Thread: Unhappy with my Top Handled Husqvarna T435

If you are already running a battery platform get a saw skin. They perform as well as the petrol equivalent size saw and are simple and hassle free to use.
The single battery 18v are a bit light on but the twin 36v or 40v units are fantastic. I have two Stihl petrol saws and my battery saw has make the little MS170 redundant

Bob, seems like you got a dud, the only thing I could find on Google was running Premium unleaded in them kills them quick. I run Huskys now after too many disagreements with the local Stihl dealers and I can't fault the machines or the dealership.
Rgds,
Crocy.

I'm not a tree pruner so never had need for such a saw but the idea of a one handed chainsaw especially up a ladder makes my skin crawl.


I mainly own Stihl and no Huskies but those that I have used have been great - It really does sound like you got a dud.
I've used the small battery type saws and reckon they are pretty good.

Just the other day the tree lopper I mill timber for said he has replaced all his pruning saws with Stihl electrics.

The amount you’ve spent to keep it going would buy you a nice new battery powered husky or stihl.
I’ve gradually changed all my garden/tree tools to battery and don’t regret it at all. Only thing left is the leaf blower. After spending $150 on a service and new carb bits, it’ll be on gumtree pretty soon - so much less hassle when you’re using batteries.
If have a husky battery chain saw, and the arborists that keep our big gums in check have the top handle version of this saw.

So husky as a brand seems to be decent, and the one you have may be an exception.

Small saw, go electric. Big saw, Stihl or Huskie. For me Stihl. Been swinging on them for 40 years and havent seen a Huskie I like better. Then I must point out I'm not as keen on the newer Stihls when compared to some of the older models.

Nephew bought a Stihl battery saw, about $1000 I think. I run a couple of big Huskies and love them. After 16 years my one big repair expense was my fault, entirely.
When the nephew came firewooding I was quite dismissive but then I had a go and after about an hour we'd used 1 bar on the battery. Impressive. You do need to keep it really sharp and clean inside the chain drive, as that kills the battery fast if you do not
My local Huskie dealer does not like the new petrol Huskies, and encourages me to keep my old one. Apparently the same applies to the new Stihls too. Plus he admits that Stihl has the best battery saws - so far.

Thanks to the helpful comments. The consensus seems to be with the smaller chainsaws to go with a battery powered one. I've already got a pair of Makita cordless drills and they seem pretty good so I'm probably better off to go with a Makita chainsaw and use the batteries and charger I already have. My neighbour has one and he seems pleased with it.
About pruning trees from a ladder. Well occasionally I've been talked into doing things that I'd rather not do. My point is that with a top handled saw, ie, that is one that can be operated relatively easily enough with one hand, at least the other hand is hanging on. If it is an older (that is before top handled saws) even if a small normal saw, two hands are needed to hold it and there is no spare hand to hold yourself to the tree ,ladder, or something. That spare hand to hold on is greatly appreciated! Using chainsaws, one always needs to be CAREFUL, well up a ladder, one must be EXTRACAREFUL as if we don't know this already!!

Originally Posted by Bob Whitworth

About pruning trees from a ladder. Well occasionally I've been talked into doing things that I'd rather not do. My point is that with a top handled saw, ie, that is one that can be operated relatively easily enough with one hand, at least the other hand is hanging on. If it is an older (that is before top handled saws) even if a small normal saw, two hands are needed to hold it and there is no spare hand to hold yourself to the tree ,ladder, or something. That spare hand to hold on is greatly appreciated! Using chainsaws, one always needs to be CAREFUL, well up a ladder, one must be EXTRACAREFUL as if we don't know this already!!

It's interesting to watch pros use all the right gear eg cherry pickers, climbing harnesses, scaffolding platforms, and pole saws. However I can appreciate that not everyone has access to this stuff. My brother wanted a largish (5m tall) banksia cut down in his front garden with a number of heavy branches leaning well over his front veranda and so I bought over a chainsaw and a ladder. Bro was an OHS officer for a large mining company at the time, and he was horrified "you are not going to use that chainsaw up the ladder are you?" he said. "No" , I replied "I'm going to climb onto the veranda roof then cut all the over hanging branches off, what does OHS say about that?" He said "Where's you harness?" Ha! The veranda roof was sloped so I still had to be careful. We got it all down OK and only mangled one of his "prized garden plants".

Most accidents with one handed saws are not from using them up a ladder but using them on the ground. Users tend to hold onto branches wth their left hand and the saw with the right. Result is there are many, many nasty injuries (about 1/4rd of all chainsaw injuries) to the left hand.

I don't know if you can even buy a top handled saw these days without a second (side) handle which is needed to used to activate the chain brake in the event of kickback. Interestingly the manuals don't seem to even mention the need to use both hands to activate the chain break.

BTW most people don't realise that electric saws have serious torque even at low revs so chainsaw chaps are not every effective against them.