People don't yet take battery operated chainsaws seriously.

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

They run really well, until they run out of charge (and do so very quickly). Then you’re stuffed. 6 hour recharge time at home for every equivalent tank of gas. Will be great in 10-20 years, but they’re not there yet. 7k for a spare battery isn’t easy to swallow either nor is the 80lb weight!

They will be the future of our lives, and that will be great, quieter, more powerful, more torque, less maintenance etc, but that’s not the current reality sadly.

 

[Franny K]

Lithium ion batteries, the cells kind of need a battery management system. There is a circuit board in them at a minimum. It is #3 on the periodic chart so whatever ionic change is happening isn't taking along too many protons and electrons for added weight.

 

[Franny K]

They run really well, until they run out of charge (and do so very quickly). Then you’re stuffed. 6 hour recharge time at home for every equivalent tank of gas. Will be great in 10-20 years, but they’re not there yet. 7k for a spare battery isn’t easy to swallow either nor is the 80lb weight!

They will be the future of our lives, and that will be great, quieter, more powerful, more torque, less maintenance etc, but that’s not the current reality sadly.

What are you talking about here? The Varg motorcycle that one can put a deposit on?

If it takes 6 hours to recharge a lithium ion battery that is because the output of the charger. There are plenty of applications that use the 19mm diameter by 65mm long cells, 50 minutes for the Makita and Husqvarna stuff I have. Husky now has a 500watt charger for the larger batteries than were available when I got my stuff. It is pretty simple math to figure it out just bear in mind 20% to 80% is supposed to be actually drawing more from the grid than on the ends.

 

[kenmbz]

Battery charging is limited by heat and power. Why most chargers start fast and then slow down.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I wonder what the difference is between Nicad, Nimh, and Lion...some kind of chemical make up? The advertisement on the battery said it was compatible with my drill and charger part numbers. Of course compatible might not mean as good as the original parts.

 

[camel2019]

I wonder what the difference is between Nicad, Nimh, and Lion...some kind of chemical make up? The advertisement on the battery said it was compatible with my drill and charger part numbers. Of course compatible might not mean as good as the original parts.

NI cad is nickel cadmium Nimh is nickel metal hydride and lithium ions use lithium metal.

 

[SteveH]

Just purchased a Greenworks chainsaw from a sale at Costco and have used it twice. I got both the 4 amp hr and 2 amp hr batteries and have tried both. I dropped two 12" diameter trees, limbed and cut to stove length, then limbed three other trees wind had dropped for me. The saw did very well [18" bar] and the 4 a/h battery ran about 45 minutes. All this work was on the one battery, not bad.

For the 2 amp hr battery, I limbed a 110 ft live tree wind brought down, about 26" diameter trunk at the base. The battery lasted 33 minutes of hard work.

I had always assumed battery saws would be pretty useless to me. However, I am impressed. I cannot run the gas saws due to wildfire dangers right now. The 45-minute run time of the 4 a hr battery is fine as I am at a refuel the gas saws at about that point and like a brief break anyway. I did not time the charge on the 4 amp hr battery but it was no more than two hours.

 

[SuperNaturalBird]

Battery Saws Have Their Place ​

I have several gas chainsaws 2 of which are a Stihl 011AV and a Stihl 461. I also have a Milwaukee 16 inch battery saw with the 12 ah battery and I love it! It's not replacement for a 461, but it has its purpose and can do all kinds of cutting for smaller stuff and even to max out the cut capacity just fine. As a Landscaper, I often use it more often than the other saws until I actually need the power of a larger one. It can do a lot of cutting off a fully charged 12 ah battery. It's definitely worth having one around. For example sometimes you may use a chainsaw on and off throughout the day and with a nice battery one, you don't have to leave an engine idling or keep starting it.

 

[stihl stroking]

First post, Great forum
The pros don’t laugh at battery saws they can start in the dark and finish in the dark in highly restricted noise zones, translate two day bid in 1 and done also great for a nice week end cash job, nice on the neighborhood. Stealth mode cxu09 w/ panther ,16 inch 1/4 pitch better battery life halls ass, 11 at night no cop’s, try that with a 200t in the middle of the town.

 

[hidden-forrest-farmer]

Yeah Lithium, great for the environment /s

 

[oldbuzzard]

I will keep rebuilding older saws and when I can’t use them anymore I will switch to manual axes and crosscut saws. All this in the name of global whining I personally think humans have anything to do with climate change as their now calling it yes we can all live a little greener and use resources better but most of this is about control.

I wish members would quit trying to make a political statement out of battery saws. They are not a communist plot to take over America and I don’t use them because they are “green”.
I own LOTS of gas saws and enjoy working on them as much as using them. That said, I find myself using the battery saws (I have a Stihl MSA220 and Husky 540i) more and more. They are just easier to use and more productive - when they can be appropriate for the job.
If you want to go out on the job site and screw around with mixing gas, saws that are hard to start, autotune problems, tuning carburetors, etc, etc, etc, then just keep using gas saws. If, on the other hand, you need to go out and increase productivity, battery saws are the way - again, where they can be used appropriately.
For me personally, for the work I do, they can pretty much replace my 50cc saws and I will buy bigger battery saws to try as soon as they are available.

