Milwaukee Battery Top Handle chainsaw

[two_bit_score]

Anyone bought one who would like to review it for us?

M18 FUEL™ 14" Top Handle Chainsaw (Tool-Only) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® M18 FUEL™ 14" Top Handle Chainsaw Kit gives you the performance of a gas powered chainsaw without the headaches.

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[otlski]

I am a little late to answer but here it is. I bought one. I almost did not, but I'm glad I did. First off, I am heavily invested in Milwaukee M18 tools. If it weren't for that, I would have kept walking. When I first read reviews on it, the recurring theme was that it threw chains a lot. I was torn between heeding those warnings and thinking the reviewers were new to chainsaws and did not understand re doing tension after the first times using the saw. I had also read decent reviews on other makes. I had almost decided not to get one when I read that someone had replaced the bar and chain with an Oregon and "fixed" it.

I bought one and decided to first try it unmodified. It threw chains, very often. It sucked. I bought the Oregon kit and it was instantly better. It has become my grab and go saw for trail maintenance. Very little fuss and you are good to go.

The saw cuts well. It will not keep up with my homeowner Stihl Farmboss but it limbs and bucks well through ash and oak. I am more likely to thermally overload the battery than to bog the motor to a stop (within reason). For felling larger than 9 inch, I go for the gasser. Another recurring message in reviews is that these saws are battery eaters - I speculate they mean that because of the fast high-amperage draw, and some propensity to draw down "too deeply", it can damage batteries. I can envision this being true because unlike my other Milwaukee tools which give you cues the battery is about to die, this saw gives little warning and the battery is done.

I do like the saw as I said, it is my grab and go saw. It has its place but I don't trust it enough during felling and it is comparatively flimsy if you get into situations where with a more robust saw you just pull it out and rethink.

If I did not have so much already into Milwaukee, I'd look elsewhere. Hope I confused you enough!

 

[otlski]

Worth adding more context. My Stihl is one of those that does not like to start; that affects my views on the convenience of the Milwaukee.

I am not longer in the woods for hours on end. If I were, I would not even think about a battery saw. I buy maybe 2/3rds of my cordwood cut and split so I am not spending the day outback.

With the Milwaukee being quiet, I don't concern myself with annoying adjacent property owners any time of day. However, I do like the putt putt of the idling gasser; never seen a bear around when running the gasser.

 

[two_bit_score]

I am a little late to answer but here it is. I bought one. I almost did not, but I'm glad I did. First off, I am heavily invested in Milwaukee M18 tools. If it weren't for that, I would have kept walking. When I first read reviews on it, the recurring theme was that it threw chains a lot. I was torn between heeding those warnings and thinking the reviewers were new to chainsaws and did not understand re doing tension after the first times using the saw. I had also read decent reviews on other makes. I had almost decided not to get one when I read that someone had replaced the bar and chain with an Oregon and "fixed" it.

I bought one and decided to first try it unmodified. It threw chains, very often. It sucked. I bought the Oregon kit and it was instantly better. It has become my grab and go saw for trail maintenance. Very little fuss and you are good to go.

The saw cuts well. It will not keep up with my homeowner Stihl Farmboss but it limbs and bucks well through ash and oak. I am more likely to thermally overload the battery than to bog the motor to a stop (within reason). For felling larger than 9 inch, I go for the gasser. Another recurring message in reviews is that these saws are battery eaters - I speculate they mean that because of the fast high-amperage draw, and some propensity to draw down "too deeply", it can damage batteries. I can envision this being true because unlike my other Milwaukee tools which give you cues the battery is about to die, this saw gives little warning and the battery is done.

I do like the saw as I said, it is my grab and go saw. It has its place but I don't trust it enough during felling and it is comparatively flimsy if you get into situations where with a more robust saw you just pull it out and rethink.

If I did not have so much already into Milwaukee, I'd look elsewhere. Hope I confused you enough!

Thank you that is helpful. Interesting what you say about throwing chains and the "fix" being the Oregon bar and chain. What chain came on your Milwaukee saw? I think they have a very narrow Pico type chain. I'd be interested in what Oregon bar and chain you replaced the OEM with?

