Chainsaw alternatives.

[Phast12]

I know that Troy-bilt has an electric starter they sell to bypass the pull start for their weed eaters. works the same as a model plane starter but larger with more torque. I think they only run about $40. You maybe able to convert a chainsaw to take one of those.

 

[jbooth]

Here is a guy who uses a hydraulic saw for his wood carving. I would guess the tractor hydraulic system to be equivalent to his power pack. I didn't look to see if he has a website that gives the specs on his equipment.


YouTube - Pinske hydraulic chain saw power unit

 

[PapaPerk]

Here is a guy who uses a hydraulic saw for his wood carving. I would guess the tractor hydraulic system to be equivalent to his power pack. I didn't look to see if he has a website that gives the specs on his equipment.


YouTube - Pinske hydraulic chain saw power unit

I stand corrected! That thing looks pretty light! And very powerful!

 

[robs660]

Before you decide to spend tons of money go to your local stihl dealer and try out an EZ start saw. They are very easy, low impact and you can use either arm to pull
It's a $300 option instead of a $800+ option

 

[Ozark Hollow]

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes! That Pinske Chainsaw is the sort of thing I was thinking of. Really they are lighter than a gas saw The weight of the hoses is mostly on the ground while operating the saw. I can drag stuff all day long, the shoulders just don't want to: A) lift things above my head, and B) do anything with a sudden, jerky motion.

Even though I am still not thrilled with a gas saw the Stihl is a definite possibility, thanks TripleR! I'd honestly prefer the lighter weight, less maintenance and lower noise of the electric or hydraulic saw. I'm trying to cut way down on the number of engines I have to maintain, and I'm also trying to give up having to store both gas and diesel. That said, I will be going to the dealer this week to check it out. It's certainly the least expensive/complicated option in the short run.

I've looked at both the Limbinator and the Limbhog they were what originally gave me the idea of a hydraulic chainsaw. But I really don't need the saw mounted on a pole arm, what I need is something that will cut what is already on the ground with a bar big enough to do it.

Here is really the only other tractor mounted saw that I found.

YouTube - Gravely Chainsaw on 4-Wheel Tractor

Again though, it's on an arm attached to the tractor, which limits it's usefulness.

It's surprising to me when the tractor hydraulics are there just waiting for attachments, that someone hasn't produced any tractor powered chainsaws. I checked the GPM on a few hydraulic saws, and found a couple that would match the flow on the tractor, but I'm kind of unwilling to to experiment with $1200-$1500 saw, and even more importantly my tractor.

I'm still checking on ways to power an electric saw, including a deep cycle battery bank and inverter, or a PTO generator. The only problem with the electric, is that when I thought about it some more, I realized that sometimes I get a tree that has fallen into my creek. -.-

 

[TripleR]

Here are some options to consider:Hydraulic Chainsaws, Circular Saws, Limb Loppers & Pruners

I prefer the gas chainsaws now as my tractors won't fit in a lot of the places I use a saw, but even with them my chain saw days are almost at an end and often use a little hand held rechargeable from Northern.

 

[RalphVa]

I've bought 2 rechargable 18v chain saws this winter for cutting lower limbs of red cedar and larger vines. Here's the writeup minus the picture:

Because I got tired of pull-starting my old Stihl chain saw and have even been known to pour chain oil into the fuel tank, which doesn稚 aid starting too well, I bought two cordless chain saws for some winter pruning work. Here they are.

Theyæ±*e both Black & Decker 18v units from Home Depot. The right one is a regular chain saw with a push button oiler. That black thing to the right of the battery is the chain cover for storage/transport. The left unit is an 殿lligator lopper. It has 2 arms that open the jaws surrounding a chain saw.

Even though the alligator one has no dedicated oiler, I知 liking it better. The alligator jaws hold it in place and keep the light weight saw from bouncing as well as aligning the chain better for good cutting. The jaws also offer some protection against hitting the ground or other unwanted stuff that might dull the chain.

Oiling the alligator is done with a squirt bottle; however, I致e found that an old oil squirt can inserted into the oiler hole or directly onto the chain works better. You only have to oil every 10 minutes. This is about 6 times in the approximately one hour of running time on the battery.

I知 finally cutting a lot of dead, red cedar limbs. They look nasty and are too tough for a hand lopper. Cutting them requires too much maneuvering with a noisy gasoline-powered, chain saw. With the alligator, I can even cut with it upside down. You can稚 do that with a gasoline saw.

