Battery powered chainsaw

[Torvy]

That sounds as much like an indictment of Greenworks specifically.

My Echo lasts a couple of hours. I dropped and bucked 6 trees after the storm with 1 charge.

To be fair, I don't expect any electric to be an all-day sawyer saw. (Any more than I would use manual screwdriver to install drywall all day). At the end of the day, it cuts as well as a similarly sized gasser without the engine hassle or noise. Now if I could stop throwing the chain....

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

That sounds as much like an indictment of Greenworks specifically.

My Echo lasts a couple of hours. I dropped and bucked 6 trees after the storm with 1 charge.

To be fair, I don't expect any electric to be an all-day sawyer saw. (Any more than I would use manual screwdriver to install drywall all day). At the end of the day, it cuts as well as a similarly sized gasser without the engine hassle or noise. Now if I could stop throwing the chain....

Wow, a couple hours?! Ok. Then maybe Greenworks does make crap battery tools. That would take 4 batteries at least on this saw. Unless I bought the much larger batteries, but, it's already heavier than gas.

 

[steve tym]

I just picked up a 14" Ryobi 40 volt. Haven't used it yet.

 

[KennyG]

There are a lot of different reasons to have a chainsaw. My DeWalt battery saw will cut down small trees or limb large trees and cut as much as I want to cut on a couple of batteries. My Stihl gas saw will cut all day long but I can't.

 

[ArlyA]

A can of fuel lasts longer and is lighter than a battery. A tank of fuel alone is probably the equivalent of two batteries or more. I do hope battery tech improves

Seems everyone wants battery capacity to improve. When we have two strings* running all day, more than one gallon of fuel will be consumed. Nonetheless, battery saws have there place when minor cutting is required. I was a late adopter of them just two years ago. * large diameter type.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

My electric string trimmer has been great, but it requires so much less power.
I'll have to look into swapping my Greenworks stuff for another brand. If I could get HOURS out of a battery saw, I'd be sold. I can cut all day, I'd like a saw to cut 1/4 of a day at least

 

[ArlyA]

On the subject of power consumption with our gas power tools, but this might help some folks with battery power ones. We use power-heads with various attachments and at times for all day. We run .155 string which might be larger than you folks. We plan to upgrade to .190 asap which stihl has started to put on there shelves! So with the same power-head, we saw small trees and limbs as seen below. The power consumption between these two attachments is quite large, that is, the saw requires very little and can seemly go all day on a tank. Where as spinning these large strings drains your tank in no time. I can't comment on smaller strings since we never use them. We use the largest CC power-heads made by Sthil and Echo. Hope that helps.

 

[bdhsfz6]

A gasser won't run all day on a tank of fuel. An electric saw won't run all day on one battery either. This isn't a fair comparison.

You carry a gas can for the gasser, just carry spare batteries for the electric saw.

 

[WinterDeere]

A gasser won't run all day on a tank of fuel. An electric saw won't run all day on one battery either. This isn't a fair comparison.

You carry a gas can for the gasser, just carry spare batteries for the electric saw.

It becomes a matter of weight. The battery tools can be incredibly convenient for avoiding all the issues associated with infrequent use of a gasser, it's great to be able to just grab the tool, pop a battery into the slot, and do some quick trimming when needed. But gassers will remain the better choice for harvesting and bigger jobs.

The Greenworks 24V 4Ah (96 Wh) battery weighs 1.8 lb., so 53 Wh/lb. Gasoline has an energy of 5900 Wh/lb, roughly 110x higher than the battery. Ignoring consumption while idling, the gasoline saw will cut 100x more than the battery saw, given the same weight in fuel carried.

 

[CliffordK]

My Greenworks Pro will run MAYBE 20-30 MINUTES.

What saw and battery do you have? Do you have spare batteries?

How close are you to a power source? I usually have one battery on the charger while I'm cutting, and can get a full charge in about a half hour or so. I have at least 200 or 300 yards worth of extension cords I can use if needed.

I have an older 40V Greenworks (16" or 18"), Greenworks 60V 20", and Greenworks Commercial 82V 20".

The 60V 20" and 82V 20" saws are pretty similar, although the 82V batteries have a slightly larger capacity. I'm still exploring a bit, but I like the 60V, 8Ah batteries and the 80 or 82V 4Ah, 5Ah, or 6Ah batteries. 80V and 82V batteries are similar enough to power the saw. I'll modify my saw to take both shortly.