 

[hidden-forrest-farmer]

Well for me I can say that a lot of the pushback comes from whenever I go to a hardware store and everything is now lithium powered, lawn tractors was my most recent shock (pun noted). When you ask people why, the answer is not for convenience, like some have noted here with lighter easy to cut 1 or 2 things kinda answers, but ALWAYS the end fossil fuel reliance BS. As if the magic wires that deliver the juice to my house are sooo much cleaner than gas powered. (More like a case of "Not in my Backyard-ism")

Oh yeah and all the things are now political thanks in part due to the 24hr news cycles. I feel manipulated.

 

[camel2019]

I wish members would quit trying to make a political statement out of battery saws. They are not a communist plot to take over America and I don’t use them because they are “green”.
I own LOTS of gas saws and enjoy working on them as much as using them. That said, I find myself using the battery saws (I have a Stihl MSA220 and Husky 540i) more and more. They are just easier to use and more productive - when they can be appropriate for the job.
If you want to go out on the job site and screw around with mixing gas, saws that are hard to start, autotune problems, tuning carburetors, etc, etc, etc, then just keep using gas saws. If, on the other hand, you need to go out and increase productivity, battery saws are the way - again, where they can be used appropriately.
For me personally, for the work I do, they can pretty much replace my 50cc saws and I will buy bigger battery saws to try as soon as they are available.

Bc it’s is political we will have this forced down our throats soon enough don’t you worry.

 

[dp0350]

@Jet47 What do you like about the 540i over the MSA 220? I was about to pull the trigger on the 540i until I saw the MSA 300’s release. It’s the exact size of battery saw that I’m after (replacing some 261 tasks). I was trying to phase out Stihl given their online parts/IPL stance which is increasingly frustrating (especially with battery powered equipment). I also like Husky’s battery implementation, I think the interface is more future proof. Just wondering if holding out for Husky’s answer to the MSA 300 is worth the wait, given you have experience with equivalent products across the two brands.

 

[oldbuzzard]

The MSA220 and 540i both have their pros and cons in my book. I also traded my MS201T for a T540i which I am happy with. OTOH I traded my Stihl gas pole saw (can‘t remember the model) for the battery equivalent and that was a mistake. I will be getting a MSA300 as soon as they come out but the specs on it look like it will be noticeably heavier than a 261C. My gut feeling is that battery saws - for the time being - are not going to replace gas saws once yo get to the 50cc size and above.

 

[oldbuzzard]

To answer your question about what I like about the 540i over the MSA220 - the Stihl has that crappy chain adjuster which really sucks. The Husky has standard bar nuts. The Husky also has a Battery Extender mode which helps and the batteries are a little cheaper. OTOH the Stihl batteries have more capacity.

 

[dp0350]

The MSA220 and 540i both have their pros and cons in my book. I also traded my MS201T for a T540i which I am happy with. OTOH I traded my Stihl gas pole saw (can‘t remember the model) for the battery equivalent and that was a mistake. I will be getting a MSA300 as soon as they come out but the specs on it look like it will be noticeably heavier than a 261C. My gut feeling is that battery saws - for the time being - are not going to replace gas saws once yo get to the 50cc size and above

I think you’re right on 50 cc being about it right now for current battery technology/weight. Another interesting thing about the MSA 300 is the low oil light which I could see being useful on a battery saw depending on the runtime.

 

[oldfortyfive]

One comment I've not seen on battery saws is the bar oil. Much below 70° F seems like I need to use the lighter winter grade oil as there's no engine heat to warm it up. The heavier oil just won't flow. I have a number of Stihl saws including the MS220, Echo 58V and Makita 18 & 36v units.

 

[Philbert]

One comment I've not seen on battery saws is the bar oil. Much below 70° F seems like I need to use the lighter winter grade oil as there's no engine heat to warm it up

I have mentioned this several times in reviews of the Oregon 40V battery powered saws, etc.

I keep the bar and chain oil in the house, on cold days, before using the saw(s), and near the heater outlet of my car while transporting. It is not as flammable as gasoline mix, so not the same hazard. The whole battery-powered saw can be kept in your house or vehicle cab to stay warm.

I still have had to thin ‘winter grade’ oil with kerosene to get it to flow. Have used these saws down to about 20°F.

The same batteries are popular with ice fishing augers, so clearly they work in colder weather. But guidelines instruct users not to charge a frozen Li-ion battery. Bring it up to room temperatures first.

Philbert

 

[OM617YOTA]

One comment I've not seen on battery saws is the bar oil. Much below 70° F seems like I need to use the lighter winter grade oil as there's no engine heat to warm it up. The heavier oil just won't flow. I have a number of Stihl saws including the MS220, Echo 58V and Makita 18 & 36v units.

I haven't had this issue with my 80v Kobalt, it works fine. Like PDQ, I've used mine down to 20 deg or so. It lives in an unheated shop, it's at whatever ambient temp is. No issues.

I like the idea of a bar oil warning light. I check mine with every battery swap, but it definitely doesn't need to be topped up with every new battery, and I've run it out once or twice.

I'd also like a light for when the anti kickback guard is activated. Had an embarrassing incident with the saw not working, and that's all it was. Kickback guard shut down the whole saw, no power lights or anything.