Battery powered chainsaw

[Hay Dude]

I have the 60 volt Greenworks saw with a 20 inch bar and it is heavy but I find the battery life to be fairly good.. I have used it cutting a 18 inch hickory log and have got 17 cuts and still have 2 bars left using it without any long breaks. I agree it will not last as long as a 60 cc gas saw but at 82 years old I cannot go as long as I used to and it is sure easy to start, and I have lots of 8 ah batteries to use on it.

With all due respect, I’m referring to a contractor grade sawing where we are working commercially with customers.
I definitely recognize that electric saws are great for homeowners and even guys with small firewood businesses where they are near a constant source of power. Probably good for climbing, too.
But when 2-3 guys hit the woods, with a mess to clean up, the electric saws get left behind.

I have great hope for electric saws in the future. Nothing would be better than to replace gas & oil with a really fast charged battery in the trucks cab. Need to get the weight down, too. Maybe when electric trucks, with their vast electric reserves are available, this will happen?

 

[bdhsfz6]

If I only owned one saw, it would be gas.
I do have a variety of cordless tools though, and many batteries. It made sense for me to get an electric saw as a backup.
Now, the electric saw is my first choice for doing routine tree work. The gas saw only sees use for cutting many large rounds to split for firewood.

 

[xyz123]

I am willing to bet he had the early 80v homeowner saw. Comes with shorter bars 18" to 24" I think

Not the latest 82v that is considered the commercial saw. The commercial one only been out a short time.

This is the lesser 80v version that dont really cost all that much compared to the 82V version out.

 

[xyz123]

This one I dont even see on their website yet. But swear seen it earlier this year.

It is 82V the new commercial version

 

[xyz123]

 

[xyz123]

Commercial 82V one.

Both weights full 24" set ups.

Weights are close as used to the super light 79cc 500i.

 

[xyz123]

I posted this on the junk chainsaw thread but it probably fits here better.
I am recommend the 2500T 100%. After having it for a few months now, I have really ran it through the paces. it really is impressive. Battery life is a product of what you're cutting and how sharp your chain is. I am going to convert to the smaller chain once the one it came with is done with. I cut up to 10" green read oak with it the other day dropping a few trees to open up around my sugar maples. It really did everything I asked it to. I don't own a better tool for clearing and dropping small trees and saplings. Its very easy to run with 1 hand while holding the tree or branch with the other hand. Easy for my son to learn on as well. Its even very convenient for rough carpentry work.
A week ago I got my 562 pinched on a tough dead-standing pignut hickory that carpenter ants got to. It was more rotten then I thought and my wedges couldn't lift the tree so it sat on bar. I didn't have another option so the 2500T undercut and back cut the 24" tree and dropped it. That really sold me on the saw.

That new 2500 rear handle version has me paying attention too. Now if they would just send over here too.

Light just like 2511 even with batt installed.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don't have a dog in this fight as I don't have either brand of chainsaw, but I but Iwould like to see the test again with someone who ACTUALLY knows how to run a chainsaw!!

SR

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

This one I dont even see on their website yet. But swear seen it earlier this year.

It is 82V the new commercial version



View attachment 4036128View attachment 4036129

It's on there for $600. The battery alone is $250-$300.

My issue was run time, weight, and that the battery lasted 12 months, and the cost of replacement was exorbitant. Mine was the 80V, the 82V wasn’t available two years ago.

Any of those three are deal killers for me.

If I go into the woods to cut, it’s not accessible by truck, and there is a serious lack of 120v outlets. So what do I carry in? A gallon of fuel, or one battery? Both weigh the same… what one lasts longer?

There is also this wide chasm. A CS400 weighs in at 10lbs without the bar. The homeowner battery saws won’t come close to outrunning that saw. The next option is the 82v GreenWorks, which is much more expensive, heavier, and limits your run time. And pray to God that you don’t have to replace a battery for 3-5 years.

It’s like the battery saws are too small and limited to compete with a homeowner gasser… or too large and expensive to do so on the other end.

I love throwing on chaps and taking the ATV to the woods where a gallon of fuel will last me all day. That’s just me.

 

[xyz123]

It's on there for $600. The battery alone is $250-$300.

My issue was run time, weight, and that the battery lasted 12 months, and the cost of replacement was exorbitant. Mine was the 80V, the 82V wasn’t available two years ago.

Any of those three are deal killers for me.

I figured yours was the 80V. Not suppose to be even close to this new technology one on reading. No clue as I wont ever go there to see. But man that video is surprising.

The commercial 82V one like in video only been out a short time.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I don’t doubt the electric has more power… endurance matters to some folks though. And lack of that requires constant 120vac access. I’d suspect a guy needing that 82v saw, isn’t in his back yard cutting.

I feel like there is a big sweet spot for saws in terms of weight and performance, and the battery saws have a hard time fitting into it

 

[WinterDeere]

I have great hope for electric saws in the future. Nothing would be better than to replace gas & oil with a really fast charged battery in the trucks cab. Need to get the weight down, too. Maybe when electric trucks, with their vast electric reserves are available, this will happen?

As long as we're bound to Li-Ion tech, the weight vs. runtime issue will remain similar. Only a change to a new higher energy density chemical or solid state battery tech will allow that barrier to fall.

With easy access to a recharge source, you could run smaller and lighter batteries, and just swap them more frequently. For my scenario, and surely for yours, this is not a great solution. But for some, it's likely a good option.

I am sure someday we'll have better tech than Li-Ion, but you've already seen the penalty for the high energy density that tech allows, way more battery fires than older (Ni-MH or Ni-cad) batteries ever experienced. It's probable that any push to even higher energy densities will come with even more such problems.

