# Battery Powered Chainsaws



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Does anyone have an Ego or DeWalt chainsaw? I am invested in those two battery platforms and I'm looking for something to do light duty work like cutting up limbs, throwing it in the side-by-side for occasional trail clearing needs, cutting up firewood at camp, etc.

Feel free to discuss other brands as well. :thumbup:


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## UltimateLawn (Sep 25, 2020)

I bought the Ego power-head attachment chainsaw. It worked ok for trimming a couple of small trees. I found that the chainsaw blade was rather weak and dulled quickly. Maybe their full hand held chainsaws are a bit different?


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## Mocajoe (Apr 9, 2018)

For light duty limbs up to 4 inches I prefer a battery powered Sawzall with a 9 inch Diablo pruning blade. I am on the Milwaukee platform and also use the smaller M18 Hackzall with a 6 inch Diablo blade for light pruning on my Crabapple and Dogwood trees. I sold my chainsaws and leave the climbing and heavy tree work to the professionals. Just not worth the risk for me.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Personally with what I saw demo-wise at GIE last year, I'd go Stihl or Makita unless you are already invested in a battery platform, which it sounds like you are.

My current setup is cordless recip Ryobi 'sawzall' with pruning blade for light stuff, and for everything else I just grab my Stihl MS261CM and not eff around.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Ware said:


> Does anyone have an Ego or DeWalt chainsaw? I am invested in those two battery platforms and I'm looking for something to do light duty work like cutting up limbs, throwing it in the side-by-side for occasional trail clearing needs, cutting up firewood at camp, etc.
> 
> Feel free to discuss other brands as well. :thumbup:


If you are just planning on cutting limbs and what not with it, I would just go with a Reciprocating Saw and some Diablo blades from Home Depot. That's what I used to take down and remove my Bradford Pear tree 2 years ago when Hurricane Florence broke it. Plus it's a great tool for other jobs around the house and garage unlike a chainsaw.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Mightyquinn said:


> If you are just planning on cutting limbs and what not with it, I would just go with a Reciprocating Saw and some Diablo blades from Home Depot. That's what I used to take down and remove my Bradford Pear tree 2 years ago when Hurricane Florence broke it. Plus it's a great tool for other jobs around the house and garage unlike a chainsaw.


I'll add the specialty pruning blades, vs regular wood blades make a massive improvement, especially in green wood.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I'll have to see which ones I bought. I wasn't aware there was a difference.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Mightyquinn said:


> I'll have to see which ones I bought. I wasn't aware there was a difference.


The pruning blades have teeth like a bowsaw.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

i have this dewalt. i bought it almost exactly a year ago. 
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCCS620P1-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless/dp/B073FTGBZY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=234TUOI8ZQXC8&dchild=1&keywords=dewalt%2Bchainsaw&qid=1603729117&sprefix=dewalt%2Bcha%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-2&th=1
it works well for me. its good for doing light cleanup work on branches up to maybe 5 inches. I'm already on the Dewalt platform, so this made sense. its definitely a light-duty tool and i would see it as being useful in a very similar way as a reciprocating saw with pruning blade...except the pruning blade would be a cleaner cut...I've never used the dewalt chainsaw to trim living trees, only clean up the stuff that already came down.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Wow, this is timely, just posted yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aBZt8m1XkQ


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## 1FASTSS (Jul 11, 2018)

UltimateLawn said:


> I bought the Ego power-head attachment chainsaw. It worked ok for trimming a couple of small trees. I found that the chainsaw blade was rather weak and dulled quickly. Maybe their full hand held chainsaws are a bit different?


If by this you mean the pole saw, I wouldn't recommend the ego pole saw for that. I have one and yes it cuts down limbs that are 5-6"thick it doesn't work that great at getting them cut down into firewood size. For this reason I am going to purchase the 14" ego chainsaw. I have used it and its by far a much better tool for cutting up branches/logs and in some cases taking down palm trees up to 18" in diameter :lol:

I personally wouldn't purchase another batter platform other than ego. Their tools just seem to work really well and they batteries last much longer than others I've had. Of course I'm using them a few times a month. Anything more than that I'd go with gas


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## Ngilbe36 (Jul 23, 2020)

Dkrem said:


> Wow, this is timely, just posted yesterday:


You beat me to posting this!

