People don't yet take battery operated chainsaws seriously.

[SweetMK]

Yes I own the stihl 220 along with two AP 300 S batteries. I also own the Husqvarna 540i xp with two BLi 300 batteries. I use them everyday for work. Both great saws, but I much prefer the Husqvarna.

I just looked up the Husky and those two batteries,, EASILY over A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!

The Husqvarna 540i xp might be a nice saw,,, but,, for that much money, of the saw and batteries,
I could have purchased THREE of the Milwaukee saw and battery combos that I purchased,
and had about triple the amp-hours of cutting capability, and three saws.

My Milwaukee might not be as great as the Husky,, but,, 3X the price for that saw??

I wonder what an equivalent performance gas Husky would cost?

 

[Franny K]

Yes I own the stihl 220 along with two AP 300 S batteries. I also own the Husqvarna 540i xp with two BLi 300 batteries. I use them everyday for work. Both great saws, but I much prefer the Husqvarna.

Why 2 300 size Husqvarna batteries instead of 3 200 size? Aren't the battery depth of the 200 matched to the saws?

 

[Jet47]

I just looked up the Husky and those two batteries,, EASILY over A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!

The Husqvarna 540i xp might be a nice saw,,, but,, for that much money, of the saw and batteries,
I could have purchased THREE of the Milwaukee saw and battery combos that I purchased,
and had about triple the amp-hours of cutting capability, and three saws.

My Milwaukee might not be as great as the Husky,, but,, 3X the price for that saw??

I wonder what an equivalent performance gas Husky would cost?

To be exact, the 540i xp, two BLi 300 batteries, the charger, an extra bar with two extra chains cost approximately $1900 Canadian.
But I usually spent over $1000 a year on chainsaw gas and mix oil per year before I went battery powered.

 

[Jet47]

Why 2 300 size Husqvarna batteries instead of 3 200 size? Aren't the battery depth of the 200 matched to the saws

I chose the BLi 300 series because they pretty much last twice as long. Someone smarter then me will have to weigh in on wether they produce the same power as the BLi 200. I thought the 300 produced more power but might be wrong.
I also assumed that the 300 was recommended for the 540i xp.

A little background, I have been a logger for 30+ years and ran a lot of different saws, mainly Husqvarna and Stihl. About 7 years ago I started cutting out property lines and used my Husqvarna 550 xp. Since I got my battery saws I rarely pick up the 550.

 

[Franny K]

I believe the bli200x is needed to get Max performance from the 540i chainsaws. I have the earlier 536. And only one 200x battery, a couple 200 ones (no x) from 2015 or so. I think there is now a 500 watt charger that can be used with the 300 Husqvarna batteries and the back pack batteries. The 330 watt charger(s) is what I have. The manual likely tells the approved version of my post here.

 

[Jet47]

I believe the bli200x is needed to get Max performance from the 540i chainsaws. I have the earlier 536. And only one 200x battery, a couple 200 ones (no x) from 2015 or so. I think there is now a 500 watt charger that can be used with the 300 Husqvarna batteries and the back pack batteries. The 330 watt charger(s) is what I have. The manual likely tells the approved version of my post here.

I have the QC500 charger.

 

[Tin-knocker]

I’m going to start by saying I’m a huge fan of 2 strokes but (not sure if it’s been said already) I could see where a battery powered saw would be handy. Working on hunting properties come to mind. Not as loud and maybe a little less intrusive when you’re trying to stay a bit quieter so you don’t disrupt patterned animals. Saying that though I don’t think I see myself getting one anytime soon. I’ll stick with handsaw and hatchet for small stuff and grab my 462 when I’m trying to actually get things done.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

If they ever come out with a lightweight battery I'll be in the market for one. I have a battery powered string trimmer and it is quite a bit heavier than my gas one..
I will say I was surprised at how long you can weed eat on a single charge, I wear down before it does...

 

[KASH]

How much does the electricity cost to charge a battery pack?
Kash

 

[a. palmer jr.]

How much does the electricity cost to charge a battery pack?
Kash

Takes about an hour to charge up my 56 volt battery on my string trimmer, probably 50 cents or less.

