Electric Chainsaw

[Norm]

I did a search about them and most of the threads were a little dated so I thought I'd ask if folks think they're worth owning. I want one for around the sawmill and to use in the shop to cut up small castoffs for the woodstove.

Any models that are worth looking at for a reasonable cost?

[slabmaster]

I don't feel the horsepower would be good enough to justify having one.Gas powered is probably the best for chainsaws.

[stonebroke]

stihl makes a couple.

Stonebroke

[GASoline71]

It all depends on what you want to use it for...  If you are looking to use it to do firewood cuttin' and the like... prolly not the best idear.

But for brush and small branches for yard cleanup... you bet.  My dad has one that he uses to prune the big apple tree in the back yard, and it works great for any small stuff that comes down after wind storms.

Gary

[Dakota]

I just ordered one from amazon.com(they have some great deals going on now with free shipping).  After I modify it a little, I'm going to use it to cut timbers off.
Dakota

[rebocardo]

Get one with an automatic oiler.

Do not get a Poulan or Remington, they are forever leaking oil because of the poor line design (basically plastic line pushed into bushing with no compression fitting) and leak from the oiler valve itself.

Worth having in a shop. Used in construction inside houses where you do not want to run a gas saw.

[sawguy21]

Stihl, Husqvarna, Jred and Dolmar offer very decent electric saws that are popular with homeowners and renovation contractors. Use a short extension cord and keep the chain sharp.
As rebocardo suggested, stay away from the Remington and Poulan. Usually the first thing to fail is the plastic driven gear followed by the switch. Parts and service are scarce, usually cheaper to replace it. Also a pain in the butt to install the chain.

[Dave Shepard]

I used one of the Stihl electrics a little, it worked very well. It was being used as an end trim for dimensional lumber at a mill for anything that was way too long. It worked well.

[Tom]

Charlie, that arrogant little whippersnapper from Wisconsin, read an article that said that chainsaw safety pants and chaps don't work with electric chainsaws like they do with gasoline chainsaws.  They have too much torque and the binding fibers of the safety cloth won't stop them quickly.  He posted that info on an electric chainsaw question some years ago.  Since then, he got old, decrepit and lost his memory.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I have a stihl electric MSE 220. It cuts slower than a gas saw, but you can not stall it out. Correct chaps and pants aren't rated for electric saws, as there is no clutch to bind and stall. But it pulls a 16" bar without any hesitation.

It is perfect for trimming pieces that are to large for the stove in the basement or garage. Or cutting firewood late and night and you don't want to wake the neighbors. 

[mike_van]

I've got a Homelite XEL, from the dump for free - Works fine for the once-in-awhile piece too long for the stove. No fumes, good for heavy duty demo work too.

[Michigan Mike]

Not to hijack this thread but how big of an inverter would I need to run an electric chainsaw from my truck. I don't plan on major cutting more along the lines of having a cheap saw in the truck toolbox for trees in the road  or minor trimming getting back to my hunting spot.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Most of the good electric saws have between a 10-15 amp motor. Running on 110 volts that is between 1100-1650 watts of juice without load on it. Get the saw buried in some wood and it will draw more juice. So you will need a biggggg inverter.

[VT]

Large inverter would be required so that damage to under voltage / over amperage of either the saw (more forgiving) or the expensive inverter , and now lets do a power mod's (battery's extra , wiring plus)  to the suppling vehicle .

Inverter must be 1.5 times larger than the load ( min  type cheapest ). Lets take a kettle , 1500 watts is power consumption , X1.5 = 2250 watts output , so 2500 type unit is the basic size to make coffee.  :D

Now a saw that wines and grabs pulls huge swing loads , almost to a complete stall / short , here a 1500 watt saw would need a protection sizing of x4 , so 6000 minimum size. Lots on money , and they burn out quickly if over amped .
I run 2 in my car , with 4 separate battery's . (mine are for onboard computers )


Now for electric saws , Remington is cheap or those sold from sears (good parts place) But i bought 2 Black and decker 18 volt cordless ones . One is tree pruner / pole saw Handy and no trip up line , other is normal hand held that i use for around the Vermeer wood chipper , much faster than finding a gas unit to just cut a fork.


VT

[WDH]

I got a Makita 16" for Christmas to use around the mill!  Should be handy.  It will crank everytime .

[chevytaHOE5674]

I got a Makita 16" for Christmas to use around the mill!  Should be handy.  It will crank everytime .

Its the weirdest thing, they start every time regardless of the weather or carb adjustments. ha

[bandmiller2]

An electric chainsaw is the handiest around the mill if you have power.I have an old Millwaukee with 20" bar its alot of saw 15 amp.The real cheap ones are next to worthless.Medium priced saw and understand it won't last forever.Probibly a 14 or 16" bar is about right,Frank C.

[Norm]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I'm leaning towards the Stihl or Husky so they match with the others. :D

I don't have any Stihl dealers near me as the one I used quit carrying them. I'm heading over to Lowes later and will see what they stock.

[Michigan Mike]

Thanks to everyone on the inverter question. Sounds like I would be better off just to keep a sharp handsaw in the truck. O well a little exercise won't hurt me

[Ron Scott]

A small gas powered chain saw carried in the truck tool box will work better. ;)

[Michigan Mike]

I know it will work better and will probably be much easier on me. However it would get used so infrequently that the gas could go bad before I used it. The electric chainsaw idea was that I would have something that needed no gas and would be ready to use anytime. I have a handsaw [ rip] that I got cheaply at an auction. I reset and refiled the teeth its what I use around the house to trim small stuff. It may find a new home in the truck box.

[Captain]

http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/productcatalog/product/5094/index.html

We have a couple of these out with customers and they are happy with them.... both of them elderly gentlemen cleaning up after Mother Nature in the yard.  I've honestly only cut with one for a few minutes, too little to form an opinion.

Captain

[sawguy21]

It looks very similar to the Husky/Jred unit. It is longer and slimmer than others, including Stihl, but nicely balanced.

[woodburner]

I have a small Stihl (018) that works great for doing the limb work.

[Bernhard]

We own and use a Stihl E 14 for several years, very satisfied with it.

For Germany I would say, that You can go with Bosch or Metabo also.

Makita and Dolmar are the same. Stihl, Solo, Husky. The wellknown brands can´t afford to sell junk