What is the best battery operated chain saw

[Jstpssng]

I suspect that they will continue to improve and become even more mainstream. To the point that only serious chainsaw user's will have gas saws, and the majority of casual users will buy electric's. There are too many advantages to the electrics for a casual chainsaw/homeowner to bother with a gas saw.

Some of us will have both. I am looking at electric because I can keep it in the cab of the pickup without worrying about gasoline fumes; and also because if there's a tree across the road I can cut it in the time that it takes to get the Husky started and warmed up.
Or if you listen to current wisdom, the time that it takes to fuel up the saw, warm it up, cut the tree out of the road, then dump the gas back out and run it dry again...

 

[John_Mc]

In general, higher voltage means more torque in a motor, and therefore more oomph to do stuff.
So my 14" Ryobi 18V cordless chainsaw will trim a branch or two, but a 80V saw will handle it a lot quicker, and will also power through a log up to what's reasonable for its 18" bar, where my 18V Ryobi would get hopelessly bogged down, or take for ever in comparison.
Oversimplifying, I think your battery Wh (=Ah x voltage) will determine the total amount of cutting (aggregate area in sq in) you can get done on a single charge, while the voltage will determine the ambitiousness of what you can tackle, and how long it will take you to cut it.

Of course, it depends on more than just voltage, and I'm sure a modern DeWalt 20V will beat my crappy old Ryobi 18V by quite a bit. However, it's only been with 40V and higher voltages that people who use gas chainsaws regularly have started saying, "hey, this behaves like a real chainsaw, not a toy". And the 56-80V offerings generally get better reviews than the 36-40V ones.

From what I've understood (reading) and been told (by pros and would-be pros), for full coverage you now do best to invest in 2 ecosystems. 18-20V for hand power tools, and ~60V+ for outdoor power equipment (chainsaws, mowers, etc.) I'm not too familiar with DeWalt (around here it's pretty price premium in general, and very much so, if available at all, for outdoor power equipment like chainsaws and trimmers), but if you're with them I would explore if you can go for their new 60V/20V Flexvolt line. You'd probably get a lot more saw with their 60V brushless, and -- hopefully, please check! -- the batteries would be backwards compatible with your 20V system though I doubt your old batteries would work in the saw. But if a 12" bar to trim the occasional branch or cut off a 4x4 post is all you need, then yes it will be overkill.

The limit on lower voltage saws it not necessarily the voltage, it's the fact that of those batteries are not designed to deliver high enough current to get the power (P = Current X Voltage). The Milwaukee M18 system 12 AH batteries are designed to deliver higher current (not necessarily because of the higher AH rating, but because they also designed it for higher maximum sustained current). This is also true, to a slightly lesser extent, of their 9 AH batteries. You can see a noticeable difference in cutting power & speed when running off of one of there 4 or 5 AH, 18 volt batteries as compared to running of their 12 AH, 18V battery.

Milwaukee has one of the top rated battery chainsaws, and it's "only" 18V. It's generally rated at about the equivalent of a good-quality 40cc gas saw. I don't own one, but have cut some hardwoods with one. I don't currently own a 40cc gas saw (my smallest is 50cc at present), but have owned one in the past, and I would agree that the Milwaukee compared favorably with my old 40cc saw.

 

[houska]

The limit on lower voltage saws it not necessarily the voltage, it's the fact that of those batteries are not designed to deliver high enough current to get the power (P = Current X Voltage). The Milwaukee M18 system 12 AH batteries are designed to deliver higher current (not necessarily because of the higher AH rating, but because they also designed it for higher maximum sustained current). [...]

Milwaukee has one of the top rated battery chainsaws, and it's "only" 18V. It's generally rated at about the equivalent of a good-quality 40cc gas saw.

Thanks for the greater precision, makes sense that max battery amps and therefore kW matters too. It does seem - though beyond my expertise to be sure why - that mfrs *in general* are finding it easier to generate power comparable to a gas chainsaw with 80V than with <20V.

