What electric saw to buy?

[Woodworks]

Got a fair amount of hedge work on for the next few seasons around the farm and very tempted to buy a top end electric chainsaw. We have the baby Makita which is handy but it's not gutsy enough to be the saw of choice up the field. Find myself using an ms181 quite a bit and wondered if either the MSA220 or the 540i XP might be a match for it power wise. Thanks

[Unframed Dave]

Nothing to compare it with, but I'm using the ego 14 and 18" saws. I've had them since before Christmas and thoroughly impressed. Have posted several pictures on another thread in the chainsaw sections. 

[Woodworks]

32 minutes ago, Unframed Dave said:

Nothing to compare it with, but I'm using the ego 14 and 18" saws. I've had them since before Christmas and thoroughly impressed. Have posted several pictures on another thread in the chainsaw sections. 

The batteries look low on power by comparison with others or have I misunderstood the power ratings? They win on price though 

 

Makita has 180 watt hours

540i XP is 338 watt hours

MSA 220 281 watt hours

Ego 112 watt hours

 

 

[Unframed Dave]

I'm no electrical scholar, but as I understand it, a 10ah battery at 56 volts is 560 watt hours. The 10ah batteries are going for £285 on ebay or lower. 2 year professional or 3 year domestic warranty. 3 and 5 on the chainsaws. 

 

Plenty of oomph:

[jfc]

I have used my subbies 540i a lot and it is great, I then bought a husky battery  pole saw on the back of that, and again great. The 540i is so good I am thinking of buying one too. Not only is it amazingly powerful but it's quiet, no need for ear muffs, we can hear each other and talk, and no pull start! They are the future. (Sure the Stihl stuff is good too, but not used it.)

Edited February 8, 2021 by jfc

[Woodworks]

3 hours ago, Unframed Dave said:

I'm no electrical scholar, but as I understand it, a 10ah battery at 56 volts is 560 watt hours. The 10ah batteries are going for £285 on ebay or lower. 2 year professional or 3 year domestic warranty. 3 and 5 on the chainsaws. 

 

Plenty of oomph:

Sorry my mistake. I just googled the saw and most sellers had them with a 2ah battery but I see there are lots of battery options

 

[Unframed Dave]

6 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Sorry my mistake. I just googled the saw and most sellers had them with a 2ah battery but I see there are lots of battery options

 

Yeah, the 2 ah would be useless to be honest. 

[billpierce]

Cant beat the double battery back handle saw for price, especially if you already have some batteries. Totally different to the single battery top handle one

[scbk]

Have a think about what other battery powered items you might want in the future. Blower, hedge cutter, strimmer, pole saw, small mower etc. Then have a look at the different brands, what machines they do, and also what batteries and chargers are available.

 

 

Comparing prices of batteries, they all look much and such the same, when you consider the watt hours/number of cells.

 

 

I went for husky, and the 535irx strimmer ended up being my most used strimmer in 2020

[Husky575xp]

Another vote for the 540ixp, I think it's great for what it is, even works well in eco mode if just doing small diameter stuff, if you really hold it into a cut it can choke up a bit with shavings in the clutch cover, doesn't really do Bor cuts that well and it chews through the battery (bli300) in this cold weather, -12 here this morning. The qc500 is a very quick charger however. It feels well made to, dust cover is useful. I've never used the stihl 220 but hear it's pretty good, have the husky battery pole saw which is brilliant too. You won't go wrong getting it although it feels expensive at the time for battery's etc