I don't have a power pruner, but I cut up to 8" with the Hayauchi. My blad is original and unbent, but getting a little dull so it may be time for a swap.
Is it worth trying to sharpen them?
Power pruner vs. pole saw
- Thread starter Greg
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Is it worth trying to sharpen them?
Bermie
Addicted to ArboristSite
I know that the hot ticket saws right now are the Silky's. But has anybody used the Stihl arborist supplies yet? I was down at my dealer today where they had the extendable Stihl pole saw, looked really nice. I asked the owner how many he has sold, to which he replied "1" He said they were really nice but also pretty expensive. What do you guys think of these things? If I wanted to buy one I could either go there for the Stihl version or go up the road to Vermeer and buy the Silky's. Which reminds me I need to go purchase myself a Zubat one of these days for pruning
I had a Stihl pole saw on extended loan, then it had to go back. It was a great tool, cut very well, the only problem was the locks on the extensions would slip from time to time. I had one on order from my dealer, it took over a month and was going to cost over $250, I cancelled the order, got on the internet and got a Hayauch 21' from Forestry Suppliers for $174. It got here in one week.
I find the Hayauchi very useful and it cuts like a hot knife through butter, even palms... but I also will borrow my friends Stihl power pruner (the fourstroke extendable model). A pole saw can be difficult to use on smaller extended branches, they move too much to cut properly, the power pruner is through in a trice.
You have to be strong to hold the power pruner steady enough not to overcut and nick the next branch or trunk when finishing the cut. The advice to reduce length and weight first leaving a stub for the finish cut is a good call.
Overall I use a pole saw more, but the power pruner is needed on some jobs.
BostonBull
Addicted to ArboristSite
And your point?
Its a good VALID thread, tha some employed Arborists thought would be good to rummage out of the dark!
Its a good VALID thread, tha some employed Arborists thought would be good to rummage out of the dark!
BostonBull
Addicted to ArboristSite
Good topics never die.
Why sour grapes about the guys bringing back topics from the past? I think this is a good valid thread that to this day guys still ponder.
ddhlakebound
Addicted to ArboristSite
What, gettin paid commission from the sales of these, or what? You've pretty much spammed a dozen threads with your toy electric polesaw, so either you're marketing, or you don't want to look at all the drawbacks of the product.
ddhlakebound
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thats funny.....this press release is from......Rhode Island, about a month and a half ago....I'm sure it's just coincidence though that you're from Rhode Island. Pfft.
Apr 11, 2009 – Providence, R.I. – After 5 plus years of testing and development; the Extended Reach Chainsaw System is now available for homeowners, landscapers, property managers, arborists and lawn service professionals. The Extended Reach Chainsaw System is an innovative and revolutionary way to cut, trim, prune and sculpt trees, hedges, bushes and brush.
Marketing is one thing, lying about it and saying you're a happy customer is another entirely.......Let the red rep flow.
Michael Savage
ArboristSite Lurker
Just for reference sake down here the term 'pole pruner' refers to a seucater type arrangement on the end of a pole, operated by a cord/pulley type system and is typically sold as an attachment for the jamison pole system, or a similar product
Then there is your polesaw weather it be a silky, wolfgarten or witch ever you use.
I think all of these tools (pole pruner, and both power and mechanical polesaws) should be part of any tree company's equipment and are all extremely useful tools.
The term polesaw also refers to the power polesaw in Australia the market is dominated by Stihl though I believe there are a lot of Echo brand polesaws getting around the place
It has been several years since I have used the latter, though I have memories of that unit having a little more reach at a lighter weight than the stihl product. I think it may have been a little more cumbersome to use and down on power compared to the stihl, again this is from memory only.
The stihl product is widley used by contractors involved in municipal operations in Australia, pruning juvenile and semi mature roadside trees.
It is a good tool IMO though there are some issues with it, and it has its obvious limitations.
The saw is now sold with a harness, that in my experience is a total waste of time as it limits usability of the saw. I believe this addition was due to a large amount of feedback relating to upper back and neck injurys as a result of using the saw above waist height, or for extended periods. Anyone who has used one can testify to this fact to some extent.
The other problem with the saw (in both examples) is the bar oiling system, that despite at least 2 evolutions of the saw remains un-resolved, leading to regular replacement of the bar, chain and drive sprocket.
