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I used to have a Shindaiwa electric. It was small and light and surprisingly gutsy for the size. The main downside was the manual oiler. It had a worm gear and inline motor, so the motor housing was conveniently narrow, just the ticket for tight spaces. It cost me around $100 in the late 80's. I sold it to a neighbor whose Sears had died, and he just raved about the improvement.
Bill
*Shindaiwa's are good. As are Makita's. Electrics have a place indoors, (tearouts, etc), and delimbing trees in the immediate yard. Also, rough work on decks, etc. But the same caveat applies here as to any other tool. Don't try to save money on the tool itself. You will end up spending more in the long run. And don't buy an electric thinking that yer going to be able to cut 4 or 5 cords of firewood with it.Rule of thumb on chainsaws, electric or gas... get as big a powerhouse as you can afford. You will be glad for it in the long run. A larger saw will run a smaller bar easily, but you can ruin a saw quickly trying to run a bar that is big enough to be at the saw's limits.Check the oil flow constantly. Constantly. When you buy the saw, set the manuals aside in a safe place. If you need them later, and the saw is considered 'out of date', (More than about 5 or 10 years old), you will have trouble getting the store/manufacturer to come up with the manuals, and/or parts. With the manuals, you will be able to do the work yourself, and a lot of the time if you can actualy come up with a part number yourself, the dealer suddenly 'finds' that part, even though "no parts are available for that saw"...The pros usualy buy three chains at once. 3 chains, a bar, and a sprocket. Get the bar, the sprocket and the chains to all match. When the chains are done for, it'll be time to replace the sprocket as well. Don't run a new chain and old sprocket, or new sprocket and old chain together. If the chain needs replaced, the sprocket is probably a wreck as well, and is very cheap to replace at the same time. (5 bucks for mine...) The bar may last for the life of the saw if the chain is kept razor sharp, and the oiler does it's job correctly.Did I say check your oil flow constantly ?When you use the saw, have your spare chain with you. When the chain just begins to get dull, change it. Sharpen the chains before they get bad. If you have to force your saw at all, then you are running a dull chain, and you are inviting trouble with the bar, the chain, the sprocket, and the saw itself. You should be able to lay the bar across the log, squeeze the throttle, and watch the saw tear down through the log all by itself.Learn to sharpen the chain yourself, it's not that difficult. (If I can do it, anyone can.) Sharpen the chain at home, where the work can be well supported, and done at a comfortable height, not with the saw sitting on a stump somewhere.Buy a box of files. Yes I said a BOX. They are only about a buck apiece and they are 12 to a box. Continuing to use a file after it has stopped cutting easily, only makes for frustration, and dull chains. Use a file until it no longer seems to want to take a bite out of the chain all by itself, then chuck it into the fencerow so you don't mix it back in with your good files.Get a saw with automatic oiler. Kinda hard to find one without nowadays. And before I forget it, last but not least, check your oil flow constantly. In a gas powered saw, you should run out of oil just about the same time you run out of gas. I don't know about electric saws.
*Bill/Luka Thanks for the responses. I will look into the Shindaiwa. Anyone tried the Milwaukee and know if they are available in Canada yet ?
*it's just that the fumes from that gas/oil engine make a beer taste so much better!...course, so does the sawdust between your teeth.gabe
*Luka...your gas chainsaw advice is outdated and different then mine...I go thru blades and chains but not sprockets...And new saws use way less bar oil due to new EPA pressures...My new Stihl needs oil every other tank of gas....As to electric...I have the cheapest money can buy and it is better than an expensive one...Fifteen years and many loghomes later...still ticking...near the stream,ajElectrics cut too slow to need auto oilers...I just hit the oiler button at the start of every cut.
*AJ, you are welcome to listen to the epa's lawyers, and ruin your chainsaw faster than normal. Advice that will prolong the life of the chain, the bar, sprocket, and the saw itself is never out of date. BTW : This advice is all so out of date that I got it and versions of it, at three different chainsaw shops, and in several conversations with chainsaw professionals online, as recently as yesterday.Electric or not, it is still a matter of steel being dragged over steel, and tortured enormously. Too much oil is a better thing than too little.
