I searched and found some archived topics for Battery Vs Gas chainsaws from a couple years ago, but looking for updated opinions. Looking at chainsaws and debating battery vs gas. Anyone have any good amount of experience with battery powered chainsaws and can give us pros and cons?

Thanks

I have a DeWalt and it’s great with the flex volt batteries.  

I have 3 batteries and it gets me through the day.  A good chain will just slice through wood.  

This is the deal though.   I’m a home user, not a pro.  I need the saw maybe a dozen of times a year.  I don’t want to mess with fuel storage or small engine maintenance for something I use so infrequently.  When I need it, I just want to use it.  Two years and so far so good.  

If you're just trimming things around the house a battery saw would be fine, if you're looking to cut up whole trees you'll be limited to small trees, if you're looking to cut up large trees you'll be disappointed.

Any time you buy a battery tool there will come a time the battery shits the bed and you have to decide to toss the whole mess and take the loss or pony up for new batteries.

If you are already invested in a brand that is a plus.

Battery saw is going to be on the lower end of homeowner capacity but there is the convenience to consider.Something like a Milwaukee or Dewalt is only going to run well with the really big capacity battery.

Corded electric chainsaw is low cost compared to battery but then you either need a small yard or you have to bring the wood to the saw.

I own a pretty big stihl,a medium echo and a medium huskavarna and a small stihl (all gas)

I also have a remington corded that was only like $75 at home depot-this is a beast and quite quiet compared to the gas saws.

I also recently got a EGO brand battery from Home Depot. Normally about $260+tax but it was on clearance and had a  special discount going so I only paid $135 out the door. This sucker has a big 26volt battery , lots of power,a 14" bar and good balance. I can't see the regular price but for what I paid it was a reasonable deal. I will get enough use in a couple 2 or 3 years that I can just toss it when the battery dies

I have a Ryobi that runs on a 40v battery and it seems to handle any tree or log I put to it. When cutting wood for the smoker one charge does me for a couple of sessions. It takes two batteries to do a job.

Main reason I went with it was I already had a Ryobi weed eater that runs on the same battery I was satisfied with. I never did really learn much about working on small engines and carburetor problems drive me crazy on all my gas tools. Electric is just a lot more straight forward.  

Added plus to the Ryobi batteries: they have usb ports so they can be used to charge or run anything a usb device will work on.

What variety of wood? How often? How many cuts a day?

I don’t foresee a day when an electric saw will totally replace a gas saw.  However, when I thrown something in the ranger for normal putzing around the property it’s the Milwaukee.

Water oak, long leaf pine, and bay, once a week to two weeks for smoking wood, and whenever a tree falls and is in the way. One downed water oak I use for smoking wood is significantly wider that the chainsaw is long.

I would never represent that this chainsaw would outcut a gas unit built for logging. Its simply good enough and convenient for homestead use. Its a good chainsaw for someone who only occasionally needs a chainsaw without the hassle of oil, gas, and the related engine problems.

What diameter trees are you all cutting with the battery models?  I can see their usefulness for tops & downed limbs, etc.

When I first got mine I took it against a 10” pine to cut for firewood. It did the job but it wasn’t happy by the end. Occasional tree accross the road or storm clean up I wouldn’t hesitate to use it but if I know I’m cutting a significant amount of material over 6” in a single sitting I use a gasser.

40v Ryobi w/14” bar I use it for general yard maintenance type cutting, I cut a couple of 8” or so limbs out of a soft wood tree last weekend nice working up in the tree with it and then cleaned up all the debris using it and battery was down 30% maybe.  Doesn’t replace my gas saws but nice for pruning or traveling for small jobs.

I think I have 4-5 of the Ryobi tools so far so good for homeowner use, wife can use them w/o the gas cranking issue etc.  My BIL also has them and he us happy with hus as well.  

Home Depot runs them on sale pretty regularly.

Update: Went and bought a Stihl MS271 this morning. Nice and shiny and I'm about to dirty it up on some trees we felled a couple of weeks ago. 20" bar and got 3 extra aggressive chains and the fluids to go with it.

Found out that the warranty is double for home use if you buy the Ultra oil mix when you get the saw. So, I spent $2 more and got a 6 pack of the Ultra and an extra year warranty.

Excellent choice. I mix my own fuel for cutting but always run it out of when done for the day. I then ad a splash of premix ethanol free fuel and start it back up briefly before putting it away.  Keep your bar oil topped off, chain tensioned as it warms up and bar out of the dirt. This saw will last a lifetime.