Our reaction to this (and I should add, we only use stihl power saws) has been to run the chain a little loose to avoid repetedly heating and stretching it, this however is far from an ideal solution as it only increases longevity of the business end of the saw marginally.
I have never encountered the vapor lock problem that someone mentioned earlier, though that could be an environmental factor.
At the end of the day though it will come down to 2 factors price, and personal preference
Hope I'm not stating the obvious here..
-Mike
Then there is your polesaw weather it be a silky, wolfgarten or witch ever you use.
I think all of these tools (pole pruner, and both power and mechanical polesaws) should be part of any tree company's equipment and are all extremely useful tools.
The term polesaw also refers to the power polesaw in Australia the market is dominated by Stihl though I believe there are a lot of Echo brand polesaws getting around the place
It has been several years since I have used the latter, though I have memories of that unit having a little more reach at a lighter weight than the stihl product. I think it may have been a little more cumbersome to use and down on power compared to the stihl, again this is from memory only.
The stihl product is widley used by contractors involved in municipal operations in Australia, pruning juvenile and semi mature roadside trees.
It is a good tool IMO though there are some issues with it, and it has its obvious limitations.
The saw is now sold with a harness, that in my experience is a total waste of time as it limits usability of the saw. I believe this addition was due to a large amount of feedback relating to upper back and neck injurys as a result of using the saw above waist height, or for extended periods. Anyone who has used one can testify to this fact to some extent.
The other problem with the saw (in both examples) is the bar oiling system, that despite at least 2 evolutions of the saw remains un-resolved, leading to regular replacement of the bar, chain and drive sprocket.
Our reaction to this (and I should add, we only use stihl power saws) has been to run the chain a little loose to avoid repetedly heating and stretching it, this however is far from an ideal solution as it only increases longevity of the business end of the saw marginally.
I have never encountered the vapor lock problem that someone mentioned earlier, though that could be an environmental factor.
At the end of the day though it will come down to 2 factors price, and personal preference
Hope I'm not stating the obvious here..
-Mike
conlan
ArboristSite Lurker
Power pruner is a must have for any full time tree guy.
Get the power pruner and you will find its a great tool to have in your arsenal. It will save a massive amount of time and is extremely convenient to have. Make sure it is always razor sharp, otherwise it can be hard on the components. You'll be glad you spent the money.
Get the power pruner and you will find its a great tool to have in your arsenal. It will save a massive amount of time and is extremely convenient to have. Make sure it is always razor sharp, otherwise it can be hard on the components. You'll be glad you spent the money.
sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
I have the Sthil pole saw, Jameson poles with both a pruner attachment( corona commercial one the sell at Vermeer) and the saw blade attachment, I use the 14" Fanno on it. Had the Echo some years ago, was a nice saw, but the handle was hard to operate in most positions. The stihl is worth it weight in gold, many, many different apps for that one.
I too run the chain slightly loose, it does make a difference in performance. Again, I believe the diversity amongst your tools is almost a must, everything is better than something else in certain applications, if that made any sense!
I too run the chain slightly loose, it does make a difference in performance. Again, I believe the diversity amongst your tools is almost a must, everything is better than something else in certain applications, if that made any sense!
BUY THE ECHO POWER PRUNER!!
Ive ran the stihls version & it does not even compar to the echo!! & Im a stihl guy....!
I posted some modifications that you can make to the power pruner to avoid bad cuts/slow cutting, etc.. the mods on mine put it close to a hydraulic stick saw!!!!
as for durability.....Ive actually (accidentally & in a hurry) ran the extension shaft over.....the cursing was terrible, LOL but a buddy of mine who is a pipe fitter straigtened it out & it works fine, my echo is around 6 years old & has more than earned its keep!!!
Good Luck!!
LXT.................
Ive ran the stihls version & it does not even compar to the echo!! & Im a stihl guy....!
I posted some modifications that you can make to the power pruner to avoid bad cuts/slow cutting, etc.. the mods on mine put it close to a hydraulic stick saw!!!!
as for durability.....Ive actually (accidentally & in a hurry) ran the extension shaft over.....the cursing was terrible, LOL but a buddy of mine who is a pipe fitter straigtened it out & it works fine, my echo is around 6 years old & has more than earned its keep!!!
Good Luck!!
