4 ms·

Yeah, but my Stihl MS880 is still legal here in California… and likely will be for some time. Good luck getting a usable, heavy-duty chainsaw to work on any tec

Yeah, but my Stihl MS880 is still legal here in California… and likely will be for some time. Good luck getting a usable, heavy-duty chainsaw to work on any tech besides a two-stroke motor of some kind.

Scoundreller 3y ago
What’s the barrier to making a li-ion powered electric and “usable heavy-duty chainsaw”?
- imoverclocked 3y ago
  I have a Stihl combi-system which includes a polesaw attachment. It’s electric with a lithium ion battery backpack that weighs at least 20 lbs. I love the thing. I’ve felled trees that are up to 8 inches in diameter and done some real cleanup work around my property with it. It might be possible to make something for me but the average heavy chainsaw user needs to be able to trek into the woods and spend significant time away from any power source. Furthermore, I want to be nimble and able to drop everything and run when a tree starts moving. A heavy weight strapped to my back for real tree work is a death trap. Firefighters have even more stringent requirements for their chainsaws in highly demanding environments. If you want to convince anyone that an electric chainsaw is workable, convince them first. Everyone else will be easier. I use my bigger chainsaws for bigger trees (just took down a mature Monterey Pine that dropped its last needle) and some Alaskan milling. The latter takes a lot of power for a single pass. I’m already lugging 22lbs just for the power head, making that electric with similar capacity to a tank or two of gas will be completely impractical in terms of weight. That’s especially so in rugged terrain.
- mech987987 3y ago
  If you want it to last longer than 20 minutes it would weight about 250 pounds. Chainsaws are at the very corner of tools that have to be both portable, handheld, and very powerful. This means that their energy source should very dense. Lithium does not come close for the big saws. Urban tree climbing arborists (that need a small saw to chop limbs while up in a tree) now sometimes use battery powered saws that run off of an "umbilical"- a cable off of the saw runs to a separate (backpack or other container) battery. These saws are among the smaller chainsaws (maybe a 12" bar, sized for chopping limbs). The other extreme is a saw for bucking and felling medium and large trees, which uses a MUCH more powerful motor and a 30" bar or bigger.
dzhiurgis 3y ago
Are you using heavy-duty chainsaw for urban landscaping?
- imoverclocked 3y ago
  I have 16-ish acres in the Santa Cruz mountains. Between my property and the aging neighbors who I share a driveway, there is plenty of opportunity for different sizes of chainsaw. I also live in a redwood log cabin with more redwood and other large diameter trees on the property. I originally purchased the bigger chainsaw for some Alaskan milling but it has come in handy elsewhere. I would not recommend this chainsaw to the uninitiated buyer. It’s a lot of chainsaw and you only need money to buy the thing. Seriously, I’ve mentioned it to seasoned loggers and they raise an eyebrow and say as much. If I didn’t do Alaskan milling I wouldn’t have enough acreage to justify it.

Scoundreller 3y ago

What’s the barrier to making a li-ion powered electric and “usable heavy-duty chainsaw”?

imoverclocked 3y ago
I have a Stihl combi-system which includes a polesaw attachment. It’s electric with a lithium ion battery backpack that weighs at least 20 lbs. I love the thing. I’ve felled trees that are up to 8 inches in diameter and done some real cleanup work around my property with it. It might be possible to make something for me but the average heavy chainsaw user needs to be able to trek into the woods and spend significant time away from any power source. Furthermore, I want to be nimble and able to drop everything and run when a tree starts moving. A heavy weight strapped to my back for real tree work is a death trap. Firefighters have even more stringent requirements for their chainsaws in highly demanding environments. If you want to convince anyone that an electric chainsaw is workable, convince them first. Everyone else will be easier. I use my bigger chainsaws for bigger trees (just took down a mature Monterey Pine that dropped its last needle) and some Alaskan milling. The latter takes a lot of power for a single pass. I’m already lugging 22lbs just for the power head, making that electric with similar capacity to a tank or two of gas will be completely impractical in terms of weight. That’s especially so in rugged terrain.
mech987987 3y ago
If you want it to last longer than 20 minutes it would weight about 250 pounds. Chainsaws are at the very corner of tools that have to be both portable, handheld, and very powerful. This means that their energy source should very dense. Lithium does not come close for the big saws. Urban tree climbing arborists (that need a small saw to chop limbs while up in a tree) now sometimes use battery powered saws that run off of an "umbilical"- a cable off of the saw runs to a separate (backpack or other container) battery. These saws are among the smaller chainsaws (maybe a 12" bar, sized for chopping limbs). The other extreme is a saw for bucking and felling medium and large trees, which uses a MUCH more powerful motor and a 30" bar or bigger.

dzhiurgis 3y ago

Are you using heavy-duty chainsaw for urban landscaping?

imoverclocked 3y ago
I have 16-ish acres in the Santa Cruz mountains. Between my property and the aging neighbors who I share a driveway, there is plenty of opportunity for different sizes of chainsaw. I also live in a redwood log cabin with more redwood and other large diameter trees on the property. I originally purchased the bigger chainsaw for some Alaskan milling but it has come in handy elsewhere. I would not recommend this chainsaw to the uninitiated buyer. It’s a lot of chainsaw and you only need money to buy the thing. Seriously, I’ve mentioned it to seasoned loggers and they raise an eyebrow and say as much. If I didn’t do Alaskan milling I wouldn’t have enough acreage to justify it.