Small battery chain saw recommendations

[rademamj1]

The Dewalt 20V chainsaw i have is constantly getting the chain loose, and just will not stay on the bar. I tried shorter bars, longer bars, different chains and just constantly at war with this chainsaw. I finally parked the chainsaw for my mental health.

I have not used the Dewalt 60V chainsaw, and I see it appears a big difference to the 20V models, perhaps Dewalt has an updated design on that saw. The 60V Dewalt has very good reviews.

 

[i7win7]

Unfortunately, I found the Dewalt chainsaw one of the poorest tool Dewalt ever designed.

so out of curiosity what did you find wrong with the chain saw?

Have a 36v Stihl, bought a 20v dewalt (bare tool) because it was cheaper than an extra Stihl battery. Well the dewalt recently died. The handle with the trigger switch got rather warm before unit failed. Haven't done a teardown yet to find out what went wrong.

 

[ultrarunner]

If all you need is the saw you have many options...

If you need or would like more than a saw look at the family of tools for that battery system including charger.

I went with Stihl AP with fast charger after using one commercially...

Also added blower, pole saw and hedge trimmers both pole and extended pole and so far so good.

The AP chain saw comes in several versions now and bar lengths...

On a side note never had the need for a blower and now use mine weekly if not daily in the fall and it was not that much more already having charger and batteries.

Hedge Trimmers used weekly for rental property... A quick trim means little to take up.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Used my new Milwaukee chainsaw yesterday on some beech, worked like a champ. When I was done I yanked the battery out and used it in the string trimmer for while. Two devices, one battery to charge at the end of the day (though I have two batteries). Anyway, consider this a thumbs up review of the products (based on initial use ... now to see where we are in 2 years).

It is not a light chainsaw though. If anything it feels heavier than my Echo gas saw.

 

[saxnbees]

Thank you to everyone for all of the information. I had hoped consensus would push me towards one or two saws or lines of tools that everyone agreed was the best price/value/quality. But, alas, it appears that most of the brands out there are roughly equivalent because it sounds like almost everyone is happy with their purchase.

I guess now I will have to do more research given the information you have provided and make a choice. Thank you all for your input.

Keep posting if you feel like it, it looks like others may also benefit from this line of inquiry.

 

[saxnbees]

A question just came to mind.... All of these tool lines come with varying voltage packages. Most have selections in the 20v, 40v, 60v ranges. What is the advantage to the higher voltage if any? More power? More run time?

 

[Bullwinkle123]

A question just came to mind.... All of these tool lines come with varying voltage packages. Most have selections in the 20v, 40v, 60v ranges. What is the advantage to the higher voltage if any? More power? More run time?

I'm no expert, but I think higher voltages are mostly marketing ploys. That said, I think there are ways in which higher voltage can be an advantage, but at the end of the day execution of the overall device build is probably more important. (All clueless opinion on my part). The runtime you get is going to be dependent on the efficiency of the motor and the total watt-hours of the battery (multiple the amp-hour ratings vs. the voltage of the battery, which will give you watt-hours but not necessary a good indicator of motor runtime - I think, I could be wrong about all this).

I certainly had to ask myself the same question you're asking about voltages, but in the end went with the 18volt Milwaukee system. Of course they're probably releasing a 5x higher voltage system as I type this, so... if you're worried, go for the volts.

 

[rgr33]

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a battery driven chainsaw when they first came out. I was dubious as to their effectiveness to say the least.

I bought the 18v DeWalt on sale, and I still cant believe what a little a Little workhorse this thing is. It now is my go to saw, and the Stihl gas saw only comes out for the big stuff. I have had none of the aforementioned problems with it, which is why I keep reaching for it when it’s time to go to work. I have worked the heck out of this thing, and it always does the job.

There are undoubtedly better, bigger saws out there, but they come at a higher cost, and I assume a heavier working weight. I am sure all the popular brand names put out a good product that will make the user happy with his purchase.

 

[rademamj1]

Higher voltage and higher amp rating on batteries, increase the power available and storage capacity.

Voltage x Amp Hours = Watt Hours (power)
20 V x 2 amps = 40 Watts
40 V x 4 amps = 160 Watts
60 V x 6 amps = 360 Watts

360 Watts provides 9X the power of 40 Watts

Also, if you have two batteries connected on your tool, just double the power calculation.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Higher voltage and higher amp rating on batteries, increase the power available and storage capacity.

Voltage x Amp Hours = Watt Hours (power)
20 V x 2 amps = 40 Watts
40 V x 4 amps = 160 Watts
60 V x 6 amps = 360 Watts

360 Watts provides 9X the power of 40 Watts

Also, if you have two batteries connected on your tool, just double the power calculation.

Weight and physical size vary with amperage rating too per the manual. Based on the Kobalt manual the 80 volt 2.0 Ah battery weighs 3.2 pounds and the 4.0 Ah 5.5 pounds so if you are 80 years old and weigh 80 pounds that difference could be huge. The 4.0 Ah battery is also 1.5 inches physically longer.