LXT.................
murphy4trees
Addicted to ArboristSite
thats hard to believe.. guess I nees to try that echo out... the new stihl 131 seems to have a lot of low end power, which was always an issue with the old models.. haven't owned this one long enough to see if the bar oiling system will hold up though..
used the 131 to take out the top of a 75-80' oak at 1:30 in this video.. bucket was maxxed, so setting the lowering line with a pole saw and making the cut with the pole pruner allowed me to stay in the bucket. Tricky cut to not get the saw pinched though..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqtb_KAeIZw
used the 131 to take out the top of a 75-80' oak at 1:30 in this video.. bucket was maxxed, so setting the lowering line with a pole saw and making the cut with the pole pruner allowed me to stay in the bucket. Tricky cut to not get the saw pinched though..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqtb_KAeIZw
M.D. Vaden
vadenphotography.com
Just sold my power pruner.
Only had about 10 hours on it total in 5 years.
I prefer the connecting fiberglass poles.
If I was to get a "mass production" contract, I'd consider a power pruner. Prefer better finish cuts than the power pruner usually gives, but its not that bad if the RPMs are kept fairly speedy and the cut made slow.
Still nothing quite as nice as a good hand-powered finish cut with a good blade. But one option is to use a power pruner to knock out the bulk and come back later to finish all the stubs in a phase.
Only had about 10 hours on it total in 5 years.
I prefer the connecting fiberglass poles.
If I was to get a "mass production" contract, I'd consider a power pruner. Prefer better finish cuts than the power pruner usually gives, but its not that bad if the RPMs are kept fairly speedy and the cut made slow.
Still nothing quite as nice as a good hand-powered finish cut with a good blade. But one option is to use a power pruner to knock out the bulk and come back later to finish all the stubs in a phase.
got an HT131 with a broken bottom section. anyone else have problems with HT131 breaking? Echo's pole/bar seems a LOT stronger than Stihl
my old HT75 is still hanging in there. a deal popped up on a PPT260 Echo in like new condition ... so I jumped on it.
Stihl dealer wants $200 for parts to fix broken pole section. has anyone exchanged pole/bar from HT75 to HT131? inner shaft is the same part number and OD of shaft is the same.
looks like I'll be unbolting pole/bar real soon to see if I can change out shafts.
my old HT75 is still hanging in there. a deal popped up on a PPT260 Echo in like new condition ... so I jumped on it.
Stihl dealer wants $200 for parts to fix broken pole section. has anyone exchanged pole/bar from HT75 to HT131? inner shaft is the same part number and OD of shaft is the same.
looks like I'll be unbolting pole/bar real soon to see if I can change out shafts.
+1, there is nothing like a nice hand-powered cut.
Yes, I know it's an old thread. So what?
Why debate about which kind of pole saw to get? You should have both if you plan on making money at it. The pole saws will easily reach much higher than a power pruner, and the power pruners cut MUCH faster than the best manual saw can ever hope to accomplish.
We have the Stihl extendable pole pruner, and I am not too crazy about it. It's nice and light, the saw is easily good enough for most any trimming job, but I still don't like it! The 3 sections are joined by locking clamps that don't hold. There are permanently locking snap pins at the end of the travel, and they also fail to hold. The snap pins at the end of the travel hold well enough to use for sawing, but this really is not a bit more convenient (on the ground) than just using sectional pole pruners.
If your groundie drops the pole pruner when you send it down from the tree, the butt hits the ground, and the snap pins strip out the hole. Oops. $275.00 tool is not as good as it used to be...
Regarding a power pruner: they are great for fast work at a bit closer to the ground than a pole pruner will reach. They are rather fatiguing to use for long periods at full extension. I would argue about the quality of the cut; they use a narrow kerf chain that cuts as clean as a 200T. Obviously, being 12' away from the cut does not make it easy to produce good work.
The Echo can be equipped with an additional 5' extension, making it much longer than the Stihl. It also can be equipped with the "Hedger" attachment, which actually works quite well on tall junipers and arborvitae.
Some simple techniques with any power pruner:
"Bottom of the branch" angled wedges are easy to produce if you are not at the limits of your reach. This can be used to swing the branch away from the operator. This is very important when you are cutting 6"-12" branches, because the operator has to make sure the branch doesn't fall on him/her.