I've been told the Kobalt 80V saw is "rated" (whatever that means) at 2kW W (= approx 2.7 hp). I see a 59cc Stihl MS362 is rated at 3.5 kW, and a 45cc MS250 at 2.2 kW, so (I know there are other factors) it makes sense a Kobalt/Greenworks "feels like" a 40cc, as does your Milwaukee.

My real question - what will it take to get cordless chainsaws that feel like 50-60cc+ gas chainsaws, and can sustain for long enough to cut an 8' board on an Alaskan mill?

 

[John_Mc]

Thanks for the greater precision, makes sense that max battery amps and therefore kW matters too. It does seem - though beyond my expertise to be sure why - that mfrs *in general* are finding it easier to generate power comparable to a gas chainsaw with 80V than with <20V.

Yes, many do find it easier to get the power by upping the volts, rather than upping the amperage. This is because to handle the same power (V x A) with more amps takes a larger conductor. So if you want to double the power, doubling the amps takes a significantly larger amount of copper in your wiring (and beefier internal connections in the battery). Doubling the voltage generally allows you to use the same size wiring and connections. If a manufacturer doesn't already have a lot invested in a given voltage and style of battery, it probably makes sense to start out with a higher voltage battery.

In Milwaukee's case, they already had quite a following in their M18 and higher end "M18 Fuel" tools. Making something tow work with that style of battery made sense to them, but their current batteries could not handle the current flow to get what they felt was the desired performance from their chainsaw. The new 12 AH battery addresses that, and at the same time offers an option for much longer time between charging when used on their other tools.

Makita chose to address this in a different way: their 36 volt chainsaw uses two of their already well-established 18 volt batteries. However, even though it's 36 volt, it still is not anywhere near the chainsaw that the 18V Milwaukee is. (My brother owns a Makita - purchased for light trimming and clean up of storm damaged limbs. For him it was a good choice, given his limited needs and the fact that he already had a lot of Makita batteries.)

[/QUOTE]My real question - what will it take to get cordless chainsaws that feel like 50-60cc+ gas chainsaws, and can sustain for long enough to cut an 8' board on an Alaskan mill? [/QUOTE]

It will take a revolution in battery technology. We just aren't there yet.

Also, a 50-60cc saw is really not a good choice for chainsaw milling, unless you are milling only small logs, or have a LOT of patience. Sure, you can do it (on smaller logs and with a QUALITY 50-60cc saw). I've freehanded milled a couple of Hemlock logs into 6"x6" beams using my Jonsered 2152 (50cc) and some 8"x8" with my Husqvarna 357XP (60cc), but it's not something I would do regularly.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

The best electric chainsaw info seems to become dated very fast these years.

There is a lot to learn from this thread I am finding personally. Thanks

By the way we soon can just recharge our power tools by plugging them into our EV's.

 

[aczlan]

I notice quite a difference in my cordless tools using a 6ah battery vs a 3ah. The difference is more noticeable with the continuous load tools like a circular saw.

I noticed that with a 1.5ah battery vs a 4ah battery on our Ryobi tools.

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

At the Christmas Tree Farm we use Stihl and no complaints except for price.

Works so much better for out application... one charge will cut tree trunks all day long.

 

[ernemats]

I bought a Ryobi 40 volt chainsaw the other day and finally tried it out today. I was very impressed how well and fast it cut, not far behind my Husky 359 . I cut a fair amount before the battery died and I did not have a spare with me, but I was very impressed with it.

 

[John_Mc]

I bought a Ryobi 40 volt chainsaw the other day and finally tried it out today. I was very impressed how well and fast it cut, not far behind my Husky 359 . I cut a fair amount before the battery died and I did not have a spare with me, but I was very impressed with it.

That kind of makes me wonder if you are having problems with your 359. That's a solid saw (and 60cc). It should run rings around that Ryobi, unless you were just cutting small limbs.

 

[ernemats]

The limbs I was cutting were from 2 " to probably 6 " in diameter, the 359 runs fine and has a new chain on it, they are not equal as far as cutting fast but the Ryobi cut a lot better than I expected it to