What is the good Chainsaw for clearing?

[kenmbz]

Easy for me to get, just have to drive 4-5 hours each way...............
Lotsa corn here too, not much eatin kind though

 

[Jstpssng]

In the proletarian states i live near such as Ma, RI and Conn, no choice for non ethanol at the pump. You can buy it at our local outdoor power equipment facility..$14 per gallon.

You can buy it at Walmart here, or at least you could before NonEthanol became available. I ran the E-10 without a problem for years, when I was running a saw every weekend; then flush it with a tank of the NE premix before putting the saw up. I did the same with my snowsleds; running cheap gas until spring, then putting a couple of tanks of Non ethanol through. My new sled takes 91 octane though, and most non ethanol is only 90.

 

[arrow]

You can buy it at Walmart here, or at least you could before NonEthanol became available. I ran the E-10 without a problem for years, when I was running a saw every weekend; then flush it with a tank of the NE premix before putting the saw up. I did the same with my snowsleds; running cheap gas until spring, then putting a couple of tanks of Non ethanol through. My new sled takes 91 octane though, and most non ethanol is only 90.

I have little choice unless I want to pay $14 per gallon for non.
I have had to rebuild or replace just about every carb on my small engines.
I now run everything until it runs out of gas, drain the carbs and now i have no more kelloggs Corn Flakes in my carbs.

 

[bigtiller]

There is a chance that E-10 will be replaced with E-15 in a few years. Iowa is starting the ball to roll.

 

[coobie]

As I posted before, I am clearing several lots, and need a good chainsaw to tackle the bigger trees and can grind them down afterward with a stump grinder. But you really cant find out much of anything out of the stores on what works for solid pine and oak that we have down here. What is a good Chainsaw that starts on the first pull, lightweight but powerful, and doesnt breakdown after a day or two of heavy cutting..?

ECHO.I have 3 and all have been flawless ..

 

[Reddogs]

It can be but the longer you work the saw, the stronger your arms get. It got to the point for me that a Husky 372 was simply an extension of my arms. It became weightless after awhile.
If I had to recommend a saw for you saying you are in decent physical shape, it would be the Echo 590.
Put on a 20 " bar and you'll be good to go no matter what you'll confront.
Just quit when you're tired and build up to it gradually.

I once owned a JD 750 and currently a tractor commensurate size wise to your Kubota. I also logged professionally so I know how tough the woods can be on equipment.
I'm telling you that cutting down trees is one thing but if you think you're going to de stump your plots with either of these, you're in for a wake up.

I don't now how much land we're talking about here but a track hoe of some type might be a consideration. Would be much faster than a bulldozer because the hoe can dig out the stump, dig a hole beneath where the stump used to lay, and then bury the stump right there as opposed to going back and forth to keep pushing the mess toward a border line of some sort.

I think a Cat 310 would be more applicable than a Cat D-8 from what I've experienced with land clearing.

I ripped out some of the smaller stumps early yesterday, think may have to dig out with the backhoe, as they will 'wake you up' in the morning.

 

[Reddogs]

The ones that seem to fit the bill are the Stihl battery powered chainsaw with 36 volt battery and the Dewalt battery powered chainsaw with 60 volt battery, but curiously they are missing out of the inventory in the stores (they leave them out on the floor with no security, wonder where they went).

I finally decided to get the Dewalt 60 Volt Battery Powered Chainsaw, as the reviews on it were good, but it is very hard to find them in stock or the batteries. Not a good sign... Same thing with the Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna battery powered chainsaws, the stores/dealers advertised them, but either nothing in stock or missing even from display. Needed something as starting on some of the lots, so trying out the Ryobi Battery Powered Chainsaw, we shall see..

 

[Rockbadchild]

I finally decided to get the Dewalt 60 Volt Battery Powered Chainsaw, as the reviews on it were good, but it is very hard to find them in stock or the batteries. Not a good sign... Same thing with the Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna battery powered chainsaws, the stores/dealers advertised them, but either nothing in stock or missing even from display. Needed something as starting on some of the lots, so trying out the Ryobi Battery Powered Chainsaw, we shall see..

Let us know your thoughts on it once putting it to the test ...

 

[John_Mc]

I have a couple friends that have the Milwaukee 18V saw. They both love them. I have the Milwaukee weedeater and blower. Don't let the "little" 18v battery throw you off. They are super powerful. I would not expect to be able to run it all day on 1 battery but for intermittent work they would be great. I would hesitate to recommend a battery saw as primary for your project but they have their place.

I mostly use pro-type gas saws. My two main go-to saws are a Jonsered 2152 (50cc - the twin sister to a Husqvarna 353 technically not marketed as pro saws, but they have a magnesium case and other pro-type construction) and a Husqvarna 357 XP (just under 60cc). I'm cutting mostly hardwoods, but we don't have a lot of huge ones around here. The bulk of what I cut is in the 10"-18" range, and it's rare I'm dealing more than 24" DBH. I don't often have the need for a larger saw, and I'd carry one these smaller lighter saws and spend a bit more time on the occasional larger tree than carry around a larger saw that I don't need most of the day.

I had been wondering about battery-powered chainsaws for a while, following the reviews, and trying out those owned by friends. I was impressed with the Milwaukee M18 saw, so bought one a couple of years ago when I saw a good package deal on that and some other tools I needed. Given the good reviews and the fact that I already owned a bunch of Milwaukee M18 tools, it made a lot of sense for me. It's a decent little saw. I'd say it cuts as well as a decent 40cc gas saw. It will never be one of my primary saws, but it's handy for what it is.