The older 40V saw has a thinner blade, so it doesn't suck down battery juice as quickly. But the newer 20" saws really throw a pile of chips!!! But, unfortunately bigger batteries are still drained eventually. An hour or so of cutting for a larger battery? Then it is time for a brief break, change the battery, check the oil, etc.

EGO is coming up with a unique remote charging system:

2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery

The EGO 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery enables off-grid charging of EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries via the PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank (batteries and Power Bank available separately).

egopowerplus.com

PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank | EGO (PGX1400PB)

The PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere (all batteries available separately).

egopowerplus.com

EGO Power+ PGX3100K PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank Kit with 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity and (2) 7.5Ah Batteries

EGO Commercial’s PGX™ Commercial Charging system is a flexible charging solution that scales to your business. Each PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere...

powerplusparts.com

It isn't going to be particularly cheap, but it would allow recharging tools on the road. Although, for that price, perhaps one is better just getting a pile of batteries.

Greenworks is putting big "suitcase batteries" in their mowers. But, I don't see a remote charging solution yet. Undoubtedly it is coming.

They do have inverters.

 

[ArlyA]

EGO is coming up with a unique remote charging system:

2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery

The EGO 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery enables off-grid charging of EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries via the PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank (batteries and Power Bank available separately).

egopowerplus.com

PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank | EGO (PGX1400PB)

The PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere (all batteries available separately).

egopowerplus.com

EGO Power+ PGX3100K PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank Kit with 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity and (2) 7.5Ah Batteries

EGO Commercial’s PGX™ Commercial Charging system is a flexible charging solution that scales to your business. Each PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere...

powerplusparts.com

It isn't going to be particularly cheap, but it would allow recharging tools on the road. Although, for that price, perhaps one is better just getting a pile of batteries.

Greenworks is putting big "suitcase batteries" in their mowers. But, I don't see a remote charging solution yet. Undoubtedly it is coming.

They do have inverters.

Ironically the 6 individual battery's in there zero turn mower was what I liked. If one failed it could readily be replaced.

 

[CliffordK]

Ironically the 6 individual battery's in there zero turn mower was what I liked. If one failed it could readily be replaced.

I think quickly the industry will outscale the small cartridge batteries. One nice thing about the cartridge batteries is that they can also be upgraded some, although limited by case size. Is the largest one EGO sells the 56V, 12 Ah? Not particularly cheap, but overall much cheaper than buying a whole new mower.

Greenworks is coming out with dual suitcase batteries in their newest "pro" mower.

60V 54" Maximusz Zero Turn Riding Mower | Greenworks Tools

Experience absolute power, versatility, and cutting-edge features with the industry's most advanced zero turn mower.

www.greenworkstools.com

So far I don't see those listed for sale separately.

One thing that several manufactures are doing is selling their equipment with a mix of batteries. So, the Greenworks mower comes with:

2 - 20Ah batteries
2 - 8Ah 60v batteries (largest of their mainstream 60v batteries).
2 - 4Ah 60v batteries (why do they throw those in rather than either leaving it empty, or giving 2 more 8Ah batteries?)

 

[CliffordK]

I will say, this is the mower that I'm currently working on.

The reason is that I'm not mowing baseball fields.

I've got blackberries. And in places I hit between about a 30° and a 45°slope. For years I've been trying to get to the lower part of the property without much luck.

If it was available in electric for less than $200,000 then I might be interested. But for now this seems to be close to what I need.

I'll try to get my Toro 455d running this year. That'll also expand my mowing a bit.

I will consider one of the electric zero turn mowers, but it isn't fitting into my life at the moment.

 

[John_Mc]

EGO is coming up with a unique remote charging system:

2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery

The EGO 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery enables off-grid charging of EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries via the PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank (batteries and Power Bank available separately).

egopowerplus.com

PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank | EGO (PGX1400PB)

The PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere (all batteries available separately).

egopowerplus.com

EGO Power+ PGX3100K PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank Kit with 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity and (2) 7.5Ah Batteries

EGO Commercial’s PGX™ Commercial Charging system is a flexible charging solution that scales to your business. Each PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere...

powerplusparts.com

It isn't going to be particularly cheap, but it would allow recharging tools on the road. Although, for that price, perhaps one is better just getting a pile of batteries.

Greenworks is putting big "suitcase batteries" in their mowers. But, I don't see a remote charging solution yet. Undoubtedly it is coming.

