Doing some tree trimming

[nikdfish]

No, not Christmas decorations ...

I finally got around to reducing some of the aggravating bits associated with cutting the fields out at the acreage (20 acres mixed fields & woods we inherited). Low limbs have been interfering with cutting more & more lately so they had to go.

Bought a Stihl HT 102 pole saw. It is about 7' long with a 12" bar running a 1/4" chain. Since the roll over bar on the 3038e is just about 7', this is long enough to reach most anything that would be hitting it.

Some of what was out there:

This is what has been done so far, less than one tank's worth:

Lot's more to do, but at least I've started...

Nick

 

[Paddy]

Nick,

How well does the pole saw cut? Looking good.

 

[nikdfish]

It cuts great! I have to feather/blip the throttle while cutting, no full throttle cuts until break in finished after about 5 tanks of fuel. I think the narrow chain (1/4") reduces "grabbiness" & increases cutting power. So far I haven't used it on anything over about 4".

Nick

 

[thatguy]

i have a need for a pole saw, but not enough work to justify it.. looks good

brian

 

[ovrszd]

Nice report!!!!

P.S. The work isn't done until the trimmings are cleaned up.....

 

[Wagtail]

i have a need for a pole saw, but not enough work to justify it.. looks good

brian

I'm with you, not enough work to justify... so I went 'old school' and bought an expanding pole with a curved limb saw & a mechanical 'lopper'.

Now the real embuggerance is clearing the debris.

 

[newbury]

i have a need for a pole saw, but not enough work to justify it.. looks good

brian

What is your "need" versus your wallet?
I had gotten along for years with a good manual 17 foot telescopic pole saw.
This summer I found myself having to trim numerous large limbs at max extension so I did some research and settled on an Echo PPT 280 thread here which does 17 feet with a 28CC chainsaw with a 12" blade on the end.
Here's my son testing it out using only 13 feet:

When I use the full extension it's a bear to work with but it definitely does the job.

However, if I was trimming limbs of less than 4" in diameter (for example trees brushing up against the chimney 20' up) I'd go with a quality manual pruner. They can be found 33 feet long and maybe longer.

So in summary if you've got a few limbs 10' up a manual pole saw may well do. The main thing is to get a good blade.

 

[Thall303]

The bicycle helmet is a good idea!

 

[LD48750]

Now it's time for my Jinma 3pt chipper.
Make short work of the clean up.

Only problem is... after seeing what a good job it does, I had to find more work for it to do so I could play.

 

[ArlyA]

We've used Echo pole saws (they call them power trimmers) for many years. We have three of them today. Pole saws are an indispensable tool in our book and we one operate them while wearing sawyer helmets. Good luck with the Stihl!

 

[Gem99ultra]

I've been trimming also, for the last 3 days. I have a Ryobi 9' pole saw and a Husqvarna T435 pruning chain saw to handle that task.

I love the pole saw - except that sucker gets mighty heavy holding it up on the end of 9' pole. It is indispensable though for very high limbs. As an aside, pine needles and small twigs get inside quickly, requiring fairly frequent stopping to clean it out. Of course, after use I clean all of my chain saws up, as well as normally giving the chain a touch-up, before putting them away.

The handiest tool though is the lightweight Husky T435 chain saw. Weighs almost nothing, use it with one hand, and it eats right through a 6" tree like butter. The restriction of course, is that you have to reach the limb to be cut.

So far this week I've cut probably 500+ limbs and small trees. Now the daunting task is to pick up all of those logs and limbs and haul them to a burn pile. That task I do not relish..

Your Stihl pole saw looks really nice and will last you many years. You'll quickly learn to ONLY use it when nothing else works though.

 

[Thomas]

Looking good :thumbsup: also wish I could justify use of pole saw.

 

[ovrszd]

Now the real embuggerance is clearing the debris.

I should have said that......

 

[JRobyn]

I really like my little cheapo HF electric, paired with their cheapo 900w 2-cycle generator. But if/when it gives out, a 40v Li-I sure looks nice!

 

[lpigott]

I have a hand pole saw that I no longer use. I replaced it with a Stihl HT-131 which is an awesome pole saw. Problem is in prime limb growing trimmed season in the deep south it would quickly wear my 55 yo *** out! I just got a new tractor and a Lane Shark FEL mounted, tractor limb trimmer and trail maintainer. I think the Stihl will only be used for larger limbs in the cooler months now! I did more trimming with the new toy from the comfort of my cab with AC in a couple hours than I have done with the Stihl in the last 2 years

 

[turnkey4099]

Nice report!!!!

P.S. The work isn't done until the trimmings are cleaned up.....

Piled and burned but burning brush piles really is more fun than work.

 

[General Lee]

I'm with you, not enough work to justify... so I went 'old school' and bought an expanding pole with a curved limb saw & a mechanical 'lopper'.

Now the real embuggerance is clearing the debris.

That's what I bought, Stihl brand. Works great but you'll get a bit of a work out. I figured the time that passes between limb trimming wasn't good for another engine to sit and be maintained for sporadic use.

 

[ultrarunner]

I just ordered an Echo Pole PPF-225 saw from my local Mom and Pop... could have bought it for the same price Home Depot online but my saw shop stands behind what they sell...

Brother bought Stihl extended Pole Saw two years ago and has had a lot of problems with the extended part disengaging the drive... heard it has been redesigned now.

Never had a bad anything Echo so I went that way and it is not telescopic...

Hope to accomplish what you are doing soon!

 

[Maxify55]

My back can't take the 2 cycle engines with all their mass at either end. Never mind the physics of the extensions.

My solution, years ago, came to a 2 cycle genny in the back of my ranger pushing out 1K watts and 10 amps.

Then, a 10" electric saw perched on top of an aluminum extenable pole from Black and Decker.

Far less weight on the one end but about the same extended.

You just can't get by those Laws of Physics with extended mass.

The bulk of the noise is back in the ranger, however.

I just couldn't justify the $400-$500 expenditure for the quality saws and the lesser expensive ones are far heavier.

 

[skipmarcy]

I too don't have quite the amount of work to justify the cost of a power unit, I've had my Craftsman fiberglas polesaw for about 30 years and I've got my tree lines tractor friendly after working on them for 10 years. Man, that saw will wear a senior citizen out in pretty short time when it's extended on up there good. I have 18 assorted fruit trees I keep pruned with it and on occasion a few limbs around the perimeter of the property - oaks, hickory, cherry, maple, redbud, dogwood etc. My tractor canopy is 8'2" high off the ground. My wife & I go around with my 14' utility trailer behind the tractor at least twice a year picking up wind blown sticks and whatever I've cut and get several heaping trailer loads. Have never used a power polesaw but I imagine they are still pretty tiring cutting up 10' or a little better. Keeping the sticks up keeps the leaves from damming-up some critical areas on my property to keep the water draining OK.