Batery powered chainsaws - when ?

[The Count]

how long until the old school saws will be replaced by greener ones?

 

[nmurph]

there are already several battery powered saws on the market.

 

[DavesMower&Saw]

how long until the old school saws will be replaced by greener ones?

Stihl will have one on the market late this year along with trimmer, leaf blower and the hedge clipper they currently sell. I think that saw companies have the technology to keep gas saws clean enough that they'll be able to keep selling them for the foreseeable future.

 

[zogger]

batteries, cables, mods

there are already several battery powered saws on the market.

I've seen that obviously, but have yet to see a side by side by side review of what is out there now for batt powered saws. I also haven't seen any of those modded yet either.

The only compromise so far one could do is to take a plug in electric, some of those are quite acceptable now, then run it from an inverter hooked to your woods harvesting vehicle. I know I can usually get quite close to any trees I am cutting up, maybe after a little junior skidder action with the tractor and some chains to get the log out in the open better.

They had that one company years ago made the 12 VDC option, with the jumper cables, but I haven't seen or heard of any other commercial attempts at resurrecting that idea since then.

Maybe for a battery option there could be a compromise, something one could do today, the saw itself is just the cutter and handle, etc, but the batts might be carried on you with a utility belt or vest, etc and just a real short lead to the saw. Then you wouldn't be limited to the one small battery that is built in, like they have now, and it could be more robust. A short lead is a little hassle, but the tree climbers learned to make do with a similar arrangement with their safety strap, so you can get used to it. It could even be integrated like that, power lead integral with a safety strap.

I don't necessarily see it as more "green" or not, but rather convenience and eliminating a lot of expensive points of failure. No carbs, no bad fuel and dorking with starting issues and air leaks and melted fuel lines, no worrying about scoring pistons and so on. Not at this time for huge felling jobs and so on, but for homeowner class firewood on smaller logs/trees and limbing, it might make a good alternative to the smaller gas powered saw with various two and three saw "plans" when you go out, plus as your emergency saw you might carry all the time in your ride, no worries about it starting or working, etc for that limb across the road sort of deal..

 

[The Count]

actualy I haven`t seen one; I have heard about it but i`m yet to walk in a shop and the dealer offer me one.
atm I kinda dislike entirely the electric saws; have operated a Bosch once AKE something, 1900W but power aside, it was....don`t know; maybe if you build a house, it is ok to have one; you cut a board, fit it with nails, then another one and so on; but for felling and bucking...I can`t see it commin`
I know it`s commin` but I can`t see it.

 

[wse8562]

there are already several battery powered saws on the market.

Thats true but they are designed for small jobs such as pruning or limbing. As far as I know no one makes a battery powered saw for heavy work. I think 4-stroke technology is something to watch. I known Dolmar has a good working prototype now. Not much on the rpm side but very good on torque. If it is as good as their other 4 stroke trimmers it could a viable option. A little heavy, but Iam sure they will work on that

 

[DavesMower&Saw]

Thats true but they are designed for small jobs such as pruning or limbing. As far as I know no one makes a battery powered saw for heavy work. I think 4-stroke technology is something to watch. I known Dolmar has a good working prototype now. Not much on the rpm side but very good on torque. If it is as good as their other 4 stroke trimmers it could a viable option. A little heavy, but Iam sure they will work on that

4 stroke saws and trimmers aren't the future, Stratofied charged two strokes are.
Look at Husqvarna and Stihl the two big dogs on the block, all the newest saws, trimmers, and blowers are Stratotfied charged motors. If 4 stroke was the future don't you think the new Stihl trimmers would be 4 Mix engines, but they haven't had a new 4 Mix product in 5 years.

 

[John R]

Stihl has 4 stroke trimmers out, and they seem to be working well, I think you'll see a 4 stroke chainsaw in the future as well.

It seems like there isn't much of an advantage, you still mix oil in the gas.

 

[nmurph]

dolmar dabbled with a four stroke saw several years ago, but i think that plan was dropped. i haven't read anything about it that was current.

 

[dave k]

My local dealer is due to go and see one of Stihl's new battery saws next week I think. It will be running off the batterys as used by the new hedge trimmer and is very much an battery 017 so he tells me.
If you search back there is an old thread about the first modern single man 4 stroke saw which was being sold by Makita.

 

[JDNicol]

Stihl MSA 160 C-BQ
I think it is already out in Germany.
Google Translate

Here is a promo vid;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B7vHqykSzG0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

 

[zogger]

I found this...

