I am looking to buy a chainsaw. It must be battery powered. 16 or 18 inch blade. Any ideas, recommendations or advice?? Tar mucho amigos xxxxxx
Chainsaw advice
- Thread starter demented dale
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18" is quite long for a battery saw, my main semi-pro petrol saw is only 14" and my battery saw is 12" ; do you need it that long?
I would go for the pro Stihl if I needed a long bar on a battery saw but that would cost over £1k for a saw and decent battery.
Do you have any other battery tools? If you do that brings the cost down.
Don't skimp on PPE!
I would go for the pro Stihl if I needed a long bar on a battery saw but that would cost over £1k for a saw and decent battery.
Do you have any other battery tools? If you do that brings the cost down.
Don't skimp on PPE!
My advice is general
18" blade chainsaws need a lot of power. I use a lot of them. My 16" bladed electric claims to use 2000W. It lies. The startup surge is more than 3,000W and it can easily pull 2,500W mid cut
I use 18W DeWalt XR tools. They make a couple of smaller chainsaws in that range. They are okay for limbing, pruning & small trees, but nothing that needs an 18" bar
Makita saws double up the 18V batteries for 36V but it's still not enough.
DeWalt make a 54V flexvolt battery. They do a 18" saw that takes those. £600 with one battery
Now 1 9ah battery probably buys you 15 minutes of active run time (which will be over an hour real time)
In 16" you could choose Ego power plus. The saw is cheap but add a battery & charger & it's more
egopowerplus.co.uk
Then there are Stihl saws. You are north of a grand for the size you want
www.stihl.co.uk
Hth
18" blade chainsaws need a lot of power. I use a lot of them. My 16" bladed electric claims to use 2000W. It lies. The startup surge is more than 3,000W and it can easily pull 2,500W mid cut
I use 18W DeWalt XR tools. They make a couple of smaller chainsaws in that range. They are okay for limbing, pruning & small trees, but nothing that needs an 18" bar
Makita saws double up the 18V batteries for 36V but it's still not enough.
DeWalt make a 54V flexvolt battery. They do a 18" saw that takes those. £600 with one battery
Now 1 9ah battery probably buys you 15 minutes of active run time (which will be over an hour real time)
In 16" you could choose Ego power plus. The saw is cheap but add a battery & charger & it's more
CS1610E 40cm CHAINSAW - Ego Power+
The outstanding combination of chain speed and torque provides you with the platform to deliver a great cut time and time again. The 40cm chain bar makes it possible to cut branches and logs up to 40cm (approximately 15”) in size.Lighter than its petrol-powered equivalent, the EGO 40cm battery...
Then there are Stihl saws. You are north of a grand for the size you want
MSA 300 Cordless Chainsaw | STIHL
STIHL's most powerful cordless chainsaw: 3.0 kW output ✓ for professional work ✓ ➤ Buy now!
Hth
BTW, there is a much cheaper way of running an electric saw off grid 
As others have implied if not said, you need to decide on the scope of what you are planning to do with it.
I have Stihl petrol saws (12" and 16") and a Makita battery saw (14"). I use the Makita for about 80% of my coppicing work. I use the petrol saw for anything over 150mm and, to be honest, anything over 100mm if there is a lot of it. Otherwise I prefer the electric saw as much as possible.
Blunt blades rob any power so, especially with the battery saws, you have to keep your blade sharp.
Four Makita batteries (the saw uses 2 at a time) will last 40 to 60 minutes of coppicing work - bare in mind that's not like cross-cutting where you're cutting continuously. If I'm down in the wood, away from mains power, I take a small, very quiet, petrol generator with me to charge batteries as I'm going. A set of 6 batteries allows me to keep going non-stop. I chose Makita because I have other Makita tools that use the same batteries (hedge trimmers, angle grinders, disk saw, strimmer etc.).
If you really need an 18" battery powered saw you are going to have to spend a lot of money.
I have Stihl petrol saws (12" and 16") and a Makita battery saw (14"). I use the Makita for about 80% of my coppicing work. I use the petrol saw for anything over 150mm and, to be honest, anything over 100mm if there is a lot of it. Otherwise I prefer the electric saw as much as possible.
Blunt blades rob any power so, especially with the battery saws, you have to keep your blade sharp.
Four Makita batteries (the saw uses 2 at a time) will last 40 to 60 minutes of coppicing work - bare in mind that's not like cross-cutting where you're cutting continuously. If I'm down in the wood, away from mains power, I take a small, very quiet, petrol generator with me to charge batteries as I'm going. A set of 6 batteries allows me to keep going non-stop. I chose Makita because I have other Makita tools that use the same batteries (hedge trimmers, angle grinders, disk saw, strimmer etc.).