 

[Jet47]

How much does the electricity cost to charge a battery pack?
Kash

I was told by the electrician at work, 'a few cents'.
I do know I haven't really noticed a difference in my power bill and I usually charge 2 batteries every night.

 

[OM617YOTA]

How much does the electricity cost to charge a battery pack?
Kash

Pretty much nothing.

Power is $0.135/kwh here, so $0.000135/wh.

My Kobalt batteries are 2ah x 80v = 160wh.

160wh x $0.000135 = $0.0216 per charge. It's not 100% efficient, so it might be as much as $0.03 per charge.

So yeah, nothing.

 

[J D]

It's not the cost of the electricity so much as the cost of replacing batteries. If looked after you should get 300-500 cycles before performance degrades significantly BUT the majority of users don't understand what this means & even if they do many manufacturers design their products for performance & convenience over battery longevity. At the end of the day a multi-cel lithium battery is only as good as it's weakest cell.

 

[J D]

160wh x $0.000135 = $0.0216 per charge. It's not 100% efficient, so it might be as much as $0.03 per charge.

All things considered, the end result is usually around 50% efficient. Still doesn't result in a lot cost wise... but it is twice as much

 

[Franny K]

All things considered, the end result is usually around 50% efficient. Still doesn't result in a lot cost wise... but it is twice as much

Probably more like loose 10% in charging and then loose another 10% in using. Nothing like the heat lost coming off air cooling fins in for example a two cycle chainsaw.
These Kill A Watt meters are a mini version of the meter that helps figure out the monthly bill. Will allow someone to see how much is actually used and then compare to rating on the battery if manufacturer puts watt hours on the battery.

http://www.p3international.com/products/P4400.html

 

[CJ1]

I was told by the electrician at work, 'a few cents'.
I do know I haven't really noticed a difference in my power bill and I usually charge 2 batteries every night.

I would bet less than $5 a month for you. As been stated at 5 cents a charge it is not worth counting. A coffee pot is 10-20% of a normal persons bill! I do off grid work and solar installs for a side job and 10% efficiency loss is very accurate, so again for this application not worth mentioning. I would bet a chain saw is in the 70 to 80% loss range or more. A large ship engine is in the 50% range and that is very efficient for a ICE engine. What I really appreciate is your experience with battery saws and actually using them day in and day out. A good friend has the Huskie battery saws at his mill and they love them to replace the gas saws for what they do. Looks like I will have to look at a Huskie to replace my truck chain saw! I won't look to them for replacing my bigger saws but for a occasional use saw it would be nice not to have to worry about fuel! I will run a load test on one of my high amp battery charger tonight just to see what the draw is. I dont believe much as was stated. CJ

 

[Philbert]

I just looked up the Husky and those two batteries,, EASILY over A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!

The Husqvarna 540i xp might be a nice saw,,, but,, for that much money, of the saw and batteries,
I could have purchased THREE of the Milwaukee saw and battery combos that I purchased,
and had about triple the amp-hours of cutting capability, and three saws.

My Milwaukee might not be as great as the Husky,, but,, 3X the price for that saw??

I wonder what an equivalent performance gas Husky would cost?

I could get 10 of those ‘reconditioned’ ‘Earthquake’ brand saws (a while back - many A.S. Members will remember) for the cost of one Stihl MS250.

What’s your point?

There are differences that matter.

Philbert

 

[SweetMK]

Pretty much nothing.

Power is $0.135/kwh here, so $0.000135/wh.

My Kobalt batteries are 2ah x 80v = 160wh.

160wh x $0.000135 = $0.0216 per charge. It's not 100% efficient, so it might be as much as $0.03 per charge.

So yeah, nothing.

OK, lets extrapolate that calculation to include the daily charge of a car battery,, that is moving a several thousand pound car,, many miles.

On our last electric bill, we were paying over $0.24 per KwH
Let me know when the calculation is complete,,

(Be sure to add in a $10,000 charge for a replacement battery pack, every time the warranty expires)

 

[OM617YOTA]

Where'd that come from? This was about a chainsaw battery. If you're butthurt about EVs, take it somewhere else and crunch your own numbers.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Where'd that come from? This was about a chainsaw battery. If you're butthurt about EVs, take it somewhere else and crunch your own numbers.

Yeah, we usually tend to get off the subject a bit after a bunch of posts...