Redback 18", 120V Lithium, Cordless (Battery) Chainsaw

[Philbert]

I recently received a Redback 120 volt, battery powered chainsaw to evaluate.

This saw was first mentioned here in another thread:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/new-120v-li-ion-cordless-chainsaw.300372/

And is shown in this video:


Redback shares the same parent company as Dirty Hand Tools, better known for their log splitters in these forums, and also has a line of 40V O*P*E.

Manufacturer specs:
Power: Brushless motor
Battery: 120V Li-ion - 2 amp hour (240 watt hrs) or 3 amp hour (360 watt hours)
Bar: 18"
Chain: 3/8" low profile, .050 gauge, 61 drive links, semi-chisel, low kickback
Chain Speed: 12 m/s (39 feet/second)
Weight: 16.3 pounds with bar, chain, oil, etc.
MSRP: $299
Warranty: 5 years

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Initial Impressions

The saw is well finished, and appears to be well made. It came packed in a box, along with a 2Ah battery, rapid charger, guide bar, and chain. The manuals that came with it are fairly brief, but clear to read.





Pretty easy to set up: install the guide bar and chain, add some bar and chain oil, pop the battery in place, and press the trigger.






Like many other saws in this product category, the saw features a tool-less chain tensioner, although, this one is a bit different, with a 'shaft drive' design.



I like the rubberized handles. Sound level was about the same as a large, electric drill. No noticeable vibration.


Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Initial Impressions - Continued

The saw has a lot of power: It cut through everything I asked it to, ranging from 2", mixed, dry hardwoods, up to 12" freshly cut ash, in a pile set aside for this evaluation. I tried to intentionally bog it down, but had to lean on it hard to get it to slow down even a little bit - even gas saws would do this.









Note: all of the wood shown in these photos, and the following post, were cut using only about half of the 2Ah battery (based on the LED indicators). Based these limited, initial cuts. I look forward to trying it out in more cutting situations. I hope to try it out in some other types of cutting situations, and will bring it to local GTG, etc., for others to try.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Some Details

This saw weighs in at 16+ pounds; the 120V, 2Ah battery is 4 pounds of that by itself. Not an issue when bucking, where the weight is your friend, but will have to see if it is noticeable when felling or limbing.

The seal around the oil discharge hole protrudes a bit, and at first, makes it seem like the bar is not seating properly. But once the cover is placed and tightened with the hand screw, the bar sungs securely in place, with no leakage of oil.

I like the idea of a rapid charger; these typically incorporate some type of fan to avoid overheating. This charger can also be wall mounted, and the battery latches in place to park securely. Large indicator light on the charger is easy to see.

The chain brake is described as being both electric and mechanical. I was a little concerned at first, because I could move the chain by hand (power off) with the chain brake engaged - what I call a 'static test'. But engaging the brake at full speed ('dynamic test') brought the chain to an immediate stop.

I like the metal bucking dogs, but had to tilt the nose of the saw down considerably for them to engage at first. Eventually, I learned to engage just the lowest spike, which would allow me to rock the bar into the cut, if desired.

Cordless saws have progressed by leaps over the past few years; this 120V saw appears to set a bar above the 36/40V saws. Can't wait to see where it goes!



Celebrity guest sawyer in our witness protection program tries the 120V saw (next time, he will be in our PPE program!).



Philbert

 

[DHT]

Nice write up! Thanks!

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I've been playing mechanic the last week so haven't had a chance to really use the one I was sent.

For a "home jobber" saw, the quality is good. I'm not too impressed with the bar, BUT it's no different than any other gas saw in this use range. I'm just used to pro saws. A Pro-Lite Oregon or similar could be put on it, no big deal.

The couple cuts I did, it has plenty of power. The chain speed seems a fair bit slower than a gas saw though. Cut time probably on par with a gas saw in the 40cc area.

It will be really nice for inside the shop. I keep an old Stihl 015R for that, but not having to fume out the place in the winter won't be a bad thing!

Hopefully I'll be back to playing logger by the end of the next week and I'll be able to fully test it out.

Would for sure like to see what the contractor grade model has to offer.

I'm also excited for winter (yeah... and it's not even summer yet!) so I can test it out in the cold. I have forgotten saws outside at -30* and have had to put them on the wood stove to thaw out (would barely even pull over!)

 

[sweepleader]

(next time, he will be in our PPE program!).

Maybe you should get the guys in the promo video to join in your PPE program too!!

Nice eval, thanks.

 

[crotchclimber]

Maybe you should get the guys in the promo video to join in your PPE program too!!

Nice eval, thanks.

That's me wearing the red chaps in the promo video; I'm about the only one at my company who ever wears chaps unfortunately. The saw was good, a bit heavy for its power but torquey. Could have used a bigger sprocket to boost the chain speed. Looks like they changed the throttle interlock since the version we used. It had a awkward interlock like found on big-box electric saws. Also the TriLink safety chain was slow, I would definitely upgrade it to the TriLink full chisel (which happens to be non-safety) like I run on my Echo 355T.

 

[Philbert]

Bigger Test

A neighbor had a large, silver maple limb come down in a storm:


Cut up to about 18" diameter, green ('live') wood. I was able to bog down the saw a bit if I leaned on it in this wood, instead of letting it do the work.



