Are cordless chainsaws any good?

[organic guy]

I find for hedgelaying that I use my stihl petrol for cleaning out, brush cutting, removing brambles etc where you need constant power. The chain is also more resistant to damage.

Then switch to the electric for the pleaching and trimming, ie the stop/start stuff in the bottom of the hedge, no fumes,noise or constant starting. Works for me but I'm only a part time amateur!

[adamelder]

I just took down this sycamore - about 16 inches at the base, 35-40ish foot tall with the Dewalt battery saw. Got almost all the brash off it and logged about half the thicker branches into 12 inch lengths. I stopped when the battery (54 volt, 9ah) died. I didn't time anything but probably about an hour, with a couple of fags breaks.

[Guest Gimlet]

13 hours ago, organic guy said:

I find for hedgelaying that I use my stihl petrol for cleaning out, brush cutting, removing brambles etc where you need constant power. The chain is also more resistant to damage.

Then switch to the electric for the pleaching and trimming, ie the stop/start stuff in the bottom of the hedge, no fumes,noise or constant starting. Works for me but I'm only a part time amateur!

That is undoubtedly the way to go. I might have bought a cordless rather than a petrol if it was an additional saw for hedging rather than a replacement for my all-rounder. A cordless isn't going to cut it for that.

 

Incidentally, got my 365 back today (fuel issues. New fuel lines, fuel filter and a carb clean etc). But they found scoring in the bore and the piston and it's about 10% down on compression. And the diaphragm is on the way out. I'm debating whether to buy OE parts and do a top-end rebuild myself or whether it's worth the bother. But pound to a penny the bore damage was caused by carbon dropping into the cylinder from all the plugs I kept burning out leaving it chugging on the ground when I was hedging. I don't want the new 550 XP I've just bought to go the same way.  

Maybe I'll buy a Makita cordless just for the nipping and snipping hedging work and see how it copes and if I don't like it it'll do for cutting logs at home without upsetting the neighbours. 

 

[gary112]

8 hours ago, Gimlet said:

That is undoubtedly the way to go. I might have bought a cordless rather than a petrol if it was an additional saw for hedging rather than a replacement for my all-rounder. A cordless isn't going to cut it for that.

 

Incidentally, got my 365 back today (fuel issues. New fuel lines, fuel filter and a carb clean etc). But they found scoring in the bore and the piston and it's about 10% down on compression. And the diaphragm is on the way out. I'm debating whether to buy OE parts and do a top-end rebuild myself or whether it's worth the bother. But pound to a penny the bore damage was caused by carbon dropping into the cylinder from all the plugs I kept burning out leaving it chugging on the ground when I was hedging. I don't want the new 550 XP I've just bought to go the same way.  

Maybe I'll buy a Makita cordless just for the nipping and snipping hedging work and see how it copes and if I don't like it it'll do for cutting logs at home without upsetting the neighbours. 

 

Exactly what you say,there ideal as an additional saw for hedging which is what my Dolmar is for.It,s very handy to have on the ground by you for a quick cut here and there but i wouldn,t go hedging without a petrol saw

[Mrblue5000]

I confess to buying the Lidl one to just try one out before buying a proper electric saw from one of the regular saw brands. I’m farming so not a pro like others on here.
It’s really useful for stop go work beside a chipper or hedge laying. Get the biggest batteries you can, mine is 20v and came with two 2 ah batteries. They last about 10 mins cutting time. Got some 4 ah batteries and they are much better, more cutting power and last a lot longer.

Watch out for oil as normally we top it up when putting in petrol. Biggest logs I’ve cut are ash about 10 inches across. Very happy with it so far, haven’t started a petrol saw since getting it!

[gary112]

Done this 15mtrs yesterday morning and did it with just the little Dolmar battery saw to see how it lasted,changed batteries at 11 and got through until finished at lunchtime,so not bad i reckon