I am in invested in the Dewalt platform and that seems to be one of the better choices according to ProjectFarm's testing. However, if you also watch AvE's videos, he did one a while back on the Dewalt chainsaw and complained about the lack of ability to really torque down the bar, making it extremely flimsy. Food for thought. On that note, if my gas saw bites the dust ill likely be getting another STIHL gas saw or Ill be hoping Dewalt beefed it up by then.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Ngilbe36 said:


> ...if you also watch AvE's videos....


I view every single one from uncle bumble.



Ngilbe36 said:


> ...if my gas saw bites the dust ill likely be getting another STIHL gas saw...


I love my MS261CM.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

one challenge with making a decision on a battery platform is the compatibility within the Brand. DeWalt, for example has the 20v batter that is standard most drills, but the larger equipment needs 60v. so if you want to commit to a single platform, it needs to be the 60v. 60v battery can be used in 20v tools, but 20v battery cannot be used in 60v tools. 
this is why i ended up with the little 12 inch/20v chainsaw instead of the 16 inch/60v.


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## AllisonN (Jul 4, 2020)

Milwaukee all the way for me! We do line work, (power lines) and the Milwaukee battery chain saws are what we keep in the bucket, for pole tops and so on. Gas powered saws are stihl, and they don't get used much anymore.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

AllisonN said:


> Milwaukee all the way for me! We do line work, (power lines) and the Milwaukee battery chain saws are what we keep in the bucket, for pole tops and so on. Gas powered saws are stihl, and they don't get used much anymore.


My BIL has the Milwaukee one and it is very nice. I just hate to buy into another battery platform.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Thejarrod said:


> one challenge with making a decision on a battery platform is the compatibility within the Brand. DeWalt, for example has the 20v batter that is standard most drills, but the larger equipment needs 60v. so if you want to commit to a single platform, it needs to be the 60v. 60v battery can be used in 20v tools, but 20v battery cannot be used in 60v tools.
> this is why i ended up with the little 12 inch/20v chainsaw instead of the 16 inch/60v.


This would be a good opportunity to get into the FlexVolt system, but I haven't seen any other 60V tools I really need. Maybe the table and miter saw, but I already have plug-in versions of those. The 60V blower looks nice, but the specs are inferior to my Ego blower. I do like that you can use the 60V batteries on 20V tools though.


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## AllisonN (Jul 4, 2020)

Ware said:


> AllisonN said:
> 
> 
> > Milwaukee all the way for me! We do line work, (power lines) and the Milwaukee battery chain saws are what we keep in the bucket, for pole tops and so on. Gas powered saws are stihl, and they don't get used much anymore.
> ...


I completely understand. I would certainly buy any of them that your platform is. Anything sure beats the heck out of a hand saw!! 😬


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

I have the Sthil. It's really nice to be able to grab the battery saw for small jobs without fussing with gas/oil/ priming etc.
Just squeeze the trigger.
I went with Sthil because of close deals support. I can't speak for any of the other platforms.


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## steve392 (May 30, 2020)

I've been using the ryobi 40v for over a year. Took down some sizeable tree's with it and cleared lots of brush. I replaced the factory chain with an Oregon chain.


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## always_creative (Aug 28, 2020)

If your DeWalt batteries are the 18v or 20v series, then absolutely get the EGO. The 56V battery will be much more closer to the power of a gas saw. I have been very impressed with the quality and performance of my EGO 56V yard tools (started with the original 21" push mower, probably my least favorite item but it was a gift).

I haven't used them, but the EGO 18" chainsaws appear to be very well liked on Youtube. The 18" is apparently a redesigned unit that has a lot more power and bite compared to the 14", so I'd probably spend the extra $100 or see if you can find a Home Depot that still has some on closeout..


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

always_creative said:


> If your DeWalt batteries are the 18v or 20v series, then absolutely get the EGO. The 56V battery will be much more closer to the power of a gas saw...


