Is it time to consider a battery operated chainsaw?

[weatherguy]

Foe someone like me that cuts occasionally when I get a score (I scored 4 cords this year) but some years I only have a cord or two to cut, are these chainsaws progressed enough to the job for us small guys?

The 18 Best Electric Chainsaws in 2024

These cordless electric saws are light, quiet, fast, and ideal for pruning and other yard jobs.

www.popularmechanics.com

 

[GadDummit]

The battery ones work, but you're not cutting a cord with it. If you're wanting something more "store and forget" style, go electric. I've had one of those as my backup for a while. They're probably 3/4 as powerful as my little stihl MS260. Works great in a bind.

 

[SpaceBus]

My next saw will probably be a Dewalt 20v or 60v saw, but only because I have a lot of Dewalt batteries. If I didn't then a Husqvarna or Stihl battery electric saw would probably get my money. I'm not sure, but Makita might also have battery saws.

 

[weatherguy]

My next saw will probably be a Dewalt 20v or 60v saw, but only because I have a lot of Dewalt batteries. If I didn't then a Husqvarna or Stihl battery electric saw would probably get my money. I'm not sure, but Makita might also have battery saws.

Makita seems highly rated, I wouldn't cut a cord or two in one day just something I'd used over a couple weekends. The Husky looks like the best but also the most expensive, I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[ABMax24]

I have a 20 volt DeWalt, and I've run the Milwaukee saw with the 9ah batteries. They are good for cutting 8" and under wood, but IMO they are not firewood saws. I find the 20vokt DeWalt has an underpowered motor, the 60volt is supposed to be better, the Milwaukee has a much better motor but the batteries overheat quickly if used much and eventually lock out use of the tool. I take my DeWalt camping and in the SxS for clearing trails which it works fine for, but they don't compare with my 550xp for firewood use.

The Stihl and Husqvarna are much better tools, but if your looking for value you will get much more performance from an equivalent priced gas saw.

 

[weatherguy]

I have a 20 volt DeWalt, and I've run the Milwaukee saw with the 9ah batteries. They are good for cutting 8" and under wood, but IMO they are not firewood saws. I find the 20vokt DeWalt has an underpowered motor, the 60volt is supposed to be better, the Milwaukee has a much better motor but the batteries overheat quickly if used much and eventually lock out use of the tool. I take my DeWalt camping and in the SxS for clearing trails which it works fine for, but they don't compare with my 550xp for firewood use.

The Stihl and Husqvarna are much better tools, but if your looking for value you will get much more performance from an equivalent priced gas saw.

I have three gas saws, all Huskys, a 372 is my biggest and I have two 16 inch smaller saws, I was going to sell one of the smaller saws and put it towards the battery saw, mainly just for the convenience, a lot of the scrounge wood I get is small and doesn't need a big saw to cut up. The 4 cords I scrounged this year is all cut up but a normal year is a cord or maybe two, sometimes just a couple small trees just got lucky this year.

 

[DodgyNomad]

As mentioned above, you're not cutting 4 cords with a battery powered saw. The battery technology just isn't up to that level of work at this time.

 

[Mutineer]

Saw an article the other day that batteries are 1/9 the energy density of gasoline by weight.

 

[weatherguy]

As mentioned above, you're not cutting 4 cords with a battery powered saw. The battery technology just isn't up to that level of work at this time.

That's not my intention, I would use the 372 for large scores like I had this year, I would use the battery saw for when I get small scrounges and other small jobs that pop up.

 

[DodgyNomad]

That's not my intention, I would use the 372 for large scores like I had this year, I would use the battery saw for when I get small scrounges and other small jobs that pop up.

Cool. Give it a go. Lightweight, simple, just battery life and longevity to consider. And lack of big power.

 

[SpaceBus]

I think the instant low end torque trumps top end HP when cutting. Electric saws have a lot of torque compared to a gas saw in the same "class"

 

[ben94122]

I have a 20v DeWalt that I use for limbing and when climbing. It is very nice to be up in a tree and able to cut without having to pull start the saw first. As others have said, it is not good for bucking firewood because it cuts fairly slowly due to the pico chain and slow chain speed, and the battery doesn't last forever. I have a gas saw (Stihl MS 362) for bucking and felling. They say that chaps won't protect you from an electric saw because of the high startup torque of the electric motor, but my saw is so small I am pretty darn sure the chaps would stop it--the chain binds up similarly to the chain on a gas saw.

 

[SpaceBus]

I have a 20v DeWalt that I use for limbing and when climbing. It is very nice to be up in a tree and able to cut without having to pull start the saw first. As others have said, it is not good for bucking firewood because it cuts fairly slowly due to the pico chain and slow chain speed, and the battery doesn't last forever. I have a gas saw (Stihl MS 362) for bucking and felling. They say that chaps won't protect you from an electric saw because of the high startup torque of the electric motor, but my saw is so small I am pretty darn sure the chaps would stop it--the chain binds up similarly to the chain on a gas saw.

The chaps thing is a myth, I've seen several videos of guys testing electric saws with chaps wrapped around a log. None of the electric saws on the market made it through the chaps. I can't remember if the 660 made it through or not, but that's a serious saw.

 

[EbS-P]

For me think the question is, do I want to invest in battery power yard tools. Chainsaw, trimmer, blower, mower ect. I think for a wood scrounged like myself a 14” battery saw with two batteries would cover me for 80-90% of my cutting needs. It’s a chance to pick your battery powered ecosystem. For me it’s more than a just a chainsaw. I can’t think of the last time I used more than a single tank of gas in my saw in a four hour period doing firewood.

 

[Jags]

I dont have any problem with battery powered saws, but there is nothing currently on the market that would do me any good or even stand a chance in my world of firewood.

 

[EbS-P]

I dont have any problem with battery powered saws, but there is nothing currently on the market that would do me any good or even stand a chance in my world of firewood.
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I only scrounge what I can get in the back of my mini van. Or a tree service kindly already bucked up for me. What you have there is more work than I would care to take on and I have a 92cc saw with 36” bar.

Today given my small yard I’d probably go with the EGO line of products. If money was no objection Husky.

 

[Osage]

I dont have any problem with battery powered saws, but there is nothing currently on the market that would do me any good or even stand a chance in my world of firewood.
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What if you hooked the saw up to a 36 volt forklift battery?😁

 

[DodgyNomad]

I have an older big Mac eager beaver electric saw. It's the top of the line, biggest electric chainsaw made in the day, and works great. For what it is.

It's a mouse compared to any of my larger cc gas powered saws, and it's always necessarily plugged into the wall outlet. Or it doesn't function.

I have a lot of lithium powered tools. One of them is a chainsaw, but can't imagine using it for anything except quick jobs, or for doing very light work. It's not a working firewood saw.