# WOW! They have IMPROVED the battery powered chainsaws to no END!



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I bought one last winter. I had used it just a couple of times because it has been cold out: I just wanted to get the feel of it. Today was the first time I used it for real.

Basically, I had 20 year old brush against one fence that I had wanted gone for quite some time. So, I got down on my hands and knees and went along and that chainsaw just went ZIIP! ZIIP! ZIIP! and I now have a pile of brush to move away. 

I also cut the top off of a neer-do-well apple tree, and the wood was about a foot thick. It MIGHT have taken as long as 60 seconds to cut through it. I will cut the stump off the next time I feel like getting down on my hands and knees. 

I am just really, REALLY impressed with the modern day battery chainsaws!

Now, I can hear some of you guys snickering because a battery saw will not cut as long as a gas powered saw, but then I am a middle aged female and *I* cannot use a chainsaw for more than 30 minutes or so. So for me the battery model is pretty much perfect!

Best of all, my son is staying here until his new apartment is ready to move into and he is helping me in order to earn money. I told him that I had cut a lot of brush and he said "more money for me"! I am laughing inside because he has no idea how much brush I have cut! LOL! 

We have had 2 days of above-freezing weather: on Tuesday the snow storms move in again, more is the pity. DS's apartment was supposed to be ready 2 days ago and it wasn't: there is a very good chance that it will not be ready until it is storming again.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I am not snickering that you used a battery-powered chainsaw. I am snickering because you used a chainsaw to cut brush off at ground level. That sounds to be very dangerous. Maybe next time consider a cordless brushcutter with the circular saw blade attachment.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

I have a battery powered chainsaw. Works nice for limbing but wouldn't want to try cutting anything bigger than a couple inches with it.

WWW


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> I am not snickering that you used a battery-powered chainsaw. I am snickering because you used a chainsaw to cut brush off at ground level. That sounds to be very dangerous. Maybe next time consider a cordless brushcutter with the circular saw blade attachment.


Is it? How so? There is a lot that I do not know.

Most of the stems were about 2 inches thick, but I cut a few that were only an inch or so.

This is why I bought the chainsaw:


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

That video should be used to show people how NOT to use a chainsaw. No gloves, no safety glasses, no tyvek chaps, no face shield. 

Did you know if you're down there on the ground and the front top tip of your chain bar touches a piece of brush that it could result in kickback that would force the bar toward your face? In crowded brush areas, you might not even be able to see what the tip of your saw bar might come into contact with.

I have no problem with a cordless chainsaw. I just have a problem with people using a chainsaw in an unsafe manner and using it for purposes it was not intended to be used for. If you are going to continue to use your saw to cut brush, make sure you can see what the tip of the bar may come into contact with. If there is too much brush in the way making it difficult to see your bar tip, don't use it.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

He’s right. Totally.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Good to know, and thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

congrats on the fine job of brush cutting. and I am glad you are happy with your chainsaw.
getting hit in the face results in a kick back from a saw cutting in a vertical manner. cutting brush along the ground is horizontal cutting. 
most saws have the kick back guard. it stops the blade before it hits you. you might still get injured, but it is a lot less severe than a spinning chain.
I have a weed whacker with the saw blade on. I prefer the chainsaw..


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

So, you're holding you saw parallel to the ground and you get kickback. Yes, I agree you probably won't get hit in the head. More likely you'll get hit in the toe or ankle. LOL!

Me, I prefer a brushcutter with a carbide-tipped circular saw blade. I can stand erect while I cut, not worry about kickback, and keep moving without getting up and down, up and down, up and down. I've cut the brush and maintain the brush on over 1 mile of trails on our property.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Chainstop chaps or pants are a true blessing


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Terri: Hang on to that chain saw for dear life. You can whack off brush as you describe, but it is as dangerous as BC says. If you are conscious of the danger and holding on to that saw as if it were a live alligator you will probably be ok. 

If you own the weed eater with the saw blade, or one of the Troy bilt weed eaters that look like a lawn mower with the chain saw blade on it you will be far safer. Just remember that even BC's carbide tip circular saw can throw shrapnel at him if he hits a rock with it.

