Battery Powered Chainsaw

[cfpinz]

My wife has a hard time starting a gas chainsaw and I was thinking about buying a battery powered one for when I'm not home and she needs one in a pinch. I'd prefer to stay with either a Milwaukee as I already have a bunch of their batteries, or a Stihl. The latter would be my only Stihl battery product and I don't anticipate buying any other battery powered products from them. The price for a Stihl with battery and charger is roughly the same as a bare Milwaukee saw, so the cost is moot. The Stihl saws weigh 8-9lbs according to the website with battery and bar, whereas the Milwaukee says 14lbs - pretty heavy in my opinion for her. Bars are 12" and 16", respectively.

Any personal experience here with either? Good, bad or ugly, I have no real preference between the two.

Thanks.

 

[Silver]

I’ve heard really good things about both Stihl and Husqvarna but no experience with them. I’ve gone over fences with my neighbour who has a Milwaukee and It impressed me enough that an electric saw is now top of my wish list.

 

[Dap]

My Dad (80 years old) had a Stihl. He had trouble starting the gas saws and this thing was nice and light. I think it had a 14" bar and he would use it cutting up slab wood at his sawmill. I laughed at it until I used it, then I bought one. I have no personal experience with the Milwaukee, but I hear they are good.

 

[SmokinM]

I have the Milwaukee and like it. She can come down and give it a trial run cleaning up a bunch of fence lines before you buy if you like.LOL Seriously you are welcome to try it next time I am there or your here.

 

[shaz]

Got the Greenworks pole saw and like it pretty well.

 

[callmefence]

A Milwaukee M18 fuel chainsaw stays in my back seat. I can keep it in the backseat because there's no gas in it.
I keep a Milwaukee air compressor, impact, grinder and drill on the truck as well. Got a sprayer for welding to.lol
Ok me and my son have become addicted to Milwaukee cordless tools.. 😂 it's getting out of control.

The chainsaw is the catsazz. It'll do anything a small gas saw will do. You get your wife one and see if you don't end up wanting your own.

 

[bird dog]

I have a Stihl. They are very nice to have around for quick jobs or to keep in back of a side x side. I use it a lot for cleaning up branches that break off trees but the best thing I have used it for is cleaning out fence line growth. I love it because you can set it down and pull back what you have cut, pick it up and go right back to cutting. I am sure Milwaukee's are just as good or better.

 

[chaded]

This little guy stays in the utv.

 

[callmefence]

This little guy stays in the utv.

View attachment 15244

We have one of those. I haven't used it personally but my guys use it all the time.
They definitely like it, but say you gotta be careful with it.

 

[M.Magis]

Do the chainsaws actually weigh 14lbs? I have a 60cc gas saw that doesn’t weight that much. And I thought it was heavy.

 

[callmefence]

Do the chainsaws actually weigh 14lbs? I have a 60cc gas saw that doesn’t weight that much. And I thought it was heavy.

It's pretty heavy, especially with a 12amp/he battery in it.

 

[hurleyjd]

I bought a electric echo we have used the heck out of it. Day or two ago I charged the battery slapped it in the saw. Went to cut with it battery dead. Called they said the battery had a five year warranty. I discovered that you also have to have the chain brake off or it will not run at all. dumb dumb on my part

 

[kentuckyguy]

My dewalt 20V stays on the side by side. I use it a lot clearing fences.
Works well on stuff 8” and under. And it’s not a lot to sharpen when you hit a rock or old barbed wire.

 

[cattletodayDE16]

I have a Dewalt 40V - 16 inch and I like it better than any other gas chains saws that I've owned over the last 48 years.

 

[cfpinz]

Thanks, everyone.

From the general consensus here, it doesn't seem like either is a bad choice.

 

[sstterry]

Thanks, everyone.

From the general consensus here, it doesn't seem like either is a bad choice.

While I am a big fan of Sthil, I would go with the Milwaukee just because you have the batteries already.

 

[mdw]

I now have a DeWalt 20 V and am pleased with it. Before that I had a little Ryobi. Actually, the Ryobi was very nice because it was so light that you could use it with one hand -- very handy if you are up on a steep roof cutting branches or climbing into a tree to prune it. Also nice if you are chipping wood and need to trim odd branches.

 

[jltrent]

I have a Ryobi 18V on small stuff works good and it would be great for the wife or little jobs.. I can still seem to start a gas model OK and that is what I usually grab. I can put gas in one a little faster than wait for a battery to charge and less expensive in the long run. Also folks that think the current battery powered saws that are out as of now will work on big trees have never had a 90cc saw in their hands with a full chisel skip chain. About like a knife through butter and that power when you lay it across a log is unreal, almost feels like the ground is shaking under you. A 660 power head is just a little over 16 lbs.

 

[Dave]

I have a Ryobi 18V on small stuff works good and it would be great for the wife or little jobs.. I can still seem to start a gas model OK and that is what I usually grab. I can put gas in one a little faster than wait for a battery to charge and less expensive in the long run. Also folks that think the current battery powered saws that are out as of now will work on big trees have never had a 90cc saw in their hands with a full chisel skip chain. About like a knife through butter and that power when you lay it across a log is unreal, almost feels like the ground is shaking under you. A 660 power head is just a little over 16 lbs.

I agree. Those electric saws are a handy tool for some things. A guy near here lives in an area which burned in 2015. He probably has a mile of driveway. The electric saw is easy to have in the pickup for a dead tree that fell across the driveway. But if you have any serious work to do take a real chain saw.

I remember years ago I was cutting firewood on a landing. There was two other guys there at the same time. I cut a pickup load, hauled it 15 miles home, and came back and cut another pickup load in the same time the two of them cut one pickup load. The difference was one serious saw versus 2 little toy chain saws.

 

[callmefence]

We certainly are not lumber jacks but we clear alot of heavy cedar, mesquite and twoended brush. . Between treeshears, shredder/mulcher and hydraulic and electric chainsaw we very rarely mix any gas.