Is There a 12 Volt Chainsaw ?

[have_blue]

That could be used on a tall boom pole ? That would be great. I'm thinking about getting a 12 volt inverter and use an electric el-cheapo saw, like one of the $60 ones
Jim

It will work, but you'll need a monster inverter, and thumb sized cables from inverter to battery. The inverter will cost much more than the saw, and the cables aren't real cheap either. The cord runing up the boom pole needs to be heavy gage too, and will make the pole heavy.

A gas model is much lighter and cheaper in the long run, and has more power.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Yes, I have and I'm not to crazy about that, my boom pole can be 29 feet tall, thats lots of hose?
I was thinking about a 110 volt saw with an inverter mounted on a spring and a hinge at the top and NOT rigid mounted, I could lower it on a limb and spring would push down gently, I think ?
And I could remove it for limbing and plug other 110 items in the inverter
What cha think
Here is a picture of my boom pole

Jim

Power(Watts)= Volts x Current. 12V supply will need a lot of amps to run a ~1/2HP tool. That will entail big wire if going any distance. Better to put an 1kW or so inverter on the tractor as close as possible to the battery - that keeps the hi Amp wires short. Once power is converted to 110 the Amps that you need to feed to the standard 110V tool will be comparatively low [usually shown on the tool]. A 14Ga extension cord - or a 12Ga if long, will do this efficiently. This way you wont need the big lines going to the tool.
larry

 

[cisco]

Per the posts, it seems there are 12V chainsaws around. The actual utility of such saws (blade length, amp draw) is another matter.

I had a conundrum - my wife could not pull start our smaller (and very good, by the way) chain saw, a Stihl MS 180, but she sure liked to use it to trim stuff. So, aside from the spring loaded starter (heavier) version of that saw Stihl offers, the MSE 180 (14" blade, and it DOES cut through stuff nicely - I topped about 2 dozen 4X4 posts this weekend) seemed a decent alternative. The problem was the 15 amp motor, and the long extension cords (14 gauge) she'd need around our 7.5 acres. Yes, we do have power poles and water outlets spaced around, but it's on a 10 gauge line and over distance one loses voltage fairly quickly.
Hmm, my wife had a golf cart, and it turns out there's sufficient room in the battery/motor compartment to install a 5000 watt invertor. So, it worked. Now she's got an AC outlet on the side of her golf cart, and it has run the chainsaw, lights (a "campfire" site), a crosscut saw ..... whatever, and we've never had less than 50% power in the batteries when the cart was plugged into garage current each evening. If there's a downside, we haven't found it over the past 1/2 year.
Just a thought ...... I'm sure there's lots of creative alternatives.

 

[Skyco]

Small 2k or so generators have become very reasonable, in fact not much, if any, more than a comparable sized invertor. I've run a $99 Remington pole saw on my small generator several times, works great no battery drain. In effect a "gas" chain saw but the engine stays on the ground.....

 

[dnetherland]

Anybody thought of a simple way to control the throttle of a gas chainsaw from the tractor seat.

DN

 

[Botabill]

You might want to consider HYDRAULIC CHAIN/POLE SAWS just google search and you'll find them.

 

[IslandTractor]

Ryobi sells a 18v battery powered chain saw. It is strong enough only for 2-3 inch limbs though.

 

[California]

Ryobi sells a 18v battery powered chain saw. It is strong enough only for 2-3 inch limbs though.

I have one. Here is their info.

I would say it is suitable only for very occasional work, a gardener's tool, not a farmer's.

Example: every year I trim a huge acacia back that crowds the driveway. it's similar to a hedge but contains heavier limbs. 3/4 of that project is done on a 14 ft ladder. The cordless saw is very convenient. Most of this project is done with pruning shears (18 inch handles), and I reach for the Ryobi for the occasional larger limb, sometimes up to 4 inch. I get a dozen or so large cuts per battery. This is simpler than getting out the gas chainsaw and a lot less work than the bowsaw I used to use.

Note the Ryobi goes through a limb about a quarter as fast as a real chainsaw. It's not for the impatient.

Another alternative is the Ryobi reciprocal saw. I carry that on the tractor for the occasional limb I encounter in the orchard that needs to be cut. It's an ideal replacement for a hand bowsaw, or a curved pruning handsaw. And no chainsaw oil mess. But it's slower than the Ryobi chainsaw, no faster than working up a sweat with the bowsaw.

 

[js5020]

So what would everyones take be on running a 12v weedbeater off of a tractor? I have some small areas that need to be cut away from power and I really don't want to get another gas whacker.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have one. Here is their info.

I would say it is suitable only for very occasional work, a gardener's tool, not a farmer's.

Example: every year I trim a huge acacia back that crowds the driveway. it's similar to a hedge but contains heavier limbs. 3/4 of that project is done on a 14 ft ladder. The cordless saw is very convenient. Most of this project is done with pruning shears (18 inch handles), and I reach for the Ryobi for the occasional larger limb, sometimes up to 4 inch. I get a dozen or so large cuts per battery. This is simpler than getting out the gas chainsaw and a lot less work than the bowsaw I used to use.

Note the Ryobi goes through a limb about a quarter as fast as a real chainsaw. It's not for the impatient.

Another alternative is the Ryobi reciprocal saw. I carry that on the tractor for the occasional limb I encounter in the orchard that needs to be cut. It's an ideal replacement for a hand bowsaw, or a curved pruning handsaw. And no chainsaw oil mess. But it's slower than the Ryobi chainsaw, no faster than working up a sweat with the bowsaw.

I have the same two saws and basically agree with your assessment. I tried the Ryobi 18v chainsaw once and put it away. I suppose it could be useful for somethings but it is truly wimpy compared to a gas saw. The Ryobi cordless 18V reciprocal saw is more useful and I do use that with a wood cutting blade on bushes etc. Neither is a more than occasional use piece of equipment though.