Some years ago I had a big three-horse engine on a shoulder-carry circular saw, hit a rock and knocked off a tooth. That thing hit another rock and made a sound like a bullet whizzing past. I traded it for a black powder rifle the next week.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

AmericanStand said:


> Chainstop chaps or pants are a true blessing


and they work great for wading through blackberry vines while picking. however, they tend to get very warm..


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

The chaps are a bit cooler....


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

If I were working all day every day with a saw as woodsmen do I would never start a saw without my protective gear, but in all the years I've known people who use saws only for week-end wood cutting, fence clearing and the like I've known only one man who got hurt. He split his knee when he let his saw get too close to a barbed wire fence. I do hang on tight to my saw though. You simply cannot get careless.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

You don't think you need chaps until you need them.
I cut thru my carhardts once and didn't realize it until I got back up at the house with a boot full of blood.
Chainsaws, even the little ones, are an unforgiving beast.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I cut the brush from the side of GFs house yesterday and used my telescopic tree saw /lopper with the saw blade removed to make it easier to use the up to 2 inch diameter pull line lopper blade on all but three scrubs without having to stand in the still wet side yard.

I just put a chair on the side of her patio , took a seat, extended the lopper to full length and hook hung the blade at ground level and pull the compound blade closer and moved to the next scrub brush that fit into the loppers.

Today when I went by for dinner, I carried my mud boots and hatchet to chop out the three larger brush and dragged all the brush up beside the drive to haul off to the dump Wednesday.

During dinner I asked her why she had let the scrub brush grow up so bad and she said since it was out of sight on the back side, she had borrowed a page from my book and just ignored it for three years.

I loved the dirty look she shot me when I added that since she knew I had brush cutting tools, when she saw some growing close to the power feed line to her back shop building, it just occurred to her to ask me to clear it for her. LOL


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

They are getting better all the time.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

. Electric chain saws have a higher torque and pose a different type of hazard than gas powered chain saws; therefore chaps are not suggested for use . no clutch ,direct drive.
they are only really good for gasoline chainsaws
they work by coming apart very quickly and jamming the clutch / sprocket and bar tip with a bazillion tiny fibers
they are essentially useless for protection against electric chainsaws and any gas saws without a clutch / sprocket setup
no protection at all against other types of saws beyond what any really thick pair of pants would offer Lots of info on the web ---look it up


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Saw chaps won’t jam a electric saw ?


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Oops here; I said something about one of the weed whackers built by Troy Bilt that look like a lawn mower.

I think the original, and mine is, built by D. R. Mine must be twenty years old, has a disc that holds plastic weed cutting string and a bigger disc with a saw chain locked around it. They are interchangeable.


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## flewism (Apr 2, 2007)

"*WOW! They have IMPROVED the battery powered chainsaws to no END*!"

That is good because my only experience with one about 10 years ago was it was a toy. It was a small Black and Decker 12" chainsaw with a .250 chain. It was not mine I did work on it, just sharpen the chain after getting the right file. The battery only lasted about 15 minutes under load.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

AmericanStand said:


> Saw chaps won’t jam a electric saw ?


 When I worked for the state I took a 40 hour pro class on chainsaws called *Forest Applications Training**. taught by Tim Ard. look him up on youtube. he has worked with and is one of the very best in the industry , he is a true pro . he told me electric saws cut chaps and if anyone would know it would be him .*


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I started renting a field from an old woman (my age). I wanted to get it into hay. But the field had gone unused many years. She had brush hogged all the brush and burned it. But there are several "groves" of big spruce and a few individual spruce, about 20 feet tall and quite bushy. Several areas along the fence line were full of brush. she said she'd clear what she could with her battery chainsaw. I didn't expect much. But she got all the low hanging spruce branches, 1 to 2 inches diameter, perhaps a hundred of them. She cleared 100 yards of brush along the fence. I ended up cutting the trees that are a foot thick, with my chainsaw. But I'm impressed at how much that battery powered chainsaw would cut.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

may have to pick one up , no smoke , no noise . and now that they work sounds like it will be good for trail clearing .


