TOTALCHAOS69
ArboristSite Lurker
I’ve got 2 HT131’s… The older one has a 12” bar but my 2022 model pulls a 16” like it’s nothing. 4Mix engines are not my favorite but regardless they definitely get the job done.
Pole saw recommendations, please.
- Thread starter rustyb
- Start date
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For that little use, No way I’d buy a gas unit. I probably use mine 3-4 times the amount you mentioned and I bought the Milwaukee unit. Sold my manual one afterwards.
Of course all the battery tool suggestions are correct.
On the other hand... I believe we won't be able to buy these gas tools much longer. CA has already banned anything under 40cc's and the same thing has been discussed in DC.
Batteries don't last forever and the companies have a habit of changing technologies and form factors. Will new batteries still be available in 20 years for a tool you buy today?
ETA:
Its easy for me to spend other people's money.
On the other hand... I believe we won't be able to buy these gas tools much longer. CA has already banned anything under 40cc's and the same thing has been discussed in DC.
Batteries don't last forever and the companies have a habit of changing technologies and form factors. Will new batteries still be available in 20 years for a tool you buy today?
ETA:
Its easy for me to spend other people's money.
I suspect it will be one of those tools I end up using a lot more than anticipated.
I really like the battery operated tools. Quiet, no smelly emissions. Great! However, besides what you mention, what I've found with battery powered hand tools....when it comes time to replace the worn out batteries, they cost nearly as much as a new unit. I hate to buy a new tool if not needed but can't justify spending nearly as much for a new battery. Then....what happens to the old tool? Tossed in the garbage or, it becomes a dust collector. I'm not keen on either choice.
A couple hours a year? Rent one…
That is a recommendation. Use whatever the local rental place has. Pick it up on their schedule bring it back hours before dark or pay another day etc. Around here to rent something like that you have to agree to a contract and back it up with a credit card. (they don't seem to know the difference between a debit and credit card but still you have signed a contract that makes you liable) If you damage it they fix it (maybe have the dealer fix it) and charge you to fix it. I don't see where in the small print you age given a choice to buy the damaged thing at a fixed cost. When the equipment gets into the hundred thousand $ and more the one place I used had a different policy, you had to buy insurance against damages and there was no such danger just another 10% in cost on another line. I just looked it is $75 a day plus sales tax and your time. I think they are the Stihl extendable kind.
A towable 34 foot manlift is $225 for pick it up in the am and back by 4:30 so for $300 get both.
huskydave
Addicted to ArboristSite
This is what I do for things I don't use often. 50 bucks for 4 hours from home depot, I can do a lot of work in 4 hours. I will often suggest this for homeowners that need a chainsaw to cut 1 tree.
My Milwaukee pole saw was in the ~$300 range. So four years of rental and you could have bought one, and then further "rentals" are "free".
My rule for tools is three times borrowing or renting, and I need to look real hard at buying my own. For $300 and something you know you'll need every year, I'd buy. I did buy.
Paul Bunions
ArboristSite Operative
I don't like battery prices, but mechanics are charging such insane rates these days, paying for batteries doesn't look bad. I just took two saws in for minor issues, and I paid about $185. That's about the cost of two batteries. A battery saw should never need a repair.
They do - i often see them on the bench’s at the shop, wiring, switches, battery’s, connections all fail.
I rent things that I need once...maybe two or three times. Otherwise, I prefer to own my own tools. They are there when ever I need them without making a trip to the rental place.
Sloughfoot
ArboristSite Member
Yeh, the world will get used to small battery saws and wonder why they ever complained. I can't imagine going back to corded drills/drivers. I cut boards and drive nails for a living and haven't bought anything but battery replacement tools for years. Every yardwork tool I have except the mower for our small place is battery. Price on batteries zooms up and down. There are a few places you can get a good deal time to time. I've never spent more than $50 each for Makita 18v, and slightly modified they work in my 20 year old tools as well as in the new ones. Most days they're around $100 each.
