P500 Speaking of Trail Maintenance and Development… Battery Powered Chainsaws

[Vikes79]

Now see I knew this was exactly the right group to ask this question… I now have at least a dozen options to research.

Sawzalls are great.. but they won’t SAWZALL I need it to. ( 🥁🥁) My riding buddy (Futzin) and I regularly run into stuff that well.. would just laugh at us for trying to sawzall it. Here is an example of what we see :

View attachment 322146

Granted they are not all this size but normally half and up to this size is what I am looking to clear. This is why I am looking for a battery powered chainsaw. Not sure what is out there, powerful enough to cut stuff like this.

You guys are giving me great advice here! Thanks so much and keep it coming.

Of course a sawzall won’t cut a 4’ diameter tree worth a crap. No one ever said it would.

But, there’s always the option of a different route or winching up and over. Done both before.

I try not to play lumberjack when trail riding and leave my Stihl 20” bar at home.

For trail maintenance that’s a different matter. Go big or go home.

🍻🍻

 

[Admin]

 

[TR1]

Speaking of Trail Maintenance and Development… Sort of off topic here. However, Anyone using a battery operated chainsaw? Any reviews or recommendations? Looking for something to easily carry on the P5 and also in a Jeep. I have been researching them but would really like some reliable - real world reviews. Thanks in advance.

I carry an EGO 56 volt 16". Really happy with it. Has good reviews. There is a guy on youtube that professionally compares products. Very interesting site. "Project Farm". Check it out.

 

[KimberproSS]

Can anyone speak to the question of what brand's batteries transition to other tools in their lineup? For someone without an investment in battery powered tools yet, I'd think that could be a significant branch on the decision tree.

I have Milwaukee Electric tools, drill, drill driver, 8" pole saw, trimmer, edger, circular saw, blower, brad nailer, hackzall, all use the same batteries. I've used them for years and yet had a battery fail.

 

[driller]

I've had excellent service from the Makita line of battery powered tools.

 

[Bomersteve35]

On our boy scout Christmas tree lot we have been using oregon saws. The batteries last for bout 75 to 100 tree tink trims. They have a self sharpening feature. It grinds the top of the tooth not the inside like a proper file does but at least regular parents can make the blade sharper. And it is easy to take the guard and chain off to clean it out. And has an easy turn knob for tightening the blade.

 

[nzkiwi]

Stihl MSA200C. Reliable tool that uses the same Stihl AP batteries as the other Stihl tools in the stable. Getting tangled up with Stihl tools has many of the same pitfalls as getting hooked up to a P500!!

Looking to upgrade to a MSA220C for the more durable (larger) chain. Trail work is tough going for a pico chain.

 

[russknight]

I have the 60v Dewalt and love it.

 

[SonnyL]

I have the 12” 20 volt Dewalt and love it. It goes with me a lot and will really amaze you on how long it cuts with a full battery. I also have the 20 volt inflator which has been a life saver a couple times.

View attachment 321468

This was going to be my suggestion as well. We have several different Dewalt tools, so spare batteries are never a problem

 

[JAL]

I’d recommend getting a small gas mix Stihl. The battery operated I’ve used are pointless and limited power.

The 32 v Electric Stihl and 40 v Electric Husqvarna Chain saws are getting pretty good reviews. The 40 v Husqvarna battery is massive and their chain saw was the electric endurance winner the last I checked. I have upgraded all of my Husqvarna outdoor gas garden attachments to Husqvarna's 40 v Electric Drive. It really seems to come down to what battery ecosystem you may already have and is it worth it to switch. So I have the Makita 16v/32v system of home tools (including a 32 v chain saw) and the Husqvarna 40 v garden tool system. The Husqvarna system that I am using has multiple attachments to a single electric motor drive. The only gas tools that I still have are a power washer and a Honda backup generator.

 

[russknight]

One other thing, the 60v Dewalt battery also fits the 20v tools.

 

[Teebow]

One other thing, the 60v Dewalt battery also fits the 20v tools.

Does it fit alone or require a adapter

 

[KyGal83]

In researching these I am finding several complaints of the batteries over heating during use. Anyone came across this issue?

 

[Bigtee]

I’ve never had that issue with my 20V Dewalt tools. I don’t have any 60V batteries.

 

[futzin]

@KYgal83,

Are you finding that any one brand stands above others at the number of other useful items that run off its' batts? (yard tools, hand tools, etc)

 

[HiFive]

Not with Ryobi. No problems. I use 18v 1.5ah,4ah and 6ah batteries.
.

 

[KyGal83]

@KYgal83,

Are you finding that any one brand stands above others at the number of other useful items that run off its' batts? (yard tools, hand tools, etc)

Actually the research I am seeing says to skip trying to go with a brand of general power tools and yard tools on the same battery system. Choose a good yard tool line (Stihl & EGO) , then have a separate power tools system (Dewalt, Makita or Milwaukee). Kind of makes sense.. Stihl does chainsaws & other yard tools very well, their focus is on that.. just like the tool brand lines focus on that side more.

 

[Splorin]

The quality and availability of these products sure has improved since I bought a Black & Decker 12V 8" forever ago. Pay attention to keeping batteries warm in extreme cold. Bow saw and a Craftsman (Poulan) in the Flatfender 40 plus years ago. Partial to my Echo mini arborists' saw nowadays......

 

[Ohio4x4]

I’ve never had that issue with my 20V Dewalt tools. I don’t have any 60V batteries.

The 60v batteries are awesome. I've had to switch grinders because the tool got to hot but the battery gave zero f***s. Well worth the expense if you use the power hog tools like grinders and saws often. I've nearly stopped using my corded tools since I bought the 60v batteries.

 

[DG Rider]

I don't really "need" a saw enough here in the desert to justify purchasing one at full price ( I have a gas collecting dust as we speak ), but there are some old trails I might be tempted to reclaim if I had an electric for stealth.

So a week or 2 ago there was an online auction with several 24v Kobalt tools, which I am already using, and 2 saws. One 24v that appeared to be new in the box, and another 40v with no charger in separate lots.

These things are usually as-is and I didn't check them out before hand (mistake #1), so when the bidding got over $50 on the 24v I let it go and concentrated on the 40v. Won it at $40 (without a charger that you can get for $20 on eBay). When I went to pick it up I noticed that it had a brand new 40 volt battery on it which kind of raised suspicions, and sure enough, the electric motor is shot.

Anyone know where I can get a 40 volt motor for Kobalt cheap? Can't find anything online. I found a homelite brand one that might be made to work, but getting it to me cost about 30 bucks. Add to that another 20 for the charger, plus the 40 for the original machine, and we're getting up too close to what a cheap ass one from Amazon would cost, so I unless I can just find a parts one for free or near that, it doesn't really make sense.

The good news is, while paying 40 bucks for a paperweight kind of sucks balls, the total outlay for it and all the other tools was still only 66 bucks for several Cobalt battery tools a charger and a couple of batteries, so overall actually came out with a pretty decent deal.

 

[NorthernJoe]

I have the Dewalt. Really like it.

The guys I work with call the black & yellow tools DeadWalt