What is the best battery operated chain saw

[ultrarunner]

Bailey's WoodlandPRO 71SC is 1/4" .043. I find the Woodland Pro chain does not stay sharp quite as long as Stihl but it's cheaper. I use it for larger saws for felling and bucking.

I group up my Bailey's orders to amortize the shipping cost across many items. Also the gas to drive to the Stihl dealer costs about as much and it takes more of my time.

Stihl Dealer is on the way to work... literally just pull in driving by.

I was surprised at the cost of the chain as I had borrowed my brother's battery operated Stihl arsenal plus polesaw to use around my place and wanted to pick up a couple of new chains to give him when I brought it back.

When I called him to see if I could keep it longer so I could do some work at Mom's he said no problem... commented on the cost of Chain and he said those "Little Suckers are Expensive" same chain fits Stihl polesaw.

 

[John_Mc]

i have the milwaukee chainsaw. it does the jb - but you really have to use the high output batteries that i over 200 bucks for one. if you try to use the batteries for drill that is less then 9 .0 it only runs for 10 mins. the high output battery lasts for about 20-30 mins thru 16 inch oak logs. i prefer to use gas as i can keep going without carrying the batteries with me but the battery saw is perfect for limbing or that 10 min job so i keep it in my work van at all times. If I knew i was going to cut down a tree - I am going with my gas saw - period.

If your batteries less than 9 AH only last 10 minutes on a drill, then you have either battery problems or drill problems. My years-old M18 Milwaukee 3 AH batteries last far longer than 10 minutes. Those are the smallest batteries I have. I also have a number of 4.0 and 5.0 Amp-Hour batteries. I used them when I was working with a solar PV installer, spending all day torquing down hundreds of clamps on a standing seam roof to create mount points for a 50 KW array. I would replace the battery when we broke for lunch, even though it still had usable charge.

I just bought my first high output M18 batteries: a 12.0 and a 6.0 AH battery packed with one of their Rapid Chargers for a total of $249. (See the thread Good deal on large capacity Milwaukee M18 Cordless tool batteries for more info). That's the same price they normally charge for the 12.0 AH battery alone.

 

[crazyal]

I've never had anything bad Makita... it was my first cordless back around 1983 and still have it...

I've had a lot of Makita cordless tools, several corded tools as well. But my last two cordless drills were duds. One came with nickle metal hydride batteries (just before lithium really started catching on). It had a 3 speed gear box and within a short period the fasted speed stopped working. Not really a show stopper but a few months later the middle speed went and then finally the slow speed. The cost of the part was more than two new drills so I replaced it. The replacement had the trigger die not long after the warranty expired. The price for parts is insane so I switched to Milwaukee. Kind of sad but after spending that much on a professional tool it would break.

 

[ultrarunner]

Sorry to hear that... I recommended Makita cordless when asked by wives of friends when they were Christmas shopping... some of the Box stores had holiday specials and I was responsible for several sales...

My 1980's Makita stuff is all working well... battery and corded... the planer, chopsaw, drills, flashlights, etc...

One thing I have always done since day one with nickel metal hydride batteries is ONLY charge when flat out dead... I would leave the switch on or put the battery in the flashlight until dead and then immediately charge... a battery engineer told me this was best. I still have the 1985 DC Makita charger bolted in my service van...

Ironically, Milwaukee after also being a favorite of mine left me high and dry twice...

Once was a Christmas gift set for my niece... lithium batteries... there was one battery that would not charge after being used only a few times... I sent the battery to Milwaukee and warranty denied... saying it had been exposed to water??? I then asked to have it back so I could have someone else look at it and was told this was not possible... I wanted the battery engineer friend to look at it.

So Milwaukee kept the battery I paid for, declined to replace it and refused to return it...

The second problem is with a Milwaukee Pistol corded drill... the switch went bad... had it 4 years... used several times every year with a sink snake... was told the switch is no longer available... not possible to get...

Probably just my bad luck...

Milwaukee service station is also very poor here... 4 to 6 weeks unless a $20 expedite fee is paid for 7 day turnaround depending on part availability...

 

[fried1765]

Sorry to hear that... I recommended Makita cordless when asked by wives of friends when they were Christmas shopping... some of the Box stores had holiday specials and I was responsible for several sales...

My 1980's Makita stuff is all working well... battery and corded... the planer, chopsaw, drills, flashlights, etc...

One thing I have always done since day one with nickel metal hydride batteries is ONLY charge when flat out dead... I would leave the switch on or put the battery in the flashlight until dead and then immediately charge... a battery engineer told me this was best. I still have the 1985 DC Makita charger bolted in my service van...

Ironically, Milwaukee after also being a favorite of mine left me high and dry twice...

