# Electric starters for chainsaws?



## Sunrise Guy (Jan 15, 2011)

This is a serious question about a serious problem: Does anyone out there know if anyone is making electric starters for light saws like the 192T and/or heavier saws like the MS-460? After over twenty years in the biz, I am probably going to have to bail if I need to keep yanking the damn cords. The left bursa under my left scapula has collapsed and my ribs are separating from my sternum due to the forces applied to these areas each time I have to start up my saws. I wake up in true agony most nights and I can't keep enduring this crap. While I have been laughing it off for years, at 58 the pain has gotten too old to keep that up. My hot tub helps, but not to the point of great relief, anymore. I found an article in an old Popular Science magazine from 1966 (Popular Science - Google Books) that featured a saw with an electric starter. It was going for about $270, back then, which would be like $1800, today, according to an online converter. Money is no object, within reason, as it's either find electric starters or quit my active involvement with the biz. I climb for my company.


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## mheim1 (Jan 15, 2011)

I'm not aware of any add on device (but I haven't looked either).
I would think, you could easily build something with a cordless drill.
Just thinking out load:
-remove the starter assembly
-cut a hole in the cover
-secure the flywheel nut
-attach some sort of clutch to a cordless drill
Might work.


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## brokenbudget (Jan 15, 2011)

buy an electric saw.


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## Brian VT (Jan 15, 2011)

brokenbudget said:


> buy an electric saw.


or hydraulic ?

I am surprised they aren't building saws with electric start.
Batteries are plenty light enough these days.


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## brokenbudget (Jan 15, 2011)

Brian VT said:


> or hydraulic ?
> 
> I am surprised they aren't building saws with electric start.
> Batteries are plenty light enough these days.


 
yeah i have no ideae either. i have a nice mcculloch 5-10 that i redid the batteries on and it works very well. it sits at allweathers in brockville on display. too nice to use:shame:
seem today with the lipo and liion batteries it would be no problem making it work. for the older or 'lamed up' homeowners it would be a god send to have.
the only option to easier starting is the easy2start from stihl, only available on a couple of saws. echo echo echo has their own version that seems to work better.


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## kev1n (Jan 15, 2011)

The drill idea would work easily, makita makes very small lithium ion drills with plenty of power. Just cut a hole big enough on the flywheel side to get the socket on the nut. Get yourself a holster for drill and your good to go. I use my electric makita to start my riding lawnmower. You could probably fab up a small kick starter, I was just looking at old briggs engine kick starters this morning. I think a kick start would be awesome. Kick starting a saw up in a tree is probably not a good idea.


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## zogger (Jan 15, 2011)

*Offhand starting?*



Sunrise Guy said:


> This is a serious question about a serious problem: Does anyone out there know if anyone is making electric starters for light saws like the 192T and/or heavier saws like the MS-460? After over twenty years in the biz, I am probably going to have to bail if I need to keep yanking the damn cords. The left bursa under my left scapula has collapsed and my ribs are separating from my sternum due to the forces applied to these areas each time I have to start up my saws. I wake up in true agony most nights and I can't keep enduring this crap. While I have been laughing it off for years, at 58 the pain has gotten too old to keep that up. My hot tub helps, but not to the point of great relief, anymore. I found an article in an old Popular Science magazine from 1966 (Popular Science - Google Books) that featured a saw with an electric starter. It was going for about $270, back then, which would be like $1800, today, according to an online converter. Money is no object, within reason, as it's either find electric starters or quit my active involvement with the biz. I climb for my company.


 
Have you tried reversing your hands and starting it that way? A little clunky, but perhaps with enough muscle memory it could work..

electric start..ya I thought about that at one time with a drill and some sort of solenoid or something. Seems like almost doable. a tapered driver socket for the drill, only works one way, slips off the other, would do it. Still clunky up in a tree though..

BS had some deal I was reading that once started, a lawnmower engine, the engine would compress some air, then on the next start it used that to restart itself. Lather, rinse repeat. If the onboard air tank didn't leak, theoretically the engine would only need to be pull cord started once. Maybe use the hollow handle on a saw for the onboard air tank reservoir... No idea if they even made these things or not, just reading about it some years ago now.