The 80v saws are coming standard with an 18' bar more and more with chain speeds that match gas saws. The Kobalt 80v reports a chain speed of 20 meters per second. Another factor that I consider is chain specs. A thinner chain requires less power because it is doing less wood removable but from my experience they stretch like crazy. In the end it is a balance trade off. Small gas power tools are being banned in more cities around the world each year so thankfully the lithium ion powered tools are getting their performance higher and higher.

The best I can tell most or all chain saws come from China even names like Stihl. Most big box store lines come from the same maker but they kept battery cases different so the same internal battery can not be used in different brands unless you swap out cases.

 

[nhbubba]

More voltage => more power. That isn't a marketing thing. I think this is why you see most of the "pro" grade saws in the 80V range.
The higher the voltage the more expensive / bigger / lower the capacity the battery. All things being equal the same size/cost battery will be 2Ah in 80V but 4Ah at 40V.

I'm not going near the 18-20V saws. That just isn't enough power for the task at hand IMO. I'd rather just use my cordless 18V sawsall. ... Which I'm doing right now BTW. I bought a set of special "wood cutting" blades for cheap and figure that is worth a try.

I also rolled into HD for some other necessities this weekend and pawed over the Ryobi 40V system. I like it. I figured I was looking for a 12" pruning or limb saw. But their 14" saw seems very light and easy to manage. Maybe a good all around replacement for my gas saw except for the big jobs and long days of cutting. A longer bar would not offend me for limbing. I'm also impressed with the plethora of other tools in the lineup. $140 for a 14" saw with battery seems pretty fair to me. Dug the other goodies too including a backpack blower! Wonder how well that works..

Unfortunately, I found the Dewalt chainsaw one of the poorest tool Dewalt ever designed. I love most Dewalt hand tools......all except their chainsaw.

I have a close friend that works at Dewalt and as such I usually try to default to Dewalt. Many of my corded woodworking tools are Dewalt. But I'm not much for their cordless lines. I have a 20V impact and that will likely be the only Dewalt cordless tool I ever own.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

More voltage => more power. That isn't a marketing thing.

I would disagree. More voltage means that the cells are wired in series instead of in parallel. It isn't "more power". It's differently wired power. That isn't to dispute the utility of more voltage in some tools, but in no way is it "more power".

 

[metalbender]

I have the Greenworks brushless chain saw, pole saw and trimmer. Two 40 volt batteries, never run out of juice. Use the pole saw for most jobs, ever so handy, plus you're a long way from the dangerous bit. With small saws, the urge to hold a branch while cutting could be very hazardous. Pole saw requires both hands on the tool, built in safety margin.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

I had a second day to try my new Milwaukee battery powered chain saw yesterday. Worked great except for the fact that the chain came off three times in rapid succession. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt for now, as I was cutting dense dry branches in a grove of spruce, and it was easy to jam branches of all sizes and angles into the chain/body, heck, I was bodily jammed in the branches myself (with multiple levels of head protection) just trying to access the branch where it connects to the tree. It was very dense. However if that chain derailure occurs again in more conventional settings I'm going to think there's a problem. Perhaps I need metalbender's pole saw. Though contrary to his notion about being tempted to cut one-handed, I'm getting a good workout using the chainsaw two handed, that thing is heavy.

 

[ultrarunner]

New chain stretches...

I tend to err on loose opposed to tight which can be problematic in dense brush.

 

[metalbender]

Once you have used a pole saw, you will not be without one. I also have a corded pole saw from when I was in the city. Postage stamp sized yard, extension cord worked well. That one had the feature of taking the pole off and using it as a stand alone saw. Very compact, hence the thought of one handed cutting. Easy to picture losing body parts with a moment of inattention. Also have full size corded and gas saws from saw carving days.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

New chain stretches...

I tend to err on loose opposed to tight which can be problematic in dense brush.

Re: stretching, maybe, but this 3-fer was within minutes of each other after re-installing and tightening the chain.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've had good luck with Stihl but had some off brand chains I couldn't keep on unless it was a simple straight cut.

 

[Grumpycat]

More voltage => more power. That isn't a marketing thing. I think this is why you see most of the "pro" grade saws in the 80V range.
The higher the voltage the more expensive / bigger / lower the capacity the battery. All things being equal the same size/cost battery will be 2Ah in 80V but 4Ah at 40V.

Yes, it is marketing. Marketing knows without any argument you will believe 80V is better than 56V and they will stay at 80V for a few years until they can convince engineering to give them a 100V battery.

My EGo mower and blower came with 56V 7.5AH batteries (420 Wh). Competition boasts of 80V 4AH batteries (320 Wh).

 

[bcp]

Yes, it is marketing. Marketing knows without any argument you will believe 80V is better than 56V and they will stay at 80V for a few years until they can convince engineering to give them a 100V battery.

Obviously 12 volts is far more powerful than 1.5 volts.

Bruce