NEVER just make a cut starting at the top unless it is a rather small branch. These pole pruners are easy to pinch, and are particularly bad about it when you are extended all the way to reach a branch. SOLUTION: make a horizontal bottom cut with the very tip of the saw, then notch both sides of the remaining wood, leaving only the top-center of the branch still holding. Finish the cut from either side, depending on which way the branch is likely to twist. You can even make open-face wedges on the very bottom of a branch using this technique, but it will leave you dodging the branch when it falls.
Poor quality cuts can be managed just like when you are up in the tree: cut further away from the trunk, then clean up the cut when there is very little weight on the remaining branch. This is WAY easier than trying to make that many cuts in a 6" branch with a pole pruner.
"pop" cuts are super easy when you can stand well to the side of the branch and still reach it. 12' overhead? Use the full extension, stand 5-6' to the side and make an undercut, then top cut to finish. Clean, neat, and you don't need to dodge the falling branch.
Why debate about which kind of pole saw to get? You should have both if you plan on making money at it. The pole saws will easily reach much higher than a power pruner, and the power pruners cut MUCH faster than the best manual saw can ever hope to accomplish.
We have the Stihl extendable pole pruner, and I am not too crazy about it. It's nice and light, the saw is easily good enough for most any trimming job, but I still don't like it! The 3 sections are joined by locking clamps that don't hold. There are permanently locking snap pins at the end of the travel, and they also fail to hold. The snap pins at the end of the travel hold well enough to use for sawing, but this really is not a bit more convenient (on the ground) than just using sectional pole pruners.
If your groundie drops the pole pruner when you send it down from the tree, the butt hits the ground, and the snap pins strip out the hole. Oops. $275.00 tool is not as good as it used to be...
Regarding a power pruner: they are great for fast work at a bit closer to the ground than a pole pruner will reach. They are rather fatiguing to use for long periods at full extension. I would argue about the quality of the cut; they use a narrow kerf chain that cuts as clean as a 200T. Obviously, being 12' away from the cut does not make it easy to produce good work.
The Echo can be equipped with an additional 5' extension, making it much longer than the Stihl. It also can be equipped with the "Hedger" attachment, which actually works quite well on tall junipers and arborvitae.
Some simple techniques with any power pruner:
"Bottom of the branch" angled wedges are easy to produce if you are not at the limits of your reach. This can be used to swing the branch away from the operator. This is very important when you are cutting 6"-12" branches, because the operator has to make sure the branch doesn't fall on him/her.
NEVER just make a cut starting at the top unless it is a rather small branch. These pole pruners are easy to pinch, and are particularly bad about it when you are extended all the way to reach a branch. SOLUTION: make a horizontal bottom cut with the very tip of the saw, then notch both sides of the remaining wood, leaving only the top-center of the branch still holding. Finish the cut from either side, depending on which way the branch is likely to twist. You can even make open-face wedges on the very bottom of a branch using this technique, but it will leave you dodging the branch when it falls.
Poor quality cuts can be managed just like when you are up in the tree: cut further away from the trunk, then clean up the cut when there is very little weight on the remaining branch. This is WAY easier than trying to make that many cuts in a 6" branch with a pole pruner.
"pop" cuts are super easy when you can stand well to the side of the branch and still reach it. 12' overhead? Use the full extension, stand 5-6' to the side and make an undercut, then top cut to finish. Clean, neat, and you don't need to dodge the falling branch.
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murphy4trees
Addicted to ArboristSite
I don't much care for them for pruning, but find they work out well for removals, though I do use them occasionally for pruning..
terrible cuts, you have to leave stubs rather than risk violating the BPZ..
terrible cuts, you have to leave stubs rather than risk violating the BPZ..
UnityArborist
ArboristSite Member
THe hyuchi
IS the BEst POle saw!! One of the best investments I have made. The Blades Are expensive to replace, but there is a shop in town that will sharpen it for $5. An Arborist can always make a better cut with a pole saw vs a powersaw. If you need to make a big cut use a ladder and chainsaw. Save some money and get a Hyuchi or two.
IS the BEst POle saw!! One of the best investments I have made. The Blades Are expensive to replace, but there is a shop in town that will sharpen it for $5. An Arborist can always make a better cut with a pole saw vs a powersaw. If you need to make a big cut use a ladder and chainsaw. Save some money and get a Hyuchi or two.
