TimberFarm
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2022
- Messages
- 504
- Tractor
- John Deere 3203, Jinma 354 LE, LS MT573
I have this set up.Battery chainsaws are almost here. My primary chainsaw is a Stihl....but it is picky about just what gas it likes - and there are days I just don't want to pull that cord or wrestle with it. I've been cutting our firewood since building the cabin in 1971 and don't need the hassle.
So I decided to try a portable electric. A Makita XCU03. It runs on two 18 volt lithium batteries and comes standard with 4 batteries & dual charger..
Frankly I've been surprised at how handy it is. It's a lightweight nicely balanced saw and one set of batteries will drop a mature 10 inch ponderosa pine, then limb and dice it up into 16" rounds. 4 batteries will do two trees, which is more than the FEL bucket can hold.
There are downsides: It does use a chain with smallish teeth, and lacks any low end torque for getting unstuck. Bring a mallet and plastic wedge - but then I do that anyway. Plus it has just about the worst bar oiler - or non-oiler - that I've yet seen. It has an adjustable oiler which allows for multiple settings that don't work. So also along comes the shampoo bottle of bar oil.
It's a nice trimming and limbing saw that will also do enough small tree work to make it worth bringing along. I'd buy it again.
rScotty
Stihl FarmBoss with a 20" bar and I have two Makita 36v 12" and 14", plus a Makita pole saw.
Unless I am cutting something big, the Makitas are my go to saws. So easy. No noise. No gas to mix. No smell.
Prior to the Stihl though I owned a HomeLite SuperXL with a 20" bar. Not the cheap fake HomeLites. The real deal from back in the '70's. Talk about a beast, that thing had power to spare. Unfortunately after 30+ years of use, it swallowed a valve and that was the end of that. My friend had the exact same saw. We bought them from the same dealer at the same time. I tried like heck to get him to sell his to me since he wasn't cutting wood anymore, but he had promised his brother he could have it. When that SuperXL fired up it made the Stihl sound like a toy.