Electric chainsaws

[BilgePump]

Quick update on my request a few weeks ago. Ended up needing to buy a new chop-saw so the chainsaw budget had to go towards that. Liked the look of the Oregon one suggested by Ian and it would have been a top choice on my original budget as it's priced at £130 and some places do recon'd ones for £80 upwards. However, in the end I just picked up the cheapest one from Screwfix. A Titan 2kw with 16" bar for £55. It's cheap and very plasticcy, pretty flimsy, but it did the job without burning out or breaking. Retaining nut and bar came loose at one point and new chain needed checking/tightening every couple of cuts but probably better than I expected. The fact that it's lasted more than just the one job at home means it's saved its cost already. 

[reg]

On 27/04/2023 at 13:21, dmr said:

I have the Makita battery chainsaw and am impressed. I have cut a LOT of oak sleepers with it over the last year, plus a few big tree stumps. It does not leak oil.

It does get through the batteries, especially if worked hard. I have 6 of the 5Ah batteries and thats about right, 4 might be just about ok, also a twin charger to charge both batteries together. Chains are quite cheap, 3 for about £25, so if you're busy its quicker to swap a chain than to sharpen one.

 

The saw will exceed your budget, and lots more for the batteries, but if you already have Makita stuff its a good investment.

I can happily endorse that. Very impressed with the Makita. I only use it occasionally   mainly emergency towpath clearance etc. Easy to use and works far better than I expected.

 

[magnetman]

I imagine you are referring to the dual battery Makita chainsaw here but just doing a google search I came across this reasonably interesting item 

 

A Makita brushless 18v chainsaw with a 9.8 inch bar. 

 

I wonder if this is a mickey mouse item or could it be quite good? 

 

https://gardytools.co.uk/makita-duc254z/

[tree monkey]

1 hour ago, magnetman said:

I imagine you are referring to the dual battery Makita chainsaw here but just doing a google search I came across this reasonably interesting item 

 

A Makita brushless 18v chainsaw with a 9.8 inch bar. 

 

I wonder if this is a mickey mouse item or could it be quite good? 

 

https://gardytools.co.uk/makita-duc254z/

That's a top handled saw designed for use when climbing, it's not really meant for use on the ground because the design tends to encourage one handed use and even when used with both hands it's not as safe to use because there's less control when kickback occurs.

 

[magnetman]

I noticed it is top handle but wondered if as it is obviously not very powerful it might not get problems with kickback. There seems to be a cutout system which might stop the motor. 

 

Some interesting reviews about it. 

 

I did a felling course yars ago but would not want to use a powerful top handle machine without extra training.

 

I was wondering if the little 18 inch thing would be better than my bowsaw for light firewood production.

 

 

For example cutting a dozen 6 inch logs from a piece of 4 inch diameter ash every day. 

[tree monkey]

6 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I noticed it is top handle but wondered if as it is obviously not very powerful it might not get problems with kickback. There seems to be a cutout system which might stop the motor. 

 

Some interesting reviews about it. 

 

I did a felling course yars ago but would not want to use a powerful top handle machine without extra training.

 

I was wondering if the little 18 inch thing would be better than my bowsaw for light firewood production.

 

 

For example cutting a dozen 6 inch logs from a piece of 4 inch diameter ash every day. 

Obviously as a professional I would never use my top handled saw on the ground in the way you suggest and as a consequence I would never be able to say how bloody good it is for small scale firewood processing.

 

I have no actual experience with this particular saw but I have used another Makita saw and was fairly impressed, keep it sharp and I'm sure it would handle the sort of stuff you are talking about.

 

Not the same as the noise and smells of a proper saw mind but good enough

[BEngo]

7 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

20 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Obviously as a professional I would never use my top handled saw on the ground in the way you suggest and as a consequence I would n

You could always nip up a handy tree with your bit of future  firewood and the saw?

 

N

[magnetman]

One could take the fallen branch up and cable tie it securely to another branch then cut it orf. 

 

 

I use half of a large optical fibre cable insulator boot as a sawhorse. 

 

Its a great item. cut a notch out and it holds the wood very nicely. 

[tree monkey]

2 minutes ago, BEngo said:

You could always nip up a handy tree with your bit of future  firewood and the saw?

 

N

My nipping up a tree days are long gone, I can sort of hobble some of the way and then collapse in a sweaty heap on the floor

[magnetman]

The middle item. Found one in the cut. Its about 9 inches diameter cut in half and put a notch in it brilliant little sawhorse. 

 

Without the gubbins at the base. It is just the boot part. Thick plastic these are built like a tank. 

[jonathanA]

a bit like bilge pump i bought a cheapo electric jobbie from wickes years ago - it was in their clearance bin - think I paid 45 quid or something like that.  might be 12 or 14" blade but its great for logging up firewood and is surprisingly effective on larger timber.    

 

1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

That's a top handled saw designed for use when climbing, it's not really meant for use on the ground because the design tends to encourage one handed use and even when used with both hands it's not as safe to use because there's less control when kickback occurs.

 

interesting I saw a  (professional tree surgeon) friend of mine using a little petrol saw with a very short blade and when I remarked that it looked handy, he said that they were generally only sold to professionals, but at the time I didn't understand the issue - makes sense now.  And he was using it 'aloft' trimming and tidying up overhanging branches I seem to recall. 

[dmr]

There are a range of "pruning" chain saws available, like a mini single handed chainsaw for pruning, including one from Makita. I imagine they are for jobs that are too much for the secateurs but not big enough for a proper chainsaw. Dunno if they are any good but look interesting, but not top of my list of desirable tools.

[Alan de Enfield]

15 minutes ago, dmr said:

There are a range of "pruning" chain saws available, like a mini single handed chainsaw for pruning, including one from Makita. I imagine they are for jobs that are too much for the secateurs but not big enough for a proper chainsaw. Dunno if they are any good but look interesting, but not top of my list of desirable tools.

 

Our Gardner has one, I didn't look closely but it looked to have a 4" / 5" blade and it certainly cut back 3" branches - he said the problem was that a battery only lasted for about 10 minutes of use.

[Ronaldo47]

10 hours ago, BilgePump said:

...... However, in the end I just picked up the cheapest one from Screwfix. A Titan 2kw with 16" bar for £55. It's cheap and very plasticcy, pretty flimsy, but it did the job without burning out or breaking. Retaining nut and bar came loose at one point and new chain needed checking/tightening every couple of cuts but probably better than I expected. The fact that it's lasted more than just the one job at home means it's saved its cost already. 

I have had one of those 2kW Titan chain saws from Screwfix for some years. It has had a lot of use sawing up hardwood trees for logs, so much so that I recently had to re-sharpen the chain.  Good value. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ronaldo47
typos

[Tam & Di]

7 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Our Gardner has one, I didn't look closely but it looked to have a 4" / 5" blade and it certainly cut back 3" branches - he said the problem was that a battery only lasted for about 10 minutes of use.

I got one of the Makita ones - it was very handy to be able to hold in one hand and reach through a tangle of other branches to cut the one you wanted, virtually impossible with a hand saw. It did fall to bits very quickly but Amazon sent a replacement instantly with no qibbble, and that one has now has quite a bit of work. Yes, 3" branches no bother at all.