Review of Husky 542ixp battery saw.

[Mick Dempsey]

Thought I’d scribble a few thoughts on this saw for those curious about it.

 

I have had the 536 for a good few years and have like and disliked some aspects of it, the relative lack of power in hard wood like acacia means you have to pick and choose when to use it, lime re-pollards and the like are it’s preferred territory, but it’s by no means first off the shelf on a daily basis.

 

So the new offering.

It’s got very useable power, a genuine dismantling saw, unlike the 536, and most importantly it has a clutch so you can gauge the pressure needed and back off the power a bit so it doesn’t just stop dead like a battery drill.

 

It’s heavy, even with the smaller battery it’s heavier than a 201, don’t be fooled by just picking it up in the shop, the addition of the battery adds a lot. One handing at reach is a strain, especially if you’re in your twilight years climbing wise or are not especially strong.

It does promote better saw handling, and you really have to be disciplined about stowing it between cuts on your harness to save energy.

 

Battery life is good, three will see you through most days, even with a bit of chogging down which is the hardest work a topper will do.

Safety wise the rundown on the chain is in line with other battery saws (it stops ‘quicker’ if that’s makes sense) so it feels less dangerous

 

The big plus is the lack of noise and that you don’t have to start/stop it, so much so that I went out and bought the rear handled one for ground work, along with the helmet coms it means we can talk about weights, ‘letting it run’ and the minutiae of the work without confusion or shouting.

 

So, should you buy one? Well it’s expensive, especially with the charger and spare batteries.

In all honesty if you have a decent topper already and are happy with it I wouldn’t lust after it too much at that money.

 

I am pleased with it however and it’s first off the shelf for takedowns.

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:00 by Mick Dempsey
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[Brushcutter]

I've also got a 542. Rear handled not top. It's my go to ground saw and chipper saw. I've got the new 330bli batteries which seem to run it better than the regular bli300. 

 

My gripe with it was after about 10 hours of trigger time mine died. Luckily Husqvarna replaced the clutch, motor and trigger group  as they couldn't work out why it died the way it did. My first issue with a battery tool. 

 

I've got Speedcut nano on it rather than the husky sp21g which I don't like. Sp33g that came on it is a bit hard on the battery but I do like the wider kerf cuts. Much more life on the battery with the mini .325.

 

I really like it, I think the bare unit was 630 quid and I've got the battery's for the hedgecutters and polesaw. Its a bit more ergonomic than the msa300 but I'm not sure it would win in a timed cut test.

 

[markieg31]

I have a few husky battery bits so added the 540ixp back handle to the line up. It is an amazing saw to have by the chipper, great for hedge laying. Pretty good all round, unless you start to actually use it for felling a processing then a 300 battery lasts about as long as a tank of fuel. 

I think the real highlight is it sat by the chipper. It remains on for a long time, unlike the hedge trimmer and pole saw, so you can pick it up and sned a branch or breakdown a fork for the chipper without waiting to switch on etc. 

I do find you really have to be on top of the chain sharpening, remotely dull in the slightest and it becomes hard work. The chain that came with it from new was hard work but the one I replaced it with is proving much more user friendly. 

A climbing in work with had the Stihl battery topper, whilst the performance wasn't great, it was great to have the silence between cuts especially when rigging etc.

 

[Mick Dempsey]

17 minutes ago, markieg31 said:

I have a few husky battery bits so added the 540ixp back handle to the line up. It is an amazing saw to have by the chipper, great for hedge laying. Pretty good all round, unless you start to actually use it for felling a processing then a 300 battery lasts about as long as a tank of fuel. 

I think the real highlight is it sat by the chipper. It remains on for a long time, unlike the hedge trimmer and pole saw, so you can pick it up and sned a branch or breakdown a fork for the chipper without waiting to switch on etc. 

I do find you really have to be on top of the chain sharpening, remotely dull in the slightest and it becomes hard work. The chain that came with it from new was hard work but the one I replaced it with is proving much more user friendly. 

A climbing in work with had the Stihl battery topper, whilst the performance wasn't great, it was great to have the silence between cuts especially when rigging etc

It’s (at least in my opinion) a bit better than a chipper saw, my groundy uses it for dismantling rigged tops and branches that are standing on their heads so they fall/tip the right way (towards the chipper) it’s light weight and quick stopping of the chain making it safer to operate at ‘unusual’ angles.

We used to use 550s for this, that now seem ridiculously heavy and powerful for this task.

Of course we take the 550s and other petrol saws for when the real cutting happens.

Edited Wednesday at 16:59 by Mick Dempsey

[markieg31]

3 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

It’s (at least in my opinion) a bit better than a chipper saw, my groundy uses it for dismantling rigged tops and branches that are standing on their heads so they fall/tip the right way (towards the chipper) it’s light weight and quick stopping of the chain making it safer to operate at ‘unusual’ angles.

We used to use 550s for this, that now seem ridiculously heavy and powerful for this task.

Of course we take the 550s and other petrol saws for when the real cutting happens.

I totally agree Mick, appologies if I was down playing it a bit. I do use the 540 the majority of the time, the 550 has become one of the 'big saws'! My 550 hardly comes out of the van these days. 

[Bolt]

I converted my 540i saws to run 3/8 lo pro, as this allows the use of Stihl full chisel chain, which I think is superior to cut with (and also to sharpen) has anyone else tried this?

Edited Wednesday at 18:36 by Bolt

[Mick Dempsey]

39 minutes ago, Bolt said:

I converted my 540s to run 3/8 lo pro, as this allows the use of Stihl full chisel chain, which I think is superior to cut with (and also to sharpen) has anyone else tried this?

The stock chain is unpleasant to sharpen, plus getting it nicely tight seems to be problematic.

[Brushcutter]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

I converted my 540s to run 3/8 lo pro, as this allows the use of Stihl full chisel chain, which I think is superior to cut with (and also to sharpen) has anyone else tried this?

My 540mk3 has the 3/8 lopro on it. I really like it.  Not tried it on the battery yet. Im going to swap my 540mk3 to .325 1.1mm see how that works. 

[Bolt]

2 minutes ago, Brushcutter said:

My 540mk3 has the 3/8 lopro on it. I really like it.  Not tried it on the battery yet. Im going to swap my 540mk3 to .325 1.1mm see how that works. 

Sorry, I meant I converted the battery 540i saws to 3/8.  Infinitely better chain.  
 

Definitely wouldn’t bother converting the 3/8 lo pro to 1.1 .325.

[Brushcutter]

I will swap my 540mk3 and 542i bar around and see how it goes. 

 

I love my 540mk3 use it more than my 550 now, unless it's cold.