Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I don't think any of these electric saw makers actually make their own bars. The machinery is too specialized and their volumes are too low. Probably they all buy from a major manufacturer and have them private labeled. The engineers looks at the power output of the motor and choose that low profile .047 (or is it .043, I forget) B&C to get as much power into the cut that they can. They don't see the issues in the field until it is too late, if at all. Thinking most of these saws will go the the suburban homeowner who uses it perhaps 3 hours/year. As more of these saws get 'discovered' for having a truly viable usage area by the daily working crowd, these performance issues will become more pronounced and hopefully addressed.
 When Bill talked to the Oregon guy he shared that LOTS of folks were having this problem and calling them, so they started working on a bar and testing it. I think the final solution they are working on to make these saws sing along but not steal too much power requires a spur gear change (either pitch or tooth count, not sure yet), but they have to be sourced as of the last I heard.

 All I know is that Bill has 3 different sized M18 saws and loves them all. He is a very hard user and goes through saws pretty regular right up to the 90cc class. (Just ask Spike  :D). What really surprised me is how much he likes that "Hatchet" they sell, which is the 6" one handed saw. He is going to make a tunnel mount stand to go in his SxS for it. 
 The times, they are a-changin'. ;D

[21incher]

The problem with my Milwaukee 16 inch m18 is with less then 12 ah batteries put too much load on it cutting larger trees it overloads the battery and shuts down for safety. I can only see an more aggressive chain being useful for small branches that don't suck the full load from the battery long enough to overheat the battery if you use the 8 ah batteries often like I do because I have a half dozen of them and only one 12 ah. 
I love my little m18 Hatchet but have a lot of respect for it.


  
 

[KEC]

Great info here. I keep the trails on my neighbors' property open and try to work on the buckthorn, which yields a little firewood, which gives me a little something for my effort. I'm thinking one of these saws could be very good for this work. I have a lot of trees by the house that are in constant need of trimming too. I try to hit the buckthorn in the fall and treat the stumps so they will die. Just to put a bug in youz guys ears, if possible, try to cut some of the small stuff in late fall or winter to provide browse for the deer and rabbits. And brush piles are great for the rabbits and birds. Not trying to derail the topic. Unfortunately, buckthorn is not eaten by the browsers.

[John Mc]

Resurrecting this thread for a moment:

The 160SDEA041 bar (.050 gauge, 3/8" LP) mentioned in comment has a 7 tooth nose sprocket, the same as the stock bar (which I believe is just a rebadged Oregon 164MLEA041 bar). So it should also use 56 drive links as the stock bar does. (For this new bar, try the Oregon 91VXL chain).

The other alternate bar 160SXEA041 (also .050 gauge, 3/8" LP) has a 9 tooth nose sprocket. I'm still wondering if I'll need an extra drive link for this to work an a Milwaukee M18 chainsaw.

I have not ordered a spare bar yet. My Milwaukee saw does not get a lot of use, so I have not felt the need at the moment.

For some reason, the system won't let me tag @Old Greenhorn - I'm wondering if he or his friend Bill have heard anything new on the new bar to fit these saws that Oregon was rumored to be working on.  The only one that shows up on their website for the Milwaukee saw is the narrow kerf 164MLEA041.

[thecfarm]

I bet you did tag him. Old Greenhorn is clickable and takes me to his profile.  

[Old Greenhorn]

AFAIK Bill is still using that saw with the  160SDEA041 bar. He has had no complaint and has been running it like a rented mule around his place, it already looks like it's 5 years old.
 I will see him today and likely that saw will get used again doing some mushroom logs. He was really interested in getting a similar bar for his 201T which has the same issue (flexing bar) but not as bad.
 That 9 tooth you found may be it, I dunno. When we talked to the Oregon boys last August they said their lab was working on one to work on the 201T.
 But I'll ask Bill for an update in a few hours when it warms up a bit.

