BATTERY POWERED CHAIN SAW

[Jondoe]

Hello,
Haven't been on here lately, but I am in the need for a new chain saw. My Wen 2 cycle gave up while cutting down a large tree. I'm getting in the age where pulling the rope doesn't work for me anymore.

I'm looking a buying a battery operated 14" saw. My search has shown that I can get a Kobalt
Model KCS1040A03 40V 14" SAW W/4.0AH BATTERY AND CHARGER $120.00
Shipping: $30.00

But after watching video of a guy using the Kobalt, it looked like it was always struggling. I think I am leaning towards the Ryobi HP Brushless Chainsaw Kit RY405100 40V 4.0 Ah Battery + Charger, Cordless $209.99

Anybody have any experience with either of these saws ?

Richard

 

[TheJollyLogger]

What is a Wen 2 cycle? What are we comparing these to?

 

[Jondoe]

What is a Wen 2 cycle? What are we comparing these to?

Thirteen years ago, I purchased a Wen 14" 38.5CC 2 cycle chain saw. It recently has stopped running, so I looking for a battery powered chain saw. I am not comparing it to anything other than the 14" blade.

Richard

 

[TheJollyLogger]

OK, so let us help you. Your signature says you are 81. Let's forget about your old saw, and just tell us what you would like your next saw to do. Are you felling trees? Are you cutting firewood? Are you just pruning and cutting brush?

 

[Philbert]

The battery is half the tool. Check out the ‘family’ of tools that use the same battery.

You should always have a second battery. And, you may not think of it now, but soon you might want a string trimmer, leaf blower, hedge trimmer, pole saw, etc.

Best if they can swap / share the same batteries.

Philbert

 

[Jondoe]

The battery is half the tool. Check out the ‘family’ of tools that use the same battery.

You should always have a second battery. And, you may not think of it now, but soon you might want a string trimmer, leaf blower, hedge trimmer, pole saw, etc.

Best if they can swap / share the same batteries.

Philbert

Well that is a good thought.

I am not a pro tree cutter, I just need a saw that I can use to cut down and cut up an occasional tree in my yard. The 14" Wen did cut down the tree that is about 24 inches across. I still need to cut it up into man size chucks.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Well... to be honest, pulling a cord is going to be the easiest part of that job. For the money you would spend on a battery operated saw that would buck a 24" log you could hire a few guys to cut and chuck it and still take your wife on vacation...

 

[Jondoe]

OK an update. This morning I looked again at the Ryobi saws at Home Depot. Well today, they had a new offering. They had the 40V 14" saw kit that included a battery and a spare chain, that was less dollars than the Rhobi I was look at.

So i decided to go for it. It's this one:
RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 14 in. Electric Battery Chainsaw and Extra Chain with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger for $250. With my military discount, the price was only $20 more than the E-bay one I was looking at.

I hope this works out.

 

[user 188535]

What is a Wen 2 cycle? What are we comparing these to?

Welp. I had to look it up and I was shocked. https://wen.greatlakestec.com/3816_product.html

 

[user 188535]

OK an update. This morning I looked again at the Ryobi saws at Home Depot. Well today, they had a new offering. They had the 40V 14" saw kit that included a battery and a spare chain, that was less dollars than the Rhobi I was look at.

So i decided to go for it. It's this one:
RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 14 in. Electric Battery Chainsaw and Extra Chain with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger for $250. With my military discount, the price was only $20 more than the E-bay one I was looking at.

I hope this works out.

Get a Stihl, Husquvarna, or if you want more compatibility, a Makita.

 

[user 188535]

Well... to be honest, pulling a cord is going to be the easiest part of that job. For the money you would spend on a battery operated saw that would buck a 24" log you could hire a few guys to cut and chuck it and still take your wife on vacation...

Yep. Unless he got a Stihl MSA 300 C-O the Ryobi would doo-doo out in 3 seconds.

 

[Philbert]

OK an update. This morning I looked again at the Ryobi saws at Home Depot. Well today, they had a new offering. They had the 40V 14" saw kit that included a battery and a spare chain, that was less dollars than the Rhobi I was look at.

So i decided to go for it. It's this one:
RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 14 in. Electric Battery Chainsaw and Extra Chain with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger for $250. With my military discount, the price was only $20 more than the E-bay one I was looking at.

I hope this works out.

I hope it works for you too!

