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9th July 2019, 07:59 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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CHORDLESS CHAINSAWS? Any suggestions?
Advice and comments sought on a CHORDLESS CHAINSAWS.
You comments based on personal experience would be greatly appreciated. It will for cutting very dense woods up to about to 250 mm diam. (not firewood). Most are very pricey I see.
The Stihl MSA 160 T (light small quiet & powerful) looks good ... as does a Dewalt and Makita.
Thanks Euge
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9th July 2019, 08:32 PM #2.
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The only one I have used is the Stihl you refer to above.
They use a teeny weeny chain and they do fair rip through wood.
In hard wood you will have to sharpen often - I'm talking about after every battery change.
Battery wise the saw I was using had the 180 battery and the claimed 40 minutes operating time was never achieved (maybe when light pruning) and I only ever got about half that .
If you are working in really hard wood I'd be getting the 300 battery.
At the same time I used the electric I was also using a MS211 with a carving bar and the same tiny chain and have to say the 160T matched the MS211 for most cuts.
Because of its light weight I would have loved to keep using the 160 but unfortunately I had to use a saw continuously for many hours a day carving so had to use the 211.
Back to milling at last
Very sore arms and shoulders by the end of the day.
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9th July 2019, 08:59 PM #3GOLD MEMBER
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Thanks Bob, that's just the sort of info I was hoping for.
The Stihl 160 seems to have plenty of oomph … The narrow 6 mm chain would use less power cut quicker and for longer. But I guess the downside is that it may require more frequent sharpening, maybe its shouldn't matter .. except chain length may. Re sharpening after every battery charge is unappealing but may be typical of all of them. Stihl are specialists in chainsaws, and Ive only ever bought and used them in past (all petrol ones).
One guy complained of chain oil leaks (something I experienced with a petrol model but I blame myself for that).
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9th July 2019, 10:27 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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I just bought the 36volt Makita one as I have plenty of their batteries already. Haven’t taken it out of the box yet but reviews are impressive
i was prompted to buy it as I just went away camping with a mate who had the 18v Milwaukee one and I was impressed at how well it went easily cutting 200diameter dry logs for firewood.
Personally I would go Makita, Milwaukee etc as it opens up the opportunity of many other power tools once you have the batteries whereas you are limited with the Stihl for options
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9th July 2019, 11:25 PM #5Taking a break
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9th July 2019, 11:44 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
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9th July 2019, 11:51 PM #7GOLD MEMBER
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9th July 2019, 11:52 PM #8Taking a break
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10th July 2019, 12:13 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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10th July 2019, 12:33 AM #10
This vid might be of interest
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10th July 2019, 01:15 AM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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In cordless c/saws, there's Stihl's MSA200, & then there's the rest. Stihl's brushless saw is extremely well-designed, powerful (in comparison to cordless alternatives) & has a specially designed bar & chain setup specific to that saw to extract max benefit. As a package, Stihl's little saw is for all intents & purposes unmatched.
I've used 36v Bosch versions for many years, and tried Milwaukee's & DeWalt's latest offerings. Get the Stihl.
As far as I'm aware, Wolfram Carbide tipped chains are only available in st'd 3/8" Picco configuration: i.e. for larger gasoline powered saws. The Wolfram in the tips will effectively preclude not only domestic (owner) chain maintenance & sharpening, but the majority of commercial sharpening agencies too. It requires specialist, expensive diamond impregnated sharpening discs to restore the requisite 30 degree edge in the teeth.
Also, Wolfram/Tungsten is notoriously hard & at times brittle too, meaning that it's just about as intolerant of stone/s dirt etc. as conventional vanadium steel teeth will be. Just much more difficult & expensive to maintain at any long-term modicum of true sharpness.
I'd recommend getting at least AP300 batteries for the saw, being a reasonable 6.0 AH capacity. Better still, maybe a pair or so of AP300S's which @ 7.2 AH will offer that little longer charge life between battery exchange/recharge.Sycophant to nobody!
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10th July 2019, 01:46 AM #12GOLD MEMBER
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Thanks Ratbag,
What a great definitive and strong comments about type, model and chain..... and based on hands on experience! But I have no doubt its a top saw.
BUT this top of the range Stihl is probably more than I need, and so the price of $850-$900 probably not easily justified. A smaller lighter model would do.
In all cases its the batteries & charger that seem to represent half the cost. That's the way it is with Li-ion batteries.
Any comments on the smaller Stihl 160 T?
Thanks again, Euge
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10th July 2019, 08:08 AM #13GOLD MEMBER
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Euge this is the saw I bought and a comparison to give you some perspective to petrol saws
I already have two stihl saws but the ease of battery is appealing at times
Makita know a bit about chainsaws, they bought out the German saw company Poulan and rebadged them for their own.
You can buy the twin battery 36 volt Makita skin for just over $300 so they are pretty cheap if you are already set up with batteries
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10th July 2019, 08:54 AM #14
"Chordless" chainsaws, you mean you can get ones that stay in tune or play chords?
I want a John Paul James model!Mobyturns
In An Instant Your Life CanChange Forever
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10th July 2019, 09:40 AM #15GOLD MEMBER
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