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

ticndig said:


> When I worked for the state I took a 40 hour pro class on chainsaws called *Forest Applications Training**. taught by Tim Ard. look him up on youtube. he has worked with and is one of the very best in the industry , he is a true pro . he told me electric saws cut chaps and if anyone would know it would be him .*


 I understand they might not work as well but are they just slower to stop a electric or a total fail ?
I’d assume something is better than nothing ?


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Lol had to look at google....






They seem to be more effective than nothing. 
I’d still wear them for thorn protection but it’s good to see they offer some protection.


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

ticndig said:


> may have to pick one up , no smoke , no noise . and now that they work sounds like it will be good for trail clearing .


I tried one. The biggest ones do ok however if you have very much to cut like tree they can't match the 18 inch gas Husqvarna saw.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

AmericanStand said:


> Lol had to look at google....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well there you have it. Chaps will stop an electric chainsaw.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I am sure an electric chainsaw could be made usable. But the couple older ones (120V plugin type) I had used, had an el cheapo fiber drive gear and this didnt hold up. New drive gear going to cost as much as a whole new chainsaw.

Battery powered anything is limited by capacity of the batteries and how well the batteries store when saw isnt used for couple years at time. Now I bet a well made plug in version with genuine metal parts would be great for somebody that uses a chainsaw to trim a limb every couple years. Gas saws when not used regularly nor stored properly are real pain to clean up and get running again. An electric one you just add some more chain oil and plug it in or charge/replace the batteries and you are off to the races. Guessing those batteries are not cheap..... and there is the downside.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

HJ; I empty the tank on my saw and run it dry before storing. I then use a cup full of the $5 per quart premix sold now for weed eaters to start it when I take it out of storage. That pre-mix is expensive but it sure starts a chain saw. Once I have it up and running I use the regular no-ethanol gas and oil mix.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Battery powered chainsaw’s are now reaching the quality levels of premium gas powered chainsaws. 
The length of battery use is very much a red herring changing batteries is a two second item much less trouble than filling up with gas


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

My experience is that those batteries are very expensive, do not last long and are a pain to lug around and store.


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## Vjklander (Apr 24, 2018)

I've used battery chain saws from Lowes. They were nice in many respects: quiet, strong enough, light, etc. But all 3 I had the trigger broke inside. 2 wouldn't start working, 1 was broken in the on position. I used it for a few quickie chores by popping the battery in to start and popping it out to stop. Lowes exchanged the 1st two for new saws and refunded the 3rd. The polesaw has stood up well and works fine.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

I agree with OP. I have about 4 or 5 gas chain saws and a 120-volt electric chain saw. I can pull a long extension cord out, cut up a small tree with the electric chain saw (up to about 8 inches in diameter) and be back in the house before I could gas up and crank one of the gas saws. And yes, the gas saws are Stihl, Husqvarna, Sears, and such---but kind of old. 

I also was given a 20-volt rechargeable set of Ryobi tools when the owner died. I bought some new Lithium 20-volt batteries and I use the drill, the circular saw and the variable speed reciprocating saw pretty often because they work so well. The reciprocating saw is great for limbs up to about 2 or 3 inches in diameter.

I also use a B&D rechargeable leaf blower and handheld vacuum, but I am less impressed with them.

If your only experience with rechargeable tools was NiMH, you need to try Li-ion.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Talk about coincidence; Lady down the road has been telling me all winter that she would come get my pole saw and cut down some branches overhanging her fence.

Well, today she came home from Menards with a battery powered pole saw. Eight inch blade, 2.7 ampere hours, 40 volt lithium ion battery. 

Mine is electric, so she would have had to run an extension cord to it, or I'd have to haul my generator over there.

Now, let's talk batteries; 40 volts is power, but 2.7 ampere hours will not run long. How much capacity is in the batteries for the saws we've been discussing?