Good. You'll like it a lot.

I came here to say "Buy a good gas saw, and you'll have very few issues as a home user." but it looks like you already got that. :D

I have the exact same saw, it is a beast. I highly recommend their chain sharpener too. https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/filing-tools/2in1file/

However it gets heavy over time. I am actually looking for a smaller lighter saw for trimming up small stuff and cutting up limbs.

I burn wood for heat in the winter. I cut a lot of wood. And enjoy it. So I have a lot of stihl saws. Love them!  Rarely do I ever have to “tinker” with them. They just run. And start every time.
     My old man had a big ass vintage stihl and he told me in the 20 years he used it he only changed the plug 1 time lol!  Granted to get that quality now u need a pro grade saw and that’s not what described.

   I saw u did get a stihl! Good you’ll love it.
     
   As far as electric goes, like others said, might be enough for what u want but won’t last like your new stihl will! That stihl u bought could last the rest of your life!

   My mom(70) about a battery leaf blower from Lowe’s. Liked it and went and got a weed eater and chainsaw. All same batteries.  I laughed. But when I tried it I was kind of impressed.
    Little 14” bar but got her it is perfect.  Clears trails and small camp fire wood is all she does with it and it is perfect for that.

It seems to be the right size for what I need. Stihl has these tabs on each saw that give a range of what they're good for. The range was "Occasional Use", "Frequent Use", "Extensive Use" and "Professional Use". The 271 was at the top of the "Frequent Use" area. Wanted more than just the weekend warrior size. Wanted to be able to use it for our purposes and then help friends and neighbors if needed.

The trees we took down are some very hard woods. Even the aggressive chains are wearing down with all the cuts I am making to clean up. Don't know what species they are, but they take some time to get through. I'm going to be getting a sharpener soon. I've already worn down the factory chain (green) and a new aggressive chain. I have a yellow chain on it now (bought 3 when I got the saw), but I can tell it's getting worn.

Another thing I noticed is that my bar is twisting. Is this just because the 271 has a thinner bar? It's not much, but noticable. It's definitely made short work of the downed trees and been fun to work with.

Only way I can think of a bar “twisting” would be if it got pinched and a guy tried to force it free by pushing pulling other directions than up n down.
     I have an old 16” and a one hand climbing saw with thinner bars and never came across a bent bar?  But easy to do if bar is pinched in a large heavy log/tree.
    I bring multiple saws if one gets stuck. Or u can take the bar off while it’s stuck in the tree then put an extra bar on and cut your other free.
     Before I had multiples i started carrying an axe or two. Along with a splitting wedge or two.  If bar is caught you can sometimes hammer a splitting wedge in enough to free your bar.

As far as chain sharpness goes.  I know guys that touch up their chain with a round file every time they fill the gas tank.  Just like a knife a sharp edge only last so long.  
    Can get by with files and a guide or buy a power sharpener.
     Or both eventually.
Over time you’ll end up with a bunch of chains and hopefully always have a few sharp ones around.
     

Thats probably what happened. I'm on a bit of a slope and some of the branches got twisted together when the trees fell. The bar did get pinched and i was probably just trying to get it out to get the tree cut up.

Yep, taking a few minutes to touch up the blade frequently actually makes the job go faster.  

I have 2 chainsaws (well, 3 if you count the pole saw):  a 16" Greenworks 40v battery saw and a Stihl 029 gas-powered.  As others have said, the battery saw is good for small trees and trimming the big ones after they've been cut down.  My wife mostly runs it.  When there's heavy work/big trees, I run the Stihl.

Really depends on what you are trying to do.  I have a Milwaukee battery chainsaw.  A stihl ms230, ms251c, and a ms460. The battery saw is nice to take on the wheeler to clear a branch in the trail.  The smaller saws are nice for tree trimming or clearing brush.  And the big guy is great for firewood and dropping 20”+ trees

Honestly with the amount of corded tools put there now learning how to rebuild battery packs is a worthwhile skill. It's not hard. Just require a ~$100 spot welder to do it properly. A soldering gun may ruin the cell.

That said the only use i would have for a battery powered chainsaw would be for cutting off limbs....and at that point if I got a gas saw out to cut down the tree it's just one more thing to carry. I'll sooner carry additional chains.

I have gas and corded saws A 20" echo and 16" echo. The corded saw is a pole saw. I do have a Honda 2000 gen
that I use when I have to trim trees with the pole saw. This works for me.