[Old Greenhorn]

John, I talked to Bill today (he asked me to thank you for the reminder) and he said he will look for that guys card and call to ask about the bar. We had that saw and the top handle battery saw working also today clearing a new trail through the woods for a skidder and SxS. The bar is holding up very well and Bill is quite pleased with it, he has no complaints since the change. before the change he should have to reset the chain on the bar about 4 or more times during a session like this afternoon. One thing about those saws is he runs winter mix oil all year round in them because they don't generate heat to warm the oil like a gas saw. Summer mix in them sees not much oil usage, it's too thick. I had never considered that.
 I'm still not sold on them, but they really do have some nice advantages even if I can't bring myself to admit it freely.  But, in a week moment I could see myself picking one up. I do have one that was given to me, I just haven't used it in a while. Bill has a nice setup in his SxS where he mounted a homemade scabbard on the center console and has an inverter and a battery charger installed on the overhead rear. But the little alternator and battery in that machine will not power the inverter very long if the engine isn't running. Today I had to jump his SxS in the woods so we could both get out. He forgot to shut it off and it sucked the battery dry.  I see a full sized battery, maybe from a skidder shoved into that SxS sometime in the future plus a solar panel on the roof.  As I may have said in an earlier post here, I think he has all the Milwaukee saw models. That little hatchet one is handy for driving along trails and limbing branches.

[21incher]

So the Oregon bars are better then the Milwaukee OEM bars? I want to switch my top handle from the 14 it came with to a 12 and was getting ready to buy the Milwaukee but the Oregon combo costs less and from the sounds of this it may be a better  choice.  That little m18 Hatchet is my favorite saw ever.  Great for cutting tops of the darn dead ash I am dealing with. 
The fast chargers draw quite a bit of power so I think it's easier to just have a couple extra batteries. (2) 12 ah outlast me most uses  .

[21incher]

Made a quick video showing how much I like mine

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, these saws fill a niche and work well for what they do. But I have not yet thought to pull the trigger on one. I have used them a bunch, as mentioned, my buddy has all of them in the Milwaukee line and has installed a scabbard and an inverter and charger in his SxS and runs his hard around his homestead. SO I have had them in my hands a lot except for that smallest one which I lost track of where he out it. He keeps saying that if I used those for mushroom logs I could claim my logs are produced "with entirely renewable energy and carbon free equipment"  Which could never be true, but sounds good.
 My 'issue' with them is 3 things for real work: 1) I find those narrow gage chains are just a pain and tend to bind up quick on moving cuts, 2) They take a lot more work (on the part of the user) to get the saw through a cut, watching your video that became clearer to me, I thought it was just my impression, but I can see it now and C) they are just not as fast as a gas saw that sucks itself through the cut. So all those are holding me back. 
 Now I would like to have one around the yard for trimming off a log when clients are picking up a load or branching out stuff, so maybe I'll grab one of the one handed hatchet type saw for the little stuff, that would fill a hole for me. But still, when I am cutting wood, I want to get it done and there is nothing fast about battery saws in my opinion. But that's just me, and my needs.  I should say they also have unique qualities, like no gas, much quieter, no pull start, etc. But they are not getting me excited. I do have a Ryobi battery saw but I haven't even charged it in over a year and I don't enjoy sharpening it with that tiny file.
 I am glad they are working out for others with there needs, I am just not there yet.

[21incher]

They definitely don't  cut like a wider kerf saw but will keep up with the CS310 I used to use. Lack of weight and narrow kerf  does make you rock them on the dogs in hard stuff. I started with new chains and cut all you see piled there without  filing so they are not the sharpest at this point either. Milwaukee chains seem to last much longer then others I have used. I'm waiting  for the 2 battery 20 inch standard chain one before the gas saws get tossed. My saws sit for months without being used and that is where these really shine. I have switched  over to all Milwaukee M18 OPE mostly because  my wife has Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome  and after using a gas saw I have to strip my clothing off and take a shower on my way inside so she doesn't  get sick from the residual fumes. These are a win for  us but as you say, not for everyone.

[John Mc]

So the Oregon bars are better then the Milwaukee OEM bars?

I think the Milwaukee bars are made by Oregon. The difference in the bars we are talking about here is that the stock bar is a narrow kerf bar, so it's thinner and more flexible than a standard bar. The part numbers mentioned above are for standard kerf bars. Oregon makes both kinds which will fit the Milwaukee M18 saw, but they only advertise the narrow kerf one as fitting it.

[Old Greenhorn]

What John said is spot on accurate. The design engineers at Milwaukee spec'ed out the narrow kerf because it draws less power form the battery, allowing them to claim the longest operating time. But out in the world, a LOT of users were complaining about bar flex issues and chains popping off. So Oregon had another bar chain combo that fit and worked well. If you go back a ways in this thread you will read some of my observations on how badly that OEM bar behaved. 
 So we had a long chat with the factory guy from Oregon about it at Boonville last August and he sold us the bar combo we have on the saw now. there are zero issues with the wider bar and chain. Battery life changes are unnoticeable, especially when you don't have to reset the chain once or twice an hour.
 It's a choice and it depends on how you use the saw, but  my friend Bill nearly sent that saw off into the woods a few times when the chain popped off, it was happening so often. Bill is not known for his gentle handling of saws in general, he is trying to make time and get things done. The new bar was the ticket to happiness.

