People who shouldn’t own gas powered equipment

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Given some of what I read in forums there are plenty out there who would beg to differ. I suppose what constitutes "dumb-ass musings" is pretty subjective though...
Understood. This is a forum, but it is used for informative purposes by woodsman. What you "chat" about belongs on social media, the toilet of the internet. Don't you have a facepuke page to refresh?
 
Understood. This is a forum, but it is used for informative purposes by woodsman. What you "chat" about belongs on social media, the toilet of the internet. Don't you have a facepuke page to refresh?

Go hang out on Facebook then since all you've done is complain. All this guy did was ask if he should get his sil a battery powered saw to possibly make her life a little easier. The resale value those Husqvarna 450s might cover the cost of a good battery powered saw and some extra batteries if he's lucky.
 
"Please show me how you attempt to start the saw"
"Please explain to me how you use the saw"
"Please show me how you mix the oil and fuel"
"Please describe, in detail, how the saw is troubling you"

That line of questioning usually leads to: A) additional training; or B) "please put the saw down before you hurt yourself and hire your yard work done by a professional"
Reminds me of my years as an auto mechanic. I could diagnose many issues by asking the right questions and listening to the response.
 
Reminds me of my years as an auto mechanic. I could diagnose many issues by asking the right questions and listening to the response.
+1 to that. Used to repair utility equipment (Hi-Ranger/ Versalift etc.) and number one tool was to talk to the operator rather than the manager.
 
+1 to that. Used to repair utility equipment (Hi-Ranger/ Versalift etc.) and number one tool was to talk to the operator rather than the manager.
Sometimes you talk to the operator and they say "oh I pulled this from the carb" and you think oh oh now I gotta fix their mistake....
 
…IMHO, the Negative on the battery tool is how many 5-10-yo or 20-yo battery saws/tools will you ever see that you can still get (or afford to get?) a battery for? ...but (their call?) maybe BEST Choice for their needs?
I agree that many electric tools are junk and many batteries don’t last. That said I have a makita drill I bought when I bought my house 35 years ago. One of the two original batteries still works good, had to replace the other. I’ve junked two skills and a craftsman drill in the same period. I’m wondering if the Makitas are still as good or have they cheapened up to compete with China?
 
What do you do when someone brings you saw that they say don’t run. You notice that the saw are relatively new, but dirty, with a bar and chain the need serious attention?

my SIL just brought me 2 husky 450 saws saying they don’t run. Picked the first up, confirmed it had gas, put the choke on and pulled it over 8-10 times. It fired right up. Idled fine.

the second had a primer, primed the carb, pulled the choke, saw started in 2 pulls. Idled fine.
I doubt either saw has more than 10 tanks thru them. Quite obvious to me that either she doesn’t know what she is doing or doesnt have the strength to pull them over.

I’m thinking I will trade her a brand new battery powered saw and sell the 2 450s to pay for it.
Thoughts?
I usually try to get over to do all the serious cutting at their farm, but it’s 4 hours 1 way. So the occasional downed tree or branch would be all she needs to account for on her own.
I think that your idea has a lot of merit. A good battery powered saw will not match the capabilities of a gas powered machine, but it can do most of the work that your friend might require. Also, it will do it with a welcome reduction in noise and messy fluids. She will still need to add bar/chain oil from time to time, and most cuts will take a little more time, but the saw will always be ready to go at the push of a button.

I find that a battery powered saw (even a lowly Worx 20-volt model) is quite handy for occasional light-duty use such as downed branches and small trees. There are some real macho he-men lumberjacks who will always demand more power and noise (Tim Tailor?), but there are a lot of less demanding cutting jobs that can be done as well (or better) with an electric chain saw.
 
Spot-on! We are talking about cutting down and up, trees. Battery operated saws are for scardy-cats and greenies. Imagine you are in the Bush with 5 guys, wagons and tractors, ready to pull out 30 cord of logwood......and this person pulls out a charger for his truck plug, to keep a "fresh battery" in the pink. I'd throw beer cans at his windshield......Homeowners need tools too.......just not toys in the wood lot....

Knowledge is power, and experience earned. Neither are the yield of battery powered toys...................
Um - who said anything about cutting 30 cord of pulp? She needs to be able to remove a tree or branch off the fence or driveway if one falls. That would likely be the extent. I think you would also agree that a Husky 450 would not be the ideal saw for the situation you listed.
 
You don't have a problem that a forum should be expected to solve. You are trying to make a decision? Thats what we do on our own......keep your sister in laws 2 perfectly good saws, sell them and pocket the dough, and tell her she needs to go spend more money........