 

[Hay Dude]

I had the DeWalt 60V chainsaw and sold it a few months ago.
I really wanted it to work. I have some tree-hugger customers walk up to me while doing clean-up on their properties and compliment the quiet-ness of the electric saw.
I thought to myself “hey man, whatever it takes to make customers happy, right?”

But the downside was just to great. Constantly changing batteries. Even the 9 & 12 AH batteries were dead in 20-30 minutes of sawing.
I have a 60V auto charger in my truck that couldn‘t keep up with battery rotation. Really should make these saws with a 2 battery ports to run dual batteries and offer a 2-battery truck charger for them. That might help to appeal to the commercial user.

Otherwise, it’s still an occasional user/homeowner light cutting tool.

Really like the looks of the DeWalt with the 20” bar, but needs dual 60V batteries.

 

[xyz123]

Straight from a commercial user in my chainsaw repair group FB of running one.

= I did prune an entire job with the m18 hatchet 4 big trailerloads of tree prunings I went thru three batteries 6AH. I'd put a charger in cab it charges before I can run out of battery so I think it's awesome .I hate to think how much Tru fuel I've bought not knowing .it's the hatchet only that has me impressed I'm testing playing, working me tail off.
folk gonna laugh at me buddy over these electric saws but I'm gonna keep on.

 

[otlski]

I don't know what the OEM chain was. I will find it and see what I can determine. The replacement was this:

Amazon.com

The Milwaukee has an open drive sprocket and does not seem to be wearing unusually after the new bar and chain.

 

[yomax4]

I don't have a dog in the fight yet. I do have a ton of 18v Milwaukee stuff. I have several friends who are on the local fire department and they have 4 Milwaukee saws. They kind of swear by them but then again I think they were free.

 

[319Quahog]

But the downside was just to great. Constantly changing batteries. Even the 9 & 12 AH batteries were dead in 20-30 minutes of sawing.

Not a commercial perspective...

I had the EGO cordless saw. Also had the leaf blower, so I had two batteries.

I quickly figured out that if I used it like a gas saw and cut-cut-cut, I would smoke the batteries in no time.

What I had to do is cut, let the saw rest for a second or ten, cut, rest, etc. That would just about double my battery life and at an hour a charge for the EGO batteries on the standard charger, that was a big deal. I processed probably four cords of firewood with it over a couple years.

That usage modification is probably not practical for commercial work unless you have a boatload of expensive batteries and multiple fast chargers.

I eventually gave the saw to my Dad as he's getting too old to be pulling on a starter rope. Kept the blower though-that thing is handy.

I do have the 20V Dewalt pole saw though. That thing is ****.

 

[Hay Dude]

Not a commercial perspective...

I had the EGO cordless saw. Also had the leaf blower, so I had two batteries.

I quickly figured out that if I used it like a gas saw and cut-cut-cut, I would smoke the batteries in no time.

What I had to do is cut, let the saw rest for a second or ten, cut, rest, etc. That would just about double my battery life and at an hour a charge for the EGO batteries on the standard charger, that was a big deal. I processed probably four cords of firewood with it over a couple years.

That usage modification is probably not practical for commercial work unless you have a boatload of expensive batteries and multiple fast chargers.

I eventually gave the saw to my Dad as he's getting too old to be pulling on a starter rope. Kept the blower though-that thing is handy.

I do have the 20V Dewalt pole saw though. That thing is ****.

Yup. And that’s what keeps me from changing.
There’s no way an electric saw can do what my 500i or 261c can do.
Not even close.

All that said, if DeWalt came out with a 20” twin 60V battery, I think it could be in the heavy homeowner, light commercial category.

 

[woody]

My step son is not very mechanical and only needed a saw to maintain his trail around his property so I convinced his wife to get him a Milwaukee m18 and he likes it no problem with chain, I have not had to clean the carburetor or get it running for him not one time and he already had some m18 stuff, my father in law borrowed it and like it enough that he bought one and he just used it a couple days ago and did not have any trouble but he was not cutting anything more than 7 or 8 inch trees.

