STIHL MSA 300 First Impressions

[carlos]

steve , how was the weight comparison?  sounds like a pretty impressive saw

[Steve Bullman]

1 hour ago, carlos said:

steve , how was the weight comparison?  sounds like a pretty impressive saw

Wasn’t any noticeable weight difference. I’ll look at the spec sheet later 

[Steve Bullman]

11 hours ago, Macpherson said:

 

Thanks for the review, so if the 300 battery fit's in the MSA500 does that mean that the 5oo's battery will fit in the MSA220 which would be very good?

I don’t see why not. I expect @STIHL GB will come and clarify a few of the points raised at some point 

[Steve Bullman]

11 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

It sounds ok, but i just cant see myself with one just yet, on a typical day for us in say some hardwood thinings i would say we would refuel 6-8 times and in softwood maybe 10-12 times a day, and i cant see myself buying or carrying 10-12 battery,s about, i dont know how long a battery would take to charge but i would see that as another job as well when at home, then there is another cost issue of how many chargers would i need to buy ? it may all sound and perform well but i think for forestry work we are a long way off yet ?, mind you with the way fuel and energy prices are at the moment i will be getting my Grandads double ended cross cut out and using that,,,

Theres actually a new charger out that has 4 battery slots 

[peatff]

16 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Theres actually a new charger out that has 4 battery slots 

 

So when you are out in the woods what do you plug the charger into, a petrol generator ?

[Steve Bullman]

14 minutes ago, peatff said:

 

So when you are out in the woods what do you plug the charger into, a petrol generator ?

I did actually address this in the review. I was simply referring to the comment about needing to buy multiple charging units 

[spuddog0507]

1 hour ago, Steve Bullman said:

Theres actually a new charger out that has 4 battery slots 

i have had a look for that 4 slot charger and cant find owt, but i did find some very confusing battery charge times stating any where from 30 mins to 55 mins to charge the 500 battery ? This saw for domestic arb work and say a home owner cutting a bit of firewood at home i can see these saws really working with some advantages with low noise and emmisions at zero,  but for us working in a forestry enviroment and after doing some quick calculations i got quite a shock, the saw body bar n chain, 10 500 batteries and 5 chargers i would be looking at around the 5k mark for a saw that compares to a 50cc 261petrol saw for what £650-£700, so i think for us its a long long way off yet for us, tree below i would need 2-3 batteries to brash it out, But as said above i can really see it working in the arb sector,,

[STIHL GB]

2 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

Theres actually a new charger out that has 4 battery slots 

Thanks Steve. Our AL 301-4 charger will be out soon, as well as a carrying solution for batteries if you need to move them from van to the job. Paul, STIHL GB.  

[STIHL GB]

54 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

i have had a look for that 4 slot charger and cant find owt, but i did find some very confusing battery charge times stating any where from 30 mins to 55 mins to charge the 500 battery ? This saw for domestic arb work and say a home owner cutting a bit of firewood at home i can see these saws really working with some advantages with low noise and emmisions at zero,  but for us working in a forestry enviroment and after doing some quick calculations i got quite a shock, the saw body bar n chain, 10 500 batteries and 5 chargers i would be looking at around the 5k mark for a saw that compares to a 50cc 261petrol saw for what £650-£700, so i think for us its a long long way off yet for us, tree below i would need 2-3 batteries to brash it out, But as said above i can really see it working in the arb sector,,

Hi, we're close the launching the AL 301-4 charger (4 slot multicharger) and there's a little more info in our catalogue. It will be on the website soon too. https://www.stihl.co.uk/stihl-catalogue.aspx . You're right about forestry work though; if you're away from a power source or unable to carry multiple batteries for all day work then it's not right for that particular job. For Arb work its ideal, where we can now offer equivalent cutting speed of the MS 261 C-M. There are 2 charge times for the AP 500 S battery with our fastest AL 500 charger - its; 40 mins to 80% and then 55 mins to 100% charge as the last 20% is done slowly (and cooler) to preserve battery life. Page 31 of the catalogue pdf on the link above has all working times and charge times. Hope that helps. Paul, STIHL GB. 

[STIHL GB]

14 hours ago, Macpherson said:

 

Thanks for the review, so if the 300 battery fit's in the MSA500 does that mean that the 5oo's battery will fit in the MSA220 which would be very good?

Hi, the batteries are inter-changable. The AP 300 S battery is needed for 2.1kW electrical power in the MSA 220, the same as the MSA 300 needing the AP 500 S for 3.0kW electrical power. If you use a lesser battery you get less power from the chainsaw but it will still work. If you use a AP 500 S battery in another tool, like the MSA 220, you wont get more power, but you'll get more working time - approx 20%. All working times are here on p31 of the catalogue: https://www.stihl.co.uk/p/media/download/uk-en/STIHL_GB_2022_CATALOGUE_low_res.pdf  Thanks. Paul, STIHL GB.