Than there's is the honesty that no forum can ever provide. You are either a thief in the night, or her knight in shining armour. Nobody cares what your decision is......and forums aren't places to wander and type dumb-ass musings........
I am not here for a pissing contest, but did you read what I wrote. I said I would buy her a battery powered saw. And the 2 450s, well I doubt I would get $200 a piece as they sit. They need a good cleaning, sharpening, possibly fuel lines, maybe a few other odds and ends. I’d do that for free and give her back anything over the cost of a battery saw. But even just a Dewalt with a battery pack is over $300. If I went Stihl I think they are closer to $500.
Regardless of you opinion of my post, don’t accuse people of stealing.
 
Spot-on! We are talking about cutting down and up, trees. Battery operated saws are for scardy-cats and greenies. Imagine you are in the Bush with 5 guys, wagons and tractors, ready to pull out 30 cord of logwood......and this person pulls out a charger for his truck plug, to keep a "fresh battery" in the pink. I'd throw beer cans at his windshield......Homeowners need tools too.......just not toys in the wood lot....

We regularly have tree crews show up to clear the right of way for the power lines. It's thick forest here. I've needed a 32" bar for some fallen trees. There's a lot of smaller stuff too.

The last crew that was here parked at my place for two days. Each day they hiked up a really steep hill to clear 1600' of power line that does not get cleared much because it's so much work. The first day I kept hearing faint whirring noises up there followed by the sound of trees falling. Turns out they were using Stihl battery saws. They packed enough batteries for a full days' work each day.

I doubt they were cutting 36" plus trees with those saws but power line crews rarely cut trees that big. The battery saws were enough to do the work they needed.

I no longer think of battery saws as purely homeowner equipment. If I needed another small saw I'd consider one.
 
Such as "captain bruce" who thinks everybody should just use big saws for everything because they make him feel more manly...
If i need a big saw to cut wood then i will burn propane instead.
Between my not so good back and tendonitis in both of shoulder blades i will continue to use smaller saws.
 
I remember once when anti-vibe handle mounts were only for sissies, too--any one here still insist on using carpal tunnel specials?

Team of arborists arrived next door to a friend in Tofino BC day before yesterday to take down some ugly hemlock snags growing out of old cedar stumps--they went up the tree with cordless Husqvarnas. Time and technology changes. We can sit and feel superior as we age with our old vibra-saw, or note what's new, try it, and try to keep up.

But for a gal who doesn't want to even learn the starting procedure--go electric. Starting is as simple as pulling a trigger.
 
I'd estimate about 5% of the US population are capable of using and maintaining gas
equipment like a chainsaw, the rest are just too dumb.
Maybe "dumb" isn't a good word, or maybe "uneducated" is more accurate. The last time I was in the big box home improvement store the battery outdoor power equipment outnumbered the gas tools 3:1. That's all driven by consumer demand, and the average consumer is getting more simple-minded. They can charge a battery and flip a switch, forget about mixing gas, using a choke, clearing a flooded engine...that's just us old-fashioned hold-outs, haha.
 
The battery powered stuff is plenty strong enough to do real cutting, stihl is setting up to release one thats supposed to be on par with the 362 some time next year. The issue is needing 700 worth of batteries to run it half a day. I would look seriously at the ms250-C + a battery powered saw. The battery saw will cut a few small branches, no more than 10 minutes of run time on one huge battery then its a few hours to recharge. Those easy start saws require very little effort to turn over, my 8 year old can fire mine off easily yet can not handle carrying it to the truck. I agree with her needing to use canned fuel .
 
Project Farm has a couple good videos on battery saws (below). Further, there are plenty of arborists that use them when climbing for smaller stuff like initial limbing.
I have mostly gas equipment in my shed, but I also have a couple Greenworks 48v pieces that I use for the simplicity, and I've been very happy with them. I don't need to strap on a backpack blower and deal with gas, pull start, noise, etc. just to blow grass trimmings off the sidewalk. I just grab the battery handheld off the wall and it's done before the backpack blower would even be warmed up. Likewise, (as others have mentioned) I don't need my 99cc brute saw to cut something small when a 30cc will do just fine and is less wear on me physically.
Sometimes it's also just nice to pick something up and have it "just work" vs having to deal with rotten fuel lines, hard diaphragms, etc. I say this as someone who repairs/rebuilds small engines as a hobby.



+1 to that. Used to repair utility equipment (Hi-Ranger/ Versalift etc.) and number one tool was to talk to the operator rather than the manager.

Funny how often "tool" and operator are synonymous 😄 Joking aside, good on you for getting to the root of the problem(s).
 

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