Stihl gas powered Pole saws will still be available in Commiefornia, they have classified them as "Agriculture" so we can still order them.
Stihl has designed a new FS 251 "California" model Brushcutter. It is a 41cc engine that will come with a metal cutting blade, therefore making it a "Brush Cutter" and not a Weed Trimmer. It's basically a FS 240 on steroids and will easily accept any of the line trimmer heads. That will be the only gas trimmer offered in Commiefornia.
All gas-powered blowers, handheld and backpack, are gone as soon as we sell out our Pre 2024 inventory.
Chainsaws are a different story, anything over 45cc can still be ordered and sold. We can thank the firefighters for that as they told Dictator Newsome that they will not be fighting fires with battery powered saws.
For Milwaukee stuff, if you don't need the tool right away, you can keep an eye on deals or sales from Home Depot. Might get the tool you want for sometimes half off, or normal price and a free battery, or the tool plus a couple batteries for another $20. It's worth scanning through all the pages of search results, not just the first page. I got two extra chains with my pole saw for $10 extra by doing that.
I had a echo extendable and have a echo PAS fixed style now.
Main thing I like real 2 strokes so I get the echo pole saw stuff.
So depending on extendable or fixed like PAS depends on how much money spent.
https://www.echo-usa.com/power-pruners
https://www.echo-usa.com/search?q=echo+pas
GL with choice.
Main thing I like real 2 strokes so I get the echo pole saw stuff.
So depending on extendable or fixed like PAS depends on how much money spent.
https://www.echo-usa.com/power-pruners
https://www.echo-usa.com/search?q=echo+pas
GL with choice.
Not sure if you can still get it, but I have a Tanaka polesaw I like. Made in Japan, for those that worry about such things.
Being cheap and not something I need frequently, I purchased a Bauer (HF) 20 volt extendable pole trimmer and I have numerous Bauer 20 volt batteries anyway (I'm a Bauer 20 volt cordless tool junkie) anyway and it does the job for me just fine and I carry a fully charged 5AH battery with me just in case. Comes with an Oregon bar and lo pro chain and it even has a bar oiler built in, all for under 100 bucks. Nice unit and inexpensive as well. Never had a Bauer 20 volt tool fail either but then they are homeowner grade not 'professional grade' whatever that is.
Renting vs. owning... both credible . I prefer to own, take care of it so I don't have to rent one that may have been damaged by the prior renter. (Been there)
It's also nice to have a pole saw on hand , "just in case". If you wait until you have a large number of limbs needing trimming to rent, the others will wave to you each time you see them. Renting, to me it always feels like I'm under the gun to accomplish said task in a certain amount of time, or the fee rises.
Like others posted, need or use the tool a couple of times, buy. But avoid loaning them out too.
Good luck with your decision.
It's also nice to have a pole saw on hand , "just in case". If you wait until you have a large number of limbs needing trimming to rent, the others will wave to you each time you see them. Renting, to me it always feels like I'm under the gun to accomplish said task in a certain amount of time, or the fee rises.
Like others posted, need or use the tool a couple of times, buy. But avoid loaning them out too.
Good luck with your decision.
Tanaka is NLA and sad. I had a Tanaka top handle arborist saw and it was a good one. Problem is, I ran it over with a chipper truck and it went to the landfill. Nothing useable on it after that.
Just mowed and had a couple low limbs to duck under. Out comes the pole saw, zip zip, no more limbs to duck under.
When I first got my pole saw, it did get a couple hours use catching up on the backlog. Once that was done, the pole saw doesn't get hours of use anymore. It gets two minutes of use every other week, and a backlog never happens.
Wouldn't even consider a gas pole saw for my use.
When I first got my pole saw, it did get a couple hours use catching up on the backlog. Once that was done, the pole saw doesn't get hours of use anymore. It gets two minutes of use every other week, and a backlog never happens.
Wouldn't even consider a gas pole saw for my use.
