gas chain saw vs electic chain saw

[eernest4]

Now you know why I prefer an electric chain saw where ever I can get an extension cord to reach. Just lay out the cord , plug it in & pull the trigger. presto,your cutting wood.

a couple of notes about electric chain saws .

pros
electric saws don’t vibrate and are easy on the opperator.
They start right up first time.
they are light wieght.

Cons

They are not heavy duty. They will not tollerate any abuse.
You must let them cut at their own speed and not force them at all.
they are slower than a gas saw to cut but don’t take 30 minutes of pulling & swearing to start.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ELECTRIC CHAIN SAWS

They are direct drive from the electric motor through a plastic reduction gear that , being plastic will break off teeth and ruin the saw if any force stops the chain from free turning.

#1 Rule ! Don’t ever pinch an electric chain & bar in a log & when you do, let go the trigger immediately so that you dont break the plastic reduction gear. Use a plastic wedge to get the saw unpinched.

the electic saw does not have a clutch to slip if the chain gets bound or pinched; it is direct drive instead and so the reduction gear breaks instead of the clutch slipping.

even the chain break can cause the plastic reduction gear to break a tooth so dont use the chain break unelse you really have to.

#2 rule --- when the electic motor gets hot, stop cutting & let the motor cool down . Its time for coffee & , so take a 20 min break. electric motor winding are thin & they can get too hot and burn out. loading the chain by pressing into the log slows down the electric motor which will pull more electricity to try to speed up and get hotter faster.

IT IS A REALLY BAD IDEA TO LOAD AN ELECTRIC CHAIN SAW because it heats up the motor way fast & strains the plastic reduction gear looking for a weak tooth to break off the gear.

So if you want to trash your electric saw, that is how to do it.


I believe that the smaller & cheaper electric saws are the best cut for the buck because the 4 hp electrics still funnel all that power through the same cheap plastic reduction gear. which will take more of a beating with 4 hp & break sooner than it does with 1.5 hp.

I have a 10 in poulan electric limb trim with 8ft handle , a 12"remington elec., a 14 in remington electric, a 14 in wen electric, 3- 16 inch mccolloch electrics & a 18 inch 4hp poulan pro electric that I just bought on sale.

They all still run after 2 to 4 years of cutting 6 to 12 cord a yr.
& I bought them all used from craigslist except for the 10 in poulan & the 18 in poulan which I bought new.

Of the small saws the wen seems to cut the fastest, closely followed buy the mccullocks, with the remingtons & poulan being slower.

The 18 in poulan 4 hp is quite powerful & fast, but I suspect that it being new with a new factory sharp chain has a lot to do with its speed of cutting.

I resharpen my own chains with the 5/32 file & holder , but sometimes the chains don’t cut so good & some times they cut great. I guess it depends on my mood when I resharpen them.


I also have 2—14 in,33cc homelite gas saws, the first was a solid body & the second vibration mounted handle & a 20 inch homelite 45cc gas saw vibration mounted handle & a sears 18 in gas that runs if i squart 2 cycle fuel into the carb but wont carburate gas into the engine on its own.

I only use to gas saws where there is no electricity or if I an cutting a big tree trunk where I expect to have a good chance of pinching a chain.


IF ANY OF YOU GUYS KNOW STUFF ABOUT ELECTRIC CHAIN SAWS or have questions, PLEASE ADD TO THIS THREAD.

 

[fjord]

Yes, they have their place.

Remember, electric saws will not stop running when the chain hits your chainsaw chaps. They will not be clogged by the Kevlar lines in the chaps the way a gas saw will be stopped.
The electric saw will go through chaps, jeans, Cathartts, flesh.

Ignore if you thimk chaps are for sissies. Hands please ?

Pinching any chain, any cutting is a no no. Don't.

 

[fossil]

I have a little electric I use for limbing and light work. Comes in pretty handy. I treat it like what it is...a chain saw that can hurt me real badly...even though it doesn't make a lot of noise. (No, fjord, my hand's not up). Rick

 

[fjord]

Why thank you Rick.
You knew about electrics going through chaps ?
Pinching is all about technique and chain. Gas, electric, nuclear.

Hard starting is a badly tuned and maintained saw. Plug, filters, carb, fuel, technique. No saw needs more than a few pulls at most, in any weather.
About as long as it takes to string out the cord, and plug it in.

 

[eernest4]

hard starting ,just let your gas saw sit for 2 years & tell me about hard starting. some of us dont look forward to rebuilding chain saw carbs, at all.
and we don't like bringing the saw to the power center & paying half the price of the saw for a carb job.

Yes gas saws are heavy duty & can take abuse, if you can get them to start at all.
I used to get so tired pulling the recoil starter that by the time the saw started ,if at all,I was too tired to cut wood.

I still have 3 gas saws that run & the fourth will run again after I clean out the carb & fuel system, if i ever do.

I enjoy my electric saws. They are quite, they dont vibrate my hands numb & they dont wear me out before I even start to cut. They turn off & on with the touch of the trigger.

 

[ANeat]

Yea the whole electric chainsaw not being stopped by the chainsaw chaps is a big negative for me. I guess thats a positive for electric chainsaws, you dont need to buy chaps??? (kidding).


Seriously.. if its taking you 30 minutes to start a chainsaw?..... With the proper preperation you should be able to leave your chainsaw sit for many years and start it just fine. There is some expected maintenance with a chainsaw, as with any internal combustion device, and if that is neglected you will have problems

 

[thinkxingu]

eernest4,
Looking at your post and your complaints about gas, I've figured out the solution: stop buying crappy saws. Homelite, Sears, Poulan? What'd you expect?

