(Dis)Advantages to using battery powered chainsaws

[sdm111]

I'll caution DH about this. We have all DeWalt tools, but you never know. Planned obsolescence.

I'd advise if you can get Milwaukee or Makita. I use alot of different battery operated tools for work. Me and my coworkers each have thier own favorite brand so I see what wears out fastest, and and very important what brands change the batteries so you're screwed when you need more although China is making some decent aftermarket batteries now. Anyway Milwaukee I'd look to if they sell what you're looking for. Or Makita that's my brand of choice and the strength to weight ration is excellent

 

[sdm111]

I like my battery-powered tools for their convenience, light weight, quiet. They aren't environmentally friendly. Aside from the reasons mentioned above - there is the energy used to charge them. Electricity plants are mostly powered with coal. Very dirty. And batteries last only so long. Often costing more than (or close to)a whole new tool/battery purchase. This fills the landfills with otherwise usable tools. Very dumb and wasteful.

At the consumer level yes battery operated anything is cool but people have to realize what it took to get there and where it goes after.
Also the 2 stroke oil of today us pretty clean burning. Mixed at 50:1 like virtually all 2 stroke engines made today run on there's practically no smoke. It gets smokey the richer it's mixed but if mixed correctly there's almost zero smoke. If people want to look at saving the planet with cleaner burning fuels why don't they look at diesel engines. You won't ever hear about that why, the economy. 18 wheelers carry everything everywhere. They don't want to let that cat out the bag.

 

[gtaus]

This x 1000! Also a point to make. How do the batteries get charged? How it the electricity created? I'll run my chainsaw with about an 1/8th gallon of gas and be done with what the poster pictured. How much fuel will be used charging the 2 batteries for a week?

Those are some great questions. I am on grid power, paying about 12 cents per Kwh. My electric power is supplied by about 80% coal burning, with about 20% coming from renewable sources. Our electric company is slowly building up renewable energy sources, but it still costs more for them to provide electricity using solar or wind. We don't have nuclear power on the grid where I live, at least, none that I know of.

I have a separate thread where I looked into getting a small solar panel kit to recharge my tool batteries for "free." Turns out the solar panel kits, which is currently on sale for $169.00, in not a bargain for me. I took out my Kill-A-Watt Meter and actually measured how much electricity I used to recharge my batteries. Turns out, a 40v 4Ah battery costs me less than 3 cents to charge from empty to full. It costs me less than 1 cent to recharge my 18v tool batteries. Assuming I would recharge on average 1 tool battery per day (which is more than I currently use), it would take over 23 years to break even on that solar panel kit.

My ~20 year old Ni-Cad batteries are probably sitting in some landfill. But every Li-Ion battery I have purchased in the last ~10 years is still in service. I agree that building batteries and disposing of them is an issue to consider in terms of pollution. My hope is that better, less polluting batteries, will be available in the future.

On the other hand, I used to have to buy a new gas weed trimmer every 2-3 years because the carbs would gunk up and it was cheaper to buy a new machine than get the old one fixed up. In comparison, I am still using my first battery grass trimmer I purchased ~15 years ago, just had to buy new batteries along the way. I was also replacing my gas chainsaws every 4-5 years because they would cost too much to maintain or repair compared to buying a new chainsaw with warranty. I imagine those discarded units polluted the environment in both the building process and now sitting in some landfill.

I still have a 16 inch gas Sthil chainsaw sitting in my shed. I just don't use it anymore now that I have a battery chainsaw. It is just so much easier for me to slap in a fresh battery in the electric chainsaw and pull the trigger. If I have to use the gas chainsaw, then I need to buy fuel and hope I can get the gas chainsaw started. Since I so seldom use that gas chainsaw, I buy that fuel in a bottle with stabilizers and cleaners built in. But that costs about $26.00 per gallon at that price.

I have used gas chainsaws most of my life. However, I no longer normally need a chainsaw for felling trees or cutting up wood for burning anymore. So, the smaller battery chainsaws are a better option for me, for what I need. I only use a chainsaw a few times a year, and maintenance on a gas chainsaw that rarely gets used has been the downfall of most of my gas chainsaws. The battery chainsaws, on the other hand, only need a fresh battery and they don't care if they have been siting for that last 10 months.

 

[gtaus]

Carbs only "go bad" from lack of running them once a week or two to avoid the gas gumming up the jets. Or you could simply put stabil or any other fuel treatment or use gas without ethanol. That's your fault not the equipments. And it dying after about 10 min. Sounds like it's seizing from overheating. Do you use 2 stroke oil in the gas? Highly unlikely to flood after it's hot and running

Of course, you are right. Problem is, I might only need my gas chainsaw once every 10 months. Usually in the summer after a bad wind storm that blows down a tree or two. If I used my gas chainsaw more often, like once a week, then I probably would not have as much of a problem with the carb.

A few years ago I switched over to using those fuels you buy in bottled cans. The shelf life on that fuel is about 5 years in the can, and 2 years in the tank. Since then, I have had much better luck starting my chainsaw after a long period of non use. It also runs better.