 

[Hay Dude]

Didn’t Makita make a ECS with twin batteries?

 

[two_bit_score]

Didn’t Makita make a ECS with twin batteries?

Yes, and it's actually a top handle.

 

[TimberFarm]

I have two Makita 36v and love them. One 12" and one 14".
They are my go to saws along with Makita 36v pole saw.
The Stihl only comes out for the really big stuff.
I converted just about all my tools to Makita battery about 5 years ago and have about 15-20 batteries at this point. The oldest are over 10 years old and still charge and run fine.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have two Makita 36v and love them. One 12" and one 14".
They are my go to saws along with Makita 36v pole saw.
The Stihl only comes out for the really big stuff.
I converted just about all my tools to Makita battery about 5 years ago and have about 15-20 batteries at this point. The oldest are over 10 years old and still charge and run fine.

I did some timber work with a guy who had a portable sawmill. I cut the trees down, dragged them to his sawmill. That was first time I saw a Makita twin battery and thought it was a great idea.

Surprised the others don’t embrace this simple, but effective strategy to extend battery life.

 

[John_Mc]

I don't know what the OEM chain was. I will find it and see what I can determine. The replacement was this:
Amazon.com
The Milwaukee has an open drive sprocket and does not seem to be wearing unusually after the new bar and chain.

The Milwaukee M18 saws come with a 3/8"pitch, low profile, .043" gauge narrow kerf bar and chain. Since they are thinner than a regular bar, they tend to be more flexible. I suspect that it is the bending that causes the chain to derail. You really can't put much side load or twisting pressure on them. It takes some adjustment for those used to dealing with regular kerf bars. Some people never quite get used to how comparatively gentle you have to be with them.

The replacement is a 3/8" pitch, low profile, .050" gauge bar and chain. This is a standard kerf bar, so is thicker and stiffer than the narrow kerf bars. This chain uses the same drive sprockets as the narrow kerf chain, so it's not surprising that you are not seeing unusual wear.

 

[rgr33]

My first battery chain saw was the 12” DeWalt.I used it mainly for orchard pruning and fallen trees in the woods. I liked it, but didn’t love it, and eventually wore the thing plumb out

Decided to upgrade to the Milwaukee saw, and that thing has really been impressive compared to the smaller DeWalt.
haven't fired up the Stihl for a couple of years, but have no intention of ever selling it.
I rarely reach for a corded or gas powered machine any more, other than tractors and lawn mowers.
Still though, kinda wish I could try out a battery z turn, just out of curiosity.

 

[TimberFarm]

I have the standard M18 chainsaw. It’s not a bad saw, and always ready to go with a charged battery. I’ve cut 12-13 diameter pine with it. A couple things to note:

The batteries fade REALLY fast in cold weather.

It seems prone to pinching the chain/blade.

I don’t like having only the Milwaukee M18 saw, alone, outside my property. I don’t trust it to get the job done without having “backup”.

I also have an Echo 620, and I feel like Jesse Ventura in Predator wielding the 620. When it’s cold out and I go through 4 batteries in 10 minutes and the electric saw goes belly up, I like having the 620 available to go scorched earth on the problem.

And frankly, the more time I put on the Echo, the easier it starts, the better it runs, and the less desire I have to dink around with the Milwaukee.

Define "cold".
I run my Makita battery (LiIon) in cold weather and never really noticed any real drop in run time.

 

[John_Mc]

Define "cold".
I run my Makita battery (LiIon) in cold weather and never really noticed any real drop in run time.

Have you used it below about 15-20˚F (-10 to -7˚C) much?

I was out working in the woods when it was 15-20˚F a few days ago. Brought my Milwaukee M18 saw with me just to see how it would do. The battery certainly did seem to drain more quickly than the last time I used it. The Milwaukee saw does have its place, but it's definitely not one of my more regularly used saws.

 

[TimberFarm]

I have used them in those temps. Below zero. I haven't.