through branches. Great for getting into thick bushes to prune off bent and dead ones.

4 Inch 800W Electric Chain Saw Handheld Logging Saws For Makita18V-21V Battery

Only US$33.00, buy best 4 inch 800w electric chain saw handheld logging saws for makita18v-21v battery sale online store at wholesale price.

www.banggood.com

"Logging saws" with 4" bars? I don't care if it's gas or electric, you're not going to do much more than scratch the sapwood with a 4" bar, on some of the stuff I cut.

That said, it does look like it could make a mighty handy pruning saw. I'm making fun of the marketing and name, not the tool.

 

[DonTee]

You just gotta cut a 4” groove around the whole tree, and then hope a beaver comes along to chew through the rest

There was a handheld saw that someone was selling on FB Marketplace. It had a small bar like the one above, and a pincher that pushed whatever you were cutting into the chain. Kind of interesting, but I assume also very frustrating once the chain is dull.

You can have those big trees Ashful. Anything bigger than about 18” and I don’t like lifting it up on the splitter

 

[zrock]

when i was looking i found the sthil has the lowest run time.. I went with greenworks since everything else i own is greenworks and they have a better warranty than most.. Im happy with it, takes some getting used to with the weight and the feel

 

[walhondingnashua]

I stopped by a local dealer. They sell Stihl, Husky, Echo and Ego. I wanted to actually look at one and pick it up. Unless I already had some investment in the system. there's no way I would buy the Ego. As newbie said, it's very heavy and unbalanced for what you get. They only had a husky topping saw. Said they have to pro customers that only buy that saw for topping now. But at $500, it really isn't what I was looking for. They do not stock any other Husky battery saws because they just couldn't sell them. The Stihl saws they carry are the model and price ranges I would look at. However, the dealer pointed out that Stihl has several battery systems and I might be limited in the future on other tools. Plus, they are still on the high price side for what you get. The most telling part was that they did not have any Echos in stock because they sold so many of them. As soon as they get them in, they are gone. Wish I could get my hands on one, but I am leaning pretty hard in that direction. Don Tee's post is very helpful.

 

[Ashful]

They only had a husky topping saw. Said they have to pro customers that only buy that saw for topping now. But at $500, it really isn't what I was looking for.

Do you happen to recall the model #? Of all the saws I own, the only one I don't absolutely adore is my Husq 435T top handle job. I could be pretty easily convinced to replace that little POS.

 

[walhondingnashua]

Do you happen to recall the model #? Of all the saws I own, the only one I don't absolutely adore is my Husq 435T top handle job. I could be pretty easily convinced to replace that little POS.

I do not. I know he said the pro's they supply only run that saw now. He did say that the 2 pro's they supply tried a Stihl battery top handle saw and did not like it. Got one husky and have bought several since.

 

[KC2004]

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I found this review interesting. The new Milwaukee is intriguing and I have a lot of Milwaukee tools already. Have not purchased an electric chainsaw yet but hope to soon.

 

[xman23]

I almost went to a battery saw for a backup saw. The backup for me is when I might pinch a bar and need to cut it out. You, and the guys in the saw store convinced me it's the wrong thing for me. Why, I'm a wood guy, who bucks and splits wood to heat the house. The Stihl 170 was a perfect backup.

I've had a few battery saws working with me doing trail maintenance. In a very short time those guys put there battery saws down and the gas saw guys did all the tree cutting and bucking.

Just this year I had the I got a B &D corded electric 110 VAC leaf blower for the deck. It was the only electric one in HD with a dozen battery saws. Half the price. It is so powerful it will launch from your hand. A buddy got a batter blower. His battery blower was more than 2.5 time the price, 2 times the weight, 1/2 the power of my corded B & D. Yes it has a coard but it for the deck. I use a Red Max Backpack for the yard.

The battery stuff has it's place. The saw, if it's for occasional yard and storm cleanup, maybe it works for you.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Do you have any other battery powered lawn equipment? I’ve looked at the Ego stuff, but I have a few of their other power tools and batteries.

Cordless Chain Saw Powers Through Trees, Limbs, and More | EGO

EGO Chain Saws have the power you need to cut trees and trim limbs, but without the noise, fuss, and fumes of gas.

egopowerplus.com

 

[walhondingnashua]

I do have a ryobi push mower and weedeater. I bought them from a guy that was moving or I never would have bought ryobi. One of the batteries has already crapped out so I am not interested in getting more ryobi.

 

[WiscWoody]

Not your mainstream chainsaw maker but I just bought a DeWALT DCCS670 16" Flexvolt saw, used in great condition for just $139 shipped with tax on eBay. I went with it bc of the low price and the fact that I have a good variety of Flexvolt batteries including two 15/5ah cells and also a 12/4ah, 9/3ah’s (2) and one 6/2ah. I haven‘t used it much yet but I went out and cut some small branches up I had in a burn pile so time will tell how it does.

 

[Solarguy3500]

Do you have any other battery powered lawn equipment? I’ve looked at the Ego stuff, but I have a few of their other power tools and batteries.

Cordless Chain Saw Powers Through Trees, Limbs, and More | EGO

EGO Chain Saws have the power you need to cut trees and trim limbs, but without the noise, fuss, and fumes of gas.

egopowerplus.com

I have the Ego string trimmer and battery saw with 18" bar, as well as the leaf blower. I like them well enough but have not used any of the other brands of battery equipment to be able to compare them to something else.

My father in law bought the string trimmer intending to use it himself, but then he decided to hire someone to do his mowing and maintenance so he gave it to me. Since I already had a 2.5 AH battery that came with the trimmer, it made sense to get the same brand saw since I already had a spare battery from the trimmer. The saw and blower both came with a 5.0 AH battery, so now I have (2) 5s and a 2.5 to give me increased run time while one of them is charging. I've found it takes around 45 minutes or so to charge one of the batteries.

 

[walhondingnashua]

So my Ryobi batteries stopped charging and I took them into the Battery Depot in town. The motherboards are shot and you cannot get replacement parts for Ryobi batteries. I asked them, because they are a local shop and see all types of battery issues, what they recommend as far as batteries that they can repair. Ryobi, Ego, Kobalt and Craftsman were all no's. Greenworks, Echo, and Stihl were all yes. Apparently Greenworks makes Echo and Stihl's batteries and all have repairable batteries.
I then went to a local dealer that sells Ego, Echo, Stihl and Husky. The owners opinion was this...
The Ego shelf will be gone as soon as the last saw sells. To many warranty issues and to many battery issues that couldn't be replaced.
Only sells Husky top handles. A few local tree guys love them but he does't carry an other Husky battery products.
He personally bought all Stihl battery tools when they first came out and were the only option. They all still work great and he has had no issues with them BUT if he were buying today, he would go all Echo. He reinforced the fact that greenworks makes both stihl and echo batteries. Says Echo took their time and waited for everyone else to make all the mistakes and now they have, what he says, is the best products, especially for the price. His claim for all 3 major manufacturers (including gas equipment) is Husky is great but very pricy and only sells their professional grade stuff. Stihl used to be the best, but have cheapened up a lot of things but are still high priced. Echo found some things that worked a long time ago and have just stayed simple and well built. You may not be getting a bunch of fancy tech, but Echo is just reliable and they did the same with their battery tools. They're like the Honda of the 3 brands.
So long story short, I am going to go with Echo. The immediate problem is my cheap Husky leaf blower just STB so I am going to start with leaf blower and string trimmer. Hopefully get the chainsaw by fall. I will update and review. Thanks for all the advice.