One thing I have noted: the 12 Amp-Hour high output battery that Milwaukee sells with it will last a whole lot longer than a tank of bar oil, so you have to keep an eye on that. I may switch to using 6 or 8 A-H batteries to more closely match the bar oil tank capacity.

 

[arrow]

I mostly use pro-type gas saws. My two main go-to saws are a Jonsered 2152 (50cc - the twin sister to a Husqvarna 353 technically not marketed as pro saws, but they have a magnesium case and other pro-type construction) and a Husqvarna 357 XP (just under 60cc). I'm cutting mostly hardwoods, but we don't have a lot of huge ones around here. The bulk of what I cut is in the 10"-18" range, and it's rare I'm dealing more than 24" DBH

This is exactly my home owner situation. I am much aligned to your two with the Husq Rancher and the 257.
Felling is done with the 50cc w an 18" bar and blocking is done w the 257 and 16" bar.
Have had the Rancher since 1985 and the 257 since 1998. They start every year and have been trouble free. They are the only two saws I have never "swapped out" when i had the saw addiction.

The 353 was one of my favorite Husqs. More so than the 246. The 353 had some grunt to it as well as some speed.

 

[tradosaurus]

Keeping your chainsaw serviced (cleaned, chain sharpened, fueled, oiled) after every use will help you cut consistently.
I have three (3) Echo CS-490's. If you are doing a lot of cutting it's nice to have a backup or two.
Also keep your chainsaw chain out of the dirt as that will dull the chain very quickly.

 

[tradosaurus]

I finally decided to get the Dewalt 60 Volt Battery Powered Chainsaw, as the reviews on it were good, but it is very hard to find them in stock or the batteries. Not a good sign... Same thing with the Stihl, Echo, Husqvarna battery powered chainsaws, the stores/dealers advertised them, but either nothing in stock or missing even from display. Needed something as starting on some of the lots, so trying out the Ryobi Battery Powered Chainsaw, we shall see..

Where you located?

 

[Reddogs]

Where you located?

South Florida, you have to be careful with anything of quality as people come from the east coast and clear out anything of value..

 

[Reddogs]

Let us know your thoughts on it once putting it to the test ...

Very impressed with the Ryobi, knocked down several trees with ease. It cuts through them as they say 'like butter', and the battery lasts all morning, and got a spare to use for afternoon. Not heavy, so can walk around the woods with no problem, and even the bigger trunks are easy to cut, although I dropped one too close to the house with a tremendous thud and the 'boss' came out...

 

[Rockbadchild]

Very impressed with the Ryobi, knocked down several trees with ease. It cuts through them as they say 'like butter', and the battery lasts all morning, and got a spare to use for afternoon. Not heavy, so can walk around the woods with no problem, and even the bigger trunks are easy to cut, although I dropped one too close to the house with a tremendous thud and the 'boss' came out...

lol that’s never good when to boss come out to see what’s is going on …

sound not bad at all … i will have to try one one of these days … how’s the rpm ?? like it compares to how many cc’s ??

 

[John_Mc]

My Brother owns a Makita 36V (uses two 18V batteries). Makita claims it "delivers power of a 32cc gas chain saw". I've only used it once, but I'd guess that's about right. IT's a little less powerful than my Milwaukee M18 Fuel battery saw

 

[arrow]

Very impressed with the Ryobi, knocked down several trees with ease. It cuts through them as they say 'like butter', and the battery lasts all morning, and got a spare to use for afternoon. Not heavy, so can walk around the woods with no problem, and even the bigger trunks are easy to cut, although I dropped one too close to the house with a tremendous thud and the 'boss' came out...

Seems like these things should be in every woodchucks arsenal. Was looking for a new limbing saw. Perhaps one of these would fit the bill for that.

 

[Reddogs]

My Brother owns a Makita 36V (uses two 18V batteries). Makita claims it "delivers power of a 32cc gas chain saw". I've only used it once, but I'd guess that's about right. IT's a little less powerful than my Milwaukee M18 Fuel battery saw

I saw those, but to replace two 18V batteries instead of one 40V seems to complicate things.

 

[Reddogs]

lol that’s never good when to boss come out to see what’s is going on …

sound not bad at all … i will have to try one one of these days … how’s the rpm ?? like it compares to how many cc’s ??

Very nice, 11690. Here are the comparisons...

 

[John_Mc]

My Brother owns a Makita 36V (uses two 18V batteries). Makita claims it "delivers power of a 32cc gas chain saw". I've only used it once, but I'd guess that's about right. IT's a little less powerful than my Milwaukee M18 Fuel battery saw

I saw those, but to replace two 18V batteries instead of one 40V seems to complicate things.

He got a Makita battery saw simply because he was already heavily invested in Makita cordless tools anyway. The convineince of using batteries and chargers he already owned far outweighed the few seconds extra it takes to swap 2 batteries instead of one. THe financial advantage was obvious. I'm not a huge fan of the Makita saw. It's a little under-powered for my needs, but he does not sue it heavily anyway, so I can see that it was a good choice for him.

I also applaud Makita for coming up with a strategy that lets their users share batteries across a lot of tools