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Battery vs petrol chainsaws
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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 1:50 pm    Post subject: Battery vs petrol chainsaws Reply with quote
    

I'll be needing a couple of chainsaws for general woodland tasks, a small nimble one and one for larger jobs.

For the small one I thought I'd look at the battery saws as something else to run off a solar set-up.

Now, an example of a small petrol saw would be a Stihl MS181 C-BE at around £235.

Looking at a similar sized Stilh battery saw we have a Stihl MSA200C-BQ, body only £258, charger £30 and battery £150. The Which? review seems fine but with 15 minute work time I'd probably need two batteries.

So, petrol for £235 or battery for £588, that's over £350 pounds worth of petrol.

I don't suppose anyone has used a good quality battery chainsaw have they?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

petrol

stihl are pretty good but some models are a bit prone to cutting out in some positions .

for small jobs a good pruning or bow saw will do the job

get a good chainsaw with a couple of bar/chain combos for power cutting small and big stuff.

if you are doing felling two saws is handy for rescuing a trapped bar if the thing sits back but tho bars and a minute with the nuts will also do the job.

i like huskies

avoid any cheap carp that isnt stihl or huskie it might work but it might hurt or break a lot.

oregon chains ,again cheap carp might hurt.

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

What ever you end up buying, make sure you have the safety kit too, and use it everytime you do any job with the chainsaw.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

you just beat me to it ,all round trousers and hat n gloves

other useful kit for such tasks is a felling lever ,a pair of tongs ,a small but decent hatchet and a couple of wedges

if you are dropping owt bigger and tighter than a bush in an open field a winch can be a vital bit of kit

the fuel and chain oil combo can does save carrying two containers

onemanband



Joined: 26 Dec 2010
Posts: 1473
Location: NCA90
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 6:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Battery vs petrol chainsaws Reply with quote
    

Treacodactyl wrote:

So, petrol for £235 or battery for £588, that's over £350 pounds worth of petrol.


That makes it seem a no-brainer for petrol.
OTOH you'll save a service (£60?) every other year and you'll know it will start every time (assuming you remember to charge the batteries)
OTOH batteries have a limited lifespan.

What about getting (for example) a Makita electric chainsaw - that way your investment in batteries can be split over other power tools (like that circular saw)

Tavascarow



Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

My local garden machinery store says the stihl battery saws are overpriced. & they stock stihl. Other makers are getting into the market but they are still expensive in comparison.
Unless you have noise issues with neighbours I would stick with the two stroke.

Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have an assortment of chainsaws.



The li-ion battery ones are great for limbing, dealing with brush, saplings etc. Definitely better than 15 minute run time. Have either 6- or 8-inch bar. Stihl has an 18-inch bar. If anything bigger is needed, we ask a friend.

Marionb



Joined: 27 Aug 2006
Posts: 5267
Location: Mid-Wales
PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I have a Makita electric saw and love it.

Main drawback is, it has to be used near the house for electric supply (or with a extension lead further away but the grass etc needs to be dry...)

Falstaff



Joined: 27 May 2009
Posts: 1014

PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 15 11:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Stihl Wood Boss 024 with 16" bar here.

Wouldn't be without it - does everything I ever ask of it.

£70 second hand

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 2:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Battery vs petrol chainsaws Reply with quote
    

onemanband wrote:
Treacodactyl wrote:

So, petrol for £235 or battery for £588, that's over £350 pounds worth of petrol.


That makes it seem a no-brainer for petrol.
OTOH you'll save a service (£60?) every other year and you'll know it will start every time (assuming you remember to charge the batteries)
OTOH batteries have a limited lifespan.

What about getting (for example) a Makita electric chainsaw - that way your investment in batteries can be split over other power tools (like that circular saw)


Yes, it's not an obvious answer when you think about it. With the petrol saw I'd run on Aspen as I'll not use it regularly, so fuel is about £4/l. As you say a service at £30/year.

