(Dis)Advantages to using battery powered chainsaws

[rosemarythyme]

You have me thinking about battery chainsaws again. They're not going to do a BIG job but most jobs are small.

They're great for small jobs. Mainly I'm cutting up fallen branches with mine. Last year a 25', 30'? tree went down across the driveway, and our little chainsaw was enough to chunk it down to more manageable pieces that could be rolled out of the way.

 

[aart]

I know EGO makes a battery powered chainsaw. As to the type of battery that fits it, I really don't know.

Hoping to find one in a store that I can touch and check for battery fit.

 

[Sally PB]

DH got a "starter set" of DeWalt tools (drill, driver, flashlight, and 2 batteries) as a gift. Then he got a DeWalt chainsaw, which needs a larger battery. For our 30th anniversary, he got me a DeWalt string trimmer that uses the same battery as his chainsaw, so it was a gift for himself too.

I just asked how long he can run the chainsaw with those two batteries, and he estimated an hour and a half. I know I can do a LOT of string trimming with two batteries. I'd guess they take 2 hours(?) to charge.

He's looking at some other DeWalt tools to add to the line up. I said fine, if I get to play with them too. And I hope they take the bigger battery.

You can put the big battery on the small tools; they're just heavier to use and carry. I sure do like being about to take the drill and driver out to the coop to do stuff.

 

[aart]

Is it my imagination or do the teeth on the battery operated chains much different than the typical gas driven?

 

[Justso]

My concern with battery powered chainsaws is that here in the south most is that we usually use our chainsaws the most after severe storms or tornadoes. When the power is out... This makes it pretty much impossible to recharge. Plus the trees that fall around here are often large hardwoods that need the trunks cut in several pieces to be removed from roads or off of houses or cars in order to make way for emergency services to reach the area or when assisting with clean up in an area that may not have power for days or weeks after a storm.

I agree there's no replacing gas power 100% of the time!

 

[gtaus]

For our 30th anniversary, he got me a DeWalt string trimmer that uses the same battery as his chainsaw, so it was a gift for himself too.

Wish I would have thought of that one for our anniversary! Do you think Dear Wife would like a brand new carburetor for "our" riding mower for her birthday?

I just asked how long he can run the chainsaw with those two batteries, and he estimated an hour and a half.

Wow, that would really be a long run time for a battery powered chainsaw! If you actually see anything like his estimated run time, please let me know.

He's looking at some other DeWalt tools to add to the line up.

DeWalt makes good tools. If you are already into their battery platform, then it makes sense to stay there as long as you are happy with the performance of your tools.

 

[gtaus]

Is it my imagination or do the teeth on the battery operated chains much different than the typical gas driven?

My battery powered chainsaws came with a lower profile anti-kickback chain. Since my little 40v chainsaw does not have an anti-kickback chain break like on gas chainsaws, I suppose they felt it was a bit safer to put the anti-kickback chains on them. But I bought additional chains off the shelf that are just the regular chains for a gas powered chainsaw. And you can put the anti-kickback chains on gas chainsaws if you wanted.

FWIW, I think my replacement chains are more aggressive and cut better than the original chains that came with my battery chainsaw. I think it depends on what chain comes with your chainsaw, but you can usually upgrade to a better chain whenever you need one.

 

[Sally PB]

Wish I would have thought of that one for our anniversary! Do you think Dear Wife would like a brand new carburetor for "our" riding mower for her birthday?

I really like practical gifts. I have no use for, say, diamond earrings, or an expensive vacation. This year, we got a new riding mower for our anniversary. I'll never use it, but DH will not have to fret about mowing, and that alone is worth it for me.

One year I asked for a steam iron for my birthday. My MIL didn't think that was a very good birthday present. I said I'd think of my hubby every time I used it for blocking my hand knit sweaters. I promised I'd think of him at other times too.

 

[gtaus]

This year, we got a new riding mower for our anniversary. I'll never use it, but DH will not have to fret about mowing, and that alone is worth it for me.

I just got back inside from mowing up a bunch of old leaves left over from last fall. Dirty, dusty job. I used my old riding mower, which still runs, but it is burning oil bad and I don't think it will work much longer. Well, I just keep on dumping oil into the mower and hope it goes for another season.

I have another, newer mower, but it's not running very good at the moment. I might have to send it into the repair shop because I can't seem to figure out why it is constantly surging. The shop mechanic tells me he thinks it's a carb issue, which it probably is. I think I would buy an electric riding mower if I could afford it, but I'm still pretty cheap and it would be a lot less expensive for me to get my new riding mower fixed.

 

[gtaus]

Yesterday, I mentioned that my 5 year old 40v 2.6 Ah battery died. Well, maybe. It appears that the battery shut itself down into some kind of safety mode - probably due to overheating when used in the chainsaw. I spent an hour or so on YouTube seeing how to "fix" this situation. I did the reset repair, and guess what? No joy. Battery still will not charge.

I started looking for a replacement for the battery that died and came upon this off brand Ryobi 40v 6.0 Ah battery from Amazon. It only costs $72.00 compared to an original Ryobi 40v 6 Ah battery which costs $219.00. I don't expect the off brand will be as good as an original Ryobi battery, but I am thinking I could buy 3 of these off brand batteries for the price of one original Ryobi. Anyone have experience buying these off brand batteries and are they worth giving it a try?