A review of electric chainsaws

Well, bought the new model Echo 18" 56v saw. It is great. Found it for less than the other ones. Bought extra battery on Ebay.

8 Likes

How much did that extra battery cost Al?

1 Like

Thanks Al. Thatā€™s over $70 cheaper than regular retail. It appears to be OEM but different printing on the case. Iā€™m always a little leery of the non-OEM batteries I see, particularly the ones for my 12V Milwaukee tools.

Thatā€™s the exact one that came with my saw. Do you have the new model 56v or old model 58v?

I am leery too. I wonder if it holds up as rated. It can be hit or miss. But it isnā€™t out of the price range for a profitable knockoff either. It could also be a factory second. I have heard about every story imaginable coming from china, from dumpsters being hauled from the factory to peopleā€™s residences, to people building the product with the test equipment and reselling it.

But anyway, I saw this video, and they reset the board on it. Apparently if they get below a certain charge point, you canā€™t recharge them because it canā€™t power the BMS chip. On this particular battery, they didnā€™t hook up the individual controllers.

This might save you from buying a new battery.

2 Likes

Thanks Sean. I do have the 58V saw. Iā€™ve been using it for two years now. I donā€™t know how many cycles but it never sits idle for long since I use it to cut up limbs for making charcoal during the whole year. I would be lost once I split that battery case. Didnā€™t understand half the things he mentioned. Iā€™ll just hope it keeps on working. New battery was $170 so Iā€™m not sure where he was getting prices from.

2 Likes

Honestly, I knew he used some terminology and was worried you might not understand, but the other guy was completely confusing.

It looks like if it self discharges if it sits idle for a while because the charge controller chip is running the whole time. basically all he did was add power which powered the board up and then it could charge the batteries up to the point the circuit wouldnā€™t report it as dead. Then he reset the circuit that is reporting a dead battery (with the led lights). Then he was back in business. I think that was the video where he also replaced dead cells. (I watched or skimmed through a few videos).

2 Likes

Tom,
He got the battery so cheap because he said it was sold as is (broken). He was pointing out about how the circuit board inside has all the wiring and pads in place to have the little computer chip inside monitor each cell and balance the charge, but the inexpensive parts to activate that option were not installed. It is very common now on Lithium (many types) packs and chargers to monitor and balance the state of charge. He said for a several hundred dollar pack, Echo could have done better by the customer. That said, the saw works great I hear! :cowboy_hat_face:

1 Like

She is at it again

16 Likes

well. if you want to be a true DIYer, apparently you can find a stl file for battery cases to 3d print. then you add your own electronic bitsā€¦ Im not sure how much the bits are, and what is available on the market

Here is one for the greenworks.

3 Likes

hello electric saw expertsā€¦i think about buying a electric chain sawā€¦mostly to avoid the stinky, head-ache making gasoline exhaustā€¦this should run than with a electric generator on chargasā€¦what is to say about percentually power of a electric saw in comparison to a gasoline modell? how much electric watts minimum is reqired ? i have only hardwood hereā€¦is it possible to cut stuff of 20 inches or 50 cm?
thanks for councils
giorgio

5 Likes

Iā€™ve only had one corded saw Giorgio. Burned it up pretty quick but it was probably junk to start with. Regardless, I go for the most watts available on electric tools. I have the battery saw we talked about above and I use it a lot now because itā€™'s so convenient but I think it would not be happy cutting 20 inch hardwood. Great for limbs and 10 in and below stuff.

5 Likes

Hi Giorgio, i would say go for a used one of a known make, more heavy duty, like carpenters and timbermen use, 1970-80s model, heavier, but not so much plastic, many of the newā€™er ones got plastic transmission gears very prone to fail, check for as high chain-speed as possible, many electrics have very slow chain, just jumps and jerks.
Stihl made some models looking like angle-grinders with a bar and chain, indestructible, but i donā€™t know much more about them, more than they can be found cheap.

4 Likes


Get this if you can find one. Ours is ten years old and still works fine. Parts are available.

Next would be a Versa Saw. Cheap, but cuts good for the money.

8 Likes

Giorgio, Goran probably meant this Stihl chainsaw, ā€¦ my brother has it

7 Likes

It was one of these old-timers i thought about, called stihl e15, if i remember correctly.


Old and heavy, but seems to hold up well.
Actually, im searching one myself, i must have atleast one electric in the collection, i believe, and, i have the same idea as Giorgio, i want one for a future woodgas-chainsaw project. :slightly_smiling_face:

9 Likes

So it turns out the 80v Greenworks chainsaw is a brushless design.

Oregon makes a 24" chain thatā€™ll work for those saws. Iā€™m thinking of getting one of these and a long bar for bucking down these big oaks. 300 bucks for the saw with an 18" bar and a battery with charger.

7 Likes

Okay so kind of a crazy splurge but I ordered two of the Greenworks chainsaws. When I ordered an 80V Greenworks I found out itā€™s an old generation unit. Then I actually looked a little deeper and found out they revamped the 60v line and they actually offer it with a 20" bar now.

Iā€™m going to test the 80v against the new 60v and my momā€™s old Gen 60v.

The new 60v is also a brushless design and they claim itā€™s a 3KW motor. Iā€™ve only seen a couple videos on it and that thing spins a lot faster than other electric saws.

Things Iā€™m not jazzed about with the new 60v saw is itā€™s a .325 pitch chain, the old Gen 80v is 3/8" pitch.
Iā€™ve been trying to find a 24" bar to fit on the other saw but having a hard time. 20" is still big enough to buck down any tree around here though.

5 Likes

Remember what Doctor Ruth said. Itā€™s not how big it is, itā€™s how you use it. Ugly as she was I donā€™t see how she learned anything about saws at all. :face_vomiting: :joy:

For the non-Americans. Dr Ruth was a sex counselor.

9 Likes