Looking to buy a new electric chain saw. I killed old faithful. When it was making funny noises I could have replaced the motor brushes but I just had to cut that last piece of wood. The brush broke off and dug out the stator. That thing was built like a tank. Sniff…
So any suggestions on what to buy or what not to buy would be appreciated. It must be 14" or bigger.
Is there a reason that you are partial to an electric chainsaw? I’ve had both and the gas chainsaw was so much better in cutting power. Plus you aren’t tied to an electric cord. Also I was always kind of paranoid about either tripping over the cord and slicing my jugular or cutting the cord and eletrocuting myself.
Off to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Sorry Colibri I thought that I was in IMHO. I seem to be doing this a lot lately.
STIHL makes electric chainsaws. I’ve never used an electric, but I will say this, if I ever have to replace my chainsaw, it will be another STIHL. Best tool ever.
I thought my Husqvarna was great. Until I bought a STIHL. No comparison.
Just watch the lumberjack competition. In the stock saw division Stihl is almost all you see.
I have an old Milwaukee electric and it is a powerful saw. I don’t think a mortal man could wear it out.
Stihl does indeed make a nice chainsaw. As much as chainsaws scare the hell out of me I’ve used both electric and gas powered and I prefer the gas powered versions. There’s no cord to potentially trip over, it’s more powerful than an electric powered one, and it’s a bit more robust.
I’m pretty happy with my John Deere chainsaw. It was made in the late 60s and has a metal body instead of the plastic you see now days. It’s lasted so long because its hardly been used.
Marc
Another satisfied Stihl owner here. I have 2 gas saws that I use a lot. I can’t imagine the circumstance that would cause me to go for another brand.
Ebay has a bunch of electric chainsaws listed, including Ryobi, Craftsman, Remington and Poulan. Most seem to go for around $60 - 80. There is one Stihl saw listed, nearly new, for $325. This probably is a reasonably accurate view of the relative quality.
If you use your saw only occasionally, the cheaper ones might prove acceptable.
You never really said what you where using it for?
I rented an electric chain saw from HomeDepot to dispose of 2 shrubs that had grown into trees. It was as effective as using a hedge-clipper on them (or tweezers). Gas is the only way to go re: chainsaws (says the man who wasted his money renting electric).
I have an electric remington and was very happy with it until recently: I had to keep tensioning the blade until it got to the end of it’s travel. The chain must have stretched or something. Anyone know about taking a link out of a chain? Having spent lots of time screwing around with small engines of various kinds, i really like knowing that when you plug it in it will work: no gas, no degunking the carb, etc.
I use it to trim or cut down small trees. I have access to some robust gas chain saws but find electric more powerful dollar for dollar. And they’re so much easier to use. No fumes, no priming/choking. For ocassional use they’re great. The really small ones are useless but my 14" would slice through a 12" log with no problem.
I think Stihl sponsors the event and provides the saws for the stock competition.
But they’re good saws.