Battery Chainsaw

I cut firewood only with a Makita 14" battery chainsaw (XCU03) in the woods (I use a 120 volt chainsaw near the wood shed) and am satisfied enough to purchase another if needed.

A battery chainsaw is a tool like a gasoline chainsaw and the better the "tool" completes the user task the more satisfied the user.

Why did you purchase a battery chainsaw? I did not want to carry gasoline inside my Astro while hauling wood.

Did you try any other brand of battery chainsaw? I originally purchased a DeWalt 16" but returned the saw after encountering bar oiler issues as recommended by a call to DeWalt service department. Online reviews indicate my oiler issues are resolved for new purchases. The Makita bar oiler remains better than DeWalt since it is less prone to leak and is adjustable.

Why did you try the DeWalt chainsaw first? DeWalt has a more powerful battery system than Makita, 9 amps/60 volts versus 6 amps/36 volts. Both require an additional battery purchase after purchasing the saw for their largest battery.

Is a battery chainsaw "cheaper" to cut firewood compared to gasoline? No. My annual battery cost would be $60 per year assuming a five year battery life. I take good care of my batteries and hope to get seven years of life. $60 per year can purchase a lot gasoline, 2 cycle oil, spark plugs, and air filters.

What is the largest difference between cutting firewood with a battery instead of gasoline? Chain speed. Gasoline chainsaw chains move 20% or more faster than a battery and so cut wood faster.

Any other differences between batteries and gasoline? Torque. Gasoline chainsaws have more torque and can operate with larger bars and wider teeth than a battery.

Why do you prefer a battery over gasoline? Personality. I dislike the noise, smell, vibration, and kick of a gasoline chainsaw. I enjoy being out in the woods more with batteries than gasoline.

How much quieter is a battery compared to gasoline? Based on OSHA regulations and Makita's noise rating on my saw, I do not need to wear noise protection. A battery chainsaw is totally quiet between cuts.

How does the handling compare between gasoline and battery saws? Battery saws are lighter, mine is a little less than 12 pounds including batteries. Battery saws also have less vibration and less kick when cutting conditions change suddenly.

What size wood do you cut with the 14" battery saw? Up to 16" downed sugar maple and white ash. I do not fell many trees but most resources say not to fell a tree over 14" with a 14" bar. Makita does allow me to mount a 16" bar on my saw but the 14" bar has cut all the wood I can carry and store. A larger 16" bar would decrease my battery life because of more friction.

What is the largest design difference between battery and gasoline chainsaws? Most battery chainsaws use a narrow kerf bar, 0.043", instead of the more standard 0.05". A narrow kerf uses less battery capacity during cutting. The narrow kerf bar has more narrow chain teeth than an 0.05" bar. I tighten my narrow kerf bar chain more than a standard bar to keep the chain from jumping off. I tighten a standard 0.05" bar to 1/8" slack but 3/32" for my narrow kerf bar (i.e. a little less than 1/8" slack).

How has the narrow kerf chain lasted? My narrow kerf chain is lasting as good as my standard kerf chains. I hand sharpen both.

Any problems acquiriong narrow kerf parts? I purchase all my narrow kerf parts online. 12" bar parts are the most difficult to find while 16" bar parts are the most available in a narrow kerf.

How do you compare battery capacity since different brands have different voltages and amp-hours? The battery capacity to do work, cut wood, is measured in watt-hours. Multiplying the voltage times the amp-hours calculates watt-hours, WH=V x AH. For example, my Makita batteries are 5 amp-hours and a pair creates 36 volts, 5 x 36 = 180 watt-hours. The largest DeWalt battery is 9 amp-hours and 60 volts, 9 x 60 = 540 watt-hours. Watt-hours is not the total story in cutting performance. Saws have different friction characteristics and a smaller battery on a more efficient saw can cut as much as a larger battery on a less efficient saw.

How much wood do you cut with your Mikita 14" saw, 5 amp-hr/36 volt batteries? Each pair cuts around 500 pounds of wood in to 20" sticks. I carry two sets of batteries and cut 1,000 pounds of firewood per Astro load.

How do you take "good" care of your batteries? I do not "deep" discharge my batteries often. A "deep" discharge creates a blinking battery charge indicator. The saw chain speed slows as I approach "deep" discharge and I make a guess when to switch batteries. I charge at moderate battery temperatures between 50 deg and 75 deg F. The Makita charger adjusts for temperature but I choose to baby my batteries. Battery temperature is the issue not ambient temperature.

Have you cut wood in the winter with batteries? I have cut wood down to 24 deg F. The chain speed is faster if I walk outside with a warm saw and start cutting. The batteries also warm up while cutting so lower chain speed can increase if the batteries are cold, 24 deg. The Makita manual allows cutting down to zero deg F.

Who should consider a battery chainsaw?

- Car hoarders.
- Small batch wood cutters. Walking out and pushing a button to cut wood works well for small lots.
- Anyone who enjoys wood heat and being in the woods but frowns when they look at their gasoline saw.
- When you feel like your getting too old but enjoy wood heat and being in the woods.
- The noise, smell, and kick of a gasoline chainsaw takes the "fun" out of handing firewood.

 

Welcome to the club. Lots of great folks here sharing knowledge and humor. I like your thread. Never purchased a battery saw, but really looked at the one Stihl has come out with, very powerful for it's size. One thing the dealer did tell me, chainsaw chaps WILL NOT stop a battery saw, so be careful.

 

This was our first cordless electric chainsaw it was a Yardworks .

The bar guide failed while using only the second chain .

