Mark_Skyland

Looks like the ETA on all AP batteries is 12/07/20 if ordered today so hopefully your supplier should have them soon.

Where you using a sharp blade

Indeed. Using a dynamic rope for tree work or rope access would be very tiresome to say the least!

OEM is a really good price on this machine(and the 201), pity every other pro saw be it husky or stihl is usually the best part of £200+

Unfortunately Husky are also having battery supply issues ATM. Hope that makes you feel better ? Have you tried shopping about to see if any dealers have them in stock? We dont so its not a plug for us.

IIRC there was some change to the CE rating or how they tested chainsaw boots which resulted in some boots having to be made taller to comply. I dont understand why as most chainsaw cuts are around or just above the toe area and trousers usually cover most of the leg up to the top of the foot. That is unless your name is Jimmy Cricket.

Cost has a lot to do with production volume, or whatever you want to call it. Rope access workers will go through a lot more rope than arbs, say 2-3 years for an arb rope, a couple of dirty jobs or even just the one job with rope access work therefore more demand higher production runs and cheaper costs. Then there is the splicing that a lot of arb ropes have £20-£25 for a splice which easily ramps up the cost. So less people in the arb industry replacing their ropes less frequently drives up the price. At £130 for a decent rope that can last three years really isnt that bad TBH. Apparently coloured rope does cost more than you think which again bumps up the price as most arbs prefer coloured rope as its more visible in the environment they work in. Another thing I forgot to mention is a lot of rope access rope comes on 50,100,200M reels, arb rope cut and bagged and tagged into 35 or 45M lengths which costs more to do. Although you can use rope access rope for tree work it isnt the nicest to use with friction hitches or arb mechanical devices. I used nylon three strand when I started 25 years ago, very cheap and very horrible compared to today's ropes.

I wonder how far off a decent pro 50cc rear handle saw will be as I cant see it being viable until some new battery tech comes out. I doubt anyone would want to use a battery backpack with a cord!

It can get a bit depressing! You look at all the space machines take up costing £1000's and at the end of the day its worth bugger all Always a nightmare with chains, no one seems to know what chain they have on the machine and end up ordering the wrong ones. The new chain/bar combo on the 261 will cause a lot of headaches for sure!

TBH its not worth it. There is no profit in selling machines be it husky stihl or makita. I would rather sell a pair of socks or a carabiner tbh! What I look at is if I was still climbing which machine would I use and why. Battery machines, you need to look at what types of machine you need and what is available from each manufacture. I always went for all out power but I think it might be worth doing a poll on what people want out of a battery machine. It is the future and it is were we are headed.

I think its down to constantly improving the product rather than trying to make a quick buck out of supposedly duping a customer into buying a different product. We would all like everything to backwards compatible (would be far better for me as I wouldnt have to stock so many spare parts) i.e. a part from a twenty year old machine fit a current one but then thats not progress.

That but Stihl and Husky have been making chainsaws for a lot longer than Makita. Stihl have a few different battery types, you need to invest in one and stick to it, the AP system is the pro series and the batteries are interchangeable between products. Husky mainly have one battery type that can be used in all machines bar the odd one machine. Value for money is one thing but if its for professional use then that goes out the window. I dont think you can call them one trick ponies, they are at the cutting edge forgive the pun but they do have the best battery chainsaws available ATM. I have no doubt that Makita battery machines are more than capable of doing the job but when I was climbing I would only use what was best suited to the job in hand. Since I dont climb anymore Im always looking for feedback as to what is the current best bit of kit available as lifes too short to compromise while at work so I appreciate your feedback, thanks.

No offence but that is a fairly bold statement and I would be very interested to know how it does stack up to the other brands. Is the Makita as powerful, ergonomic and as nice to use as the Stihl and Husky machines? How reliable are they and are spare parts easy to get hold of. If im honest battery machines are no good for us dealers as for one the profit margin is even smaller than petrol machines and they hardly ever break so spare part sales and repairs are more or less non existent!

Appreciate the feedback. It does sound like it is a game changing battery machine. Are you both running the BLI200X battery?

Maybe hoping is allowed with it set to air mode?

The CT helmets have good feedback and do go smaller than the Petzl, although not sure if the 2019 Petzl helmets have more of a range than the pre 2019 ones. It is recommended to use a thicker ear muff so it clamps to the head better with the CT helmet. The new 2019 Petzl helmets can be used on and off the ground due to the adjustable chinstrap.

Thats a good bit of advice. Often manufactures change things on the boots but dont tell anyone, actually the same can be said for a lot of PPE! There isnt really a best of anything, be it boots, trousers, harness rope etc. Too much personal preference involved.

I have never tried it but I assume if you replace the coil with an exact coil i.e. the same part number then you shouldnt need to use the CST?

I would be interested to hear your feedback once youve used the machine for a bit. Going by sales and customer enquires the new T540I is looking like it will be a popular battery saw. Be advised, you do need to use the BLI200X or the BLI300 ( a bit heavy for the top handle) to get the full performance, ATM Husqvarna are out of stock of the BLI200X and judging by the number of calls and emails so are a lot of dealers including us. Middle ish of July before further stock of the battery will hit the shelves. If it truly has the power of the T540XP then is has to be a cracker of a machine!

Good to see they made it backwards compatible, not something you see these days for sure! I suppose it makes sense as its more of a reason to swap to battery rather than start over again or move to another brand, some of those attachments arent cheap!

Also the stihl easyfile works best with stihl chain, use it on an oregon or husky chain and it can screw it up.

Best to post a few pics of your chains. Sharpening a chain correctly is a skill. Too much hook can kill a chain, drawing the file back against the chain can take the edge off. 99% of the time keep the file level and dont push down.

Im not sure but I guess the motor is in the head for reasons you have mentioned. At least if you slightly bend a shaft you can carry on without a big bill!

I would be careful buying copied fuel pipes. I have seen many a cheap machine with melted and degraded fuel pipes after less than a years use. Surely the cost saving must be tiny on a cheap part like that? Ime I would only use non oem parts on a machine that was more or less destined for the scrap bin, seen far too many dodgy coils and carbs to wonder if it's worth it. Except for maybe the good quality piston/cylinder kits available.

They are now both really good machines, personal preference or maybe what your local dealer has in stock. I agree with spud on the stihl being nicer to work on.