Electric Saw Slow by Nature?

[VelvetFoot]

I've been using a Poulan 400e to reduce the log pile near the house to rounds to be a good neighbor. I find it fairly slow going, but nice not to inhale fumes with less (though far from quiet) noise. Are they inherently slow? I tried a new chain, with same results.

 

[Austin1]

Oh I hate to slam your saw choice since I own a Poulan but it is gas powered. But I have seen the the poulan elecectric saw's in action and was not impressed! I dont know how sharp the chain was but I hate to say this, but I heaved used them a Stihl electric was very impressive to me! Again I really don't know anything about electric saw's . Only used them a few times and really thought the Stihl was great yet when it comes to gas powered imo in the 40cc class a Poulan will cut just as well as a Stihl and save you a lot of money. I am just not impressed with the small stihl saw's. But in anything 50cc and bigger Stihl makes a good saw imo.

 

[VelvetFoot]

It does almost seem like the chain is dull, but a new chain right out of the box didn't help. Maybe the whole assembly is geared to construction, but it doesn't appear to be.

 

[Patrick62]

for what it is worth

Electric motors are more torque than rpm, and then they geared the thing down a bit to drive the chain. I would be willing to try some adjustments on the only thing you can fiddle with.

The chain.

Make sure it is sharp, and then lower the gage teeth about 5 thou. Probably means going to 25 instead of 20.... See if that picks up the production a little bit. Listen to the motor if it doesn't sound like it is struggling then you might try another few thou on the chain until you have loaded the motor as much as it can comfortably handle. This can be tricky as a electric motor can handle a severe overload if you don't do it often.

-Pat

 

[pigsitter]

I've got an old Craftsman and with a good sharp chain it will hold its own.You just have to remember they aren't really designed for big stuff just mainly limbing and small clean up work.

 

[IndyIan]

I've got an epa husky 141 and there are alot less fumes than my 372 because of the cat. I probably could run the 372 a touch leaner but if there is any breeze I don't mind the extra smoke. And of course the 372 cuts twice as fast so I'm not cutting as long.

 

[BIG JAKE]

I run a 1.5 hp Mac but don't cut rounds-just little stuff. They make some 3.5hp and bigger electrics in craftsman or whatever. You might need a bigger one if you're sold on electric. They are slow, but more convenient in some situations.

 

[VelvetFoot]

It's a 4 hp Poulan electric I was using. It sure seems like the chain is weak, even with a new one. It is thinner than the one on the Stihl.