Thread: Pole chain saw

Lappa I have no experience with their pole saws but I have the Makita battery chainsaw which is equal in performance to my little stihl petrol saw and likewise I have their leaf blower and whipper snipper and they are both fantastic and have made my petrol variants redundant

Just something to consider if you are thinking of purchasing other products in the future.
They often have redemption offers which make the price much more palatable if it includes a product you are after

Be interested to hear what you end up with and how it turns out. I started looking at battery equivalents of the petrol yard gear, but came to the conclusion that they were still astronomically expensive compared to their petrol equivalents, with less performance.

Yet you say that your battery powered machines have almost made the petrol stuff redundant, so it may be that the numbers on the page don't really reflect their real world performance...

I've got a few DeWalt flexvolt bits, so may be worth another look at battery power

If your shed is small/cramped/crowded there's something to be said for not getting another battery/charger system. I've finally managed to divest myself of batteries other than Makita and Stihl which reduced the clutter on my charging bench.

If you only undertake light use there's probably no need for a second 36V battery.

The Stihl 36V battery mower and hedge trimmer utilise the same 36V battery that I bought with the mower that is more than 5 years old and still works fine.
The verge lawn and back lawns are small (we have no front lawn) so can usually still cut both lawns on one battery charge.

The hedge trimmer can cut through up to 1" thick bougainvillea vine so its no shrinking violet. We have about 40m of fencing that have various vines and assorted crap growing on it and 10m of rosemary hedge that needs regular trimming - have never used more than 1/2 battery charge to do all this.

Mate has the Ryobi polesaw and he is very happy with it but he also has bunch of other Ryobi battery gear. Keeping the chain sharp is critical to battery life. I showed him how to sharpen it properly and he reckon it increased his battery life by 50%

Originally Posted by BobL

If your shed is small/cramped/crowded there's something to be said for not getting another battery/charger system. I've finally managed to divest myself of batteries other than Makita and Stihl which reduced the clutter on my charging bench.

If you only undertake light use there's probably no need for a second 36V battery.
%

Thanks Bob.
I too would like a minimum of chargers but to go down the AEG route I’d have to buy something I already have and to go the Makita route the cost is prohibitive.

The Makita unit I mentioned takes 2 x 18v batteries, not a single 36v and as I only have 1 18v Makita battery I would need to buy another.

Regarding petrol units, I’ve divested myself of all 2 stroke units and only have 4 strokes.

Good to hear your neighbours happy with the Ryobi unit.

BTW I looked at a STIHL electric unit - - haven’t won Lotto yet so I passed on it.

Originally Posted by Bernmc

Be interested to hear what you end up with and how it turns out. I started looking at battery equivalents of the petrol yard gear, but came to the conclusion that they were still astronomically expensive compared to their petrol equivalents, with less performance.

i still have my Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke mower (20 years plus) and a 4 stroke Honda Line trimmer. I’ve divested myself of 2 strokes as I was sick of keeping two fuels, mixing etc. for only two units. I had a two stroke Ryobi Hornet line trimmer for a while - the less said about that unit, the better so when it went I got the 4 stroke Honda - fantastic unit.
My hedger and chainsaw are 240v and apart from the inconvenience of a long extension cord, they work OK. Battery would be more convenient but its a matter of weighing use against cost and I don’t use them enough to outlay the readies.

Beards,
thanks for the reply. Are your units 18v or36v?

Originally Posted by Lappa

Thanks Bob.
I too would like a minimum of chargers but to go down the AEG route I’d have to buy something I already have and to go the Makita route the cost is prohibitive.
The Makita unit I mentioned takes 2 x 18v batteries, not a single 36v and as I only have 1 18v Makita battery I would need to buy another.

OK I thought you already had other Makita gear but having another Makita 18V would be useful for you
One of the most useful Makita skins I have is a cordless reciprocating saw. I put the demolition blade on it and it becomes a great pruning saw.
No good for high up stuff though. For that I borrow a Stihl petrol polesaw from my tree lopper mate - I believe he now has a couple of stihl cordless which I might see if I can use next time.

Regarding petrol units, I’ve divested myself of all 2 stroke units and only have 4 strokes.

I still have 7 regular chainsaws 37cc up to 120cc (McCulloch, Homelite and 5 Stihls). 4 are large chainsaw milling saws, so I always have 2-stroke fuel on hand.
I still have a 2 stroke Sthil whipper-snipper that I bought mainly to us at mums place - she had a 4-stroke mower which my son has - but now she's in a nursing home I don't use the whipper-snipper that much.

BTW I looked at a STIHL electric unit - - haven’t won Lotto yet so I passed on it.