Have had the Stihl cordless for seven years now .

It has more power than the Homelite which it replaced .

The cordless saw goes along when I go scouting for firewood .

 

I’m interested in getting a cordless saw. I cut a lot of small trees and it would be nice to have a smaller, quieter saw.

 

The Stihl gives about 45 minutes cutting time on a charged battery but have never thought to pat attention to what the volume of wood cut is . The newer saw also comes with a longer bar .The only tool you have to pack is a file !

 

45 minutes of actual runtime is plenty for me! With all of the other work, loading and unloading, splitting and stacking gives me enough to do.

 

My sister has an 80 volt 18 bar Kobalt electric saw that I used some when cutting the red oak. Electric saws don't have unlimited power; they may not be stopped by chaps but they can be stopped in a cut. I was curious as to how they cut and handle. They are light and to me the saw was too light; maybe because I was use to the Beast. I made four cuts with it near the base of the tree as I had an old chain on the Beast to finish the cut near the ground. While there is some nice aspects to the battery saws, I prefer cutting with the STIHL.

 

I have an EGO 56 volt 16" chainsaw.
EGO 16 in. 56-Volt Lithium ion Cordless Chainsaw with 5.0Ah Battery and Charger Included-CS1604 - The Home Depot
I bought it for it's quietness, I wanted to scrounge some oak logs in a rather public location. Urban Woods has the same saw.
I use it mostly for quick cuts, but I like having it in my arsenal for cutting away from home. After getting used to the Stihl MS180, it was hard to settle for the lower torque of the EGO.
It'll cut big logs, just takes longer.

 

I have both, a small battery saw and a Stihl 362 CM. Both have their uses,

 

Some great info in this thread. I've been seriously considering getting a battery powered saw for cutting in situations where the noise of a gas saw is undesirable. My Stihl 009L attracts unwanted attention in public campgrounds.

 

I am going to grab a Dewalt when the right deal comes along. I already have many Dewalt batteries so their chain saw makes sense. Never have to worry about gas, oil etc. and for what I cut anymore it should be perfect.
Grab it plug in a battery and cut. The Dewalt hedge trimmer and blower work well also, might try their weed walker also.

 

Yes as Midwinter said, the saw is good for cutting in public places where you don't want to bring attention to yourself. Unfortunately for me, where I live (probably one of the most densely populated areas of the US ) just about every area is public space. So I rely on the stealthy chainsaw for a lot of my hauls. I usually buck logs-branches on site to about 55 inches (so not to spend too much time gathering attention) and finish bucking at home into 3 pieces of firewood lengths with more powerful saws.
These quiet saws have really opened up opportunities for me to quickly grab a fallen branch or should I find an abandoned lot with a pile of unwanted logs I can usually help myself unnoticed. The battery saws are not a choice for me, but a necessity as the louder alternative is out of the question.

Some drawbacks besides power is that the blades are usually the thin profile variety which is great for cutting speedily with less battery drain, but I find these blades to be subject to bent teeth, especially because the saw wont always quickly power through a difficult cut. When the blade slows down it may be subject to catching and jamming causing a possible bend on one or two of the blades. This happens sometimes when cutting dry hardwood like BL, Maple, or Cherry where I may be trying to cut the branch off through the crotch. Apparently the changing grain will sometimes grab the slowing chain and the chain may even get stuck. It takes some work getting it out of the pinch which will sometimes reveal a bent and now knocking tooth as it cycles through the cut. This defective tooth may only be off a hair and so are hard to identify for fixing or removing.
I think the 18 inch Cobalt has a standard size chain and more power which is a plus, however I use the saws mostly to be stealthy and thats a pretty large saw to hide from glaring eyes plus its weight starts to approach the gas models with the larger 80 volt battery.

The other issue I encounter is when temperatures go to freezing overnight. Since I always keep my saws in my car and on the ready incase I come across a sudden opportunity while driving errands or commuting to and from work, my batteries will sometimes freeze depending on the degree of overnight cold and cloudy skies with no sun to warm the car interior. When this happens the batteries will give off interrupted power and the blade will keep stopping. You have to remove the battery and then try to warm it a bit and go back into the cut where it will soon cut power again. This can be a real pain and sometimes I try to heat them up behind my muffler with the car running idle.
I think as battery power keeps improving there will be some pretty good competition between battery and gas when it comes to power and function, but for now IMO battery remains only an option for certain conditions or convenience.

 

One thing I liked about the battery saw was that it was quick on and off. Of course I always put the brake on my saw when moving with it; maybe I am too cautious but I have gotten in that habit; I won't pull the saw out of the cut without the brake on just in case I accidentally hit the throttle and the chain comes at me for some reason. Sister has several batteries for her saw and keeps them charge so it is no problem to quickly swap out a batter. I would love to have a battery saw for limbing due to the lighter weight.

 

My biggest cut so far, red oak:



I used almost 10 charged battery pairs to cut the upper 50' of 18" DBH main stem red oak into 20" lengths at 5 amp-hrs and 36 volts per charge, 14" Makita, in the home woods. The next challenge will be the butt log.

 

And no fossil fuels used







well only the power plant to generate the electricity to charge the batteries.

 

Nice, use what you have. Na little at a time on the butt cut.

 

We have many wind farms in Iowa so maybe I snagged some renewable wind electrons.

 

The Battery saws have their place but I like the xl2 you have especially the handcrafted starter handle I sell the makitas I have a xuo2 makita for little quick cuts but I still love the old Homelites wife says they are just like me OLD,
Heavy ,A little cranky to get started,LOUD, and smell when they are working