Battery saws makita vs Stihl and Husky

[Matthew Storrs]

I purchased a makita 36v battery saw back in the spring- I absolutely love it ad as I already had the batteries for drills the saw only cost me £130 as a bare unit.

Anyway just been on a eeek long hedglaying job and despite having a 357xp and a 550xp there I picked up the Makita every time. Just perfect for stop and start work, no faffing getting it started or smelling fumes and the noice etc.

Anyway It does have its limits -over say 7” dia cuts it starts to be inefficient. It does it but obviously 357xp is far quicker.

so I’ve decided I’m up for spending £600 on a top of the range battery saw setup in the hope that it will be that much better than my makita. But technical specifications from all manufacturers suggest otherwise. They all have 36v motors. Chain speed of around 20m/s (I always thought makitas was a little slow but on paper same as stihl and husky)

So can someone convince me that buying a stihl msa200 or husky 536LI is actually going to be worth it over what I already have. I’m not overly clued up on battery’s etc so perhaps that’s where the difference lies?

Mak runs on 2x 5ah (which are cheap to buy) the other two vary depending on what size battery but both are hideously expensive when it comes to batteries.....

My Dad has a 40v greenworks battery saw and it blows my Makita out of the water so perhaps I should go for that...

[Matthew Storrs]

Interestingly let’s say a tank of fuel costs 40p. A battery is expected to be recharged up to 1500 times .if a battery charge is the same as a tank of fuel as husky claim then that’s a saving of £600. Buying a top spec battery saw pays for itself in the fuel saving alone.

[LeeGray]

I ended up buying a husky after trying it. The 9ah batteries make it an amazing piece of kit. Just did a load of oak firewood for myself with it only limbs up to 10” but knocked out a 2-3t trailer full on less than a battery. Ended up getting blower strimmer and mower for home as well. The batteries are the biggest investment for sure.

[nepia]

If you're ever in the market for a polesaw look at the Husky battery one; flippin' brilliant.  You get at least 50 minutes cutting time to a charge and that's a lot of polesaw cuts.

[Woodworks]

From the build quality point of view I would take the Stihl every day of the week. Only seen the Stihl in action and it was very impressive but not seen the others in action so watching this thread with interest.

[Matthew Storrs]

I was kind of set on the husky simply because of the 9.4ah battery. However 2x Stihl 6.2ah batteries can be had for not much more money. I believe the chain speed on the Stihl is 17m/s compared to 22m/s on the husky. Makita is 20m/s but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt cause it feels pretty slow so can’t imagine the pro Stihl to be slower still...

[Matthew Storrs]

I honestly can’t believe every one doesn’t have a battery saw in their arsenal. Similar money to a 550xp for example. Ok they probably aren’t the weapon of choice if your ringing up timber all day but just can’t sing about them enough on general crown/brash processing/ hedging etc. I really can’t be arsed with petrol anymore if I can help

it.

[trigger_andy]

4 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

I honestly can’t believe every one doesn’t have a battery saw in their arsenal. Similar money to a 550xp for example. Ok they probably aren’t the weapon of choice if your ringing up timber all day but just can’t sing about them enough on general crown/brash processing/ hedging etc. I really can’t be arsed with petrol anymore if I can help

it.

Makes me wanna get one now!  But I just buy used and cheap Stihls. But even my 064, which is old was near £400 this summer.

 

[dumper]

Also try the Milwaukee saw bosch are bringing out a saw in the new year given that bosch have the best batteries it might be worth waiting for I’m looking at a 14 inch stihl saw but running the twelve inch bar to increase chain speed

[billpierce]

Never used the battery ones buy the difference on the stihl 043 chain to cut speed is very significant. Have swapped a few little saws onto this and they become miles faster in the cut