Stihl MSA 300 C-O Electric

[red]

I just heard about this saw does anyone have one ? What are the Pros/Cons ?

[doc henderson]

I looked.  I have a smaller one, that was the biggest I think at the time I bought it.  a 200 maybe.  It looks to be 800 bucks.  runs a long time with the 500 battery.  I have 180s and 300 batteries.  I like my saw.  there was a mention of a recall, for a brake issue they were fixing, and mention of a fire hazard.  hopefully bugs are getting worked out.  weight is about the same as a 500i.

[red]

I have been waiting for a more heavy duty electric chainsaw and this saw sounds like what I have been looking for 

[doc henderson]

go for it.  I like my 200c as well.

[realzed]

I have been waiting for a more heavy duty electric chainsaw and this saw sounds like what I have been looking for

At face value - whatever that means - the 300 appears to almost be a 261 with an electric motor replacing the gas powered type with most everything else pretty much the same.
If so that would mean its going to be pretty reliable and durable piece.. but that's only from the outward appearance, I grant you..
Stihl is greatly proud of them though, aren't they?
You can buy and use an awful lot of gas and premix for the price difference if you equip the 300 with extra batteries and such! 

[mike dee]

If you use your saw a lot you need to think of buying batteries like pre-paying gas for 3 years. 

I bring two saws with me when I'm cutting - one gas and the battery unit.

I have the MSA220C with a 16" bar and on the pro side it's light, relatively quiet, less vibration (huge improvement over the gas saw for my carpal tunnel), no stinky two stroke fumes or pre-mix to deal with, no pull start (another huge bonus), way easier for de-limbing. 3 year warranty. 300 Battery last for 30-45 minutes depending on the outside temps and wood being cut. Cutting dead ash trees eats batteries the fastest. Soft woods like poplar cut like butter.

On the con side - you need to keep the saw very clean and the chain sharp. The 300 batteries take about 45 minutes to re-charge so a two battery system will let you cut then do a clean up of the saw while the other battery charges. The other major negative is there are no serviceable parts on these saws and if anything goes wrong you have to take it to the dealer for repairs. 

I question the life span on these battery operated saws. My gas saw is 40 years old and keeps on ticking. I'm not as confident with this battery saw.

After 2 years heavy usage my saw suddenly stopped working. The motor had to be replaced due to de-lamination of the core. I hope that doesn't happen again outside of warranty.

I would consider the MSA300 with a 20" bar when my 220 dies. IMHO the battery saws are a good second saw. If you are only cutting down one or two trees under 30 inch diameter and making firewood the battery unit would be ok on it's own. If you need to cut all day long then you are tethered to a wall charger.

[hedgerow]

I just heard about this saw does anyone have one ? What are the Pros/Cons ?

I went to JD in Dec to buy one. Have many cordless tools and love them. When the counter man added up the 300 saw one 500 battery and charger and it was going to be close to fourteen hundred dollars that made me step back. I didn't order one. My plan is to only use a cordless for some light trimming and for trimming in my bucket lift so I don't always have a saw idling or having to start it. I ended up finding a deal on line on a M18 Milwaukee cordless saw. Haven't used it yet. I did end up buying another 261 before the end of the year. I have really liked my other 261. If I end up liking the cordless that well I might spring for the fourteen hundred.