I see that the bigger electric saws run 80 volts. An 8-inch saw is pretty small.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Ox take a look at the Milwaukee brand tools and batteries. 
They have a selection of batteries from 2 amp hours (light) to 9 (heavy)
I think they have a 16 inch blade available. 
It’s so easy to exchange batteries that I prefer the. 2 or 4 ah for the lighter weight.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Chuck, I also drain my saw when done, but I never heard of the (premix your talking about) What name does it fly under?


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

How much do you put in the tank, and do you run it out or drain it out and refill with gas?


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Bill the premix is sold at Walmart in the garden center; just ask for the 40 or 50 to one premix for weed eaters. Tractor Supply also sells it. 

All I use it for is getting the equipment running. 
about a cup ful in an empty tank, then when the saw or weed eater is running well I fill the tank with the regular gas-oil mix and go from there. To expensive to run all summer, about $25 per gallon, so I buy quarts. It will run in any engine--50 to one is not much oil, but I do not usually need anything to start my four cycle engines.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

IDK about the battery saws, but about 20 years ago I bought an Eager Beaver electric saw. I was building a lot of decks that summer and it was handy for cutting off 6/6's and notching them.
I used it for two winters for cutting all of my firewood when I was heating 100% with wood.
I cut 12" dia logs easily. and it still works today.
chaps are a good idea , no matter what type of saw you are using. most of the accidental incidences are usually just a "touch" to the leg, Not a full force slam
the chaps will prevent those kinds of cuts and minimize the more severe ones.
the chaps are great for picking black berries. a bit warm, though..


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Chuck I know what premix is. Never heard it called that. Its the shot glas of some kind of oil you mix with a gal of Ethyl gas for small engines.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

NO Bill !!!!
This stuff is fuel plus oil, but the fuel is hyped up tor easy starting two cycle engines. Comes in quarts and gallons. Look at it in Walmart next time you go.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

OK, Guys and Gals: Mindful of the discussion here I visited a flea market sale this morning and saw absolutely nothing I needed. I DID see a Craftsman 18 inch electric chain saw in a box with the blade taken off so that it would fit the box. Lady said it worked, but she just wanted to be rid of it and it was $5,00

Now I know that it is impolite not to haggle at flea markets, but I could do no more than gossip about the weather and ask why she was done with her saw. "Just don't use it and it takes up space. sprocket shows no wear, bar same, chain like new. No electricity so we could not test it, but I gambled. Craftsman is usually pretty good equipment.

Just plugged it in; nothing. Pulled the safety bar back and it hums like a hornet. So, no matter what my opinions of electric chain saws are, I own two. Bless her heart, my good neighbor down the street paid $100 for a sixteen inch pole saw last week when she could have used mine for free.

Now I wonder if the little lady at the flea market did not know that the safety bar had to be pulled back.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I have noticed these past few years that the folks who sell outdoor equipment no longer tell you how to start the device. According to the salesman that sold me my weed-whacker, it is to avoid lawsuits. If you do not know how to turn something on you are supposed to take it back and ask for another demonstration. 

This lady is probably not the person who bought it, and it is not like she could go to the website and be TOLD about the safety!!!!!!! So she likely assumed it was broken.


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

If so, that sweet little Mama was trying to put one over on me. I would prefer to think that she was just tired of seeing it lying around.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Oxankle said:


> If so, that sweet little Mama was trying to put one over on me. I would prefer to think that she was just tired of seeing it lying around.


My wife got one of these Little Giant Ladders at a yard sale for $5.00 because the woman said it was in her way in her storeroom. It's $160.00 at Lowe's.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

Excellent deal!


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

LOL, I'm jealous of the ladder, but I'm afraid to climb ladders anymore so I'll settle for the saw.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Oxankle said:


> If so, that sweet little Mama was trying to put one over on me. I would prefer to think that she was just tired of seeing it lying around.


Maybe so maybe no. Most of the women I have known really do not WANT to know how to use a chainsaw. I don'r know why.

If that is the case, then it really WOULD be in her way because she would never use it


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## Jen_Jen (Jan 10, 2017)

We have two. They charge really fast once the batteries deplete. We love them.

My dude has brought down trees with ours. You just have to know what you're doing and be careful.
Jen M, WV


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