My local dealer is due to go and see one of Stihl's new battery saws next week I think. It will be running off the batterys as used by the new hedge trimmer and is very much an battery 017 so he tells me.
If you search back there is an old thread about the first modern single man 4 stroke saw which was being sold by Makita.

vid of their cordless electric saw. Text is in German...Certainly looks like it just might fit the bill for the smaller saw in the three saw plan. Who knows, might be my first stihl...see what they cost when they hit the streets as it where.

YouTube - Die neue STIHL Akku Motorsäge MSA 160 C-BQ - Video .....................Oeni

 

[The Count]

true story: 22 years ago, during Ceausescu communism, you were allowed to buy 30 liters of gas/ month. (it is not a typo,it is a fact) Not only that bud on Sunday only half the cars were allowed to run and the other half next Sunday.

It was a great time for toluene smugglers. Any-who, the happiest peoples were those with Trabant that was a car popular this part of Europe; it had two stroke engine and ran with anything...

those were the days.

I would like to hear more about 4 stroke saws. I thought that 4 stroke don`t need oil/gas mix

 

[zogger]

the price

Stihl MSA 160 C-BQ
I think it is already out in Germany.
Google Translate

Here is a promo vid;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B7vHqykSzG0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

Recommended in euros is..well..first I thought I might be getting one, now..don't think so. Looks like a spiffy little saw though...

 

[The Count]

the price is too much I reckon; I can`t see anything power related though.

 

[wse8562]

4 stroke saws and trimmers aren't the future, Stratofied charged two strokes are.
Look at Husqvarna and Stihl the two big dogs on the block, all the newest saws, trimmers, and blowers are Stratotfied charged motors. If 4 stroke was the future don't you think the new Stihl trimmers would be 4 Mix engines, but they haven't had a new 4 Mix product in 5 years.

You may well be right about that! But remember that with 4-mix you still have to mix fuel. And they are way heavier. The Dolmar 4 stroke is just that, a true 4-stroke! I do prefer the strato though. More like a conventional saw,and I believe they may outlast the old school stuff due to running a little cooler temps because of the air injected into the cylinder.

 

[bcsizemo]

I wonder who Stihl is going to market that saw to?

It looks like it'd have the same life expectancy of any home owner saw...a few years.

The reason has nothing to do with the saw itself...that'll probably work fine. But the battery. A typical Li-ion battery looses capacity over time. In 5 years you'll be at half of what you started with or less. Which might not be that big of a deal if you just need to take off a few branches, but still seems rather complex and expensive for what it is.

A real electric chainsaw will come out when we have electric cars that can go 400+ miles on a charge...ie when we have something that can hold a power density about 10x what we have now.

A super capacitor, better batteries, don't know...but until then I think gas is here to stay.

 

[The Count]

prolly won`t happen somewhat soon, but who knows what 20-30 years would bring upon us ?
with any luck we`ll still be alive and have another thread about it.
cheers

 

[Chris J.]

I wonder who Stihl is going to market that saw to?

It looks like it'd have the same life expectancy of any home owner saw...a few years.

The reason has nothing to do with the saw itself...that'll probably work fine. But the battery. A typical Li-ion battery looses capacity over time. In 5 years you'll be at half of what you started with or less. Which might not be that big of a deal if you just need to take off a few branches, but still seems rather complex and expensive for what it is.

A real electric chainsaw will come out when we have electric cars that can go 400+ miles on a charge...ie when we have something that can hold a power density about 10x what we have now.

A super capacitor, better batteries, don't know...but until then I think gas is here to stay.

:agree2:

A battery operated chainsaw could be useful under certain circumstances. Like any battery powered tool, the important factors are: The initial cost of the saw & battery/batteries, build quality, the amount of run time (doing real work) between charges, the cost of spare batteries, & the lifespan of the batteries that see a lot of use/recharging.

I think that the development of 4 stroke chainsaws got put on the backburner because of the added weight. Every 4 stroke trimmer that I've handled seemed too weighty & bulky.

 

[Boskaerm]

You may well be right about that! But remember that with 4-mix you still have to mix fuel. And they are way heavier. The Dolmar 4 stroke is just that, a true 4-stroke! I do prefer the strato though. More like a conventional saw,and I believe they may outlast the old school stuff due to running a little cooler temps because of the air injected into the cylinder.

What´s a 4-mix engine? only know of 2 and 4 stroke (gasoline and diesel), the Wankel Engine (rotary), and off course the new strato 2 strokes.
Any link´s, that explain it?