Battery Power Chainsaw
 

After much frustration getting my gas chainsaw to run I am seriously considering a battery operated chainsaw. Any recommendations as to brand and bar length? It will be used mostly for small to medium sized trees. Not for anything huge or which would require the services of a professional.

John Mercier --- help!!

Thanks.

Do you already have a battery platform that you are using for other tools?

If so, it is much cheaper and cost effective to stay in the same format than to start into another platform.

John:

No I do not have a battery platform. The only battery operated tool I have is an older drill, so I suppose manufacturers which offer a good selection of other tools which would operate off the same platform would be good. I am in Moultonborough and always try to buy local.

You would need to see what your local has available and they should match prices... that is pretty standard among dealers of all sizes now.

You can also ask if that brand has a chain saw that the bar length can be changed out.

My son has a DeWalt with Flexvolt battery. He says it's great for power, battery life, and ease of use.

If that's the same Flexvolt battery that works in their power tools, I'd be all over it as a kit. They're circular saw is absurdly powerful—the only one to cut a length of 6x6 with a buried blade. Second place? My Metabo!

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DeWalt
 

I have one of these also and love it!

Dan

I am looking for a DeWalt cordless chainsaw; I have an oscillating tool snd drill/driver with two chargers and three batteries between them so really only "need" the saw.

Curious as to recommendations for a saw to use to do light work on the island. I have a Husqvarna 455 for big stuff.

I am guess the batteries and charger are 20v... so DCCS620B.
That is a tool only. $199

Yes that is the one I have….but it’s only $161.00 at Amazon…

Great tool!

Dan

A Flexvolt kit would run around $399 for the 18" bar chainsaw.

It is an excellent system... but does bear a premium.
You can run 20v tools with the 20v/60v FLEX battery, but not the other way around.

We have one and love it.

I have the DeWalt 20 volt Max with brushless motors in several tools; drill/driver, impact wrench, and just got a string trimmer this year. What I am most impressed with, after the proper operation of each tool, is the length of time the battery lasts AND holds it's charge. I have done multiday projects with the drill/driver, drilling and driving screws, on ONE charge and STILL had 2 out of 3 bars left on the battery. Just sitting on the shelf, the battery holds 3 bars for over 6 months. With older rechargeable batteries, after sitting on the shelf for a couple months, I would have to charge the battery again before starting a job. That never happens with the DeWalt. I am considering a work light for power outages, a circular saw, maybe a hedge trimmer and chain saw, maybe a blower and a sander.

Yes--same as their power tools. He has one smaller battery and one larger that he swaps across multiple tools :)

Have the Ryobi One +. Battery tools. All use same battery.
Drill.
Hand held small grass cutter/trimmer.
Weedwacker.
Chain saw.

The battery chain saw is good for small jobs.

Also have gasoline chain saw. 15 year old Jonsered. Always starts. But bigger and heavier.

For $13.88, do yourself a favor, and go with the Fiskar's 7" folding pruning saw which is a hand saw, powered by your arm and hand.

It will saw through pine very quickly. For sawing through oak it takes more time and personal energy.

83.5% of all homeowner tree sawing tasks can easily be done using the Fiskars 7" folding pruning saw before a larger hand saw is needed.

All chainsaws are inherently DANGEROUS to use and you is much more safe with a hand powered saw, plus a new sharp 7" hand saw for $13.88 works very good.

I have the same system... but it isn't local to Moultonborough.

Belletetes in Moultonborough sells a lot of DeWalt. I think Heath in Center Harbor does as well?

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Thanks! That is the one that is sitting in my Amazon cart; all signs say it's time to pull the trigger and order it.

If you decide on Amazon, just keep the receipt.

We generally can not get warranty service for a tool without a receipt... and no one locally will have a copy of the invoice in their computer history.

We'll need that if you have an issue.

My son-in-law has a Milwaukee. All his battery tools are also Milwaukee. He loves it


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The only problem I have with Milwaukee - and yes, we sell them - is the lawn mower options that currently exist. It is priced a bit out of the range of the rest of them.

With Amazon purchases, makes sure the seller is an authorized retailer (= approved by the manufacturer) and the manufacturer will honor the warranty. EGO, for example, will not honor the warranty for unauthorized Amazon sellers. Much better to buy it from a local approved seller even if it costs a bit more. A local seller might also be able to help you with a warranty claim. Plus local sellers have the discretion to just give you a new tool rather than making you go through the warranty process. That might be more likely with a large retailer like Lowes that can afford that kind of generosity.

As John pointed out in another thread and alludes to above, if you're new to battery-powered tools you have to look ahead at your future needs and make sure the selected manufacturer has the tools you will need and they have good reviews. This takes a lot of research. With EGO I got as far as feeling confident about their lawnmowers, snowblowers, and string trimmers. I ran out of time to research their chainsaws etc.