If you really need an 18" battery powered saw you are going to have to spend a lot of money.
How are you intending to charge the batteries? I know you have some Solar but how much output can you generate?
So Why battery powered and not a standard Petrol driven one? Just thinking about your location and have a 'why not' question.
thank y
Thank you, yes you are all correct 18" is too big so that is not an option. I will continue to read what has been written thus far. thanks all for now xMy advice is general
18" blade chainsaws need a lot of power. I use a lot of them. My 16" bladed electric claims to use 2000W. It lies. The startup surge is more than 3,000W and it can easily pull 2,500W mid cut
I use 18W DeWalt XR tools. They make a couple of smaller chainsaws in that range. They are okay for limbing, pruning & small trees, but nothing that needs an 18" bar
Makita saws double up the 18V batteries for 36V but it's still not enough.
DeWalt make a 54V flexvolt battery. They do a 18" saw that takes those. £600 with one battery
Now 1 9ah battery probably buys you 15 minutes of active run time (which will be over an hour real time)
In 16" you could choose Ego power plus. The saw is cheap but add a battery & charger & it's more
CS1610E 40cm CHAINSAW - Ego Power+
The outstanding combination of chain speed and torque provides you with the platform to deliver a great cut time and time again. The 40cm chain bar makes it possible to cut branches and logs up to 40cm (approximately 15”) in size.Lighter than its petrol-powered equivalent, the EGO 40cm battery...
Then there are Stihl saws. You are north of a grand for the size you want
MSA 300 Cordless Chainsaw | STIHL
STIHL's most powerful cordless chainsaw: 3.0 kW output ✓ for professional work ✓ ➤ Buy now!
Hth
I am trying to get an option where everything I own does not need another person ie fuel. or household power. The panels will charge that up easy. So in answer it is about independence. xxx
What is it? xBTW, there is a much cheaper way of running an electric saw off grid
The Ego one looks like a good piece of kit. I am going to research that. xMy advice is general
18" blade chainsaws need a lot of power. I use a lot of them. My 16" bladed electric claims to use 2000W. It lies. The startup surge is more than 3,000W and it can easily pull 2,500W mid cut
I use 18W DeWalt XR tools. They make a couple of smaller chainsaws in that range. They are okay for limbing, pruning & small trees, but nothing that needs an 18" bar
Makita saws double up the 18V batteries for 36V but it's still not enough.
DeWalt make a 54V flexvolt battery. They do a 18" saw that takes those. £600 with one battery
Now 1 9ah battery probably buys you 15 minutes of active run time (which will be over an hour real time)
In 16" you could choose Ego power plus. The saw is cheap but add a battery & charger & it's more
CS1610E 40cm CHAINSAW - Ego Power+
The outstanding combination of chain speed and torque provides you with the platform to deliver a great cut time and time again. The 40cm chain bar makes it possible to cut branches and logs up to 40cm (approximately 15”) in size.Lighter than its petrol-powered equivalent, the EGO 40cm battery...
Then there are Stihl saws. You are north of a grand for the size you want
MSA 300 Cordless Chainsaw | STIHL
STIHL's most powerful cordless chainsaw: 3.0 kW output ✓ for professional work ✓ ➤ Buy now!
Hth
Generator needs fuel. ( Petrol )
Van with invertor will need Fuel ( Petrol )
House will at least be on Grid - but still a 'fuel' of sorts and reliant upon another.
Not looking to make an argument - just pointing out there is somewhat of a hole in that argument.
If you can a Battery powered chainsaw to fit your needs that can be powered by Solar - then I get it .
IF.
I have all those power sources for now. They were my answers when you asked how I would charge the battery. You then asked why a battery chainsaw? and I said because I would have independence from other people and be able to charge it on the solar panels xxx.
I assume Mr Red mean a corded electric saw plugged into a battery bank.
There are many benefits of a battery saw, noise for one as you can hear people around you better and people don't really know you are using a chainsaw. I also like the lack of petrol fumes.
Buy a mains 16" saw and run it from a power station that you charge from solar. It's what I do. I burn out a mains chainsaw every three years or so. If it takes less than 3 years, Screwfix give me a new one. That means they cost me about £20 a year
Even buying the power station it's cheaper & more powerful. Plus you get a power station for other things!
He does (well a power station these days). £7 a chain. £50 for the saw with a 3 year warranty
That's fine working around the homestead and cutting firewood - totally impractical in a woodland carrying out thinning and coppicing - again, it's down to what DD intends to do with the tool that will define the best solution 
I do think Battery Chainsaws are more dangerous than petrol ones - one has a tendency to treat them as just another power tool and not as the deadly pieces of kit they are.
