I'm lucky to have good neighbors who like to use their chain saw at any opportunity. Win for all.
(Dis)Advantages to using battery powered chainsaws
- Thread starter gtaus
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #42
Oh, I understand that. Problem is, I only have so much room to keep my lawn engines. For about 6 months out of the year, my equipment sits in an unheated shed with the doors blocked by snow. If I moved all that equipment into my garage, then we would not have enough room for our cars. Our cars take priority for garage space in the winter.
I have switched to using the very, very expensive fuel mixed in a can. That is supposed to last 2 years in the engine gas tank and 5 years in the can. But, I am not having luck with my chainsaw as evident by it not starting this spring. Last fall, it ran fine when I put it away with that expensive fuel premixed in a can.
FYI, my brother would start his snowmobiles at least once a month during the summer, and come winter, they were still up and running fine. That's the way to do it, for sure. If you don't start the snowmobile and let them run during the summer, come winter, you probably won't get the stupid thing started.
- Thread starter
- #43
I'm usually that good neighbor who shows up with my battery powered chainsaws while they are trying to get their bigger gas chainsaw started and running!- Thread starter
- #44
Just a quick update on my progress. I returned my off-brand Ryobi 40v 6.0Ah battery and got a new replacement a few days ago. Unfortunately, it has been raining every day so I have not used the new off brand battery yet. I hope it works better, but if not, I'll send it back to Amazon without hesitation.
In the meantime, I did get my gas Stihl chainsaw working. Talked to the service people at our Fleet store and the guy told me that most people flood out their Stihl chainsaws and that is why they don't start. I figured that was my problem, too, so I watched about an hours worth of YouTube videos on how to properly start my chainsaw and how to unflood it if that happens.
After watching the videos, I put my chainsaw on full choke for only 1 pull, and I heard the "burp" of the motor that they showed in the video. So, I set the chainsaw to half-choke and it started on the next pull!
Lesson learned... I was trying to start my chainsaw with my hearing protection headphones on my head. Turns out that I could not hear that distinctive "burp" sound by the motor, was keeping the full choke on, and flooding out the chainsaw. From now on, I'll be starting the chainsaw with my headphones off to listen to the motor, and then put the headphones on after the chainsaw is running.
Not too old to learn new tricks, and still humble enough to admit when I was doing it wrong. Gas chainsaw is running fine now and I will not have to bring it into the shop for a $100 tune up. Pays to ask questions and watch YouTube videos for help. Sometimes you get lucky.
In the meantime, I did get my gas Stihl chainsaw working. Talked to the service people at our Fleet store and the guy told me that most people flood out their Stihl chainsaws and that is why they don't start. I figured that was my problem, too, so I watched about an hours worth of YouTube videos on how to properly start my chainsaw and how to unflood it if that happens.
After watching the videos, I put my chainsaw on full choke for only 1 pull, and I heard the "burp" of the motor that they showed in the video. So, I set the chainsaw to half-choke and it started on the next pull!
Lesson learned... I was trying to start my chainsaw with my hearing protection headphones on my head. Turns out that I could not hear that distinctive "burp" sound by the motor, was keeping the full choke on, and flooding out the chainsaw. From now on, I'll be starting the chainsaw with my headphones off to listen to the motor, and then put the headphones on after the chainsaw is running.
Not too old to learn new tricks, and still humble enough to admit when I was doing it wrong. Gas chainsaw is running fine now and I will not have to bring it into the shop for a $100 tune up. Pays to ask questions and watch YouTube videos for help. Sometimes you get lucky.
That sounds a lot like what happened yesterday with our gas lawn mower.
Dh put the battery back on the riding mower yesterday (the battery spends the winter in the basement), checked the air filter, oil, and such. It didn't start. He tried until he decided he better check the owner's manual for how many times he could try without damaging something.
Then went to town for a fuel additive. He was looking for nitro of some sort thinking maybe there was some water in the fuel. He didn't find what he wanted but brought back something. It didn't help.
Finally, he either read more of the manual or started thinking through each step instead of assuming. Changed one thing and started it on the next try.