Took a sharpening break (yes @bikemike , it does noodle!). A bit hard to pull the chain around the bar to sharpen, even with the chain brake 'off' (battery removed for safety). Had to loosen it up quite a bit to sharpen, then re-tension after.



Cut about a face cord (1/3 of a cord) on the 2 Amp battery. Unfortunately, it ran out of juice when I had about 2 more cuts left, so I had to finish off with my 40V saw. Having a spare battery is a key issue for any battery powered saw. Using them side-by-side, the 120V saw clearly had more power, but my 40V saw had the batteries to finish!



Oh yeah, I was also doing some more evaluations of the magnetic measuring sticks!
A few more cuts made next door with the same 2A battery:


Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Got Some Tree Service Guys to Try It

My neighbor wanted a professional tree service to put the limb (post above) on the ground for liability reasons (fences, power lines, garage, etc.). The crew who showed up did a good job, but 'cheated': they had 3 guys and about a quarter million dollars more equipment than I have (bucket trucks, real ropes, Portawraps, etc).

But letting me cut up the limbs saved my neighbor some money, let me test the 120V saw, and another neighbor is going to take the firewood. I did get a couple of the tree service guys to try the Redback, based primarily on the novelty of a 120V battery saw. They were both generally impressed with the power, and how easy it starts. I think that one guy confused the slower cutting speed with a having a dull chain, instead of realizing that the battery saws have a slower chain speed than most gas saws. Got the 'might be OK for homeowners' comment, even though I watched one crew member flood out his top handled STIHL, and take it back to the truck to swap it for a different saw!




Philbert

 

[svk]

Having had a chance to try this, I'm impressed with the torque of the saw. The cutting speed is somewhat slow but also may be hindered by the longer bar and out of the box Tri-Link chain. Would be curious how it would perform with a loop of PS3.

I liked the chain tensioner.

Certainly a nice unit to cut wood quietly.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Cut some ~ 16-20" logs a few days ago to make this.

I tried to stall it while in a cut, wasn't able to. Chain speed for sure is slower than a gas saw.

Not sure if it's the chain speed, or just the chain, but it makes wavy cuts. I sharpened it, still the same. Weird.

Also clutch cover kept clogging up, not enough chain speed to put some speed on the saw dust.

 

[Philbert]

Took It To A GTG

Clean up day at the Interfaith firewood ministry - regular AS project for many MN / WI members. Could not 'compete' for speed with the larger gas saws, but able to get in a lot of limbing, and some bucking and felling, if I ran ahead of the other guys and got there first! Mostly red oak. Had about 4 guys try it; at least one had never used any cordless saw before.




Philbert

 

[Philbert]

I think that all of these high capacity batteries should come in some type of plastic sleeve, to protect the terminals against moisture, accidental contact, etc. The corrugated boxes only hold up for a short time, even if taped.

For another brand of cordless O*P*E I found one brand of plastic, quart, motor oil containers that fit great. So far, for these 120V batteries, Ocean Spray is your friend!



Will have to take it to the grocery store next time . . . (Maybe olive oil?).

Philbert

 

[LegDeLimber]

(cough) Probably going to need a retention device for that battery wrapper!

just for giggles, you might remove the label and give the bottle a mild , semi-shrink fit treatment with a heat gun.
Usually those bottles draw up a good bit when heated.
Maybe there's a recess or two that a gloved finger could press the warm bottle into?

 

[Philbert]

Tried it. Polyethylene (milk jugs) responds better to remelt forming. This clear stuff (PET?) randomly deforms (internal stresses?) when heated.

Walked around the supermarket with a tape measure, but struck out. Looks like corrugated lawn sign and duct tape sleeves . . . ?

Philbert

 

[sweepleader]

Not a fan of duct tape for long term use. I am trying to remember what type of glue works with polyethylene... Some one at work will remember, I will try to find out.

 

[Philbert]

Not a fan of duct tape for long term use. I am trying to remember what type of glue works with polyethylene... Some one at work will remember, I will try to find out.

The USPS totes use similar corrugated plastic material, and are heat welded. I am more interested in 'indigenous materials / methods'! Just got to find the right container to cut down!

But we digress . . . this issue applies to all batteries of this type and application.

Philbert

 

[sweepleader]

Checking I found this which was confirmed as the method used in the past where I work, there was no first hand information on how well this worked:

"In many recent articles, there has been a lot of discussion about
adhesive methods for plastics. Just a couple of points:

"Relative to bonding polyethylene or polypropylene, this can be achieved
with cyanoacrylate adhesives and an adhesion promoter. Both are
available from Loctite. Prism 401 (low viscosity), or other Prism
Surface Insensitive Adhesives, along with Polyolefin Primer 770 has
been found to give bond strengths of about 500 psi with low density PE
and up to 2000 psi with HDPE."

A conversation with Indelco Plastics customer service revealed that they are only familiar with welding polyethylene, not solvent based gluing. Henkel, the makers of Loctite, might have something to say, I did not contact them.

We might be back to talking about tape.

 

[DHT]

Philbert

Great to see all of the testing you are doing. As discussed we could raise the chain speed 1 m/s but that would decrease run time.

As for battery storage.....we use the exact same battery for our Trophy Strike Li-ion ice augers, and in each kit we ship an insulated battery case. We haven't seen the need for customers wanting bags or totes, but maybe we should make them available??

Also I think you should be receiving a few more batteries for your GTG's this week...

Really great to see you working the products!!

DHT