Time to convert from small engine to battery tools?

[ultrarunner]

Have not been able to find much on the MSA 161T pro saw...

I know there was a recall on the trigger sticking or being activated without safety...

What I have found says April USA launch... 10 or 12" bar...

MSA 161 T - Handy cordless chainsaw for professional tree maintenance

 

[dragoneggs]

Have not been able to find much on the MSA 161T pro saw...

I know there was a recall on the trigger sticking or being activated without safety...

What I have found says April USA launch... 10 or 12" bar...

I'm Stihl focused on the MSA 200 and with a 14in bar. Probably longer than I need but just seems more proportional than a shorter bar. I also wonder about the weight balance difference between say a 10in or 14in bar.

Just looking at the full catalogue, it shows the MSA161T at only 4.6lbs compared to the 200C-BQ at 7.3lb. That is a big difference. Also shows the 161T available only with 12in bar if I am reading the specs right. Correction I see 10in bar.

There is a flag note for the 161T that says, "For in-tree professional use only". Wonder what that means?

 

[rangerfredbob]

Lithium batteries should be stored at 1/2-3/4 charge and are shelf stable as long as temperature is kept reasonable, the only issues arise when the charger fails and overcharges the batteries. So when the tool hits the low voltage cutoff charge it and take it off when done and you should be good... I haven't had an issue with leaving lithium batteries fully charged, they will self discharge some but not too bad...

 

[dragoneggs]

Lithium batteries should be stored at 1/2-3/4 charge and are shelf stable as long as temperature is kept reasonable, the only issues arise when the charger fails and overcharges the batteries. So when the tool hits the low voltage cutoff charge it and take it off when done and you should be good... I haven't had an issue with leaving lithium batteries fully charged, they will self discharge some but not too bad...

Where is this charge/storing advice coming from? I always keep mine fully charged (minus any self discharge) so they are ready when I am. I put them on the charger at the end of the day if I used them a bunch, or when they are more than half discharged over multiple uses.

 

[dmccarty]

Thought about that so I have my charger and batteries away from anything that might burn... they are on a metal table...

Likelihood of a charger failure and fire I think is pretty dang low, but I might do the same and make a metal shelf for my chargers. Right now they are on a wooden shelf that has a outlet strip behind. I have all my chargers and a couple battery tenders on a dedicated shelf. Maybe I will frame up a piece of expanded metal. Another project to add to the list.

10ish? years ago I gave up on battery powered tools. I have quite a few Dewalt 18V tools but they just sit and gather dust. Why? Well, the batteries eventually all died off but one. One day, I needed to drill a couple of holes, so I took my last battery from the charger, drilled the holes, replaced the battery and sat down at the computer. Most likely reading TBN. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing: After awhile, I started to smell something burning. Got up and started roaming the house and eventually noticed the battery was smoking like a chimney. :shocked: Figured this was not good.

I really did not want to touch the dam...d thing but I unplugged the battery and charger and tossed them outside onto the gravel driveway. It cooled off and did not catch fire. My guess is that the battery would have eventually caught fire, and given that it was sitting on a counter with wall cabinets overhead, there was a good chance it would have burned down the house. That ended my use of battery powered tools.

Why that battery failed, I do not know. I don't think it was abused but I would guess it had an internal short for some reason.

The new Lithium batteries are interesting but the actual chemistry matters. For boats, the safest Lithium chemistry is LiFePo, which is not supposed to be able to catch fire or explode.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Where is this charge/storing advice coming from? I always keep mine fully charged (minus any self discharge) so they are ready when I am. I put them on the charger at the end of the day if I used them a bunch, or when they are more than half discharged over multiple uses.

Read the tool manual, it should say, but I would expect the charger to be smart enough to correctly charge the battery. Lithium batteries, at least the LiFePo Lithium batteries do NOT want to be over charged, or drained very low. That will damage the battery. Charging when cold can also cause problems. The advice for LiFePo is to store roughly half charged but a different Lithium chemistry could be different. Do what the manual says to do.

Later,
Dan

 

[downsizingnow48]

Just checked on cordless battery and charger recalls. DeWalt seems to have had several problems. Makita (what I have) none I could find. Did not see any Stihl charger or battery issues.

People buying cheap Makita clones (ie from BatteriesPlus) have had troubles. But that is a different kind of problem.

The Makita instructions give a number of safety warnings all pretty intuitive. I have never given a thought to fire and explosion hazard. All the same I only charge when I am around, unplug everything overnight, and do not toss the battery into a toolbox with screwdrivers and wrenches that could short out the contacts. Pretty commonsense but of course that is asking a lot these days.

 

[rangerfredbob]

What I said above is just the general consensus for Lithium batteries that I've heard over the last 15 years flying RC airplanes and such... for simplicity I nearly always store at full charge without issue as I have some batteries from 2007 that still hold 90% of rated capacity and I've followed nearly no recommended storage advise

 

[ultrarunner]

10ish? years ago I gave up on battery powered tools. I have quite a few Dewalt 18V tools but they just sit and gather dust. Why? Well, the batteries eventually all died off but one. One day, I needed to drill a couple of holes, so I took my last battery from the charger, drilled the holes, replaced the battery and sat down at the computer. Most likely reading TBN. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing: After awhile, I started to smell something burning. Got up and started roaming the house and eventually noticed the battery was smoking like a chimney. :shocked: Figured this was not good.

I really did not want to touch the dam...d thing but I unplugged the battery and charger and tossed them outside onto the gravel driveway. It cooled off and did not catch fire. My guess is that the battery would have eventually caught fire, and given that it was sitting on a counter with wall cabinets overhead, there was a good chance it would have burned down the house. That ended my use of battery powered tools.

Why that battery failed, I do not know. I don't think it was abused but I would guess it had an internal short for some reason.

The new Lithium batteries are interesting but the actual chemistry matters. For boats, the safest Lithium chemistry is LiFePo, which is not supposed to be able to catch fire or explode.

Later,
Dan

Had several instances with electronics at work...

Two that had far reaching impact were computer monitors... they were in the business office and set off the hospital fire system... not a good thing for the disruption it causes...

One was acrid choking plastic smoke... these were not abused or moved around...

I have had more issues with office electronics and housekeeping and kitchen items than all of the engineering equipment by far...

As someone new to Stihl Batteries any tips for the proper care and feeding is much appreciated...

 

[piaffepony]

I have used my Milwaukee 18v Fuel for punching a 3/4" auger through 8-10" posts when hanging gates, hasn't missed a beat, they are a brute.
Got a 5 piece kit with 2 x 5ah batteries, drill, impact driver, sabre saw, circ saw, angle grinder, all get a good workout.

Milwaukee 18v Fuel ALL the way!!!! Even my old Milwaukee drill is 11 years old and still going strong and it’s been beat to **** on the farm. Finally had to buy a new battery 2 years ago. My newest favorites are the 3/4” impact (it way outperformed an snap on air) and makes boring large wood fence braces a breeze! I’m also SUPER impressed with their leaf blower!!! I’ve tried a few battery ones and they all died quickly and had no balls. The Milwaukee blower was even better than my electric one!

All of my small engine stuff like my weed trimmer and my chainsaw is Stihl.