Battery Chainsaw?

[scbk]

Also sometimes battery system voltages are rounded up, Makita 40v is the same voltage as any other 36v.

 

These 2 dewalt batteries are the same, different stickers for different markets:

 

 

 

 

[petercb]

37 minutes ago, AJStrees said:

Hi Peter, Sorry. I re-read your original post. 

 

Do you already have any battery tools, I bought the makita top handle 18v because I use the makita tools. So it makes sense financially. Makita have brought out the 40v option and I believe the chain speed is better on their new 40v platform. Saying that, yes I would imagine husky and stihl battery saws are going to be up there with the best, but they are costly. Additionally if something goes wrong such as the on/off switch gets wet and blows the circuit board then you are looking at about £200 at least to replace that part. Husky batteries are a lot of money and so are the stihl ones. And as others have said you would need a few batteries to make it worth while. 

 

I have used ego battery tools since 2019 and they do well. Their older chainsaws are quite slow chain speed so I would go for their newer models with a faster speed if I was going to go with EGO. The good thing with ego is they have lots of options with their batteries and chargers and they are bringing out better stuff all the time. 

 

Machinery Nation (Hayes Machinery) on youtube recently did a comparison video on battery saws that are out on the UK market, you might find something useful there. 👍

I've got my Einhell 36v with a 14" bar on it - great for smaller stuff or emergency clearance but not really up to dealing with anything too heavy or for any length of time, chain speed is a bit low about 15m/s. I've got a lot of Einhell kit and batteries so it was a no brainer. It sits in the rear of the pickup in front of the back seat, always ready if needed.

Had a look at the 40v Makitas which you can get for reasonable money compared to Stihl/Husky, I think they go up to 16" bar in the UK but I believe they do one to take an 18" bar in Oz. Still not going to match a petrol but worth exploring.

Will have a look at Ego thanks for that.

[AJStrees]

1 hour ago, petercb said:

I've got my Einhell 36v with a 14" bar on it - great for smaller stuff or emergency clearance but not really up to dealing with anything too heavy or for any length of time, chain speed is a bit low about 15m/s. I've got a lot of Einhell kit and batteries so it was a no brainer. It sits in the rear of the pickup in front of the back seat, always ready if needed.

Had a look at the 40v Makitas which you can get for reasonable money compared to Stihl/Husky, I think they go up to 16" bar in the UK but I believe they do one to take an 18" bar in Oz. Still not going to match a petrol but worth exploring.

Will have a look at Ego thanks for that.

No worries. Ego do 16 and 18 inch with 20 m/s chain speed (higher would be better) Their latest 16” model looks like it is more pro than their earlier saws. Probably needs a test for performance. they do backpack battery options too if your in to having the weight on your back rather than holding the weight of the battery and saw. Im not a sales rep for ego. Just telling you what I know. 
 

hope you find what your looking for. 👍

[coppice cutter]

3 hours ago, petercb said:

I've got my Einhell 36v with a 14" bar on it - great for smaller stuff or emergency clearance but not really up to dealing with anything too heavy or for any length of time, chain speed is a bit low about 15m/s. I've got a lot of Einhell kit and batteries so it was a no brainer. It sits in the rear of the pickup in front of the back seat, always ready if needed.

Had a look at the 40v Makitas which you can get for reasonable money compared to Stihl/Husky, I think they go up to 16" bar in the UK but I believe they do one to take an 18" bar in Oz. Still not going to match a petrol but worth exploring.

Will have a look at Ego thanks for that.

I think a twin battery 72v Makita chainsaw is inevitable, they already have a twin battery 72v 14in disc cutter which typically needs 50-55cc to drive it so they could be the first with a genuine 50cc chainsaw alternative.

 

But it'll be a pricey bit of kit and you can't help but wonder why bother in most normal circumstances.

[lurch_917]

for some reason i cant see battery saws taking over the mainstay of felling and production till they have better lasting battery's and cheeper battery's + when you need a recharge what are you going to do plug it into the nearest tree ? come on the greens cant even get your car charging stations sorted .

 

just my thought agree or dont agree its your choice .

[Stere]

The fundemental problem imo with batteries is that they are just no where near as energy dense versus petrol.

 

Even if they improve loads I think they will still be considerably behind a 50cc petrol saw in power to weight ratio and run time.

 

Still  batteries are better now for certain tools & job situations but not atm to generally replace petrol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dan Maynard]

6 minutes ago, Stere said:

The fundemental problem imo with batteries is that they are just no where near as energy dense versus petrol.

.. and unlike electronics where energy consumption has been reduced, motor efficiency is already very good and it takes a certain amount of energy to rip the wood open. 

 

We need a more fundamental change like roller chain to get rid of bar friction, or different shape teeth.

[pleasant]

10 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

.. and unlike electronics where energy consumption has been reduced, motor efficiency is already very good and it takes a certain amount of energy to rip the wood open. 

 

We need a more fundamental change like roller chain to get rid of bar friction, or different shape teeth.

Dan, if they could improve a chain to eradicate those issues, then it would be here and now and on all saws...not specifically cordless. It would affect and improve all saws.

[scbk]

53 minutes ago, lurch_917 said:

for some reason i cant see battery saws taking over the mainstay of felling and production till they have better lasting battery's and cheeper battery's + when you need a recharge what are you going to do plug it into the nearest tree ?

 

Ah yes, because when a petrol saw needs refuelled you just fill 'er up from a tree 

 

I don't think lithium batteries will get cheaper, if anything the price will only go up

 

 

In the future they will just get robots to do all the work. Probably fell the tree using a laser beam powered by a nuclear fuel cell 

 

A Lumberjack will be a guy sat infront of a bunch of computer screens like air traffic control, sending autonomous machinery and vehicles to different forests.

He'll still have a check shirt though.

[coppice cutter]

25 minutes ago, Stere said:

The fundemental problem imo with batteries is that they are just no where near as energy dense versus petrol.

 

Even if they improve loads I think they will still be considerably behind a 50cc petrol saw in power to weight ratio and run time.

 

Still  batteries are better now for certain tools & job situations but not atm to generally replace petrol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I invested in my first decent battery tool this year, a leaf blower.

 

After much deliberation and because I was starting from scratch I went with the Makita XGT (36v) system blower and so far it's been doing a grand job for me. What is noticeable however is how much quicker it drains the battery if you use it on the "boost" setting, and that seems to be the nature of battery, in high load applications the weight required for battery capacity means that either i/c or plug in electric is almost always going to be a superior option.

 

Nonetheless, now I'm committed to this system I wouldn't rule out adding other bits and pieces in future, the hand held vacuum looks useful and a 9in angle grinder could be useful about the yard pretty often, but I'll be choosing carefully according to the application required.