I've run a bunch of chainsaws since my teens. McCullough, Poulan, Husky, Stihl, Echo, you name it, I've run it. As I approach my dotage, I am loathe to crank a gas chainsaw. I'm no longer felling timber or cutting firewood, I'm pruning trash trees on my little acre.
Battery technology has improved over the past decade, and the era of plug-it-in-the-wall power tools is about over.. I have gone almost solely to batter operated tools, and I use the yellow-black brand.. All my batteries are yellow-black.
Last week, I needed to do some pruning, so I stated looking around. As it turns out, Amazon sells chainsaws. Little handy saws that run on batteries and don't need pull ropes. I did a little research and bought this one. It's a no-name Chinese knockoff and uses those familiar yellow-black batteries.
The only thing that didn't come in the box was a syringe to put bar oil into the reservoir. A quick trip to the feed store solved that problem. This morning I filled it with bar oil, put in a fresh battery and went out to hairlip a little tree that is in the way. Thirty minutes later, I wondered why I had waited so long to get one. The little tree is on the burn pile, the battery is on the charger and the saw is back it its case.
This little saw is On Time. It may not last as long as the branded saws, but it proves the concept.
10 comments:
Does that black plastic(?) chain guard pivot away from the bar?
"Yellow and black", heh. Sounds like a bruise.
I hope On Time lasts more than One Time like my bargain oil-less compressor. I bet your readers would love an update on the saw in a month or six.
i love these lil saws. i dont run them for too long at a time they are handy
I understand. believe me. I can no long "pull" my chainsaw to life . so, sold/gave it away to my neighbor that helps me out with all sorts of things but will never take any money for gas or whatever. yup. bought a 18 inch battery powered one. works great ! bit pricey though.
like 500 bucks and batteries are in the 200 buck range. but so far, great. holds a charge
cuts for a good 1 hour or more easy. which works about as long as I can or should at 70.
most of the time, with pull start anything, if it not running by the 3 or 4th pull, my back is screaming at me. BTW, the saw I sold to my neighbor costs me well over 350 and was damn near brand new. I was going to give it to him, but I knew he never take it. but at 100 bucks, he would. why sell it on Craigslist or a yard sale when I knew he would take it at that price.
The sad truth is those "branded" tools are all made in China now too. Some of them in the same factories as the cheap knockoffs.
You're paying for that cool logo and the name you recognize on the side, not for quality.
I'm not a fan of buying tools like that sight unseen and hoping for the best, so I tend to buy my cheap Chinese Knockoffs at Harbor Freight.
I've been using their Bauer line for a while now and I've got no complaints. They work just as well as any Dewalt or Milwaukee I've seen that were made in the past 5 years or so.
I just bought a Bauer Drill/Driver set because my venerable old Dewalt pair live in my truck and my wife sometimes needs one when I'm not there. I'll keep the Bauer ones at home.
Half the price of the Dewalt set and work just as well.
I'm just going to stick with Bauer from now on. As my older tools start crapping out, I'll replace them with Bauer's. Eventually I'll get to where I only need one battery type.
BTW: DO NOT buy Craftsman battery powered tools. The tools themselves aren't bad, but the batteries are crap, and that's the most expensive part.
I bought one of the battery powered mini's last year. It works great! Most of my chainsawing is just trim or smaller trees, so it is perfect for the job. It came with two chains and two bars and two batteries. Where have you been all my life? They are a boon for us old guys.
Oh...forgot to mention: I have a Stihl Gas powered chainsaw for big jobs, but I decided it was a bit much to break that thing out for trimming a limb or taking down a 3" tree so I bought a Bauer 10" battery saw from HF.
That was my first Bauer battery powered tool.
No complaints. It does the job and the battery life is way better than I expected.
I have a Harbor Freight Bauer 20volt pole saw. It is an excellent light-medium duty tree trimmer, and FAR lighter than the gas powered ones.
https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-cordless-pole-saw-tool-only-64996.html
No experience with small saws like those shown. Greenworx battery pole saw - major help for old people clearing thorny tree growth. More reliable to start then gasoline engines. When the fully charged battery is done, so is my 63 year old body.
There's also a battery hand pruner. Great for arthritic hands
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