Battery powered chainsaw

Richard001 · Jun 19, 2023

OK guys, I must confess, I have not ever owned a battery powered anything. It has always been gas powered.

A few days ago, my 13 year old Wen 14" 38.5CC two cycle chain saw stopped working. I was cutting down a large tree an cutting it into man sized chunks, when it stopped suddenly while cutting. After a minute or two, I would start again, but now it will not start. Yes it got hot so I think that the coil is tost. I can get a little spark but when I put the plug in and try to start the engine, nothing. I also noticed that there is some play in the flywheel end of the crankshaft.

So now I want to go battery powered. The number of saws is not only bewildering, it is also confusing.

I want to get a 14" battery powered saw that I will use from time to time to cut down trees or just trim some of the limbs on my trees in my yard. This will NOT be used in a business or professional type situation.

Can you give me some ideas on what saw will work for me ?

Richard

KennyG · Jun 19, 2023

I would suggest you buy based on the system, not the saw. I have a DeWalt 20v saw and I find it to be a very good tool. I got it because I have a drill, angle grinder, hedge trimmer, string trimmer, and pole saw in the same system. Once you see how convenient the battery tools are, you just can't stop.

LouNY · Jun 19, 2023

I have the Harbor Freight 80Volt saw and am well pleased with it so far.
My brother has the Milwaukee M18 and if you use the very large battery it is decent,
any of the smaller batteries and it doesn't do near as good.
And it is no where's close to the saw the 80 volt is. Of course the 80 Volt battery is expensive.

Richard001 · Jun 19, 2023

LouNY said:
I have the Harbor Freight 80Volt saw and am well pleased with it so far.
My brother has the Milwaukee M18 and if you use the very large battery it is decent,
any of the smaller batteries and it doesn't do near as good.
And it is no where's close to the saw the 80 volt is. Of course the 80 Volt battery is expensive.

I looked at the Milwaukee 14" saw and to me, it looks overpriced at $499.00 with the 8.0AH Battery and charger. I see that Milwaukee goes to great length to hide the voltage of this battery. It is a M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion HIGH OUTPUT XC 8.0 Ah Battery.

Lower voltage = larger wire size and that means more weight.

RustyA · Jun 19, 2023

Atlas harbor freight 80 volt here, two batteries, fast charger, 18" saw, pole saw, weed trimmer, pole saw. All great tools for the money. Oh and leaf blower.

ArlyA · Jun 19, 2023

I'm not sure voltage equates to more amp hours or a better saw. I'd suggest looking at one that has these features.

Uses normal saw tools and chains.
Uses a standard chain tightening system.
Can get aftermarket battery's for.
Has an oil tank and pump.

ernemats · Jun 19, 2023

I have several Ryobi 40 volt chain saws . They work good for light to medium sized trees under 10 inches. Their price is good and you can often get them on sale at Directtools.com. I use them to cut most of my firewood about 5 cords a year. If doing much cutting extra batteries are nice. Usually cheaper to get an extra tool with battery and charger included

ning · Jun 20, 2023

I'm curious about the "coming soon" 20" ryobi saw (40V HP BRUSHLESS 20" CHAINSAW KIT - RYOBI Tools). I figure buy whatever is newest and I've had great experience with the Ryobi stuff.
Only thing is that since they've taken their time getting this saw out, I've fixed my smaller saw that I was thinking about replacing...

ArlyA · Jun 20, 2023

ning said:
I'm curious about the "coming soon" 20" ryobi saw (40V HP BRUSHLESS 20" CHAINSAW KIT - RYOBI Tools). I figure buy whatever is newest and I've had great experience with the Ryobi stuff.
Only thing is that since they've taken their time getting this saw out, I've fixed my smaller saw that I was thinking about replacing...

I go into the field with 2 or three extra batteries, but seems I don't often need them.

ultrarunner · Jun 20, 2023

I have 3 of the Stihl AP batteries and never ran out of power for cleanup in the woods.

Actually had my gas Stihl out last weekend cleaning up a large oak that fell across the trail… started right up with over a year in the basement.

Storage Temp almost constant with full tank Stihl Ultra mix

Richard001 · Jun 20, 2023

ning said:
I'm curious about the "coming soon" 20" ryobi saw (40V HP BRUSHLESS 20" CHAINSAW KIT - RYOBI Tools). I figure buy whatever is newest and I've had great experience with the Ryobi stuff.
Only thing is that since they've taken their time getting this saw out, I've fixed my smaller saw that I was thinking about replacing...

I am leaning towards the Ryobi:
FROM HOME DEPOT $279.00 Model# RY405100 RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 14 in. Battery Chainsaw with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger

But I have questions. I have read some of the operators manuals and in the trouble shooting section, it states that if the saw stops while cutting, it maybe overheated.

Have any of you had this happen ?

Also I am wondering if there are air filters on the saw. I could be wrong, but I assume that the motor is cooled with a fan as well as the controller.

Richard

ArlyA · Jun 20, 2023

My makita(s) will shut down when the motor gets hot and the lights on the saw will tell me that. There are no filters.

ernemats · Jun 20, 2023

My Ryobi's will shut down if you try to push down on the saw too hard when cutting. My 120 volt Redback saw will do the same and also my sons Ego and Dewalt will shut down also if you put too much downforce on them when cutting . They do not have air filters or cooling faans

Racenut · Jun 20, 2023

So back a few pages I said I got the Greenworks 80v 18" as an upgrade to the 40v 16". I'll now say that the 16" 40V is still my goto saw. It's lighter and usually enough to cut what I usually need to cut. I do a lot more trimming than felling, and the felling I do is usually smaller trees. That's not to say the 80v isn't good. But for me, the 40v 16" works fine for most stuff I need with a bit less effort. The 80v is noticeably more powerful, but heavier and shorter battery life.

Racenut · Jun 20, 2023

I don't think mine has ever done an overheat shutdown. I have had them get bound up and shut down due to overload, but that's just turn it off and back on and back to work. Also when the battery gets low, they get more sensitive to overload.

ArlyA · Jun 20, 2023

i like this guys testing. This is a battery test, but we added one stihl gas saw to the lineup.

ning · Jun 20, 2023

I've often wondered why there aren't more filters on electric motor driven tools, particularly things like sanders which generate such fine dust.
For a chainsaw, even a small-aperture grille like hair dryers have would probably be really useful (my wife's hair dryer has a grille that snaps on/off at the back so you can easily clean that grille).
Gas chainsaws would make great use of something like that too IMO. An easily-removable (maybe not snap, but a big finger-twist knob) grille that's on the outside, totally obvious to view, as a pre-filter and catch the big stuff.

Richard001 · Jun 20, 2023

For just the low dollar value, there is this:

Kobalt 40V saw Model KCS1040A03 40V 14" SAW W/4.0AH BATTERY AND CHARGER
$120.00 PLUS $30.00 SHIPPING TOTAL COST $150

This is a internet price from E-bay. Local Lowes price is:
$229.00 for the same saw/kit.

So here is the question, how does any warranty repair or replacement differ from local purchase or internet purchase ?

Richard

two_bit_score · Jun 20, 2023

ning said:
I've often wondered why there aren't more filters on electric motor driven tools, particularly things like sanders which generate such fine dust.

Isn’t that what an air compressor is for?