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Batterysaws?

Started by OddInTheForrest, May 12, 2019, 08:22:42 PM

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OddInTheForrest

Anyone on the forum got any experience with the batterysaws on the market? Have been thinking about a Stihl MSA200 for a while, seems to be fairly ligth and fast enough to use for in stand limbing and possibly even thinning/cleanup before first thinning in a stand. Anyone else with ideas like this?

Best regards
Odd.

Inaotherlife

Sure. Why not.

I got lots of battery powered tools and they all work fine for light duty.

My battery powered string trimmer is less powerful and heavier than my 2-stroke.
But it's stealthier. And sometimes it's nice to just pick it up and pull the trigger without priming and choking and pulling the cord.

But if weight and size were the main concern, I'd toss the little 2511T in a backpack. 
It's not too loud and super easy to start.

lxskllr

I love my 2511t, but the tanks are small. In addition to the saw in a backpack, you also need a liter each of fuel and bar oil. Can't help on the battery saw, but I'd look for something that can be used in a greater system, like Milwaukee. In addition to the saw, you could add other tools for a nominal cost.

OddInTheForrest

I see your point.

As for now, I have been using a beefed up MS170 and a MS193C, but they got sold after I got my MS200.

Have concidered a MS150, wich is the smallest petrolsaw offered by Stihl in my neck of the woods.

And this is where my idea with batterysaws come in. I do imagine that I will be able to work a full 10 hour day with 3 Stihls "300" batteries. And they could then also be used for a 160T climbingsaw, wich seems to be the climbing saw to get these days in Norway ;)

John Mc

Milwaukee M18 battery chainsaw is pretty good. About the equivalent of a 40cc gas saw. It works best on their high-capacity batteries (9 or 12 AH), but will run on any of the Milwaukee M18 batteries.

I've only made a few cuts with one myself, but several friends have more experience with them and say they work well - one of the better battery-powered saws out there. It especially makes sense if you are already invested in the Milwaukee M18 system.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

outinthewood

Have in the last couple of weeks been sent a 535i XP by Husqvarna to try in a "work" setting and with the largest battery they do I find I get 45min of hard run time. I was very surprised with it's power and ease of use ( I keep looking for the pull start !!) So happy with it that I would consider looking at getting the backpack type battery for all day use preparing thinnings . It's taken up a place alongside the other saws to use marking out edges of where we are harvesting when in clearfell stands.

Stuart Caruk

I bought a stihl battery powered saw (and the weed whacker and blower) several years ago. We have 3 of the higher capacity batteries. My wife uses them all the time. The chainsaw works as well as my arborists saw, and she no longer floods everything to the point where even I can't get them started. Awesome tools.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

OddInTheForrest

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like the Stihl batterysaw will be the way to go for me. Most likely run it with the 12" bar & chain option, the smallest chain in Stihls selection. Its not like I imagine myself felling very large trees with this saw ;)

Stuart Caruk

The Stihl saw is awesome, but you need to grab the largest capacity battery. The small ones work for some tools, but suck on the saw. It's designed to cut 4" and less stuff, but my wife often hacks through 8" stuff, and I've watched her drop 8" - 10" diameter tress with it. I just let her go since she never asked for my help, and sometimes it's better to just let her go to work.
Stuart Caruk
Wood-Mizer LX450 Diesel w/ debarker and home brewed extension, live log deck and outfeed rolls. Woodmizer twin blade edger, Barko 450 log loader, Clark 666 Grapple Skidder w/ 200' of mainline. Bobcats and forklifts.

YellowHammer

I use the Stihl 200C as a mill yard saw and love it.  
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

Greyman

I've been thinking about getting one for my off-road vehicles.  Theoretically I could wire up a charger to the vehicle (4-wheeler etc.) and not have to carry gas or pull start it all the time.  It would be really handy in clearing trails/roads where you cut a deadfall only to go around the corner and see 5 more.  

hopm

My Dad hurt his shoulder and it became very tough for him to pull the cord to start a saw. We picked up one of the Dewalt battery saws......he keeps it with him all the time. Switches it back and forth from tuck to golfcart. It's always just a step or two away. Be hard to make a living with it but it sure is convenient.

Air Lad

Futuristically speaking you would have a solar panel on the roof of the golfcart  to charge out in the field when the pre charged back up bats go flat 
:-\

John Mc

Quote from: Air Lad on May 15, 2019, 05:51:36 AM
Futuristically speaking you would have a solar panel on the roof of the golfcart  to charge out in the field when the pre charged back up bats go flat
:-\
Actually, Milwaukee makes a charger for their M18 batteries that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter. I believe it uses a DC to DC converter to bump up the voltage. I own one. It does work: it fully charges the battery, but it takes a bit longer than their standard 120VAC charger.  I've used it when I was using my tools extensively at a site where we had no power. (Now that they have the 6, 9, and 12 AH batteries, I could probably get away without the cigarette lighter charger.)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Inaotherlife

I bet those 12ah batteries cost a mint

John Mc

Quote from: Inaotherlife on May 16, 2019, 06:40:04 PM
I bet those 12ah batteries cost a mint
I waited until they had a sale going on. I got a 12 AH and a 6AH plus a quick charger (charges signifcantly faster than their standard charger) in a package deal, all for $249 from Home Depot. That is the regular list price for a 12 AH battery alone.