That sounds logical, but note the Milwaukee M18 FUEL 16" Chainsaw is among the top performers and it is only 18V.

Power is measured in watts (voltage times the current). You can make an 18V chainsaw with the same power as a 56V model - the lower voltage simply has to produce more amps (current) to get there.


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## wiread (Aug 27, 2019)

I have a Dewalt, but it's the prior 40V platform for outdoor tools. as far as saws go for power and run time, It is excellent, but I have not compared it to their 60V system the switched to.

I'm not happy about their switch, but understand it. I even emailed the company before purchasing as flex volt was just coming out and specifically asked if they were going to be switching outdoor equipment to that platform as well and they told me 40 V was going to be dedicated to outdoor equipment and the 20v 60v would be exclusive to construction lines of tools.

Well that lasted a year LOL. But I do really like it. I have the 7ah battery and can cut a full 6.5 truck bed of oak on a charge. that's cutting logs delivered by semi.

Unless I cut wood for a living, i would not invest in large gas saws ever again. the ease, noise, smell, storage factor will push me to battery every time. Though this one does leak bar oil quite a bit.


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## Deltahedge (Apr 1, 2020)

I'm biased towards my EGO lineup of backpack blower, power head, and chainsaw.

I haven't used any other battery powered chainsaws, but my EGO 14" chainsaw has plenty of power for my light duty use; lawn cleanup when wind knocks down large branches from our pecan trees.


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## SuperD4K (Sep 11, 2020)

Personally I have not been very impressed with any electric chainsaw but maybe I am just too used to bigger gas saws. I have the pole saw attachment for my Milwaukee and It works well for what it is. Anything else that I would need a chainsaw for I grab a two stroke saw. I don't really like anything less than a 28" bar on a chainsaw and a 60cc saw with a 28" bar is really lightweight and handy.. Im probably in the minority on that one though lol. How much does the Milwaukee weigh with the battery? I saw somewhere that it was like 14lbs?


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## SWB (Sep 22, 2018)

SuperD4K said:


> Personally I have not been very impressed with any electric chainsaw but maybe I am just too used to bigger gas saws. I have the pole saw attachment for my Milwaukee and It works well for what it is. Anything else that I would need a chainsaw for I grab a two stroke saw. I don't really like anything less than a 28" bar on a chainsaw and a 60cc saw with a 28" bar is really lightweight and handy.. Im probably in the minority on that one though lol. How much does the Milwaukee weigh with the battery? I saw somewhere that it was like 14lbs?


A 28" bar? You're an animal. I have a 14 on my Sthil battery, an MS 250 18" and a 391 20".


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

SWB said:


> SuperD4K said:
> 
> 
> > Personally I have not been very impressed with any electric chainsaw but maybe I am just too used to bigger gas saws. I have the pole saw attachment for my Milwaukee and It works well for what it is. Anything else that I would need a chainsaw for I grab a two stroke saw. I don't really like anything less than a 28" bar on a chainsaw and a 60cc saw with a 28" bar is really lightweight and handy.. Im probably in the minority on that one though lol. How much does the Milwaukee weigh with the battery? I saw somewhere that it was like 14lbs?
> ...


I love the 16" bar on my MS261cm, it's like a scalpel in down trees. I have a 20" setup for it but have not had need for it yet.
I see the advantages of battery, for sure. But if I'm getting PPE'd up and tromping out in the woods the visceral smell and feel of a screaming 2-stroke just really completes it and feeds my soul.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Same with most other outdoor power equipment - there is no substitute for the power of gas. But as I mentioned in the OP, what I'm looking for is just something to throw in the back of the SxS to do some occasional trail clearing work or cut up a few pieces of firewood at camp. For that I think battery is a no brainer.


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## Dkrem (Mar 16, 2019)

Ware said:


> Same with most other outdoor power equipment - there is no substitute for the power of gas. But as I mentioned in the OP, what I'm looking for is just something to throw in the back of the SxS to do some occasional trail clearing work or cut up a few pieces of firewood at camp. For that I think battery is a no brainer.


I agree it's a good tool for the job selection.


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