Battery vs corded electric chainsaw

[Rhodemont]

I am going to be using a Jig from the t-Rex fastener supplier to hold a chainsaw for cutting oak timbers and rafters for my post and beam build.  Biggest beams are 8 x 12 so planning on a 16 inch bar since 14 would be close.  Not going to use a gas powered because starting would be too much to deal with at cut time.  Therefore looking at electric.  Being oak the home owner units are not likely to do get it done so need to move up to more power professional models.  Do the corded units put out more power than for example the battery Sthil CB-220.  Advantage of battery is it could be used around the mill but not my priority.
Thoughts?

[Andries]

. . .  Being oak the home owner units are not likely to do get it done so need to move up to more power professional models. . .

I'd stay away from the corded saws, they're getting to be antiquated. Power is lower, but so is the price. In their day, though, they served a really good purpose, especially in enclosed areas.
You mention the Stihl CB-220, which produces about the same power as a gas Stihl 201T, which we us as tree climber's saws. You can get a lot done with that little saw.

That's a reasonable amount of power to do your post/beam cuts, until you mentioned oak beams. Which makes the 'power needed factor' go up a lot for an electric saw.

Give a look at the Stihl MSA 300 C-O. Power is decent and it runs a nice sharp, small chain, good for battery life. Also, the tRex system seems to do a lot of plunge cutting for blade connectors. Get yourself a Stihll 2'n1 sharpener and learn to keep your chain super sharp. Your batteries will last longer and your cuts will be much smoother.
We own and have experience with DeWalt and Milwaukee battery saws - and you're right. Get a pro-level saw for this.
Let us know how you do, and good luck.

[Riwaka]

The Husqvarna 542i XP battery saw is not far off coming on the market. It has a clutch. The saw could have more momentum than a non clutch saw.
The maximum bar appears to be 15 inch.

The Husqvarna 540XP battery saw(can run a 16 inch bar) has been on the market for a few years now. If you don't require the longer bars the Stihl 300 electric battery saw can run, then the Husky 540 could be a good starting point. 

[Dave Shepard]

I know the Milwaukee M18 chainsaw will do what you want. I'm sure there is a Stihl model that will, also.

[21incher]

Prazi makes a chainsaw attachment for sidewinder type saws that may be a little  more durable then the cheap electric chainsaws.  

[Ianab]

One of the Good battery chainsaws will do the job. Stihl / Husky / Milwaulkee etc. I see this months local Stihl flyer had a saw, 4 batteries and a multi charger as a combo deal. Not cheap, but you could work all day with that. The saws have the grunt of maybe a 40-50cc gas saw, so dealing with a 12" oak beam shouldn't be a problem, and because your use is intermittent, the battery will last for hours, while the spare is on charge. 

Corded chainsaws were a thing, when battery and motor tech wasn't up to it. 

[Dave Shepard]

I used a 316L Husqvarna corded chainsaw a lot in the shop. I think today's battery models are as good, or better, without the cord.

[Magicman]

Simply stated for safety reasons, I would not want a 120volt corded tool on my sawing site. 

[Rhodemont]

I stopped in the Stihl dealer (Hardware Store) in town on the way back from the Post Office.  Wanted to pick up and feel a MS 300.  They did not have any, no, chainsaws of any kind in stock.  I spoke to the owner who I have known for a long time.  He said Stihl now makes him place a min dollar order to bring in equipment and Stihl defines what he can get.  So right now he has a lot of trimmers, edgers, gloves, helmets, etc on the shelf and can not afford a new order to get some saws until all the other stock gets sold.  I can order it on line with Stihl for pick up at the store but he does not make anything and I do not get farm tax exemption.

[DHansen]

I have a 540i XP can buck up 12" Red Oak for 1.5 to 2.0 hours on a battery charge.  4 to 6 hours on 5" stuff.  Very smooth finished cut with a Oregon Nano Chain or the 23 Husqvarna chain.  Narrow kerf.  Convenient and quiet.  Roughly .07 cents U.S. per charge.  Works about as good as a 338XP.  I know I can get more work done with a 50cc saw than what the 540i can do.  But it depends on what you are using it for.  I am happy with the 540i and glad to have it.  But its not going to win any cookie cutting contest.

[Al_Smith]

All I have in battery is a little micro saw typical Pacific rim design because most of them are just a different color .I basically live in the woods with a 600 foot driveway lined with silver and red maple .Those are self pruners because every stiff wind that blows knocks out the limbs . That's were those micros really shine. They are not oak slayers but on little stuff really handy .One battery in the little saw and one on the charger .so far never ran out of juice . 

[Brucer]

My MSA 300 C-O is equivalent to my MS 261 (50 cc) saw. It's significantly faster than my MSA 220.

I'm still learning the tricks to getting maximum battery life. As Andries says, keeping the chain super sharp is critical. Another point -- never push the saw to the point where it starts to bog down. If you do that with an electric motor, you'll start turning battery life into heat instead of wood chips.

If you need to keep the saw running for long stretches, go for the bigger AL-500 battery charger. It's significantly faster than the AL-300.

Cost of saw, charger, and 2 batteries is not for the faint of heart. Close to 2-1/2 times as expensive as the gas powered MS 261.

[Rhodemont]

I keep coming back to the MSA 300 in my search.  They price is hefty but with all the time and effort going into the build I do not want any problems getting good cuts on the oak over a couple hundred dollars.