Hear ya on getting older and finally not being able to do your "regular" job. I had to give up one I was doing for 15 years, was my "career" of sorts. that was the plan anyway, keep doing that until "real" retirement, was making enough to live OK and sock some away every week. Just couldn't hack it after a bad back injury. I *tried*, went back and worked a little..no cigar. Had to admit reality and move on, do something else. I have taken a huge hit in pay too, but that's reality. Some job making some money is better than no job no money living on the street. Got the T shirt on that last deal..pretty much a sucktastic life.


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## bcsizemo (Jan 15, 2011)

Going on that kick start idea, could you fasten a quick release where the pull start handle is now and add on a large D handle?

Something you could get your foot into?

That way you could hold the saw with both hands (and probably sitting would be best), pull start it with you foot? Might need to have the cord come out of the bottom of the starter housing rather than the top/back...

-Note: I haven't thought that all the way out, and it seems plausible for a smaller saw, but don't hold me to any liabilities.


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## Sunrise Guy (Jan 15, 2011)

*Now I'm looking at electrics, cordless and corded*

The Stihl electrics are about $550, and I would need to plug in to each client's outside outlet, which might rile a few. Then there will be the older homes without them. I could bring my generator, but how would I start it---Yep, pull the damn cord. Aloft, I'm going to try the Mikita for about $225. I suppose extra batteries will add another couple hundred bucks. Then I still have the plug-in-the-charger issue with outside outlets. This is a hassle, to be sure, but I don't want to leave the biz, so what other choices do I have? It's really odd feeling my left scapula grate along the back of my ribs, and when my ribs separate from my sternum, even a mm or so, it feels like an ongoing, daily, heart attack. Some fun--not!


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## fearofpavement (Jan 15, 2011)

Sounds like you have put some serious wear and tear on the joints. Have you really taken the time to consider if not having to start the saw is going to resolve the problem with your high mileage body? It may be time to consider some other type of occupation or at least less direct involvement in the more physical parts of it. I guess trying a cordless electric will be a good experiment to see if it helps. I have bursitis issues on my left elbow right now so can feel for you.


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## brokenbudget (Jan 15, 2011)

yup, it may be time to hire somebody to swing that chainsaw around for yuh.


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## 1steve (Jan 15, 2011)

Sorry to hear of your pain, you are the owner of the company correct? If so and you dont work alone just have one of your guys do the starting. Just a thought.


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## thomas72 (Jan 15, 2011)

If you have to cut a lot of wood I would go hydraulic over electric. You probably could get around a 10hp Honda with hydraulic pump and reservoir and cut a good while on a gallon of fuel.


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## Mr. Bow Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

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## Mr. Bow Saw (Jan 15, 2011)

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## Taxmantoo (Jan 15, 2011)

Can you pull one of the little saws with a spring loaded starter?
My Stihl dealer claims that the saws will start no matter how slow you pull the cord. I assume the Dolmar 420 works the same way. 

Here's what they start 40cc model airplanes with:
TowerHobbies.com | Sullivan Dynatron Super Power Starter
(you'd have to make a hole in the flywheel housing so you could jam the starter in there)


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## andrethegiant70 (Jan 15, 2011)

Ouch! Sorry to hear of your troubles. I've had a few bouts with irritated bursa.. it takes the danged things forever to calm down. It's just me speculating, but it sounds like you have an autoimmune issue. Do you also have asthma or allergies? If so, you might start to think about what is irritating your system.


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2011)

kev1n said:


> The drill idea would work easily, makita makes very small lithium ion drills with plenty of power. Just cut a hole big enough on the flywheel side to get the socket on the nut. .


 
A member on the milling forum did this on his 076 and burnt out his drill after a few starts although chances are that it would better survive on a 70 cc saw.



Sunrise Guy said:


> . . . . The left bursa under my left scapula has collapsed and my ribs are separating from my sternum due to the forces applied to these areas each time I have to start up my saws. I wake up in true agony most nights and I can't keep enduring this crap. While I have been laughing it off for years, at 58 the pain has gotten too old to keep that up. . . .


 
I can't see how you can climb with bursa problems. I'm close to your age and had both bursa inflamed to the point where I not raise my arms above my shoulders and also found it hard to sleep. Four years ago, in sheer foolishness I took up CS milling with an 076 (with no decomp valve) and now an 880 and that seems to have cured it!