[Old Greenhorn]

T.... I'm waiting  for the 2 battery 20 inch standard chain one before the gas saws get tossed. .........

Well, when that time times would you give me a call instead of selling them locally like you did with your trailer?  You are not that far, I can take a run down and relieve you of that burden, because that's what buddies do, right?

[21incher]

T.... I'm waiting  for the 2 battery 20 inch standard chain one before the gas saws get tossed. .........

Well, when that time times would you give me a call instead of selling them locally like you did with your trailer? You are not that far, I can take a run down and relieve you of that burden, because that's what buddies do, right?

Sorry,  I couldn't read your mind  .  14 people in line within a couple  hours so they seem to be in demand. Thinking a big garage sale this summer  . Gave away a couple of the lasers to veterans,  so the extras are gone.

Well I haven't had a chain jump on any of them yet. I use the pole saw for all the thin saplings and vines that seem to be the biggest cause of jumps. Maybe I have just been lucky. Guess I'll stick with the Milwaukee chains for now because I bought a spare  Milwaukee bar for each. I am careful  with those saws because it costs too much to replace them. A friend has the Harbor freight 80 volt one that is affordable and cuts just as good.

[Old Greenhorn]

For sure it's the usage and the operator. Bill is a young strong guy and tends o be a tad rough on his gear. Almost all of the chain popping issues I witnessed were standing in a truck bed trimming branches overhead as far as he could reach. But twice I saw it happen while hacking up slabs into the dump truck. He does tend to power through and if he gets it bound, he will push the saw sideways out of reflex to cut the cut to open up. That will always cause problems, but since the bar change out, he is a very happy camper. At around or under 2 years old, that rear handle saw already looks like he bought it in 1980.  Run hard and put up wet.

[21incher]

Well I tried out the top handle saw and it is pretty nice but a couple things that don't impress me. 

That little Deadman switch is a pain to keep down with  thick gloves on. 

The chain seems to move faster then the 16 inch saw but it also stalls easier then the 16. The variable speed trigger must be 100% depressed tight for full speed that was awkward with heavy gloves 

It eats the 12 ah battery pretty fast compared to the 16. The 16 really has more  grunt and cuts a little slower but the battery lasts a lot longer cutting. 

I will give it a couple hours to see if maybe it just needs some break in time. The chain it came with is amazingly sharp for a Milwaukee chain right out of the box.

[John Mc]

The chain it came with is amazingly sharp for a Milwaukee chain right out of the box.

Milwaukee does not make their own chains. It's a rebadged Oregon chain.

[21incher]

I think you jinxed me Tom  . Today I had a chain jump. Was trying to clean a bunch of big poison ivy and grape vines off a firewood tree. Caught one of those juicy poison ivy vines wrong and bam. First time for everything  . 
Here's a picture of a little friend that hung out with me this afternoon. About 3 ft long and I have never seen a snake out this early in the season up here. Usually mid April they become active.  This one liked the quietness of the electric saws and hung out for a couple hours a couple feet away from me. Followed me like a dog. Was real friendly all last year also if it's the same one.
 

[21incher]

I think you jinxed me Tom  . Today I had a chain jump. Was trying to clean a bunch of big poison ivy and grape vines off a firewood tree. Caught one of those juicy poison ivy vines wrong and bam. First time for everything  .
Here's a picture of a little friend that hung out with me this afternoon. About 3 ft long and I have never seen a snake out this early in the season up here. Usually mid April they become active.  This one liked the quietness of the electric saws and hung out for a couple hours a couple feet away from me. Followed me like a dog. Was real friendly all last year also if it's the same one.
 

Well I found out why it looked like that snake was hanging out with me and following me around.  Turns out last fall that tree was dropped over a good size hole in the ground. Today doing the final cutting and raking up found the hole and watched 5 good sized garter snakes come and go from it. They would come out stretch out in the sun and then disappear down the hole. At one point 5 were stretched out right next to where I was working. Wonder how many  there actually are down there. May have to send the borescope down to see how deep it goes.