 

[xyz123]

Those echo 2500 that is like the gas version 2511 in size and weight with batt installed is a commercial cutters dream for quite zones.

They already using the bigger husky and stihl ones in quite zones for years now.

DCS-2500T 12" Battery Powered Top Handle Chainsaw | ECHO

Battery convenience, ECHO power. Learn more about the DCS-2500T and other chainsaws today at ECHO.

www.echo-usa.com

DCS-2500, Chain Saw | ECHO

Battery powered, professional rear handle chain saw. - DCS-2500, Chain Saw by ECHO

www.echotools.com

 

[Hay Dude]

As long as we're bound to Li-Ion tech, the weight vs. runtime issue will remain similar. Only a change to a new higher energy density chemical or solid state battery tech will allow that barrier to fall.

With easy access to a recharge source, you could run smaller and lighter batteries, and just swap them more frequently. For my scenario, and surely for yours, this is not a great solution. But for some, it's likely a good option.

I am sure someday we'll have better tech than Li-Ion, but you've already seen the penalty for the high energy density that tech allows, way more battery fires than older (Ni-MH or Ni-cad) batteries ever experienced. It's probable that any push to even higher energy densities will come with even more such problems.

Maybe they’ll invent a “blue tooth” saw

 

[4570Man]

I have great hope for electric saws in the future. Nothing would be better than to replace gas & oil with a really fast charged battery in the trucks cab. Need to get the weight down, too. Maybe when electric trucks, with their vast electric reserves are available, this will happen?

I don’t. Lithium batteries have been around since the late 60s. They aren’t exactly new technology. So far nothing else is even close to a workable prototype. Batteries are drastically lacking in energy storage compared to gasoline. The greenies like to pretend we’re just around the corner from a revolutionary breakthrough but I don’t see any evidence that’s true. Lithium batteries also cost a lot. Like several hundred dollars compared to probably 50 cents equivalent of gasoline and they’re already prone to bursting into flames. Probably more so than the gasoline.

 

[alpha&omega]

We own a Christmas tree farm - 480 acres. I have always used gas, but when Milwaukee came out with their battery operated I gave it a try. Man oh man! Easy to use, quick, power out of the box. The only problem is the weight and the need to buy the bigger M18 batteries (either the 8 or the 12, I’d say the 12 is the only way to go for that type of equipment). They are one of the heaviest and most expensive of the M18’s, but it’s worth it for run time.

 

[Hay Dude]

I don’t. Lithium batteries have been around since the late 60s. They aren’t exactly new technology. So far nothing else is even close to a workable prototype. Batteries are drastically lacking in energy storage compared to gasoline. The greenies like to pretend we’re just around the corner from a revolutionary breakthrough but I don’t see any evidence that’s true. Lithium batteries also cost a lot. Like several hundred dollars compared to probably 50 cents equivalent of gasoline and they’re already prone to bursting into flames. Probably more so than the gasoline.

Ye have little faith in the future of new technology

 

[LouNY]

I'm still satisfied with my Harbor Freight Atlas 80 Volt saw. It's good for several cuts and great for opening up tree's that block the driveway. I just section them to a size I can push out of the way with the tractor. For bucking up more then one tree it wouldn't be the saw of choice but for storm rough cleanup and a quick job it's good,

 

[ultrarunner]

We own a Christmas tree farm - 480 acres. I have always used gas, but when Milwaukee came out with their battery operated I gave it a try. Man oh man! Easy to use, quick, power out of the box. The only problem is the weight and the need to buy the bigger M18 batteries (either the 8 or the 12, I’d say the 12 is the only way to go for that type of equipment). They are one of the heaviest and most expensive of the M18’s, but it’s worth it for run time.

Combined we have 95 acres of Christmas Trees in the family and switched to Stihl AP battery saws about 6 years ago starting with one and now have 4.

The gas saws rarely come out and the seasonal gas saw issues are no more and nighttime Christmas season operation no longer a noise issue…

So far no battery issues and the newer AP batteries have more capacity and interchange.

 

[WinterDeere]

Lithium batteries have been around since the late 60s.

What lithium-ion battery existed in the late 1960's? The first commercially-available Lithium Ion battery was released by Sony in 1991. Even the underlying science behind them didn't start until the late 1970's, and the first working lab models mostly happened in the 1980's.

So far nothing else is even close to a workable prototype.

Lithium Sulfer packs about 4x the energy per pound of Lithium Ion, and prototypes have indeed been built and tested. This is likely the next technology to see full-scale production. Lithium Air, sodium-ion, and solid state (versus liquid Li-Ion) batteries are all at various prototype stages.

Batteries are drastically lacking in energy storage compared to gasoline.

Yes, per pound or kg, gasoline is way ahead. Something like 12 kW/kg versus 500 W/kg. Even after considering the low efficiency of a gasoline engine, you're netting something like 8x better energy per pound from gasoline.

The greenies like to pretend we’re just around the corner from a revolutionary breakthrough but I don’t see any evidence that’s true.

It's not just the greenies. I suspect most buying battery saws are more interested in the convenience factor, than any environmental factor.

Lithium batteries also cost a lot. Like several hundred dollars compared to probably 50 cents equivalent of gasoline and they’re already prone to bursting into flames. Probably more so than the gasoline.

Not sure I follow you, here. Gasoline can't be re-used, but Li-Ion batteries are happy through many thousands of recharge cycles. Seems like a useless comparison. You'd do better to look at TCO of the equipment, all factors considered.