Yeah they are fairly eye watering - I bought my Stihl gear when I had a few more bob on hand. Haven't regretted doing that though while I had teh chance

Originally Posted by Lappa

Beards,
thanks for the reply. Are your units 18v or36v?

Good you asked as I was just about to edit my post but will clarify here . I am talking about the 2x18v units.
I also have the 18v blower but it is more like a powerful hair dry than a proper blower like my 36v one but still great for benchtop use.
My electrician also has the 36v makita mower and he is very happy with it but they are too small for my use

I dont know your circumstances but I would think that investing in another battery will open up opportunities for many other tool options down the track and represent better value for money over buying another brand and duplicating another setup cost again.

Just a general point to consider for those contemplating a purchase.
Regardless what brand you are looking at consider also there is no or minimal ongoing costs of servicing compared to the petrol motor option

Also to give you an idea how far the battery gear has come, one of the local lawn mowing contractors here has two vans on the road ( father and son team) and one van is completely a battery setup. He has a charging station setup in the van and runs Ego gear off it
Works really well for him

I have just recently purchased Sydney Tools - Best Brands At the Best Prices at $700 I could have purchased a very good petrol unit but having mainly 2 stroke units for the last 25 years the constant pulling of the cord finally got the better of me. (I know a properly maintained 2 stroke will run first time but they weren’t-my bad)
comes with two 5 amp hour batteries and twin charger. I have two 3 amp hour batteries and the bench blower, 18v hedge trimmer and reciprocal saw.
I am going makita for the garden, Milwaukee for the woodwork.

I knew I would have to buy the more heavy duty trimmer as you get what you pay for. The above trimmer chewed through all 4 batteries on the first use, cutting back kikuyu 200mm over the footpath and just shy of 250mtrs of edges. Very pleased to say I have just come in after the weekly trim on one 5 amp hour set (3rd week) will I go back to petrol - NO. Can I now talk SWMBO into using it 40% which is way up from 0 with a petrol.
Sydney tools have a few chain saw options with twin battery and charger and based on the trimmer these are where I will select when the trees on the place get big enough for a chainsaw. When my petrol mower dies I will get the makita mower (the heavy duty one)
I looked at both the Milwaukee/makita cordless motor/multi-adapter pole saw, chainsaw,line trimmer range and figured they would be only half as good at the job as you would lose out on performance due to the adaptive equipment.
hope this helps

BTW Sydney Tools - Best Brands At the Best Prices this is the sort of unit I was referring to, cheers

Originally Posted by Wrongwayfirst

I have just recently purchased Sydney Tools - Best Brands At the Best Prices at $700 I could have purchased a very good petrol unit but having mainly 2 stroke units for the last 25 years the constant pulling of the cord finally got the better of me. (I know a properly maintained 2 stroke will run first time but they weren’t-my bad)
comes with two 5 amp hour batteries and twin charger. I have two 3 amp hour batteries and the bench blower, 18v hedge trimmer and reciprocal saw.
I am going makita for the garden, Milwaukee for the woodwork.

I knew I would have to buy the more heavy duty trimmer as you get what you pay for. The above trimmer chewed through all 4 batteries on the first use, cutting back kikuyu 200mm over the footpath and just shy of 250mtrs of edges. Very pleased to say I have just come in after the weekly trim on one 5 amp hour set (3rd week) will I go back to petrol - NO. Can I now talk SWMBO into using it 40% which is way up from 0 with a petrol.
Sydney tools have a few chain saw options with twin battery and charger and based on the trimmer these are where I will select when the trees on the place get big enough for a chainsaw. When my petrol mower dies I will get the makita mower (the heavy duty one)
I looked at both the Milwaukee/makita cordless motor/multi-adapter pole saw, chainsaw,line trimmer range and figured they would be only half as good at the job as you would lose out on performance due to the adaptive equipment.
hope this helps

That is the blower and line trimmer I have.
That is a good deal as a package, there is $300 worth of batteries there alone plus the dual charger

I only bought the trimmer as a skin as I already had all the other bits

I bought an Ozito pole saw & the hedge trimmer head a couple of years ago. I have given it a good workout without any problems, apart from one battery that died, but was replaced under warrenty. I've also got the hand held hedge trimmer & blower. If you're only going to give it a bit of light work a few times a year, then the Ozito stuff is fine. I recently bought an Husqvarna 36V chainsaw for heavier work, but their pole saw kits (with battery & charger) are over $1k, though they do have a promotion at the moment where you can get a second skin for half price, when you buy any kit.

Originally Posted by Lappa

BTW I looked at a STIHL electric unit - - haven’t won Lotto yet so I passed on it.

I bought the larger still battery pole saw at the start of October, it’s awesome. I thought it was a bargain as it was way cheaper than paying a pro to do the job I needed done, and now I still have the saw for next time.

cheers Andrew