Electric chainsaw?

[malley]

Not sure which forum this belongs to?

I need to cut our garden hedge back. Years of letting it get out of hand mean that it is too thick for a hedge trimmer. So, two questions;

I don't need a full-on petroleum driven chainsaw, so what do people recommend?

Given our respect for nature/birdlife/etc, what is the best time of year to do this?

I have searched the Internet, but as always, I trust the advice and guidance here the most.

Cheers.

 

[Chainsaw]

I bought a relatively cheapish one. I went electric as like you I didn't need a full on petrol jobbie. If it's for s single job or maybe just once a year or so then it works just fine. I used mine for a couple of leylandii trees (sp?) that got out of hand and it dealt with it admirably. You can see the trunk thickness below, to each side of the laddie.

Was a titan 40cm from screwfix, 50 quid it cost me but the landscaper was wanting upwards of 300... It's pretty good, stops spinning real fast which is nice and you need some chainsaw oil to go with it

HTH
Alan

PS as always, I'm sure you know but a wise man once said to me, "there is no such thing as a minor chainsaw accident," so please be careful, typing one handed is a pain!

And yes I can see the irony...

 

[Tonyuk]

You could try and hire a proper petrol one from HSS. I had one out several years ago to cut a tree down, worked well and cost about £30 for the day.

Tonyuk

 

[sxmolloy]

Over the last couple of years I've purchased both electric and petrol, apart from the electric cord meaning I was unable to travel further than 5 meters or so with the electric one I much preferred it.

Whilst both were cheap (£60ish) I didn't notice a difference in cutting power, and as mentioned above the electric ones stop much faster once the trigger has been released.

I looked at hiring one for the day but the cost compared to buying new meant it wasn't really worth it if you are going to use it more than once.

 

[srod]

I'd say the ones recommended so far would be okay.

Get some proper chainsaw gloves, and a helmet with a face guard, also wear safety specs.

Watch a few youtube videos for some basic instruction: how to stand, hold the thing, do's and don'ts etc. Husqvarna have a good channel (petrol-related, but it's all relevant).

Just watch out with a hedge, all those small branches can snag the chain, you want to make sure you're confident , have hold of the thing correctly and appreciate just how dangerous it is.

 

[Nice65]

Any hard pruning is best done late Autumn.

Out of interest, what type of hedge is it?

 

[bearbait]

I can't comment on the usefulness of an electric chainsaw, but I would like to reinforce the earlier comments on safety:

I had a moment's lack of attention while clearing non-native trees to restore some valuable habitat and attempted to remove my left leg from my body and/or sever my femoral artery. The only reason I'm still around some 15 years or so later is that I was wearing chainsaw protective trousers that jammed the chain before serious injury occurred.

The suggestion to check out technique/get advice first is also one I wholeheartedly support.

 

[baggins]

i use petrol saws all day, every day, but, unless you have a lot to do, a decent electric one will do you fine and are actually safer, as they don't have as much weight to contend with.
As above, invest in the best quality protective gear you can, helmet, eye protection (ear defenders aren't really necessary for electric), gloves, boots and either trousers or chaps. Also learn how to sharpen the chain, files are cheap but a blunt chain is like a blunt knife, hard work and more likely to slip and cause an accident.
What type of hedge are you working on? Unless its the dreaded leylandii, most trimming is best done in the autumn.

 

[uncleboob]

i use petrol saws all day, every day, but, unless you have a lot to do, a decent electric one will do you fine and are actually safer, as they don't have as much weight to contend with.
As above, invest in the best quality protective gear you can, helmet, eye protection (ear defenders aren't really necessary for electric), gloves, boots and either trousers or chaps. Also learn how to sharpen the chain, files are cheap but a blunt chain is like a blunt knife, hard work and more likely to slip and cause an accident.
What type of hedge are you working on? Unless its the dreaded leylandii, most trimming is best done in the autumn.

Any recommendations for a reasonably priced petrol saw? Are the Lidl/ Aldi ones okay? Does a bit more dosh buy a better saw?

Cheers j

 

[Robson Valley]

I've been gifted 2 power saws with 16" bars, one gas (Poulan), one electric (Remington.) I've used neither one.

You all have your heads screwed on straight = I need chainsaw chaps. Approx $100 here (65 BPS or so).
But I suppose my first accident could also be my last.

Industry saws here are mostly Stihl with same-day parts and service here in the village. Bars from 12" to 36", 100' rolls of chain.

 

[baggins]

i use Stihl and Husquvarna saws daily, the newer ones are no where near as reliable and robust as older models and they are pretty pricey. Jonserad saws are ok if you can get them and even the Mculloch ones aren't too bad for the money. As its my profession, i don't really have any experience of the cheaper end of the market though, Hobby saws etc.

 

[Robson Valley]

History: is this becoming an issue of Country Of Origin? Where I live, we get a never-ending flood of "Pacific Rim" (to be polite) goods which are carefully
reverse engineered for short life-spans.) Local guy rebuilds old power saws. I hear that they look like Hello but run like new.

 

[slowworm]

My first question would be how thick is the material you're cutting? I've got a few saws and the chain on my petrol saws is very grabby and not ideal for cutting small material, say up to a 5cm. I have a Stihl battery saw with a narrow kerf bar and much finer chain (PM3) and that is great for light pruning and cutting stuff up to 20cm or so. As it's cordless it's expensive at £240 but worth it.

Do you really need a chainsaw, would a good quality (Silky) pruning saw cope?

As for when to cut, yes autumn unless it's full of berries and fruit, in which case late winter would be my suggestion.

 

[Stew]

I'm curious as to why you feel the need for a chainsaw? I would have thought it a bit excessive for a small amount of hedge management with bigger potential for going wrong!

Loppers, a saw (I use both a Silky saw and on occasion a bog standard panel saw!) and a bit of sweat. I can understand the need if you're doing it day in day out but as a one off job I don't. I have a fair amount of land to manage at the school I work at and I've cleared, felled and trimmed quite a bit of wood with just hand tools.