what's the /diy/ opinion on electric chainsaws? I got an 18V one for clearing thicker brush and doing heavy carpentry>much quieter than an ICE one>don't reek of 2 stroke oil after using it>cheap, less stuff to break>if you already have wireless drills of the same brand you can use the same batteriesnegatives:>no clutch so the chain has to rev up>battery life is only around 30 minutes>batteries weigh more than guzzolinethe expensive ones like Husqvarna seems better than picrel that I have, but they cost 10-20x as much. corded ones can be had relatively cheaply and seem good for cutting logs etc
I get a ton of battery life cutting smaller stuff since you're using the chainsaw intermittently, but even 30 minutes isn't bad. Nobody has magical battery tech, the 20x more expensive saws have about the same power density, maybe somewhat better discharge power and efficiency. But it is extremely diminishing returns past the basic decent brands. What you can get is bigger saws with bigger batteries that are more and more heavy. I have a corded electric, it's good, but the one I use the most is the one-handed 18V mini chainsaw. Gasoline is good for retard big sizes, definitely an absolute waste of effort and stink on anything <8-10".
>>2867249>what's the /diy/ opinion on electric chainsaws?Electric motors provide all the torque you'll ever needA good, sharp chain will cut through anything you throw at it. A dull chain will be a pain no matter what motor you are using.If you need to work for >30 minutes, get multiple batteries. If you need to work for hours and hours, away from all outlets, electric chainsaw is definitely not the right tool
>>2867311>Electric motors provide all the torque you'll ever needstrangely on these 18V ones they don't. the 40V versions might. whether this is a sales thing or not I don't know. usually Chinese stuff isn't sales engineered like that>If you need to work for hours and hours, away from all outlets, electric chainsaw is definitely not the right toolI usually bring three batteries in a backpack. that's enough to last 1½-2 hours with breaks, which is just fine for me since I can then go do other stuff while they charge>>2867277speaking of corded, with a bench PSU one could print a lil' adaptor and use a cordless one with a cord. at least if there's no dumb DRM getting in the way, which Chinese engineers usually don't put in. the Husqvarna ones definitely have DRM crap because you can't use consumer batteries in their professional gear despite them fitting
>>2867249I used that little $99 Ryobi to take down a palm tree that was as thick as the bar. Been impressed. For the average suburban homeowner that has a storm knock down a tree once a decade, the gas chainsaw will probably have a clogged carb the morning you need it and I have been impressed with the cheap 18V guy
>>2867249I got a Kobalt battery powered pole saw, my old one was corded and that's not really convenient with a large yard, or on a ladder. It works pretty great, I cleared up all the tree limbs touching my roof and cut some trees that were bent over by ice last winter. Seems to handle up to 6 inches with ease and came with 2 batteries.
I assume there will be a chain upgrade marketing campaign with slightly better materials for the increased torque.I am not sure what a jam looks like but I imagine a magnetic bearing would create a non destructive upper limit for safety stuff.Battery op is great until it is not, but when it is not it's like not enough shit that I am motivated to replace so putting that shit on a clock removes case by case opinion from the equations.
>>2867249I've found that the secret to low battery life is to buy more batteries. By that, I mean accidentally buy the tools that come with batteries instead of saving money on the ones that don't, since you already have plenty. I've got six of those fuckers now, but if I remember to swap the plugs and keep em all charged, power isn't an issue.
>>2867249Mine work fine. I bought a DeWalt and a Makita when I had my dominant shoulder replaced in 2018 and haven't needed my gasser fleet since.BTW if you have a tree in falling range of your buildings or vehicle parking the smart choice is remove the tree completely so I do. All those people killed by their own trees during Helene died for nothing. Most people don't look up and when their trees grow tall enough to need an arborist that gets expensive quick.
>>2867249i recently decided to dump all my old shitty dewalt and replace them with bauer.i do weekend only shit, so the bauer shit i bought was all great. i even purchased my parents a baur electric chainsaw. its pretty good, and does the job.for myself i got the atlas electric chainsaw, its even better. i dont use my gas craftsman anymorethe electric is less loud, vibrates less, spins up faster, lighter, just better at everything.i never paid full price for any of these, the most expensive parts are the batteries. wait till you get some 30% off coupon for any product and then buy all your shit then. i spent less than $600 and replaced $2,000 worth of dewault tools.