Once was a Christmas gift set for my niece... lithium batteries... there was one battery that would not charge after being used only a few times... I sent the battery to Milwaukee and warranty denied... saying it had been exposed to water??? I then asked to have it back so I could have someone else look at it and was told this was not possible... I wanted the battery engineer friend to look at it.

So Milwaukee kept the battery I paid for, declined to replace it and refused to return it...

The second problem is with a Milwaukee Pistol corded drill... the switch went bad... had it 4 years... used several times every year with a sink snake... was told the switch is no longer available... not possible to get...

Probably just my bad luck...

Milwaukee service station is also very poor here... 4 to 6 weeks unless a $20 expedite fee is paid for 7 day turnaround depending on part availability...

Thanks for sharing your Milwaukee experience.
I have several older Milwaukee corded tools, but none battery powered.
I have only Makita and DeWalt battery powered tools, and they have been great.
I will eliminate Milwaukee from any future consideration, based upon your report of customer indifference.

 

[ultrarunner]

I did buy a replacement battery for her and no problems to report... I think it was $70+

Bought a Dewalt Cordless for work in 1995... had batteries rebuilt once and no complaints... especially at the price point.

Have a biscuit joiner too and it has been great and much less expensive than others at the time... I used it a lot in the Hospital adding cam locks to hundreds of cabinets to meet new requirements… the biscuit joiner is perfect for cutting the slot...

 

[CADplans]

Not sure where you are getting your chains, but over $40 is a complete rip-off. I can get replacement chain for the Milwaukee M18 Fuel chainsaw a whole lot cheaper than that. The saw comes with a 16" bar, 0.043" gauge, 3/8" Low-profile chain with 56 drive links. Baileys (who is not the cheapest place around to buy chains) sells a few options:

WoodlandPRO 34LP56 for $13
Oregon 90PX056G for $17
Stihl 61PMM356 for $22

I'm not a big fan of the Woodland Pro, but the other two manufacturers make good chains.

My Milwaukee 18V saw came earlier this week,, then, I ordered a couple replacement chains.
The replacement chains came today,, I figured I would wait to post about them until they arrived,,

2 Pack, Oregon 9PX56G Low Profile 3/8-Inch Pitch .43-Inch Gauge 56-Drive | eBay

The eBay listing is for two chains,, for $19.87,,, free shipping for both chains.
That works out to be $9.93 per chain,, delivered,, tax included,,,

Heck, that is about $2 more than the cost of having a chain sharpened,, and IMHO, a new chain always cuts better than a re-sharpened chain.

Also, this is my third electric chainsaw,,,
I found that the slightly slower chain speed of the electric saw greatly increases chain life..

I will probably not use up 3 chains for quite a while,,,

I expect,, for my use, the chains for the Milwaukee will get tossed if they are dull,,,

Oh, yea,, I cut the limbs from a 22" DBH red oak that was blown over,,
The Milwaukee cut all the branches to firewood length,, and the battery still has some charge left.

My neighbor cut the main log with his Husky gas saw,,, while I used the Milwaukee.
I really got tired of hearing the engine on that Husky,:laughing:,, boy I like the electric saw,,, :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

Very impressive cost per chain...

But seems there is always a catch... the website states:

"We do not ship orders to California"

 

[crazyal]

Very impressive cost per chain...

But seems there is always a catch... the website states:

"We do not ship orders to California"

That's because saw chain is known to cause cancer in the state of California. :laughing:

 

[John_Mc]

My Milwaukee 18V saw came earlier this week,, then, I ordered a couple replacement chains.
The replacement chains came today,, I figured I would wait to post about them until they arrived,,

2 Pack, Oregon 9PX56G Low Profile 3/8-Inch Pitch .43-Inch Gauge 56-Drive | eBay

The eBay listing is for two chains,, for $19.87,,, free shipping for both chains.
That works out to be $9.93 per chain,, delivered,, tax included,,,

You found some great pricing on those chains. I did not look much for best price in my links above, just went to a place that I knew would stock it.

Heck, that is about $2 more than the cost of having a chain sharpened,, and IMHO, a new chain always cuts better than a re-sharpened chain.

If that's true, you should find a new place to get your chains sharpened. It's not difficult to get your chains resharpened to better than new. The problem is that a whole lot of people just don't know how or don't take the time to sharpen chains correctly. The typical hardware store flunky probably had 15 minutes of "training" on their chain grinder.

When sharpening by hand it's easy to get good results with the use of an appropriate guide. It does take a bit of practice. (In the course of my chainsawing, I've run into dozens of people who think they are great at sharpening chains freehand - just a bare round file without any guide. I've run into 3 who actually are good at it and can match or beat new-out-of-the-box performance.)