S

 

[fossil]

Why thank you Rick.
You knew about electrics going through chaps ?

Yes sir, I did.

...Pinching is all about technique and chain. Gas, electric, nuclear.

Right...got that part too.

...Hard starting is a badly tuned and maintained saw. Plug, filters, carb, fuel, technique. No saw needs more than a few pulls at most, in any weather...

I have two gas saws, take good care of them, and rarely have a starting problem. Rick

 

[HittinSteel]

eernest4,
Looking at your post and your complaints about gas, I've figured out the solution: stop buying crappy saws. Homelite, Sears, Poulan? What'd you expect?

S

I agree. If you like electric saws that's fine, but to post experience with a bunch of garbage saws and then say gas saws are unreliable really isn't fair. With a little maintenance and care, gas saws should "pop" on choke after 4 or 5 pulls and then restart on one pull when warm.

 

[SWNH]

They are direct drive from the electric motor through a plastic reduction gear that , being plastic will break off teeth and ruin the saw if any force stops the chain from free turning.

#1 Rule ! Don’t ever pinch an electric chain & bar in a log & when you do, let go the trigger immediately so that you dont break the plastic reduction gear. Use a plastic wedge to get the saw unpinched.

the electic saw does not have a clutch to slip if the chain gets bound or pinched; it is direct drive instead and so the reduction gear breaks instead of the clutch slipping.

........

I believe that the smaller & cheaper electric saws are the best cut for the buck because the 4 hp electrics still funnel all that power through the same cheap plastic reduction gear. which will take more of a beating with 4 hp & break sooner than it does with 1.5 hp.
IF ANY OF YOU GUYS KNOW STUFF ABOUT ELECTRIC CHAIN SAWS or have questions, PLEASE ADD TO THIS THREAD.

=========================

Not all have plastic gears. Stihl (and probably a couple others) have STEEL gears. Stihl electrics also have a slip clutch to prevent motor burn out if the chain is bound up and you're still on the trigger.


FWIW, don't believe the HP ratings on these products. They are, to say the LEAST, misleading. A labeled/advertised "4hp 110vac" motor may "develop" 4hp the split second BEFORE it disappears in a cloud of smoke and sparks from overload, but what real-world good does that do? At BEST, an electric motor that draws 15amps at 110vac (even assuming that it's 100% efficient) will have 2.2hp (volt X amps=watts....746 watts per HP).

One other observation on the electrics: For bucking good size logs (8" or so), I don't find them any easier to use. With any of my gas saws (which weigh alot more), the weight of the saw alone provides all the downward force needed to crosscut a log. If I have to push AT ALL, the chain is dull. So all I'm doing it lifting the saw to the log and just guiding it down. With the electric, I have to provide SOME downward pressure because it's so light. Not saying anything one way or the other on the gas vs elec debate, just noting an observation. YMMV...

 

[firefighterjake]

1) Can't say as though I've ever had to try to start my saw for a half hour . . . even after it has been sitting several months. A few pulls and it fires right up . . . and this is with a minimal amount of maintenance.

2) Can't say as though an electric saw would work real well for me in the woods while trying to take down a tree . . . would need either a long extension cord or a gas powered generator and then I would have to spend a half hour or so getting that started.

That said . . . there is a time and place for all tools . . . including electric chainsaws . . . jobsites, sawing up wood in urban areas and for a homeowner who doesn't have to saw up a lot of wood are just a few places when an electric chainsaw might work . . . but with any tool you need to be careful . . . gas or electric . . . they can kill and maim equally and without bias.

 

[Jags]

Do you have to get the 220V 3 phase version to pull a 25" bar and chain? :bug:

 

[polaris]

Do you have to get the 220V 3 phase version to pull a 25" bar and chain? :bug:

I'm wondering about that as well. Even 4 hp. seems wildly optimistic using only standard household 110. Do they make 80 amp breakers for 110? I'm pretty sure that would give a 20/30 amp all it wanted and then some.
Joe

 

[mellow]

The only electric saw I have used is the pole saws, was not impressed. As for the gas being more trouble make sure and keep seafoam in the gas, will help solve alot of problems with gas sitting and clogging up your carbs.

I only use poulan and craftsman saws, never had an issue.

 

[dirttracker]

Do you have to get the 220V 3 phase version to pull a 25" bar and chain? :bug:

I'm wondering about that as well. Even 4 hp. seems wildly optimistic using only standard household 110. Do they make 80 amp breakers for 110? I'm pretty sure that would give a 20/30 amp all it wanted and then some.
Joe

Just imagine the extension cord you'd have to haul around to run a true 4 HP saw. Probably need something like 2 ga to handle that kind of current from a 110 V source without a bunch of voltage drop.

As for weight, could you imagine wrestling around a 4 HP continuous duty motor on a saw? Some people say the MS290/310/390 Stihls are overweight, just imagine a 50+ pound electric motor on your saw. Of course the electric motor would have a bunch more torque compared to the same HP gas engine, but I don't think it would make up for the added weight.

 

[ANeat]

Plus it wont make that cool sound a gas saw makes, I always like the sound of a well tuned engine hitting the power band

 

[precaud]

If you use search for "electric chainsaw" you'd see that some of us do use them regularly. I use my gas saws out in the woods to fell and limb, and my Makita electric at home to block to length. Wouldn't have it any other way. It's quiet, lightweight, no fumes to breathe.