Turns out, Husqvarna puts their choke in a different place than Ariens. We had one Ariens for 15 years or so (until moving to the house before this that had a small lot.) The Husqvarna is seeing its first spring.
Dh put the battery back on the riding mower yesterday (the battery spends the winter in the basement), checked the air filter, oil, and such. It didn't start. He tried until he decided he better check the owner's manual for how many times he could try without damaging something.
Then went to town for a fuel additive. He was looking for nitro of some sort thinking maybe there was some water in the fuel. He didn't find what he wanted but brought back something. It didn't help.
Finally, he either read more of the manual or started thinking through each step instead of assuming. Changed one thing and started it on the next try.
Turns out, Husqvarna puts their choke in a different place than Ariens. We had one Ariens for 15 years or so (until moving to the house before this that had a small lot.) The Husqvarna is seeing its first spring.
Just a quick update on my progress. I returned my off-brand Ryobi 40v 6.0Ah battery and got a new replacement a few days ago. Unfortunately, it has been raining every day so I have not used the new off brand battery yet. I hope it works better, but if not, I'll send it back to Amazon without hesitation.
In the meantime, I did get my gas Stihl chainsaw working. Talked to the service people at our Fleet store and the guy told me that most people flood out their Stihl chainsaws and that is why they don't start. I figured that was my problem, too, so I watched about an hours worth of YouTube videos on how to properly start my chainsaw and how to unflood it if that happens.
After watching the videos, I put my chainsaw on full choke for only 1 pull, and I heard the "burp" of the motor that they showed in the video. So, I set the chainsaw to half-choke and it started on the next pull!
Lesson learned... I was trying to start my chainsaw with my hearing protection headphones on my head. Turns out that I could not hear that distinctive "burp" sound by the motor, was keeping the full choke on, and flooding out the chainsaw. From now on, I'll be starting the chainsaw with my headphones off to listen to the motor, and then put the headphones on after the chainsaw is running.
- Thread starter
- #47
I stooped into our local Fleet store and thanked the older gentleman working in the service department for helping me troubleshoot my gas Stihl chainsaw not running issue. He told me that he suspected I was flooding it out and gave me a few suggestions. His help, along with the YouTube videos I watched, saved me a $100 tune-up on my chainsaw. So, he deserved to be thanked.
I was going to leave the store, but then I decided I would go one step further and talk to a store manager about the help I got from his service department. When the store manager approached me, I think he was a bit defensive, ready to be told how bad things were or some other complaint. But when I told him about the great service that I got from that older gentleman in his service department, he was smiling from ear to ear. I reminded the store manager that I buy my equipment from them because their service people will try to offer suggestions on how to fix a problem before you have to bring it in for their pro shop to repair. I told the manager how much I appreciated that helpful suggestions that probably saved me from $100 tune up on the chainsaw, and maybe 2 weeks of down time while the chainsaw was sitting in the shop waiting for its turn to be fixed.
The manager said he would talk to the service guy himself, even though I had already thanked him, and that he was going to contact their "headquarters" and report the positive customer experience. Well, I think maybe I made the managers day as when I left, he was all smiles.
I related this story not to pat myself on the back, but rather to ask everyone to consider if they get good service from an employee, to take a few moments and thank them. My hope is that the store will keep good employees on the payroll, and that if these reps and salespeople are acknowledged for great service, maybe they will stay around longer and help other customers like they helped me.
Anyways, I saved $100 and felt good about telling the service guy how much I appreciated his help. It was a total win for me today. Had to share the experience for whatever it's worth.
I was going to leave the store, but then I decided I would go one step further and talk to a store manager about the help I got from his service department. When the store manager approached me, I think he was a bit defensive, ready to be told how bad things were or some other complaint. But when I told him about the great service that I got from that older gentleman in his service department, he was smiling from ear to ear. I reminded the store manager that I buy my equipment from them because their service people will try to offer suggestions on how to fix a problem before you have to bring it in for their pro shop to repair. I told the manager how much I appreciated that helpful suggestions that probably saved me from $100 tune up on the chainsaw, and maybe 2 weeks of down time while the chainsaw was sitting in the shop waiting for its turn to be fixed.
