A review of electric chainsaws

I have just buy a mini copy of this system. It comes from Poland and is really cheap at $15 including transport. I hoped it could work at least for thick branches, but as you may see, it cut through full trunk of old apple tree.

The only drawback is, that my angle grinder is just hobby lightweight tool. It has enough power and speed, but became quite hot after 30 minutes or so. Having better one, I would be able to finish my wood hoard in one step.

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That one looks great Kamil, iā€™ve seen them for sale around here too, also Poland made, they dissapear from the market from time to time, which i believe is due to safety regulations (Sweden was first in the world with strict regulations for chainsaws)
If you keep chain sharp, and use a semi-good brand i believe the angle-grinder will hold up well, especially as it donā€™t need to ā€œinhaleā€ a lot of metal dust and sparks.

Some cheap angle-grinders takes a lot of abuse, im looking for a new, cheap ā€œfavouriteā€ as the ones i used to buy has gone rubbish, they donā€™t survive more than 2-3 discs!
I had an cheap Skil (19ā‚¬) that hold up 14 years before the magic smoke leaked out, now they donā€™t make that model.
Other model iā€™ve used a lot, has got the motor ventilation screen moved to where you hold it, beware of these! No motor cooling if your hands cover the vent holes!

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Maybe that is the answer: Take the grinder apart while still in good condition, and open up all the air vents, maybe add some new ones, to keep the motor windings cool. Juice up the gears and bearings with some lube containing Teflon. Or, get one with a good guarantee (honored at the store) and keep exchanging it? :cowboy_hat_face:

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A lot of the cheap ones have nylon gears that you have to keep cool as well. I use a cheap 15 dollar one from HarborFreight. The last two the switches are actually what broke, but I am far from a hardcore user. :slight_smile:

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Recently I purchased the Dewalt 18ā€ 60v cordless chainsaw.

It came with a 20v/60v 9 AH battery. The power and chain speed on this is just perfect. Iā€™m pretty sure it cuts faster than my brotherā€™s 170 Stil. But after making 20 cuts in 10-12ā€ dry spruce it has one bar left on the battery. It will still run, but as soon as I try cutting again it shuts off. The Dewalt manual says one bar is 50%, when there is no bars it needs to be recharged. Has anyone had experience with the dewalt saw?

I was hoping to get a battery chainsaw that would enable me to stay cutting with 2-3 batterys. Is there a good brand of cordless chainsaw that does that?

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Bronlin I really like my Greenworks 60v 20" bar saw. It came with an 8AH battery and a rapid charger. I have some smaller batteries from other Greenworks tools as well but I never really use them. I recently helped an old buddy from school clear a downed tree that had rotten from one side and got knocked over in the recent tornado.

I wasnā€™t really counting my cuts but I know it did the job, I managed to fill my 8 foot bed with cut logs and branches, the trunk diameter was maybe 15" at the largest spots.

He had been lopping at the skinnier twiggy branches with a machete so I was only cutting on anything bigger than 1" in diameter. Processing to about an armā€™s length to gather them up easier.

Greenworks also makes an 80v chainsaw as well, I know Matt Ryder says he really likes his. Greenworks chargers work really fast because they use cooling fans to prevent the battery overheating during charge. You could realistically do a lot of work with two batteries and a charger.

Does the DeWalt charger use a cooling fan? Some wonā€™t charge the battery until itā€™s cooled down. I know Ryobi 40v batteries will wait because itā€™s a sealed battery with no cooling vents.

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Hi Cody, the charger doesnā€™t make any noise when charging, so I donā€™t think it has any fan.
Did you do all that cutting with one battery or did you have two?

I had thought about getting the Greenworks 80v chainsaw. Even there pro series is cheaper than the Dewalt. If I end up returning the Dewalt I will look into it more. Do you know if your Greenworks saw can take an Oregon bar and chain?

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My friend had an Ego electric saw but I did the majority of the cutting, and all the big stuff. My battery was almost dead right when we were done. If I had stuck to making just 20" or 16" length cuts Iā€™d probably have been at 50% but I wanted manageable pieces I could pile up into my arms.

Iā€™m not sure about Oregon bars, youā€™d have to make sure itā€™s an exact fit. My 60v has a very narrow gauge chain and a skinny bar.

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I think there is something wrong with the battery. I -believe- it is a beefed up version of greenworks. IE the same motor and battery but better/more rugged other parts. Honestly the greenworks isnā€™t super well built. There is only a slight difference in the physical shape of the battery packs.

I have the 18" 80v greeworks with a 2ah battery it would probably do like 5 cuts. I did replace the bar and chain with the oregon, and it was MUCH improved, and quieter.