Then the battery saw does have other advantages, it's quieter and you'll never have to suddenly drive several miles (well about 30 round here) to get fuel if you run out. The batteries can be shared (other saws such as Makita don't seem to have high enough capacity batteries so choice of brand is limited)

The down sides other than a high upfront cost, the capacity of the batteries isn't great so a whole days use would be tricky. The saw would mostly be used during the winter so charging via a complex solar set up may not be possible.

My main worry is the lack of a realistic guarantee. I can't find any mention of it being longer than a year, whereas a petrol saw from someone like Echo comes with a 5 year guarantee for domestic use.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

the other thing you should get at the same time and hopefully never use is a big field dressing and a packet of celox (or similar)coagulant that are always kept in the trousers pocket.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45377
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 6:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

from experience of very good batteries for the bikes and the milwarkee sds/drill/sawsall batteries are nicer than a wire but they get used faster than the spare charges so work has to be planned around that.

petrol can be stored safely outside in proper cans etc so running out should not be a problem half way through a job .there are regs re fuel in plastic things ,jerry cans etc but the main one that really matters is dont carry fuel in the footwell.

a 50 cc chainsaw should give a days work on about ten litres .(smaller ones need less fuel per hour but probably use more fuel per ton of logs)

re fuel prices im not convinced that paying 4 times as much for aspen as unleaded and 2 stroke oil makes sense

perhaps it keeps better than unleaded but a quick flush and store the machine empty takes 5 mins .

Falstaff



Joined: 27 May 2009
Posts: 1014

PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dpack wrote:


.........a 50 cc chainsaw should give a days work on about ten litres .(smaller ones need less fuel per hour but probably use more fuel per ton of logs)

re fuel prices im not convinced that paying 4 times as much for aspen as unleaded and 2 stroke oil makes sense

perhaps it keeps better than unleaded but a quick flush and store the machine empty takes 5 mins .


Oh is that what "Aspen" is ? I thought it was some American wood

Having had a multitude of ; lawnmowers, rotavators, disc cutters, motor bikes and old cars as well as the chain saws, and stood them, sometimes for years on end inside and out may I say that the "aging petrol won't start" advice, is usually wrong ! 95% of the time they start fine and almost universally, a clean of plugs and points in the spring (or whenever) is all that is needed.

My old outboard (Evinrude) used to say in the instructions, to run it on an oil rich mixture before standing it for the winter (so as to oil the surfaces and bearings) - that sounds like good advice.

Or just use your "Aspen" for the last fill of the season if you like the stuff.

Tavascarow



Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Falstaff wrote:
dpack wrote:


.........a 50 cc chainsaw should give a days work on about ten litres .(smaller ones need less fuel per hour but probably use more fuel per ton of logs)

re fuel prices im not convinced that paying 4 times as much for aspen as unleaded and 2 stroke oil makes sense

perhaps it keeps better than unleaded but a quick flush and store the machine empty takes 5 mins .


Oh is that what "Aspen" is ? I thought it was some American wood

Having had a multitude of ; lawnmowers, rotavators, disc cutters, motor bikes and old cars as well as the chain saws, and stood them, sometimes for years on end inside and out may I say that the "aging petrol won't start" advice, is usually wrong ! 95% of the time they start fine and almost universally, a clean of plugs and points in the spring (or whenever) is all that is needed.

My old outboard (Evinrude) used to say in the instructions, to run it on an oil rich mixture before standing it for the winter (so as to oil the surfaces and bearings) - that sounds like good advice.

Or just use your "Aspen" for the last fill of the season if you like the stuff.
I wouldn't store two strokes for any length of time with fuel onboard. Recent additives in unleaded are corroding the jets & my local garden store are having to do a lot of carb rebuilds/replacements on not very old machines.
Their advice to me was to empty out any unused petrol in the tank & then run the engine till it cuts out through lack of fuel before storing.

vegplot



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 15 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Quote:
STIHL recommends storing a 2-cycle fuel mixture prepared using E10 fuel for no more than 30 days in order to minimize phase separation. In this context, "phase separation" means: the ethanol absorbs moisture from the air and settles to the bottom of the canister. This can cause engines to run roughly or not at all. Phase separated fuel is no longer suitable for use even after being shaken vigorously.


Note E10 is petrol with 10% ethanol.

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