I talked to a chainsaw mechanic about the seizing issue I had after 10 minutes. He told me to clean out the exhaust filter, or something like that, and that seems to have solved that issue. Also, I found out that I was flooding out the gas chainsaw when I tried to restart it. So, it may have been a combination of problems, all my fault to be sure.

At any rate, since I seldom ever use my gas chainsaw anymore, I will not replace it if/when it becomes uneconomical to maintain. Repair costs where I live, start at about $100 just to look at the gas chainsaw. No free estimates to check it out.

 

[gtaus]

You have me thinking about battery chainsaws again. They're not going to do a BIG job but most jobs are small. ( I wonder if a battery sawsall would work for a lot of those?)

For years, I got by with just using a 9 inch prunning blade on my reciprocating saw. It is great for most jobs up to about 3 inches round. Then you really want to consider a chainsaw if you have lots to cut. If a branch blows down in the wind, I usually just take out my reciprocating saw and trim it up. If the whole tree blows down, then I need to move up to a chainsaw.

I broke down and got an electric mower for my small yard and I love it.

I have 3 gas riding mowers for my property. But I also have 2 small battery push mowers for close in around the house and areas where I cannot mow with the riders. So far, my electric push mowers have lasted me many more years longer than my gas push mowers. I won't go back to a gas push mower.

 

[gtaus]

When we need chainsaws we may not have a way to charge batteries or could save the generator for more pressing issues and a bottle of stabil will solve gumming up

Well, I keep all my batteries recharged and on a rack ready for use. If I lost electricity, then I would still have all my tool batteries ready to go. I also have a 12v auto battery recharger for my car, so that might be an option. We don't get hurricanes where I live, but I suppose everyone has to plan for their worst case scenario. Certainly, a full gas tank provides lots of portable energy.

 

[gtaus]

I like my battery-powered tools for their convenience, light weight, quiet. They aren't environmentally friendly. Aside from the reasons mentioned above - there is the energy used to charge them. Electricity plants are mostly powered with coal. Very dirty. And batteries last only so long. Often costing more than (or close to)a whole new tool/battery purchase. This fills the landfills with otherwise usable tools. Very dumb and wasteful.

Battery operated tools have lots of positives, like you mentioned. I don't know how environmentally unfriendly they are. As I mentioned, it costs me less than 3 cents to recharge my 40v 4Ah batteries and less than one penny to recharge my 18v 4Ah batteries. I don't know how much coal is burned for that much electricity, but I can't imagine it is very much. I mean, it also takes energy to drill, extract, refine, and transport fuel to your local gas station.

Battery life is an issue for me as well. The older Ni-Cads did not last me very long. Maybe 3 years and then more or less no good. But my Li-Ion batteries are lasting much longer. I tested one of my ~10 year old 18v batteries this past summer and it still held about 80% of the rated charge.

One thing I really like about Ryobi is that they promised to keep their 18v One+ line of tools in the same battery platform. So, my 15+ year old Ryboi tools work with my brand new Ryobi batteries. You won't find many of my old Ryobi tools in the landfill, but I have worn out a few over the years. None of them are in the landfill because I can't get a battery for them anymore. (Exception is the recent story with my Ryobi chainsaw with the fixed battery compartment).

I don't pretend to believe that the Ryobi tools are better than other lines, but it's the line of tools I bought into because of the battery platform promise. I was tired of tossing out perfectly good tools of other brands, like you mentioned, because I could no longer get a new battery for them.

 

[gtaus]

I'd advise if you can get Milwaukee or Makita. I use alot of different battery operated tools for work. Me and my coworkers each have thier own favorite brand so I see what wears out fastest, and and very important what brands change the batteries so you're screwed when you need more although China is making some decent aftermarket batteries now. Anyway Milwaukee I'd look to if they sell what you're looking for. Or Makita that's my brand of choice and the strength to weight ration is excellent

Well, Milwaukee and Ryobi are both under the same company, Techtronic Industries. I think that helps both brands improve their products geared towards different customers. It's the batteries that cost so much in most of these products, so if you are already in one battery line, I think you will find it best to stay in that line of tools so you can swap out the batteries. As long as the tool gets the job done, it's probably much cheaper to stay in that line than having to buy a "slightly better" tool and having to invest in another battery platform.

If I made my living using these tools, I would be looking for the best to get the job done. But as a DIYer, I'm OK with the Ryobi brand.

 

[Hayden Goseek]

I'd advise if you can get Milwaukee or Makita.

When I was working with the tools I lived by my Makita. For the last 20 years the Milwaukee has handled everything I could do around the house. Including rebuilding it from the frame and subfloors.

 

[Sammster]

I don't pretend to believe that the Ryobi tools are better than other lines, but it's the line of tools I bought into because of the battery platform promise.
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































I don't pretend to believe that the Ryobi tools are better than other lines, but it's the line of tools I bought into because of the battery platform promise. I was tired of tossing out perfectly good tools of other brands, like you mentioned, because I could no longer get a new battery for them.

We have mostly Ryobi for this reason