Please share your experiences with it here for the rest of us!

Philbert

 

[Jondoe]

Here is a side by side test video:


Here is a cut from his saw test part 2:


As you can see from this photo. the Ryobi is no slouch with a great price.

Here is the link to the 2nd saw test:


Richard

 

[telecasterfool]

I have several Ryobi 40v tools: The Expand it base stick motor, which runs a pole saw, hedge trimmer, etc., the top handle chainsaw for climbing, and the 14" rear handle you just bought. I have a tree service. I have a lot of chainsaws. The 14" rear handle saw has been durable, powerful(for 14") and reliable. It is comparable to a 35cc 14" chainsaw.

There are probably better battery saws - but for the price and not using it daily in a commercial setting, this one is a winner.

Buy an oregon chain for it, learn to keep it sharp, and it will do a lot of work.

I give it to people who want to help, but don't know how to choke and start a 2 cycle. They run it all day with no problems. Sometimes I take in the truck when I don't want a more expensive chainsaw back there. Sometimes I need the saw to be quiet.

You can buy off-brand 40v batteries on Amazon.

Once you have batteries and a charger, it may make sense to look at the other tools, if you have a need.

Please ask any other questions you have.

 

[Jondoe]

I did not see the "part 2" video before I ordered the Ryobi. I was really surprised at the performance of the Echo saw. And the price is reasonable.

 

[Earloflondon]

I have all the other Ryobi 40v tools but passed on the chainsaw as it doesn't have a chain brake.....stupid omission in a chainsaw. Even the cheap, cheap, cheap saws have that, so I went with the DeWalt.

 

[Captain Bruce]

OK an update. This morning I looked again at the Ryobi saws at Home Depot. Well today, they had a new offering. They had the 40V 14" saw kit that included a battery and a spare chain, that was less dollars than the Rhobi I was look at.

So i decided to go for it. It's this one:
RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 14 in. Electric Battery Chainsaw and Extra Chain with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger for $250. With my military discount, the price was only $20 more than the E-bay one I was looking at.

I hope this works out.

14" is a trim bar. Dewalt, and so many other "recognized" brands have 20" units. Thats a toy, and available on eBay for $164.99, with full warranty. Do some homework, and return that Ryobi. Unless all you are doing is trimming a lilac bush, it won't cut firewood. Most electric saws won't.

 

[Philbert]

Unless all you are doing is trimming a lilac bush, it won't cut firewood. Most electric saws won't.

Posted this photo a few times. One battery. Silver maple. 18” at butt end.



This was several years ago. And they just keep getting better.

BTW: a recip saw / Sawzall is better for lilac bushes. They get in between the tight branches easier.

Philbert

 

[freeasaburt]

I regularly use a 'Snapper' (Briggs and Stratton brand) battery chainsaw. The low chain speed is sometimes annoying, as it pulls the lighter stuff towards you rather than cutting it. Torque is (well, obviously) nice though, you can put it with a non-running chain onto the wood and then just start cutting, try that with a gas saw .
It really has little effort with 13 - 15" (or a bit more) softwood, like dead spruce etc. . The 18" narrow kerf bar is a bit too flexible/flimsy imo, and because of that it would probably have been better if it was a bit shorter.

All things considerd, I was pretty impressed with it, first battery chainsaw I ever tested. I wonder what the 'pro' stuff, e.g. the Stihl MSA 300, cuts like. Paying for the machine + charger + (at least) 2 batteries isn't something I'm interested in though

 

[david_fillman]

I did not see the "part 2" video before I ordered the Ryobi. I was really surprised at the performance of the Echo saw. And the price is reasonable.

My wife and I bought each other Ryobi 18 volt chainsaws for Christmas. She bought me a 10" and I bought her a 12" brushless. We went with 18 volt because 25 years ago I bought a Ryobi 18 volt kit from Home Depot to build our house and stuck with it.

The 10" seized up solid in minutes. The warranty replacement did the same. The 12" is still working just fine. I have plenty of "real" chainsaws so honestly I wanted an easy chainsaw for my wife because she does not like the smell of gasoline and yanking on pull cords. We have a half mile long driveway lined with at least 20 dead Ash trees. Ugh

Turns out what she really wanted is a smaller pruning saw. So I bought her a 6" Ryobi 18 volt that only became available just recently. She has less than an hour on it so I am not sure how it will hold up.