>>2867472I use a corded pole saw extended by using reinforced shipping tape to hold it and its extension cord to PVC pipe and controlled by a power strip taped in easy reach. After clearing my power lines I removed the tree since trees in range of structure are evil.I use snatch blocks and about 100ft of winch cable with loops on each end (clamped with quality Crosby wire rope clamps) to preload and pull down trees after cutting to holding wood. A conventional winch is far too slow while a vehicle can maintain pull most of the way down. Get good with cables, chains (I use wrecker chains with J-hooks, worth owning even if you lack a tow truck) and rigging then the world is your oyster.
>>2867516I got myself a brushcutter that runs off the same batteries as the chainssaw and drill. still only 18V, but I put a bigger blade on it and when it's up to speed it takes up to 20 mm or so in one go, relying on the inertia in the blade rather than raw power
>>2867249 I like the corded ones by my wood pile if I cut something too big in the field.Battery ones are usually low end meme tools made for impulse buyers. I had the dewalt one for a while and it was shit compared to the ol' gas axe.>>2867311>Electric motors provide all the torque you'll ever needWhy do you fags keep falling for this?motor/engine torque is not implement torqueespecially in tools, they usually use high rpm low torque motors that are geared down to useful torqueCheap gas chainsaw will have 2x the power output of an expensive electric one. After you achieve adequate torque for cutting, which is not much, it's all about chain speed.
>>2867548>chain speedmy neighbor commented this as well on my electric chainsaw - chain speed is too low
>>2867554Well think about it, power is torque x speed.The amount of torque needed to have the chain not bind up is the same regardless of how the saw is powered.So you can only trade off speed at this point.This is a big deal when felling trees, you really want fast and decisive cuts for safety.>my plug in electric saw has a 1500W motor, my 50cc gasser 2600W engine>manufacturers hide power output of battery tools
>>2867554If you're doing firewood or other high volume felling/processing then it's Stihl or equivalent time. I have gassers but haven't used them in years.If you're not in a race then running the smallest bar that works is a nice performance boost. My 60V (ignore the smaller one) DeWalt works sufficient for the fair bit of felling I've used it for and not having to clean carbs is sweet.
>>2867249>>don't reek of 2 stroke oil after using it>>batteries weigh more than guzzolineWhy don't let your husband handle that kind of stuff, ok sweetheart?
>>2867555an electric motor will always outperform an ICE one at the same power. if you gas saw is 1 hp then a 700 W electric one is strictly better in continuous drive. the one thing that makes this tricky is the typical lack of a clutch on electric ones. this gives the chain an impulse to get going, from the energy stored in the flywheel. on an electric one you need a charged up capacitor to do the same job, or a flywheel+clutch same as the gasser>>2867561yeah I have quite a short bar at the moment. could probably go for an even shorter one. none of the brush I'm clearing is larger than 6"
>>2867249>>2867277>>2867315I bought pic rel from a chinkshit brand (https://toya24.pl/product-eng-10017884-BRUSHLESS-CHAINSAW-2-18V-16-WITH-2-BATTERIES-2-4AH-AND-DOUBLE-CHARGER-2A.html) for the equivalent of about 150$ with 2 4Ah batteries and a charger, so it's probably far from even a basic decent brand. I don't really have a point of reference, but I'm pretty impressed with it so far. not sure how much better a 16'' 36V one from something like dewalt or makita would perform, though, but it would probably cost at least twice as much and I just needed it in a pinch, it's not something I'm gonna be using that often.
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>>2867937I would've gone with something that takes Makita knockoff batteries from Aliexpress for the same money. You still get garbage, but you can later buy real Makita batteries and those won't crap out on you, while the saw itself will probably be fine for years.
>>2870382yeah, I didn't even know I could do it and incidentally I've bought makita batteries and several of their tools, like a drill or a sawzall, since then. the brand isn't a complete low end chinesium, though and they generally only produce their own designs in china, not just rebrand generic chink stuff. where I live it's the go to brand when you want something that's cheap as possible, with crude designs and ugly plastics, no QoL features etc. and actually works as advertised. but yeah, I doubt their batteries will still last much longer than some chink knockoffs of a major brand
I recently lucked out and got a new chain-saw, heavy trimmer, and leaf blower from the thrift store. All EGO, everything for under 110. Didn't come with a battery or charger, but I had a 14" I bought a long time ago. Charger shit the bed, but for what I was about to do with a single 2a battery that was several years old was great. I personally like not having to fuck around with oil/fuel mixtures at all. Just pick it up and press the button, 5head. Honestly, even if you don't like e-tools in general, it's worth it just to have a rinky-dink bat chainsaw for things that aren't worth pulling out the big boy for.