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## galde (Jan 15, 2011)

Cranking with an electric drill on the flywheel nut will likely just unscrew the nut unless the high strength loctite is used.


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## Stihlcutter (Jan 15, 2011)

I was going to suggest something like Bow Saw posted. Take a 260pro and you can put an easy start on it.Another suggestion is to start the saw on the ground and just leave it running? Another idea is to contact stihl about it? They have been good with me and my suggestions and complaints. Just some thoughts. I know your pain. Get better
-ac


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## MillwrightChris (Jan 15, 2011)

I belive that saw from the 1960's you are talking about was made by Remington. It had a battery pack that you put on your belt and a short cord that plugged into the saw. It must have had a small motor in place of the recoil assy. Never ran one, I had the regular version of the saw, but I remember seeing it in my owners manual.


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## Sunrise Guy (Jan 15, 2011)

Thanks for posting that video. Man, I wish I could get a few of those saws.


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## Sunrise Guy (Jan 15, 2011)

MillwrightChris said:


> I belive that saw from the 1960's you are talking about was made by Remington. It had a battery pack that you put on your belt and a short cord that plugged into the saw. It must have had a small motor in place of the recoil assy. Never ran one, I had the regular version of the saw, but I remember seeing it in my owners manual.



No, it's the MAC 3-10E. A video of it is posted in this thread. Check it out, it's smooth!


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## Sunrise Guy (Jan 16, 2011)

andrethegiant70 said:


> Ouch! Sorry to hear of your troubles. I've had a few bouts with irritated bursa.. it takes the danged things forever to calm down. It's just me speculating, but it sounds like you have an autoimmune issue. Do you also have asthma or allergies? If so, you might start to think about what is irritating your system.



Never any allergies or asthma. It really is a mechanical, repetitive motion injury from the act of yanking that cord a hundred or more times a day, for so many years. Add in cold weather and harder starts, and it just gets worse. In addition, I'm always walking around with mid-back, right of spine spasms, just like a right-handed golfer who overswings. I'm a lefty, so the act of pulling the cord twists my spine and supporting muscles hard to the left, just like the follow-through of a right-handed golfer. The result is a near-constant strain/muscle pull on the right side of my spine. As some have suggested, it might be time for me to hang up the spikes and saddle or let my groundies start the saws. In the trees, I'm going to give the Makita cordless a try. With a 4.5" chain, I won't be taking down any big wood, but I should be good up to 9", or so. I suppose I can try having the guys send up the 20" Stihl electric, once I get it, but it may get kind of comical worrying about catching dropping wood on an extension cord at 60'! Stay tuned.


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## Sunrise Guy (Jan 16, 2011)

fearofpavement said:


> Sounds like you have put some serious wear and tear on the joints. Have you really taken the time to consider if not having to start the saw is going to resolve the problem with your high mileage body? It may be time to consider some other type of occupation or at least less direct involvement in the more physical parts of it. I guess trying a cordless electric will be a good experiment to see if it helps. I have bursitis issues on my left elbow right now so can feel for you.



I got whacked on my left elbow,very hard, by a 3" branch that came back at me, a few years ago. It set up a terrible case of tennis elbow that hung in for about three weeks. I wore the inflatable pad brace and that made work bearable. 

Yeah, this gig does wear one's body down, over time, but the view from aloft, on days when everything is going right, cannot be beat. For me, it's an almost religious experience. 

I've thought about tower climbing for cellular companies, but that field is in terrible shape, without a unified certifying body to help keep things safe. The pay is terrible, as well, unless you own the company, and the thought of starting a tower climbing company is not getting me too excited, at this point. Reading about guys getting burned, internally, in incidents where microwave transmitters were not properly turned off also helps keep me out of that field, for now.