The manager said he would talk to the service guy himself, even though I had already thanked him, and that he was going to contact their "headquarters" and report the positive customer experience. Well, I think maybe I made the managers day as when I left, he was all smiles.
I related this story not to pat myself on the back, but rather to ask everyone to consider if they get good service from an employee, to take a few moments and thank them. My hope is that the store will keep good employees on the payroll, and that if these reps and salespeople are acknowledged for great service, maybe they will stay around longer and help other customers like they helped me.
Anyways, I saved $100 and felt good about telling the service guy how much I appreciated his help. It was a total win for me today. Had to share the experience for whatever it's worth.- Thread starter
- #48
Just a quick update on the off brand Ryobi 40v 6.0 Ah battery I purchased from Amazon. The first one failed at half charge, so I sent it back for a replacement. Earlier this week, I got a chance to use the replacement battery in my chainsaw to cut some wood - and it also failed at 50% charge remaining. I ended up returning that second battery as well. 
Bottom line, the off brand Ryobi 40v 6.0 Ah battery only worked for half the reported charge (2 of 4 bars remaining). My original Ryobi 40v 2.6 Ah actually worked longer than the off brand 6.0 Ah! I thought I could save some money by getting an off brand Ryobi 40v battery, but at $80 for a 6.0 Ah battery that only worked for 50% of the charge, and only had a 1 year warranty, it was just not worth it to me. That was a big disappointment, but at least as an Amazon Prime member, it was a free return for me.
Just some final comments on previous thoughts.
I suspect these off brand batteries sold on Amazon.com are repackaged, used, batteries that are not at full strength. Probably why they only have a 30 day return period and a 1 year warranty.
Yep, I'm down to one original Ryobi 40v 4.0 Ah battery now. I'll be looking for a good Ryobi sale on an item with battery. I have 20+ Ryobi 18v batteries, so I can run my 18v tools all day without every worrying about running out of batteries.
I get about 15-20 minutes run time on my Ryboi 40v 4.0 Ah battery in the chainsaw. Most of the time, that is enough for what I need to do. But if you have a big tree fall down and need to get it moved in a hurry, then I don't think my small 40v chainsaw would be up to the task. Fortunately, during this period, I managed to get my gas Stihl chainsaw back up and running good. I use my battery chainsaws for almost all my tasks around the house, but it's good to know that my gas chainsaw is an option if I end up with a big job (like a tree falling across the driveway).
Again, I use my battery chainsaws for about 99% of the small-medium tasks around my house. The only limits I can complain about is the runtime on a battery. If you have a big job, with expected long run times, then you need to have lots of batteries or get out a gas chainsaw. If I have a cutting job longer than 15 minutes run time, then I need to get out the gas chainsaw, or just spread out the work over a number of days if it can wait. It takes my charger about 3 hours to charge my battery which gives me 15-20 runtime on the chainsaw.
EGO makes some great outdoor equipment. Again, I would be interested in finding out how much run time you would get on a 2.5 Ah EGO battery in their chainsaw.
You know, even a 15-20 minute run time on my chainsaw battery results in lots of wood cut. Most of my projects can be spread out a number of days, which suits me fine at my age.
Yep, last year I had a big tree fall across my driveway. My battery chainsaw had enough power to make the cuts to clear the part of the tree laying on the driveway, rolled away those big parts, and then spent the next week or so cutting up the tree for about 15 minutes at a time. Cut a little bit, haul the chunks away, recharge the battery, repeat the next day.
I don't get anywhere that much run time on my Ryobi batteries. Chainsaws are power hogs and suck the life out of batteries really fast. If I cut a little bit, remove the wood, clean up around the place, and then cut some more, maybe I could be out there for an hour and a half. But I'm talking about 15-20 minutes of actual run time on the battery chainsaw.
Yep, I'm glad I got my gas Stihl chainsaw up and running again. I may only use it once of twice a year, but sometimes I need that extra run time on a gas chainsaw.