It isn't a generosity. We turn the tool back in and get a full refund.
I just did this with one of these Dewalt chainsaws. Seems the trigger didn't always work... safety issue... so new saw.

Here. Purchase as little as possible from Amazon. There are other options such as Home Depot. Has mostly free shipping (for me anyway).

Or best to purchase from local vendor. Such as local hardware store or local lumbar yard.

Dewalt has even taken the time to put out a warning.
https://www.dewalt.com/support/shop-safe

That is why we need the original invoice... if it isn't purchased from us... Dewalt needs to know where it was purchased.

Do you do this even when the tool is past the warranty?

We aren't the ones that actually honor the warranty... it is Dewalt.
I tagged and sent the customer's saw to the service center... they determined that it couldn't be safely entered back into duty... and sent back a new one.

Round trip is just how long UPS Ground takes.

Lowes would take your saw... transfer it to their service center... and then send an email to the store to replace with a new one.

Had the Dewalt service center bothered to call me... I might have been able to save the customer a couple days as I had one in stock.

He seemed a bit amazed that it came back so quick and they decided on a new saw.

I run the dewalt 60V, DCCS672 60V FLEXVOLT 18". Yes the batteries are expensive but they are 20V/60V so you can run them in other 20v dewalt tools which is my platform.

I use the Husqvarna T536LIXP 36 volt top handle saw for light work and love it. I also have their trimmer, pole pruner and hand blower.

I have the Milwaukee trimmer and hand blower but don't like them as much.

Thanks for the replies. I am going to look into the DeWalt 60 volt 18 inch chainsaw.

What I was trying to say is that some larger retailers will replace a defective item even well past the warranty date without making you go through the warranty process. I've had that experience twice---with a Craftsman mower from Sears and a Toro leaf blower from Home Depot. Walked in with an aggravating problem and walked out with a new machine. I didn't even have a receipt in either case. Of course, you need to have a good reason and be able to make your case persuasively. The mower had a known defective motor that was replaced in the next model and the blower lasted 2 years at 5 hours per year.

Agreed
 

I agree! Amazon has replaced power tools for me and my company a number of times. Many times they don’t even want the broken tool back, they just ship out a new one!

Dan

I have Snapper 60 V tools, chain saw, blower and lawn mower. I'm impressed with them. Now Snapper offers 84 V. My recommendation is to get the most powerful tools available. Some of the lower voltage battery tools just don't cut it, especially the blowers.

The Toro Leaf Blower should have had a three year limited warranty (I worked for HD in their garden department).

Craftsman was a unique situation... Sears did some odd things as they owned the brand, currently the way that Lowes owns the brand.

I'm not completely sure that Amazon is an ASD for any of the major tool manufacturers... so taking a broken tool back would just cost them shipping and disposal fees. The only choice they would have is to ship a new tool if they felt that it fell within the implied warranty.

Amazon is listed on Dewalt's web site as one of their authorized retailers and has been for a while...No issues at all buying Dewalt on Amazon

https://www.dewalt.com/find-retailer


Dan

ASD is authorized Service... not Retailer.

They are different.

I have a Dewalt 20v 12 in chainsaw. It is great for small job - cutting trees and limbs under 4 in in diameter. Need to keep the chain sharp. Helps to have an extra battery handy.

Understood... but my point being...as an authorized retailer, ANY DeWalt tool purchased there can be repaired at any DeWalt Service center... Though it has been my experience to simply return the tool to Amazon for a full replacement. I have no idea what they do with them but assume send back to DeWalt who then resells them as a refurbished tool...

Dan

They won't repair it without us getting the receipt.

So when ordering on Amazon, then bringing it local... it is why I suggested they keep the receipt.

It is an authorized retailer, so Dewalt will honor the warranty... but unlike in my local system... I can't look up a sales history for Amazon.

You all want to fuhgetabout using a hand powered, pruning saw ..... you know ..... a hand saw ...... you MOST definitely need a large chainsaw ..... www.youtube.com/watch?v=75iOaMW-pTE ..... and bigger is betterer! .... :eek:

Amazon doesn't ship receipts with product and hasn't for years. All receipts are available online for many years back so you can easily find the order/item you need a receipt for and print out the receipt.

IME many of the online sellers issue electronic receipts so saving receipts isn't really necessary unless you're buying bricks and mortar.

We have the history built into our system.
The problem being... they show up without it then get mad.

We have a Ryobi and it works well. Just be sure to check the chain tension often.

Dewalt DCCS620B
 

I ended up getting a cordless Dewalt DCCS620B. It works great - which is also its downfall. Ii is so easy to use and so convenient it has become my go to saw. I bought this one with the 12" bar for small, quick jobs but more and more have found myself tackling bigger and longer jobs because it is so easy to grab and go. I quickly run out of battery, not because the battery life is too short, but because I find the saw so easy to grab and use I find myself turning small jobs into bigger ones.

