[Shop-talk] Battery powered chain saws

[eric at megageek.com]

Here is an article I wrote on them for the 'best and worst' in Farm Show 
Magazine...  In short, stay away from the DeWalt and get the Milwaukee.

I love DeWalt products, but their 18” electric chainsaw has two major 
design flaws that makes it a ‘worst buy.’ (Note, it goes by many different 
model numbers, all to date have these issues.)
You can search the internet and see that these are known issues with them. 
The first is that the bar is held on by a single plastic knob, which has a 
‘clutch’ to prevent over tightening.  However, it does not provide effort 
support for the bar.  The chain easily jumps out of the bar. The second 
problem is that the chainsaw will leak all its bar oil when you set it 
down.  There is a screw hole to hang it in a position that prevents the 
leak but transporting it in a car or on a quad will allow the oil to leak 
all over and you will need to refill it when you get where you are going. 
DeWalt’s official response is to drain the oil before transportation. That 
is not practical nor acceptable.
In contrast, the Milwaukee 18” electric chainsaw is light years better. It 
does not leak oil at all.  The bar is held on with the standard two 
screws.  The tool for the screws is actually stored under the handle to 
make it even more convenient.
To be fair, both chainsaws have excellent battery options. This makes it 
easy to tailor runs times to weight. Both have a very narrow kerf to allow 
them to preform like their gas-powered brothers.  If it was not for 
DeWalt’s two design flaws, either would be a great addition to any 
logger’s kit.  Note, these chainsaws are not going to fell 12” or bigger 
trees, but are ideal for delimbing down trees, or even bucking the logs.
I have contacted DeWalt about the issues and they did not provide any 
meaningful response.  I am a firewood producer, so I put my gear to the 
test daily.


Moose



From:   Ronnie Day <ronnie.day at gmail.com>
To:     Shop-Talk List <shop-talk at autox.team.net>
Date:   05/07/2022 12:58
Subject:        [Shop-talk] Battery powered chain saws
Sent by:        "Shop-talk" <shop-talk-bounces at autox.team.net>



We're considering buying one of the above pieces of equipment. We live on 
10 heavily wooded acres and while we already have a couple of Stihl gas 
models, we want something lighter and easier to use for limbing and 
cleanup after a tree has been dropped. Something in the 16 inch range. 
We'll need at least two heavy duty batteries.

We have an Ego battery weed eater that we like, but the Consumer Reports 
user  comments cite a problem with keeping the Ego chain saw chain on the 
bar, requiring frequent "fixes", and I don't want that PITA. We have a 
Ryobi One model and a bunch of batteries, but it's far too light duty for 
our needs. We want battery power since we'll often be too far away from 
power to use an extension crn.

Thought I'd see what experience those in the group have had.

TIA,
RD

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