*Yes..yes....Luka...I am going from my personal use of several chainsaws for several years...New saws use less oil...And I have yet to go thru a sprocket...but I have used a few blades...which are inexpensive anyway...I need brand new blades to cut logs accurately with my jig that I designed a built. It cuts way better than anything I have tried.To each his own...I will go with actual experience, near the stream,aj
*Ok, well, I guess I'll have to defer to personal experience. I have personal experience as well, but not that many years of it. I'll continue to use more oil than you do. It just makes more sense to me.
*Luka...My new saw is set to use less...It is not my choice unless I mess with the delivery system....My older saws use it fast like yours...Listen oil isn't that cheap and chains aren't that expensive...There's probably a happy medium somewhere...near the stream looking into my crystal ball,aj
*I have to claim a highjacked thread here !To the best of my knowledge a new or old model "electric chainsaw"does not have a chain oiler that is linked to the electric grid.
*novy,I can't help you much on the electric saw question much, but as to the comment on blades being cheap, this isn't quite true in my opinion. But then I'm a penny pincher anyway. A good chain will have hardened cutters. Most of the discount stores sell an unhardened version of Oregon brand chain. Other saw manufacturers probably package under their names as well. I used to be a dealer for many years selling, sharpening, and repairing and we just threw these chains away recommending the customer not waste money sharpening them. But then here in Fl. everything lasts a fraction of the time it does elsewhere. Some of the tree service crews would bring in a hundred chains at a time for sharpening! Way too many to do by hand. I would guess an electric saw would come with one of these low cost chains on it. Take it to a reputable dealer and have him check it once you have used it awhile. I like the oregon brand of saw chains but the Sthil is considered by most to be the best.What all this has to do with your question I don't know but there it is. Just my thoughts. My only experience with electric saws was repairing them, the ranchers around here use them to butcher hogs for their parties! Yuk!
*AJ,I ran this thread past a guy who has been a proffessional in the field for many years. He has helped develop saws, chains, et al. Knows quite a bit more than you and I together. I'd wager he's already forgotten more about the subject than the combined knowledge of every regular here. Here is what he said...Howdy,Boy, you have some real knowledgeable people there! (I'm not sure about what).If you are using only half a tank of oil per tank of gas on a chainsaw, you have an improperly set oiler for the oil and conditions. This sort of thing can result from using those sticky specialty oils, that I positively do not recommend for this for a variety of reasons. Oilers are usually set ex factory to use a tank of oil to a tank of gas, and that with 30 wt. motor oil. (Which is about the best stuff to use). There has been no EPA action on chain oil to my knowledge. Such an attempt was made in Germany, but I know of none in the US. The German idea spawned a worthless oil from Stihl, that was made from pine tar, that did not oil worth a darn, but Stihl really pushed it for a while in Germany, before giving up.For using a chain in the water, I usually recommend Johnson's floor wax for chain oil. It is not great lubrication, but will work and not pollute. Not good to use a highspeed direct drive chainsaw in the water anyway, as the chain will thermal fatigue crack from the part bottoms, and fail due to multiple breakage's very prematurely. Gear drives, and mill-pond saws can use the floor wax idea quite successfully due to their slow chain speed.As for gasoline, the recommendation is 91 octane or better and with fuel stabilizer added if it is not already in the two cycle mix oil. (Most manufacturer brands are now including stabilizers. Read the label). If you are in an area where oxygenated fuel is required, be doubly careful of fuel freshness, as this stuff is grossly unstable! (Any major municipal market area will have this problem. Remember, even outlying area's get their fuel from the big city!). PLEASE do not try to use 87 octane fuel in chainsaws, just because it is a few cents cheaper! It will run at least ten degrees hotter in your engine, and have vapor lock leaning problems in hot weather much easier. This stuff destroys good chainsaws, and the better the engine, the greater the problem! (People just do not understand that a good professional chainsaw, is a high performance engine and needs to be fed accordingly).Hope this answers your inquiry.Regards,Walt GalerNovy7, sorry to have hijacked your thread even further.