I see that the special is still available online in my area. When it first came on special, it was not showing up in some parts of the country, but people got around that by setting a store in a different area as their home store, then shopping and ordering the package shipped to their home. (If anyone else can't see the deal, set your store to Williston, VT and you should see it.)

Edit: here's the link to that Milwaukee battery charger deal
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

OddInTheForrest

Sounds like it will be a batterysaw whenever I have time and money to swing by the sawshop.

I do believe that one MSA 200 batterysaw and 3 x AP300 batteries is the way to go. Then get everything rigged up in a handy backpack, so one can actually have all this handy in the woods.

Solar is not the worst thing ;) I just purchased a 1980's Shibaura 4x4 tractor, with a busted charger harness. One owner machine, just had to buy it ! Anyways, as said, charging was bust. Last owners son in law rigged it with a solar panel and controller, and voilĂ , power is no longer an issue for starting the machine ;)

Dave Shepard

I cut up a big cherry on the farm this afternoon. My mother cut up all the branches, and I cut up the logs and the 12.0 battery still had two out of four bulbs. The cut was longer than the 16"bar, and it chewed right through it. My mother bought it for fence fixing season. No gas to go bad, no annual trip to the saw shop to get it running, and best of all,  no fighting to get it started.


Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

John Mc

Dave, from the battery size, I'm guessing that was the Milwaukee M18 battery saw?

I've been impressed with their saw, especially when paired with the 9.0 or 12.0 AH high output batteries. I don't own one, but have had a chance to use one on several occasions. Milwaukee certainly knows how to make batteries and motors work well together, and they must have listened to someone who really knows chainsaws when designing this, because it's a solid product.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

doc henderson

I have the Stihl and use it inside the shop, for rustic projects.  also outside if the log is not too big.  Once you have a couple batteries and a charger, additional tools are not so expensive.  so I started with a blower, weed wacker and saw.  now added a hedge trimmer and concrete/metal saw with 9 inch blades.  perfect around the shop and in the field.  I am sure it is expensive but they make a wearable backpack battery that is 1500 amp hours for people to use tools all day long.  I have 2 of the 300 amp hour batts with a rapid charger.  Stihl dealer days will usually reduce cost on the batteries.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

John Mc

Quote from: doc henderson on May 17, 2019, 02:07:01 AM
I have the Stihl and use it inside the shop, for rustic projects.  also outside if the log is not too big.  Once you have a couple batteries and a charger, additional tools are not so expensive.  so I started with a blower, weed wacker and saw.  now added a hedge trimmer and concrete/metal saw with 9 inch blades.  perfect around the shop and in the field.  I am sure it is expensive but they make a wearable backpack battery that is 1500 amp hours for people to use tools all day long.  I have 2 of the 300 amp hour batts with a rapid charger.  Stihl dealer days will usually reduce cost on the batteries.
Doc - Stihl's AR3000 backpack battery is not rated at 3000 of anything. It is rated at 1148 watt-hours. To convert watt-hours to amp-hours, just divide the w-h spec by the voltage. In this case, that's 1148wh / 36v = 31.9 amp hours.
Stihl's spec for this battery is actually 29.3ah, so I guess there is some sort of efficiency factor figured in, or like most batteries, the AH rating can be affected by how quickly that charge is drawn: a 30 ah battery might give you 30 hours at a 1 amp current draw, but something less than 3 hours at a 10 amp draw.)
Their AP 300 battery is rated at 227 watt-hours or 6.3 amp-hours
The AP 300S battery is rated at 281 wh or 7.8 Ah
As far as working times, when used with the MSA 200 CB-Q chainsaw, those batteries are rated for the following working times:
AP 300 = 45 min
AP 300S = 56 min
AR3000 = 200 min (3 hrs, 20 min)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

doc henderson

Thanks John.  Yes I am at work (night shift) and about to get off and go home and sleep.  that was from memory on my part so I am glad you clarified it so I did not provide mis-information.  good equipment if not over used.  That electric saw starts every time if the batt is charged.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

John Mc

Quote from: doc henderson on May 17, 2019, 07:26:11 AM
Thanks John.  Yes I am at work (night shift) and about to get off and go home and sleep.  that was from memory on my part so I am glad you clarified it so I did not provide mis-information.  good equipment if not over used.  That electric saw starts every time if the batt is charged.
Yes, Stihl certainly knows what they are doing.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Inaotherlife

Haven't gotten into the math of it all.
But several years ago, when I bought my 58v string trimmer I made sure to get the one that was marked 4ah.
Apparently Echo also offers these with 2ah batteries for the same price.
The 58v 4ah battery is still going strong.

Another but... And I don't know if this is the case with the Stihl battery trimmer.
The Echo battery trimmer I have has the split shaft for different attachments. But it's not rated for the pole pruner or the curved shaft edger. The two attachments that I would find the most useful.
Maybe I'll try and swap the attachment shaft with the solid shaft on my SRM-225.

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