I was hoping my off brand Ryobi battery would work for me, but it did not perform well in my chainsaw. Maybe the off brand Ryobi battery would work better in a less power demanding tool, like a weed wacker, but I bought it for my chainsaw. Oh well, I don't feel bad returning if for free with my Amazon Prime membership.
Bottom line, the off brand Ryobi 40v 6.0 Ah battery only worked for half the reported charge (2 of 4 bars remaining). My original Ryobi 40v 2.6 Ah actually worked longer than the off brand 6.0 Ah! I thought I could save some money by getting an off brand Ryobi 40v battery, but at $80 for a 6.0 Ah battery that only worked for 50% of the charge, and only had a 1 year warranty, it was just not worth it to me. That was a big disappointment, but at least as an Amazon Prime member, it was a free return for me.
Just some final comments on previous thoughts.
I suspect these off brand batteries sold on Amazon.com are repackaged, used, batteries that are not at full strength. Probably why they only have a 30 day return period and a 1 year warranty.
Yep, I'm down to one original Ryobi 40v 4.0 Ah battery now. I'll be looking for a good Ryobi sale on an item with battery. I have 20+ Ryobi 18v batteries, so I can run my 18v tools all day without every worrying about running out of batteries.
I get about 15-20 minutes run time on my Ryboi 40v 4.0 Ah battery in the chainsaw. Most of the time, that is enough for what I need to do. But if you have a big tree fall down and need to get it moved in a hurry, then I don't think my small 40v chainsaw would be up to the task. Fortunately, during this period, I managed to get my gas Stihl chainsaw back up and running good. I use my battery chainsaws for almost all my tasks around the house, but it's good to know that my gas chainsaw is an option if I end up with a big job (like a tree falling across the driveway).
Again, I use my battery chainsaws for about 99% of the small-medium tasks around my house. The only limits I can complain about is the runtime on a battery. If you have a big job, with expected long run times, then you need to have lots of batteries or get out a gas chainsaw. If I have a cutting job longer than 15 minutes run time, then I need to get out the gas chainsaw, or just spread out the work over a number of days if it can wait. It takes my charger about 3 hours to charge my battery which gives me 15-20 runtime on the chainsaw.
EGO makes some great outdoor equipment. Again, I would be interested in finding out how much run time you would get on a 2.5 Ah EGO battery in their chainsaw.
You know, even a 15-20 minute run time on my chainsaw battery results in lots of wood cut. Most of my projects can be spread out a number of days, which suits me fine at my age.
Yep, last year I had a big tree fall across my driveway. My battery chainsaw had enough power to make the cuts to clear the part of the tree laying on the driveway, rolled away those big parts, and then spent the next week or so cutting up the tree for about 15 minutes at a time. Cut a little bit, haul the chunks away, recharge the battery, repeat the next day.
I don't get anywhere that much run time on my Ryobi batteries. Chainsaws are power hogs and suck the life out of batteries really fast. If I cut a little bit, remove the wood, clean up around the place, and then cut some more, maybe I could be out there for an hour and a half. But I'm talking about 15-20 minutes of actual run time on the battery chainsaw.
Yep, I'm glad I got my gas Stihl chainsaw up and running again. I may only use it once of twice a year, but sometimes I need that extra run time on a gas chainsaw.
I was hoping my off brand Ryobi battery would work for me, but it did not perform well in my chainsaw. Maybe the off brand Ryobi battery would work better in a less power demanding tool, like a weed wacker, but I bought it for my chainsaw. Oh well, I don't feel bad returning if for free with my Amazon Prime membership.
Bleh is right! Yeah I considered buying the off brand batteries (in my case, Black & Decker) but never pulled the trigger since the reviews weren't the most promising. Just bought another B&D battery, which works fine as expected.Just a quick update on the off brand Ryobi 40v 6.0 Ah battery I purchased from Amazon. The first one failed at half charge, so I sent it back for a replacement. Earlier this week, I got a chance to use the replacement battery in my chainsaw to cut some wood - and it also failed at 50% charge remaining. I ended up returning that second battery as well.
Yeah, sometimes, ya get what you pay for.
'If it sounds too good to be true, then it's probably not'
I've bought cheaper alkaline batteries, they did not last as long as the name brands.
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