*Luka, Thanks for the chainsaw Zen !Chainsaws are like motorcycles . They need maintenance and understanding. Hmmm..... What planet have I landed on please ?
*Luka...Great post...I still know what I posted is what works for me...My new saw needs no adjustment and works like a champ...And my underwater work has never had a chain failure...One point of note...For dock rip out work, I use my old crappy blades and old crappy chains...I sharpen them aggressively and quickly with no great precision...I just need to get things cut underwater, and have no need for craftmanship in the H20. Above water and cutting new timbers, I use new blades and new chains...Once they are used for one dock project or log home frame, then they are used only for tree work where I do not need to cut pencil lines in half. So...A chainsaw guru does not really know what or how I use saws and the reasoning behind all my motivations...My ways work for me and I'll continue....Great post still though Luka...near the stream that runs my way,aj
*Novy,To see more than you ever knew you wanted to know about chainsaw chains, go here and read Walt's lectures on the subject. The man's a walkin historic encyclopedia...http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tools/msg0123234014111.html?27
*At the start of a large log home project last summer, I purchased a Husquvarna electric chainsaw. Its the one that the motor is in line with the bar so nothing sticks out. The chain oiler is basically automatic so I only put oil in it in small amounts occasionally depending on what is being cut. When cutting a window opening I try to avoid the occasional glob of oil/sawdust that is thrown out on the log. My electrician has the same saw that has a bar which is not a Husky part. His bar comes down to a tight radius on the tip and he uses it for kerfing slots in openings to run wires as well as many other tasks. I know of other builders that own multiples of this same saw. The electrician never puts oil in his saw but he does't run it for long periods of time.I own a couple of gas powered chainsaws(Stihl 044, 026) but always go for this one when power is available. (I beleive it draws 15 amps)rh
*I've been cutting my firewood, and a lot of other strange things, with a gas chainsaw since '72. 25 years of that with an 041 Stilh without a sprocket on the bar tip, and never ran a tank of oil with a tank of gas. Didn't count but I'm bettin' 3 gas to 1 oil.029 I've got now is about the same. The 041 did have an adjustable oil feed but I don't think the 029 does. I did keep the burr on the bars filed down.AJ, how do you get air to the carburetor underwater? Cuttin' up, BB
*air to the air powered chainsaw...Gas saw goes in to just before the carb gets wet.near the stream,aj
*I bought a Wen electric chainsaw for a dock demolition job (disposable at $60) years ago, that damn saw refuses to die. I have damaged it several times, falls, stuck in timber, et all, but it comes with a parts list and the address for repair parts which are about as cheap as can be, an armature for $18? (last time), it's been repaired 3 times for under $60, over 7 years of service for $120 is not bad(not including chains). I did ream the oiler port out for a better flow from the manual oiler during a repair, but I often use it in place of the Husky if power is available. I do like to keep the teeth sharp, and they do wear out quickly when they are used with any frequency. Just my $.02which is about what it's worth. Be well and safe, Tezor
*Thanks all for the responses, Tried the shendaiwa website but found no listing for an electric. The Husky sounds like my best path (I did find an electric on their website as well as a local dealer) I am still curious about the Milwaukee though. Any one out there tried one ?
*Here's your electric chainsaw...View ImageGo bid for it on ebay. Right now, it's only about 23 bucks. No kidding. LOLhttp://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=553615834
*I was deciding between a small gas or electric chain saw. Then, a tornado decided to jump over our house. Street was blocked on both ends by fallen trees. I started to think, damn, I wished I had picked up that electric saw I was just looking at......then remembered that the power lines came down with the trees! Made the decision right then, that for just one saw, it had better be a gas fired engine! A coulpa neighbors had already made the right decision, and cut us out. Jeff
*Jeff "mensa applicant" Buck
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Any opinions or experiences.
They are one of those things that have their place ( INDOORS )