flatlinesup
Treehouser
New member from Arkansas. Not a certified labeled anything dealing with cutting trees, but have ran saws in folks kitchens on disaster relief crew, heat mainly with wood (only 1.5-2 cords/yr in AR), have a small, old band mill and a Alaskan style chainsaw mill, have a few saws and not a brand fan boy although I do lean toward Husqvarna and now Milwaukee. Not a pro by any means, but have made a few more chips than the average homeowner. Appreciate the opportunity to learn more and share my personal experiences here.
For those that haven't used a battery saw, they're "different". A lot less noise, no exhaust blowing in your face, a little less power (comparing to avg 16" gas saw), no choke, fuel filter, air filter, oil/gas mix, chain stops a lot quicker, zero noise when you're not pulling the trigger etc. It's my go to saw choice for most anything it will cut.
As I've gotten used to it and better at using it, IMHO it's made me a better sawyer with my gas saws as well (keeping them sharper, paying better attention to technique etc)
My Milwaukee M18 setup consists of two saws, 8 chains (sharp matters a little more w/the battery saws IMHO), 3 12ah, 2 9ah, and 2 6ah HO batteries. The batteries will keep it going about as long as my gimpy old rear feels like sawing at one time, and I can recharge the morning batteries (usually both 12's and one 9 or 6) over lunch w/several 1hr quick chargers I have.
Biggest lessons/tips I can share to extend cutting time: don't pull the trigger unless your ready to cut (no blipping the throttle etc), keep a sharp chain, let the saw cut (instead of trying to force it thru or lean on it) and stay off the dogs unless absolutely necessary.
My woodlot where I cut firewood and mill is only 50 yards from the house, so charging batteries is not a hassle, although charging batteries is not the only thing to think about with them. When getting used to running them, I would overheat the batteries fairly often until I learned to keep off the dogs, keep a sharper than usual chain, and let the saw do the cutting. Now it's rare I ever see the blinky disco lights on my batteries.
My oldest one is about 6 months old now and I've got to admit when I first got it I wasn't initially very impressed with all the plastic that lent it to feeling like a toy, but after using it for an extended period of time, it's a good, viable tool for the jobs I've asked it to do.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw, 2727-20 (tool only), 2727-21 (saw, 12ah battery, quick charger)
Pics in woodyard show bucked firewood all cut w/M18, and in the field the two large water oak were dropped with a Husqvarna 372xp and the rest of the work was done with 2 M18's.
For those that haven't used a battery saw, they're "different". A lot less noise, no exhaust blowing in your face, a little less power (comparing to avg 16" gas saw), no choke, fuel filter, air filter, oil/gas mix, chain stops a lot quicker, zero noise when you're not pulling the trigger etc. It's my go to saw choice for most anything it will cut.
As I've gotten used to it and better at using it, IMHO it's made me a better sawyer with my gas saws as well (keeping them sharper, paying better attention to technique etc)
My Milwaukee M18 setup consists of two saws, 8 chains (sharp matters a little more w/the battery saws IMHO), 3 12ah, 2 9ah, and 2 6ah HO batteries. The batteries will keep it going about as long as my gimpy old rear feels like sawing at one time, and I can recharge the morning batteries (usually both 12's and one 9 or 6) over lunch w/several 1hr quick chargers I have.
Biggest lessons/tips I can share to extend cutting time: don't pull the trigger unless your ready to cut (no blipping the throttle etc), keep a sharp chain, let the saw cut (instead of trying to force it thru or lean on it) and stay off the dogs unless absolutely necessary.
My woodlot where I cut firewood and mill is only 50 yards from the house, so charging batteries is not a hassle, although charging batteries is not the only thing to think about with them. When getting used to running them, I would overheat the batteries fairly often until I learned to keep off the dogs, keep a sharper than usual chain, and let the saw do the cutting. Now it's rare I ever see the blinky disco lights on my batteries.
My oldest one is about 6 months old now and I've got to admit when I first got it I wasn't initially very impressed with all the plastic that lent it to feeling like a toy, but after using it for an extended period of time, it's a good, viable tool for the jobs I've asked it to do.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw, 2727-20 (tool only), 2727-21 (saw, 12ah battery, quick charger)
Pics in woodyard show bucked firewood all cut w/M18, and in the field the two large water oak were dropped with a Husqvarna 372xp and the rest of the work was done with 2 M18's.