[realzed]

I stopped in the Stihl dealer (Hardware Store) in town on the way back from the Post Office.  Wanted to pick up and feel a MS 300.  They did not have any, no, chainsaws of any kind in stock.  I spoke to the owner who I have known for a long time.  He said Stihl now makes him place a min dollar order to bring in equipment and Stihl defines what he can get.  So right now he has a lot of trimmers, edgers, gloves, helmets, etc on the shelf and can not afford a new order to get some saws until all the other stock gets sold.  I can order it on line with Stihl for pick up at the store but he does not make anything and I do not get farm tax exemption.

I stopped in at one of my local dealers the other day to pick up a bit of canned gas and shopped around at the chainsaw racks.
There was a 300 parked on the shelf below a 261.. Cost of the 261 was $825 and if I recall the 300 was something like $1000 or close to $1100!
I asked at the desk when I was paying for the gas how much for a battery for the 300 and was told $500 or so.. Does that come with a charger? NOPE another $250.. 
I said if I was off in the bush far away from a power outlet I would need a 2nd battery likely and the response was - Yup likely a real good idea..
SO add it all up - $1000 in batteries, $250 for charger, $1100 for the saw.
You can buy a ton of gas and premix for the $1500+ difference.
They might be neat and maybe a fashionable thing to have to display for friends, but not in my lifetime!

[beenthere]

Yup., Life is full of choices for sure. 

[Al_Smith]

------- here I sit a dinosaur who seldom ponies up more than  $100 for a saw .Saying that though I have some dandies . Can you imagine 500 bucks for a battery ? For that it should be large enough to start a D9 caterpillar not some dinky little thing to run a chainsaw ,good grief .

[DHansen]

I am not promoting the electric saw market, but I view the cost of the battery like prepaying for fuel.  If you do your part and take care of the battery it will pay for itself over time.  But the saw has to be able to perform and do the work you need to do with it.  Weigh the pros and cons.  It will be a different situation for most.  

[Dave Shepard]

I have a ton of M18 batteries, so it was not a big deal to run the M18 chainsaw. Something to consider if you already have battery tools. 

[21incher]

Enough  batteries mean nothing if the duty cycle of the saw isn't 100% for long cuts like that. With my m18 saw long cuts require12 ah batteries so it doesn't shut down and make the battery 1st and third light blink until reset at high duty cycles.

[Andries]

21incher: I believe that Dave Shepard was referring to the battery brand rather than the number of batteries he could cycle through the saw in one session.
Buying your first battery tools will set up brand loyalty. It becomes obvious after buying a driver, drill, sander, jig saw and a few more - the DanG batteries/chargers are a bigger investment than the tools. DHansen said it well; you're paying it forward for the gas. 
I'll always grab the DeWalt saw and a couple of batteries if I'm going out on the quad for firewood. Cruise the back trails with the dog running along, filling a trailer with "one split" birch with a super light, super quiet saw is my idea of living right.
It's no big controversy; use the best suited tool for the work at hand.

[21incher]

21incher: I believe that Dave Shepard was referring to the battery brand rather than the number of batteries he could cycle through the saw in one session.
Buying your first battery tools will set up brand loyalty. It becomes obvious after buying a driver, drill, sander, jig saw and a few more - the DanG batteries/chargers are a bigger investment than the tools. DHansen said it well; you're paying it forward for the gas.
I'll always grab the DeWalt saw and a couple of batteries if I'm going out on the quad for firewood. Cruise the back trails with the dog running along, filling a trailer with "one split" birch with a super light, super quiet saw is my idea of living right.
It's no big controversy; use the best suited tool for the work at hand.

With the more powerful saws, it's not number of batteries  that counts. It the size needed to handle high discharge rates I find. To achieve high discharge rates caused by long cuts it takes bigger heavier batteries  that are not used in most other tools. You will fry the small batteries quickly on the more powerful saws. My Dewalt 12 inch 20v saw was used once and hangs on the wall.

[Dave Shepard]

Biggest beams are 8x12. That's no problem for the M18. Any xc or the new Forge batteries still work. I only suggest it because it's much cheaper to get into an M18 saw than what was quoted for the Stihl setup, especially if someone already had some Milwaukee tools.

[Ianab]

Duty cycle is just that, what % of the time is the saw running? If you are processing firewood, then your duty cycle is high, maybe 75%. So if a saw isn't rated for 100% use, you could get an overheat / shutdown. Now with trimming up beams, realistically it's going to take ~30 secs to make a cut? Then several minutes to set up for the next one. Now your duty cycle is only 20%, and if a tool can't handle that, then it's junk.  A larger battery will of course help with that, as it can supply the current for longer before it gets hot. 

Also in that scenario, the instant start of the electric is a big plus. Some cuts it's going to take longer to start a gas saw than make the cut.  

Buying your first battery tools will set up brand loyalty

This is true. It's quite normal to end up with 5 tools, 3 batteries and 2 chargers. If you are building, then the M18 series tools probably makes sense. You will want a drill / sander / circ saw etc. 

[Al_Smith]

Batteries in general no matter what the usage is often debated .I have a bunch of 18 volt Dewalt plus the tools simply because they were free .
I also have a battery golf cart that set me back a kings ransome of 50 whole dollars .Of course I had to do a lot of work on it .The "country club  "  set would have used lithium batteries to the tune of about $2,000 .Not old Al the tight wad .I used 3 size 27 12 volt marine deep cycle batteries for $129 a pop .It won't go 40-50 miles on a charge but I only have to charge it about 3 hours once every two weeks .Just depends on what you want to do and how deep your pockets are IMO.

[21incher]

Is there  a link to the jig? I was envisioning a lot of longer cutting for tennons and pockets that must be accurate and smooth.  Probably bar and chain would be critical as part of the plan.