They do have inverters.

It was only a matter of time before someone did that.

Somewhere around I have a charger for my Milwaukee M18 batteries that plugs in to a 12V cigarette lighter. Its slower than my 120VAC rapid charger (and also slower than my older original M18 chargers), but it does work. In a jam, I can recharge from my truck or tractor.

I don't use the 12V charger much, because for most of my cordless tools, I'm relatively close to an electrical outlet and use the faster wall charger. The one exception is the chainsaw, since most of my work is well into the woods. I've occasionally brought my battery saw along in the woods, but usually only when cruising trails to clean up minor storm damage. When I'm spending a day in the woods - or even half a day, or when I'm not sure how big the job is, it's a gas saw that gets taken along (usually two of them).

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

A gasser won't run all day on a tank of fuel. An electric saw won't run all day on one battery either. This isn't a fair comparison.

You carry a gas can for the gasser, just carry spare batteries for the electric saw.

A small can of gas weighs less than a battery, and that can will last 8 hours or more.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

What saw and battery do you have? Do you have spare batteries?

How close are you to a power source? I usually have one battery on the charger while I'm cutting, and can get a full charge in about a half hour or so. I have at least 200 or 300 yards worth of extension cords I can use if needed.

I have an older 40V Greenworks (16" or 18"), Greenworks 60V 20", and Greenworks Commercial 82V 20".

The 60V 20" and 82V 20" saws are pretty similar, although the 82V batteries have a slightly larger capacity. I'm still exploring a bit, but I like the 60V, 8Ah batteries and the 80 or 82V 4Ah, 5Ah, or 6Ah batteries. 80V and 82V batteries are similar enough to power the saw. I'll modify my saw to take both shortly.

The older 40V saw has a thinner blade, so it doesn't suck down battery juice as quickly. But the newer 20" saws really throw a pile of chips!!! But, unfortunately bigger batteries are still drained eventually. An hour or so of cutting for a larger battery? Then it is time for a brief break, change the battery, check the oil, etc.

EGO is coming up with a unique remote charging system:

2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery

The EGO 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery enables off-grid charging of EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries via the PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank (batteries and Power Bank available separately).

egopowerplus.com

PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank | EGO (PGX1400PB)

The PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere (all batteries available separately).

egopowerplus.com

EGO Power+ PGX3100K PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank Kit with 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity and (2) 7.5Ah Batteries

EGO Commercial’s PGX™ Commercial Charging system is a flexible charging solution that scales to your business. Each PGX™ Commercial Charging Power Bank uses a 2.2kWh (40Ah) High-Capacity Battery to charge smaller EGO 56V ARC Lithium™ batteries off the grid and in the field anytime, anywhere...

powerplusparts.com

It isn't going to be particularly cheap, but it would allow recharging tools on the road. Although, for that price, perhaps one is better just getting a pile of batteries.

Greenworks is putting big "suitcase batteries" in their mowers. But, I don't see a remote charging solution yet. Undoubtedly it is coming.

They do have inverters.

I have two batteries. Well, I did. One just took a crap after 4 years, it's $200 to replace. Light use too. I don't work near much power. We are off in the woods, or on disaster relief calls where we cut all day in tornado ravaged areas. I guess I could use a gas generator

 

[CliffordK]

I have two batteries. Well, I did. One just took a crap after 4 years, it's $200 to replace. Light use too. I don't work near much power. We are off in the woods, or on disaster relief calls where we cut all day in tornado ravaged areas. I guess I could use a gas generator

Do you have power back at base camp? You could get a new EV pickup with power to spare.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Do you have power back at base camp? You could get a new EV pickup with power to spare.

I can have power in the evenings, but I'd need 12 batteries to get me through the day on one saw.

 

[Grumpycat]

A can of fuel lasts longer and is lighter than a battery. A tank of fuel alone is probably the equivalent of two batteries or more. I do hope battery tech improves

Data, please. Don't just "probably" make things up.

 

[Grumpycat]

I have two batteries. Well, I did. One just took a crap after 4 years, it's $200 to replace. Light use too.

what brand? A lot of battery tools have junk batteries. And no aftermarket 3rd party battery is as good as OE.

Light use is hard on lithium-ion batteries. Especially if left in the charger for weeks at a time.

EGo's batteries have a built-in self-discharge to 50% for minimizing wear on the battery cells if unused for 30 days.