Battery Chainsaw

Nice job iowahiker ! That saw was certainly pushed to its limits and though it took quite a few batteries it was a rather impressive display of the XCUO3's abilities. My 40 volt Ryobe would have a hard time with 18inch oak rounds and I would've quit after three painstakingly slow crosscuts.. My 56 volt EGO with a newly sharpened chain would need to be called in on this one. It would probably use 3 batteries for what you did there.

I know you're just bustin chops ironpony , but I must set the record straight anyway. I don't think that any of us battery chainsaw users think we are being environmentally friendly. We know that charged batteries store energy that comes from somewhere and its most likely going to be from coal.

I use my battery saws mostly for stealth reasons because I'm usually scrounging downed wood on -or near public land and I don't want a loud gas engine bringing attention to my activity. The other reason is I'm tired of gas and carburetor problems and love simply pressing the trigger for instant and reliable trouble free starts. Lastly, though the power and blade rotation speed in battery saws pales in comparison to their gas powered cousins, I still want to invest in the technology so it keeps getting better.
Can you tell I'm a bit sensitive on this subject?






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I will admit to "cheating", I put on a new saw chain before cutting this oak tree.

Environmentally speaking, the fossil fuels saved by using batteries is better than most folks would think but not a lot since chainsaw motors are so small. A fossil fuel power plant operates above 90% efficiency and the combined efficiency of the fossil fuel power plant/power lines/transformers and my batteries would be 85-90%. Solar/wind/transmission/transformer/battery efficiency would be above 90%.

2 cycle gasoline engine efficiency is under 20% since they exhaust some fuel.

 

I then to like my chainsaws like I like my women. Loud and high revving.

All kidding aside I see a place for a battery powered saw.

 

I just bought the 12" DeWalt last week mostly because I have the DeWalt drill's and driver's batteries. But it became immediately clear the petite batteries wouldn't do so I picked up two of the 5Ah batteries. I think it will be very handy keeping the saplings clear that sprout at ridiculous angles on my woodlot trail. I also gathered a bunch of downed Manitoba Maple (boxelder) limbs this afternoon from a construction site. In and out. Fast and quiet.

 

Try the 6Ah batteries. I finally bought 2 for my circular saw, recipro saw and angle grinder. Really made a difference twice the run time. Also look at the flex-volt batteries

 

Or nuclear! That’s carbon free too!

 

My original thought was a "brute" of a chainsaw:

The DeWalt 16" battery chainsaw re-barred with a 14" combined with the latest battery (at extra cost) - 60 volts and 12 amp-hours, 720 watt-hours.

I can not lift anything larger at a 20" length of sugar maple or red oak into my Astro than my 14" bar can cut while the shorter bar increases battery life (less friction).

The oiler issues I had with "brute" moved me from "brute" to "finesse", the Makita.

I love the Makita bar oiler, just the right amount of oil all the time and never a leak. I use the variable speed to re-enter a cut at a low speed to prevent binding and finish my cuts at low speed as I approach the pinch point to prevent kicking. The micro-chip controlled motor has a lot shutdown conditions to protect the motor which I have adapted to and so cut safer. I had no battery inventory and so all options were available.

Next time, I may get Makita's 6 amp-hour battery pair but my recent purchase of an additional two pair of 5 amp-hr were cheaper per watt-hour than the 6's.

My total Makita set cost me about the same as the "brute", four battery pairs add up to 720 watt-hours and I have the "finesse" which proved to fit my personality.

 

I haven't been able to find the sarcasm emoji......................

 

I am not following this. The battery is 18v 90watt-hour (5 amp-hour). However, I would say that is pretty good work with an 18v saw; job well done. The two saws I used that my sister had was a 40 volt and an 80 volt.

 

My line of thought was on cost to operate the saw. I know that one wants several battery packs and the battery packs are rather expensive; sometimes I wonder if the cost of manufacturing is way under the retail price and we are seeing huge mark ups considering that with some power tools, when it is time to replace the batteries you just throw the tool away as well because it is cheaper to buy a new tool; say drill, with a new battery than to just replace the battery. Back to the point, electricity is still a cheap source of energy and I would guess that you can do a whole lot of recharging the batteries for the price of one litre of petrol.

 

The Makita chainsaws are an "odd" setup, they run two 18 volt batteries in series to create 36 volts which is why I use the word "pair". One battery is mounted on each side of the saw for balance.

 

OK, this makes sense then; I was wondering about an 18v saw

 

After cutting two more 20" lengths off the red oak butt log today, the Makita hit another milestone, an 18" cut:



Cutting times are not especially long but having a slow chain speed when re-entering the cut while switching sides is very helpful. Each 20" length is now around 180 pounds with one more "sane" 20" length left before the stump diameter swells way up.

 

I think this video has been posted somewhere else, but it fits the thread!

 

skip to 4:20 for the demonstration

 

Yes; I think this discussion was had before. The idea is that the electric motor will just request more current. However, the battery is not an infinite power source.

 

he tested to see if chainsaw chaps can stop the electric chainsaw. the chaps work properly to stop the saw and protect your legs. that's all.

 

I was thinking though that corded electric chainsaws might be different as far as being stopped by chaps; the electric grid can supply a lot of power so the saw could draw as much as needed until the windings burned out.

 

Yes, but in past discussions it was mentioned that as the motor slows, the current draw increases as well as the torque so that is why it had been stated that electric saws cannot be stopped by chaps. However, in battery saws the battery is only going to be able to provide so much current; so the motor may be slowing and the demand for current increasing but the battery is saying can't do. As I stated though, this might not be the same for corded electric saws since they are being powered by the grid.

 

good point!! i wonder if chaps would stop any of these saws? my favorite part was at 4:42 the umbrella hat. I wondered what was up with that then saw it shooting chips 20 feet up LOL!!