Electric chainsaw

[pip1954]

Hi may have been asked before I have had a couple of petrol chainsaws and get cheesed of when having trouble starting so I am thinking of getting electric chainsaw wondered what people's thoughts are
Any one had one ,what's your views good or bad
Cheers pip

 

[RobinBHM]

I use the titan chainsaw at work. Its used to cross cut hardwood boards 3" oak and iroko which it dies very well.

The great thing about the saw is that the clutch stops the chain instantly when the triggers released although the motor runs on a bit.

Sold in screwfix which have lots of reviews on the machine.

 

[porker]

+1 Also have the Titan and its pretty good. I have a Husqvarna petrol too but still use the electric if close to the house and want to keep the noise down.

 

[AJB Temple]

I also have the Titan. And a 16" Stihl petrol.

My experience is: Titan is cheap. Pretty quiet. Chain stretches quickly and rapidly runs out of adjustment. Adjustment mechanism is poor. In terms of performance the Petrol Stihl eats it alive, but despite that the Titan is good value for a fairly light duty tool.

If you really want to avoid petrol, but still want a good quality saw, I would be tempted by the Stihl battery powered ones with 14" blade. There are a number of good quality battery powered chainsaws around now and unless you are looking for continuos use they are pretty good.

I would also suggest that chainsaw starting can be made much less stressy if you follow some basic procedures, don't use stale fuel etc. This used to drive me crazy and I just learnt to treat the saws better.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"The great thing about the saw is that the clutch stops the chain instantly when the triggers released ... " it's the most irritating thing about them if you're used to petrol. You blip the trigger to sever the last bit of bark holding the log and nothing happens for three seconds. Drives me nuts. That said, I've a 16" Ikra that I'm very pleased with (£70 from Tesco) - not a patch on my old 16" Stihl, though.

 

[heronviewer]

I have a Titan and a Husquavana petrol one too.

The Titan is ideal for sawing in my garage when it is wet outside. I got it from Screwfix for £49.99 and it is a good buy at that price. Cuts very well and is no trouble. I quickly learned to use a dip stick to check the oil level - the little sight glass is not very good.

 

[dickm]

if you are prepared to splash out a bit (or take the risk secondhand like I did) then the 110v Stihl chainsaw will take some punishment. My E220 has sawn up five years worth of food for the woodburner and still runs beautifully.

 

[pip1954]

Woo I'm surprised people rated the titan I did look at them but was not sure because they are very bottom of the market ,maybe I will have a look back at them,
Cheers for all reply
Pip

 

[woodfarmer]

"The great thing about the saw is that the clutch stops the chain instantly when the triggers released ... " it's the most irritating thing about them if you're used to petrol. You blip the trigger to sever the last bit of bark holding the log and nothing happens for three seconds. Drives me nuts. That said, I've a 16" Ikra that I'm very pleased with (£70 from Tesco) - not a patch on my old 16" Stihl, though.

So glad the Ikra has turned out well for you.. I am still a fan, ripped some 18" diameter walnut last week.

 

[graduate_owner]

I bought a Makita which I found very good, cost about £120, but it has started drifting to one side when cutting and I think it is the chain. I needed a replacement quickly so I bought an Aldi one which also seems pretty good for the money (£50).

K

 

[Honest John]

+1 for the Titan. Cheap as chips from screwfix and very capable for occasional or inside near house use when you don't want to fire up the petrol one. Wel have enough problems with noise soon enough as the grass mowing season is about to start!

 

[Beau]

I bought a Makita which I found very good, cost about £120, but it has started drifting to one side when cutting and I think it is the chain. I needed a replacement quickly so I bought an Aldi one which also seems pretty good for the money (£50).

K

Sorry OP a bit off topic but drift can be caused by a couple of things. Uneven sharpening of the teeth ie one sides are longer than the other but a quick check every few sharpens with a vernier gauge and filling down the long teeth and this will be sorted. Also over time the bar will get worn often at a slight angle. Remedy this by filing the edge square again either with a dedicated tool like this http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-jointer-edger-600304 or holding a nice square block of wood up against the bar while you file it. Usual cause for excessive bar ware is poor oiling and can imagine it's very easy to forget to fill the bar oil on an electric chainsaw. Might also explain AJB Temple comment about the chain stretching very quickly. Chains should not stretch much but poor oiling can lead to this and rapid bar ware both of which will leave the chain slack.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry, the chains do stretch quickly when new - they're much lighter chains than those fitted to a petrol saw. One tip - if you damage the teeth on one side of the chain (or one side more than the other) sharpen that side first, then sharpen the second side to match. It is much easier to sharpen the chain in a clamp than on the saw, and better again in a vice. Use decent quality files - Oregon are probably the commonest.

 

[Beau]

Sorry, the chains do stretch quickly when new - they're much lighter chains than those fitted to a petrol saw.

I stand corrected Never used an electric chainsaw and didn't realise they used different chains to the petrol alternatives

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I forgot the best bit of advice concerning chains - sharpen them BEFORE they get blunt, not after. A quick lick with a file doesn't alter the angles, if you leave it too late not only is there a whole load of unnecessary wear on the motor be it electric or petrol (or air - I saw one once :shock: :shock: ) but you are likely to end up with loads of differently shaped and angled teeth which will often cause the saw to cut to one side.

 

[duncanh]

Are your starting problems caused by old fuel? If you don't use your saw regularly the fuel mix could be going off. Ready mixed fuels such as Aspen and Stihl's own version are much better - I had a can of Aspen which was fine after a couple of years of being open. It's also not as much of a problem leaving fuel in the saw for longer periods. It's pricey (2 or 3 cans of it might cost the same as a cheap electric saw) but it also burns cleaner so healthier to work around.

Also, it might be worth getting the saws serviced.

Another possible issue - a few weeks back I was at the dealer and he mentioned fuel going off faster than it used to because of increasing amount of bio-ethanol in unleaded. If you stick with using petrol then buy it from a branded garage rather than a supermarket. It'll be slightly more expensive but it won't be as old and should run cleaner. He pointed out a range of additives (http://www.gustharts.com/fuel-%26-oil/f ... reatments/) that could help with fuel problems (including saws which refuse to start). Our fuel generally doesn't sit around for long once mixed so we haven't needed this but it could be worth investigating.

As for electric - I have one from Aldi - £49 I think. It works ok but the chain tensioner isn't particularly strong. It's good enough for preparing turning blanks.

We have a Stihl battery chainsaw at work but I've only used it once for a test. It coped ok with simple cross cutting. We bought it for trimming straw bales on a new build rather than tree work.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

" ... buy it from a branded garage rather than a supermarket. It'll be slightly more expensive but it won't be as old ... "
How do you work that out? Do you know something I don't?

 

[duncanh]

Just what I've heard from several sources.

 

[duncanh]

Hmm. A quick search suggests that the fuel is the same and from the same refineries but each bulk buyer (supermarket/garage) puts in various additives, so performance could differ between different brands

 

[themackay]

I have the Ikra one from Tesco seems ok have not used it much yet was cutting up some logs for blanks cutting with grain the wood is not very dry and the shavings were getting packed under the chain cover had to stop and clear it a few times no problems with small shavings across grain hope this makes sense.