Anyone interested in a fairly new Craftsman chain saw? I think I put chain oil in the fuel hole twice on it. Haven稚 been able to restart it. The Stihl is used for bigger stuff. At least it restarts nicely when hot, and it has recovered from my dousing it once with chain saw oil in its 40-year life. I致e since painted the caps on both saws: red for fuel and blue for oil. Hopefully, that will forestall any future mistakes.

Lowes now has the plain 18v chain saw, and they also have a 14 pole pruner 18v chain saw.

After 5 or 6 uses, the alligator saw quit working. I ordered another one and took the old one to Home Depot in Waynesboro for a full refund. The new one is currently in use.

Ralph

 

[David_Kb7uns]

The Kubota RTV900 utility model with their tools is the simplest solution....but not cheap. They have hydraulic post pounders, augers, pruners, chainsaws, concrete chainsaws pumps breakers and alot other tools. Most are made by Stanley Hydraulics .

Stanley Hydraulic Tools > Home

David Kb7uns

 

[Coyote machine]

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes! That Pinske Chainsaw is the sort of thing I was thinking of. Really they are lighter than a gas saw The weight of the hoses is mostly on the ground while operating the saw. I can drag stuff all day long, the shoulders just don't want to: A) lift things above my head, and B) do anything with a sudden, jerky motion.

Even though I am still not thrilled with a gas saw the Stihl is a definite possibility, thanks TripleR! I'd honestly prefer the lighter weight, less maintenance and lower noise of the electric or hydraulic saw. I'm trying to cut way down on the number of engines I have to maintain, and I'm also trying to give up having to store both gas and diesel. That said, I will be going to the dealer this week to check it out. It's certainly the least expensive/complicated option in the short run.

I've looked at both the Limbinator and the Limbhog they were what originally gave me the idea of a hydraulic chainsaw. But I really don't need the saw mounted on a pole arm, what I need is something that will cut what is already on the ground with a bar big enough to do it.

Here is really the only other tractor mounted saw that I found.

YouTube - Gravely Chainsaw on 4-Wheel Tractor

Again though, it's on an arm attached to the tractor, which limits it's usefulness.

It's surprising to me when the tractor hydraulics are there just waiting for attachments, that someone hasn't produced any tractor powered chainsaws. I checked the GPM on a few hydraulic saws, and found a couple that would match the flow on the tractor, but I'm kind of unwilling to to experiment with $1200-$1500 saw, and even more importantly my tractor.

I'm still checking on ways to power an electric saw, including a deep cycle battery bank and inverter, or a PTO generator. The only problem with the electric, is that when I thought about it some more, I realized that sometimes I get a tree that has fallen into my creek. -.-

Have you considered hiring a farm hand, (kid, teenager) for occasional work on downed trees and broken limbs? I have done this recently to just speed up the process of doing odd jobs on weekend days when he's available. He does the back breaking work and I direct what I want done for a small fee/hr. It works to motivate me to get off my butt to do what I might otherwise not get to if he weren't arriving on a given morning to work on my oddball projects.
I too have rotator cuff (shoulder) issues from starting saws when I was younger and worked as a tree pro- and I just don't want to carry around a heavy saw for most of the day. AND, like you I don't really want to test my tractor's hydraulic capacity on things like a hydraulic saw that might do damage and would cost a lot of money for just occasional use. Not to say I wouldn't like yet another dangerous fun toy; but I too have more engines than I can maintain or count- and it gets frustrating what with E-10~ 15.
Simpler is best in my opinion.

 

[JoeL4330]

I have a Stihl EZ Start and the identical model w.o. EZ start (i.e., conventional pull start system) ...indeed, the EZ start reduces the need to "snap" the cord (pull it with authority). There is--for me at least--a minor downside: having pulled it once or twice it is now "spring-loaded" and can actually "start itself" after a second or two ...no problem if you are starting with the saw on the ground and foot through the handle, as approved by the safety police ...but, not so good if you are used to starting it by "dropping" it.

That said, the mechanism should be able to be modified to use a crank rather than a pull cord to "wind it up", as it were. [some old timers may remember an outboard...Evinrude, as I recall...that used a crank and release]

And, McCulloch (or Sears-Craftsman) once made an electric-start chain saw that used a battery sufficient, at least, to re-start it once warmed up. With todays Lithiums, that should be easily done. Might try E-bay