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## Kenskip1 (Jan 16, 2011)

Guys, I think that the drill idea is out.On the flywheel side you would loosen the nut as mentioned. If you were to try this on the clutch side you would have to spin it in a clockwise direction. can you see wheat this is headed?Seeing as the clutch is held on with a left hand thread,you could possibly loosen the clutch, Ken


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## rwoods (Jan 16, 2011)

Kenskip1 said:


> Guys, I think that the drill idea is out.On the flywheel side you would loosen the nut as mentioned. If you were to try this on the clutch side you would have to spin it in a clockwise direction. can you see wheat this is headed?Seeing as the clutch is held on with a left hand thread,you could possibly loosen the clutch, Ken


 
I wouldn't give up on this idea so soon. You don't have to use the nut as the drive link. I have chucked up the starter shaft from an old recoil starter to spin my old Macs when I have the recoil cover off. I think with a little ingenuity a system could be developed but it would sure take some handling skills to crank with a drill while in a tree. Ron


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## retired redneck (Jan 16, 2011)

The first easy start was a sears push mower, you wound a crank on top the motor then pushed a button to relase a spring starter...


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## Scooterbum (Jan 16, 2011)

retired redneck said:


> The first easy start was a sears push mower, you wound a crank on top the motor then pushed a button to relase a spring starter...


 
Had one of those when I was a kid,surprisingly it worked good.

Check out the Stihls with the new Easy start, no yanking at all.Weird at first, but a nice feature. No matter how slow you pull it will start the saw.


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## MillwrightChris (Jan 16, 2011)

This is the one I was thinking of.


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## thomas72 (Jan 16, 2011)

Thanks Chris for the picture. Never knew those existed. I do not see why the drill would not work. All you would have to do is make a cup to be locked down by the fly wheel nut and to engage the drill.


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## RVALUE (Jan 16, 2011)

mheim1 said:


> I'm not aware of any add on device (but I haven't looked either).
> I would think, you could easily build something with a cordless drill.
> Just thinking out load:
> -remove the starter assembly
> ...


 
very important, trust me....


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## Fronty Owner (Jan 16, 2011)

I have a buddy that uses a cordless impact on all his pull start engines.


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## zogger (Jan 17, 2011)

*Niche market potential*

It appears there might be a decent demand for a cordless battery operated chainsaw in the "pro" class. I just looked at what I could find, just little tiny homeowner capable saws for very light duty, all under a hundred bucks. If there was like a $300-500 or so quality saw..perhaps it could sell. I would imagine such a saw would needs be 24 or 36 VDC, along those lines.

As to charging batteries on the jobsite, without having to plug into the homeowners outlets or running a genny, a second (or third..) deep storage battery installed in your truck with an "isolator" circuit, then a large inverter would do it (or rig your own charger straight DC..beyond this discussion right now). The isolator is what they use on campers/rvs so that the alternator charges both the starter battery and the deep storage "house" battery when you are driving, but use of the house battery does not run down the starter battery at all, it is "isolated" hence the name. They work fine, have two of them, one on my camper van, the other on my small full fledged rv.


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## retired redneck (Jan 17, 2011)

I have a 7 hp snow blower with a 110v ele starter just like a car works off of teeth on fly wheel don't know why smaller version on chain saw wouldn't work....


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## Captain Crunch (Jan 18, 2011)

galde said:


> Cranking with an electric drill on the flywheel nut will likely just unscrew the nut unless the high strength loctite is used.


 
It might be possible drill a couple of small, shallow holes in the flywheel and make a special pin drive socket to drive these, think old 4x4 front hub socket only smaller. The back sides of the holes could be filed at an angle to help eject the starting socket once the engine fires.

I even found a socket in my toolbox marked KS 8I 20x24. Can't even remember what it was from, dirt bike, old Mercedes car, not sure. 

I would have to give this a try before giving up saw'in or going electric. 

As a side note on electrics, Europe with 220 volt power for everything has some kick'n electric saws and you don't need 200 pounds of extension cord to run them....
View attachment 168876


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## Palionu (May 10, 2015)

so as to not bring it up, i realize this post is 4 years old. 

at work i typically start gunked up equipment with a power drill. if you could make a keyhole latch that would slide back for electric starts, you'd just need a drill (fast rpm motor) and a socket hooked up via a 1-2k watt inverter in your car.


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## Rockjock (May 10, 2015)

Has anyone seen how stihl starts the saws in the factory? at 0:36 you see the " hook " that pulls straight up.


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## Rockjock (May 10, 2015)

Hmmmmmm ja?!


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