Three questions:

(1) How come the 5 amp battery for your Dewalt chainsaw weighs 1.4 lbs and the Ego 5 amp battery weighs 4.9 lbs? I'm hesitating to get a battery string trimmer and chainsaw because of the weight of the Ego battery on a handheld tool.

(2) What's the largest log you could cut efficiently with your saw?

(3) How long does it run on one charge, and how long does it take to recharge?

Thanks!

A friend of mine also has a battery operated chain saw. He said buying an extra battery pack solved any issues of a dying battery while working longer jobs. He always keeps the extra charged battery with him when working in the woods so he never has any issues.

The biggest advantage of the battery chain saw? Lack of excessive noise!

1) Voltage output is different.

2) Single cut probably about 3/4 of the bar length, but a log can be rolled and with enough strength and control... about double the length of the bar... but I have seen professional amaze me with even a 12" bar. My 70 year old grandfather used to drop trees and use it to log... but a lot more effort than a 16" bar.

3) Dewalt suggests charging the 5ah 20v overnight... but requires at least 8 hours at room temperature to reach what they deem full.

You may have answered this in a previous thread, but is the voltage related to the number of cells in the battery and is that what adds weight? Do you think 4.9 lbs is too heavy for a handheld tool?

Wow, 8 hours is long! My Ego batteries take about 20 to 40 minutes. By the time one lawnmower battery runs out the other one is ready to go.

Yes.
Also EGO has the fastest recharge on the market.

It isn't considered as important to DeWalt in that they focus on the range of tools that can be used and their 20v/60v Flex system has a rapid charger (not quite as fast as the EGO)... but that tool comes with the standard charger unless bought as a ''bare'' tool.

He could upgrade to the Flex battery and charger that would work if his 20v is a MAX... but the same amount of power in that system would require roughly a battery with 1/3 of the amp-hrs for the same run time. DeWalt doesn't make the Flexvolt in anything less than a 6ah as far as I know.

The chainsaws are actually more about balance than weight. Most gas-powered saws designed for homeowners will weigh a significant amount and may vibrate more than a professional design to be used continuously all day after day. So even with a big battery... electrics are rather light in comparison and have far less vibration. But they are just as dangerous, so care must be taken during operation.

Thought I answered these questions but I guess I didn't submit:

Three questions:

(1) How come the 5 amp battery for your Dewalt chainsaw weighs 1.4 lbs and the Ego 5 amp battery weighs 4.9 lbs? I'm hesitating to get a battery string trimmer and chainsaw because of the weight of the Ego battery on a handheld tool.

I am not sure

(2) What's the largest log you could cut efficiently with your saw?

I cut up a 20+" beech with ease


(3) How long does it run on one charge, and how long does it take to recharge?

I am guessing I got 15 minutes, maybe a little less, out of a battery. The saw was running pretty constantly. By the time I moved, split, and stacked what I cut (maybe 2 hours - I wasn't in a rush) the battery was charged.

With hindsight it would have made more sense to use the Husqvarna gas saw, but I really liked the ease and feel of the Dewalt. Because I have a gas saw and a corded saw, I am not ready to invest in multiple battery packs quite yet and will simply choose the best tool I have for the job at hand.


Thanks!

You could get one of Dewalts 60 volt 12 AH flex volt batteries which is what I did. That battery is expensive however and probably cost just as much as the saw but it does last a long time and the added weight is hardly noticeable when using the saw.

In my opinion Dewalts 20 volt max along with their 60V flex volt platform is the best on the market as far as battery tools go. My business has had excellent luck with them and all we use at this point and we use them 8 hours a day 5 days a week….

Dan

I love my Husqvarna 36 volt saw, hand blower, trimmer and pole saw.

Mark Richter sells the Commercial 82V Greenworks gear- they also have homeowner and Pro lines. Their big saw will hang with a 50CC Husqvarna and takes a 18" bar.

DeWalt builds one with a 20" bar for the Flexvolt.

Not sure if you made your choice but this guy does a great review and test of several. https://youtu.be/U1lDxUMCY-M

Just a note that Belletettes in Moultonborough/Center Harbor is running a DeWalt cordless chainsaw sale. Get one while they last!

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I think that may be DeWalt themselves.
They do a lot of specials.

Flyer for Oct 6-16: https://online.fliphtml5.com/xrspa/hium/

The store may have a separate sale.

All the stores match each other for in-stock items of the same brand/quality.
Basically because other than the Big Boxes, we all buy from the same outlets.

It is when something is not in stock, but needs a special order that can be pricey.