Battery chainsaw

[Dave Shepard]

YouTuber Mitch Zenobi took down an entire (spruce, doug fir?) with a Milwaukee Harchet. He did have a much longer bar on it.

[Dave Shepard]

I finally got a chance to file the chain on my M18 top handle. It was suggested to me that this chain liked a fatter file. I used a 4.5mm. I also took the rakers down a bunch. This has changed the saw noticeably. It takes better advantage of the torque, and battery life seems to have improved.

https://youtu.be/9m_rBKurVWk?si=ndww29I3d6JrnXzv

[memopad]

I bought a dewalt 20v chainsaw last summer and have been pretty disappointed by it. I got it on a good sale and got 2 new batteries with it, made sense for me with all my other dewalt tools. The saw is really nice and light, but I think the chain speed is too slow with it. It really jumps around on cuts, and tears more than cuts clean. I even went to a bigger bar to run the same stihl yellow chain I favor on my 241, but no change in the cut.

I bought my dad a new Stihl msa 70 cb for Christmas and that has been amazing. It's the perfect small saw for cutting around the burn pile, pruning, or any other small task around the farm. 

These small electric saws are so lightweight, they make a lot of sense as a carry saw for trail work or use around the sawmill. Now I want to buy a Stihl for myself. 

[doc henderson]

I have a Stihl electric and once you have the charger and batteries, the tools are not as bad to add cost wise.  I have half a dozen.  some I only use a few times a year, but they are handy and the best tool for those jobs.  They all have "electric" start.  

[Corley5]

Anybody have a Husky 542i XP? I've got a Milwaukee 18v that I've had for quite awhile now. No complaints. Upgrading the bar and chain made me like it more but something more substantial maybe in order. I'm not sold on the dual battery Milwaukee yet    It and the 542i are comparable in price.

[doc henderson]

I have an early Stihl CS.  at the dealer yesterday, they have numerous saws and weed whackers.  more full-size electric saws and trimers.  they even have an edge trimer on a trimmer style frame with a wheel and metal blade for edging.

[DHansen]

I have a top handle 542XPi.  The low oil warning light is okay, but not as reliable as I would like.  More of an issue when temps are below 20°F.  The window in the side of the bar oil tank is more reliable when you remember to check it.  I also have a rear handled 540XPi.  No low bar oil warning system on that saw.  Just the window in the oil tank.  I have learned to check the oil level more often as the battery will outlast the oil supply.   The 542XPi has a centrifugal clutch the 540XPi does not.  Not a big deal, but noticeable.  I like them both.  I do like the feel of the centrifugal clutch one, but its a minimal difference in performance.   Also I am not a professional arborist or make a living cutting trees.  I can get more work done with a 50cc gas saw, but in sensitive areas or early morning late night tasks these battery saws are quite, do the task they are designed for and very convenient.   Under 7" hard wood and its a good tool.

[Dave Shepard]

I've watched just about everything on the dual battery, and I'd have one if I had the money for it. Two 12.0 Forge, and a Stihl RS chain, and it would be way better than stock. Husky has some weird features that are very annoying.

https://youtu.be/OiCHvlKugDI?si=e4msk95sm7193qd8

[Magicman]

I dislike the fact that my Milwaukee Hatchet sorta weeps chain/bar oil or either it is the residual from normal use.  Anyway I have to be diligent/careful how and where it is stored in my toolbox.  
 

[Machinebuilder]

my major complaint on the Milwaukee hatchet it the tension adjustment is terrible.

I tore mine apart and filed some burrs and other spots so it wouldn't jam itself.

I think all my saws weep bar oil

[YellowHammer]

When I first bought my Stihl, I tested it and cut hard (for a battery saw) on a tree for 45 minutes non stop and was fairly impressed.  Of course, it's not even close to my smallest gas chainsaw, but is a light and a definite "one hander." 

Years later, I still use mine all the time around the mill, but never for more than a few seconds at a time, it excels at cutting ends off boards, general trimming, etc, light duty work.  If I lean on not too hard, it simply stops running until I lighten up.  A few seconds "on" to cut a board, and then put it down.  It has a persistent bar oil drip, as well, which explains the remainder of the post.

I also use it in our showroom to roughly trim the lengths of high dollar finished hardwood mantels (some cost more than the saw, itself) too thick to cut for my circular saw, such as 3" and 4" thick mahogany, etc, where slinging oil or even oily sawdust on the board is completely intolerable.  Because of this, it's also been years since I filled the saw with bar oil.   I am still on my first bar, and probably 6th or 7th chain (I tried sharpening these little chains once or twice and and now just punt them for a new one), and there is no heat marks or blueing on the bar, and the bar is bone dry and throws clean, dry chips, much like a circular saw.  I used it for trimming sassafras boards just two days ago.  Yeah, I know people are cringing right now, but in reality, at least with my electric saw and the way I use it, it simply doesn't generate enough bar heat or contact friction to wear to where I care to ruin a board with oily residue, and there are no appreciable wear burrs on the bar.  I'm just throwing this out there, don't freak out, it has found a niche at my operation, and that niche is pretty handy.

In contrast, my 500i, which I do "lean on" hard, gets all the bar oil the oiler will allow, and needs more.