My battery will overheat, and the saw will shut off like you are saying if you try to push it too hard. If you rest it a bit, then it goes again, but I changed how I handle cutting. I do a couple of big cuts, then go do some limbs so I can be moving limbs while it is charging, but it also lets the battery cool down a bit so it lasts longer.

Greenworks makes a -commercial- line which is a step up from the pro line which is 82v. Those batteries charge in 30 minutes, and have the faster chainspeed. I think you have to buy them through a dealer and the dealer is supposed to make sure you know how to handle the saw before they sell it to you. I think the chainspeed cut off is like 20m/s. Some of their commercial ones hit 13k rpms.

I like the electric because it is quiet, it doesnā€™t vibrate and I donā€™t smell like 2 cycle oil. It is also a bit safer because it is off when you set it on the ground, and the muffler canā€™t catch anything on fire. And I donā€™t have to fight with it to get it started.

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I went back to the place I bought the chainsaw and told them what is happening. They gave me another battery to try. That one did the same thing. I even let it cool down overnight and tried again while it still had one bar, but it did the same thing. Iā€™m starting to think itā€™s the chainsaw. At least Dewalt has a 90 day money back guarantee. The battery though is a 20v/60v, meaning it fits there 20v tools as well. At 20v the battery has 9ah and at 60v it only has 3ah. Greenworks does have larger batteries. Those commercial grade chainsaws definitely are a higher end option, but I donā€™t think I could justify buying one.

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Bronlin, Sean,
I found a kit at the Greenworks commercial website for an 18" chainsaw, battery and rapid charger on ā€œsaleā€ for around $535 US. There is a dealer about 30 miles from me. If I really needed a chainsaw, that might be the one. Kinda pricey for only occasional use.

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We are still pleased with the Atlas 80v from Harbor Freight. Ben uses it every day. He trims back brush around apple trees. If you have ever done that you know it can be hard on the drive teeth of the chain. The brush will throw the chain off and it will ding up the chain. We found two new chains for $26.

Unbelievably, the Bauer corded saw is still hanging in there. Powered by the 3000 watt inverter on the golf cart.

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You are probably right on par with what I would expect mine to do with 50% more battery. I need a bigger battery. :slight_smile: You might check if the Greenworks batteries fit the dewalts, There was something about a rib in either the greenworks or dewalts so they werenā€™t quite swappable, but they worked if you swapped the guts out. Ebay and such have the knockoff greenworks batteries for sale.

On the bright side, they seem to be what they advertise as far as the equivalents to gas saws. But the price is why I have the ā€˜proā€™ line instead of the commercial line. Apparently aliexpress has about the same deal as I got, 230 for the 18" with a 2ah battery.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806674614259.html?

And if you trust these folks they are saying a 10ah battery is 90 bucks. I donā€™t know if I do or not, I have gotten batteries not as advertised from aliexpress before. but those were AAā€™s.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805863104287.html?

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You should check to see if there is an oregon replacement blade and chain. It made a world a difference on my greenworks. It is smoother,quieter, cuts faster and doesnā€™t bounce as much in brush. It isnā€™t the consumer safety, low-kickback chain either. Part of it might be the sharpening angle, but the chain is about 100% higher quality.

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We bought 3/8LP 050 62DL chain. It works great.

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This is the one I got, except it was in a box not the retail packaging. It was about 10 bucks less on clearance.

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Iā€™ve been contacting the Dewalt company about my chainsaw. They are thinking it should last longer before stopping. So they are offering to replace or refund my money.

So Iā€™ve been looking into the Greenworks chainsaw. But which saw has a better power to battery life ratio. Is it the 60v or 80v version? Iā€™ve kind of ruled out the commercial version unless I can find a good deal around here.

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Cody should have an opinion on this. I believe he has tried both.

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I donā€™t know if anyone is going to be able to give a definite answer.
If you look at this. Which is lowes search, and it pops up several 80v saws, but they are all capable of different RPMs which at the very least power consumption is different. The longer the bar the more RPMs. I think Cody said there is a new and old version of the 60v. They are cheaply made, I donā€™t really trust throwing it around, dropping it out of a tree or even getting it wet.

Honestly, I just planned on buying an aftermarket battery or two.

I know I am repeating. The bar and chain replacement did lower battery consumption.

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Greenworks--Chainsaws-Chainsaws-pole-saws-Outdoor-tools-equipment-Outdoors/4294612757?refinement=4294822112

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Sean and Bronlin,
I have the Greenworks 80 volt 16 inch saw with a 2.5 AH battery. It charges in 30 min. Iā€™m very pleased with it, but I really donā€™t have any experience with ā€œrealā€ chain sawsā€“meaning gasoline powered. I got mine from Amazon I think for about $250ā€“maybe a bit more.

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