Electric saws

[RobRainford]

Yes you did read that right! Electric!

 

We run two husky 321e saws for when we sell Christmas trees for shaping and trimming bases. Plus we are under a marquee so a petrol one running all day is mighty noisy.

 

We have almost had two seasons out of these saws now. They don't half seem a bit tired though. Whether it's just us.

 

Conditions are far from ideal. Cutting wood often with the grain with a blunt chain because the stumps are covered in soil. It's doing them no good!

 

We run Oregon powersharps on then. Its a godsend. It's a case of oh this chains a bit blunt. I'll just sharpen it! Really simple. But the edge doesn't last long at all and sometimes we are sharpening 5 times a day when it gets busy.

 

Next year we may replace them. They've certainly earnt their money in downtime and saved petrol and lots of shouting!

 

I thought we could go to something like the stihl ms170. As they have that little bit more power. These electric ones clog up a lot and dont like being worked hard!

 

Are there any other domestic saws which would be good? Anybody had any ratings on stihl electric saws?

 

Anything we get would need to be able to run powersharp. Plus they need to be fairly quiet.

[Tom2020]

Been using a ms170 from 1997 i think.... Still runs fine Will cut through the x-mas tress with out a problem. Had it with a 12inch bar cutting 14inch trunks up munches thought them.

 

Had a ms180 far better and little more power Ms180 any day

[gensetsteve]

We use the largest stihl electric for cutting cord for our processor especially at weekends to keep the noise down. With a 16" bar it makes mince meat of 10" stuff. I would say over powered for what you need makes our ms180 look like a toy more on par with our ms260 or larger. I would go for something with the little 3/8 picco chain cheap to buy and easy to sharpen.

[robbo 110]

We use the largest stihl electric for cutting cord for our processor especially at weekends to keep the noise down. With a 16" bar it makes mince meat of 10" stuff. I would say over powered for what you need makes our ms180 look like a toy more on par with our ms260 or larger. I would go for something with the little 3/8 picco chain cheap to buy and easy to sharpen.

 

how long have used them steve?? im tempted for late nights etc but worried about longetivity!!! or am i being tight!!!!

[RobRainford]

what are the noise levels like on the ms170/180 compared to a 260? are they pretty much equal? i know some domestic saws are a bit quieter because of the smaller engines.

 

I think we will have some of the stihl ones next year. Im starting my research now!

 

As long as it can run the 14" powersharp bars then ill be happy, as we are slowed down so much by conventional chains

[Tom2020]

Ms170 109.0 dB

Ms180 109.0 dB

Ms260 113.0 dB

 

 

Stihl

MSE 220 108.0

MSE 180 C-BQ with Picco Duro 105.0

 

Seems the same in the long run

[gensetsteve]

how long have used them steve?? im tempted for late nights etc but worried about longetivity!!! or am i being tight!!!!

 

We have had ours for about a year cost about £450 if it breaks tommorrow will buy another no brainer. When I looked at the dbs I noticed how close it is but which would anoy you more an electric hedge trimmer or a barking chain saw. In real life the electric saw sounds half the noise. I know someone who has the same saw works it hard until it cuts out on overheat then bangs the dust out and carries on. Fairly bullet proof but you do need the big stihl. The weight seems high as well but better balanced than the ms 260. To give you an idea of the power of the mse 220 they put the full size 3/8 chain with 20" bar as standard which I think is a bit long and would make it nose heavy. Had ours new with 16" bar. The best part of using it in the evenings is you can shut the door on the barn ( no fumes )