Chainsaw alternatives.

[boggen]

i am actually kinda surprised now that i think of it. of not seeing a hydrualic chain saw that runs off of some hydrualic hookups on a tractor.


but if i start thinking about it.

first price would be the 2 hoses that would be needed and they would need to be long! say 100 foot.

next would be an hydrualic pump that could convert the fluid from the hooks from the tractor
along with some gears to change slower rotation of the pump to higher rotations so the chain will spin fast enough.

and most likely a bleeder valve to remove all the air from the long lines initially. and extra hydraulic oil for tractor as lines initially were filled.

the lines themselves hhhmmmsss. do they make anything rated for 2000 to 300psi that are double hose side by side, by have a small piece of plastic down center connecting them like. a torch might have?

weight of the hoses would be a concern. and wear and tear on the hoses pulling them around limbs, sharp corners on logs from cuts.

 

[MarkV]

Not sure what size lumber you are talking about and I can only guess that if you have bad shoulders you are not harvesting firewood. So what I do for trimming smaller things is a cordless reciprocating saw. There are even 12" blades made for trimming limbs. Just another option.

MarkV

 

[TripleR]

yup - my dad has one of these things. he likes it, I don't. you still gotta have strength to pull on it slow which i doubt the OP has. I really don't think electric will work on batteries. batteries is too heavy to lift and mount on tractor if you gotta maintain them. IF I were the OP, I would get a pto generator like one advertised on TBN forum from IMD. it should be much easier as all you gotta do is hook it up and run it from tractor. doubles a home backup too :thumbsup:.

I have three saws with this setup 180,210 and 250 and if I have the strength to use them, just about anyone can. My wife also uses them and loves them, we are both in our 60's. If a person has doubts, they can try one out at tthe store to see if they can use one. I noticed that Stihl now also offers this option in one it's arborist saws.

I can understand why someone who doesn't need the system would not like it, it really throws my youngest son off and he still, grabs and drop starts it like a regular saw which doesn't really work that well.

PTO and gas powered generators are options, but pretty expensive plus I can always manage to get caught up in power cords too.

 

[PapaPerk]

I thought Kubota has a hydraullic chainsaw that runs off their RTV900. Or is that my imagination?

The simplest solution would be to evaluate a Stihl easy start saw. They are pretty cool!

If that doesn't work... the generator/electric chainsaw is an intresting and workable solution. Plus you can use the generator for countless other projects. Have you looked at the Stihl electric chainsaws? They are well made I believe.

A hydraullic chainsaw sounds heavy and awkward. Especially if you are limbing, etc. The generator powered electric would be light, nimble, and easy to maintain.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jbooth]

Power to weight ratio on hydraulics is very good when compared to gas powered.

Only drawbacks I see are the hoses, hose handling, higher initial cost, and your machinery's hydraulic capacity/flow/pressure.

Advantages are quiet, no gas mixing, no flamables, and durability.

I run a hydraulic chainsaw mounted on my Skid Steer bucket to side trim my farm tree rows. I sure don't have to push the button very hard on it to cut. I have the same issues with my shoulders.

 

[boggen]

Not sure what size lumber you are talking about and I can only guess that if you have bad shoulders you are not harvesting firewood. So what I do for trimming smaller things is a cordless reciprocating saw. There are even 12" blades made for trimming limbs. Just another option.

MarkV

and longer blades. but boy is there a night and difference between a reciprocating saw, and a chain saw.

reciprocating saw, trimming blades tends to dull rather quick and take more time to cut stuff up with. and the vibration and kick back can be another issue. been there done that. give me a saw with a chain to cut with, when it comes to trees.

if it is plywood, and regular lumber 2x4's, trim then depends on what is being cut.

 

[Egon]

With shoulders and arms not to par pulling the hydraulic hoses may not have any joy.

Gordons idea seems eminently workable. Think about concentrating on refining it to a workable system.:thumbsup:

An alternative may be to use an external 12 volt starter motor much the same as is used on model planes. Some of those have chainsaw engines in them. Again you'd have to develop the idea.

 

[vwnotrunning]

I have seen some use a cordless drill on the flywheel nut with some type of a socket that would slip in one direction so it did not go crazy when the mower started.

 

[jeffreythree]

I thought I had seen a hydraulic handheld chainsaw once when looking at firewood processors that use stationary ones: Hand Held Saw ; so it can be done

 

[tsteahr]

Perhaps it would be possible to modify the rope pull of a gas saw to be spun with a cordless drill...