Chain Saw Chat

Easten

I see a Battery powered chainsaw coming into lidl next week. Looks fierce handy.

Parkside Cordless Chainsaw - Lidl Ireland - www.lidl.ie

blue5000

Would be useful beside a chipper alright. What would 2 batteries and a charger cost? Would be worth it to try one out before spending 4x more on a regular chainsaw brand. No idea how long a battery would last though.

Edit, dropped 180 for a cordless angle grinder, a chainsaw and 2 batteries this morning. Pico chain on the chainsaw is a lot narrower than what I'd be used to. Had a few weanlings stuck in a ring feeder last winter so the hacksaw will be spared if it happens again (just to clarify I'll be using the cordless angle grinder to cut the feeder!).

Will keep you posted on the chainsaw's progress, 3 yr warranty anyway. It will probably only cut for 10-15 minutes at 2 Ah, proper chainsaw batteries are 10 Ah. Hopefully there will be a battery upgrade to fit in future. It's the quick on/off saw I need at the wood chipper, so hopefully it will pay for itself there.

Easten

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117933227#Comment_117933227

Did you get the 4Ah Batteries or the 2Ah? They recommend the 4Ah for the chainsaw but I didn't see them in store

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117945204#Comment_117945204

2ah is all they had here either, does 2 x 2ah batteries =4ah?

Easten

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117946131#Comment_117946131

Yes, but its worth getting the 4Ah ones when they are in stock, you get double the cutting length but they are pricey but well worth it.

idk if its a still 60 day money back but it has a 3 year guarantee. afaik some of the last version of the saws can have issues with keeping tension on the Chain so watch out for that. Other than that they are great value for the money.

Also if you it fond of using it the pick up the double charger too.

blue5000

They had the double charger alright. Tried it out last night, they're perfect for an 'old man saw' cuts for about an hour, including pulling/loading branches, then takes an hour to charge.

One thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't feel like I'm using a chainsaw, so not as safety conscious as I normally would be. Love how quiet and well balanced it is.

Thickest Ash I cut, took about 20 secs.

Got some of these cut into logs on first charge.

Saw itself.

00wyk

Are those parkside proprietary batteries, or are they dewalt copies? I ask because I have dewalt tools.

Easten

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117991869#Comment_117991869

I'd say they are only for parkside tools. idk if they will even work on the Aldi power tools. Either way they are only a fraction of the price. I'm well happy with the Chainsaw, its so handy to do a bit of light work and not have to be lugging the can of petrol around or fighting with the saw to get it to start.

minerleague

How many here use petrol from garage as opposed to Aspen or other branded products? Any better for saws?

Easten

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118037868#Comment_118037868

idk what aspen is!!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117946131#Comment_117946131

Those 4ah batteries are in lidl this week. I picked up 2 of them for the saw. Price is saucy enough at 29 euros each

ednwireland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118037868#Comment_118037868

I use aspen in my saws and leaf blowers,cos I'm just using it in a bigish overgrown garden. Supossed to better for the engines but more I don't get that I can smell two stroke for the rest of the day !

But at the cost of it if I was using stuff everyday I wouldn't.

Oh the other thing is it doesn't dissolve the fuel lines and you can leave it in the tank for months and it's fine.

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118067194#Comment_118067194

Thanks for the headsup. What is the charge time like on the 4 AH battery, also what size file does the chain need?

Easten

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118071026#Comment_118071026

I reckon about 6-8 hours but I've never full ran down the batteries yet.

I got a few of those 4mm files from my local machine shop. He charges 10 euro for a chain sharpening but I got the file so to be able to touch up during the day. I ended up buying the electric chain sharpener from lidl too. That worked better for me as I could never get it done right with the file but still end up going back to the shop for a sharpening at least twice during the year as the tops of the chain need filing too.

Guy in the shop praised my use of the electric sharpener, reckons he'll have sale of a new chain now soon!!

blue5000

Mrs b brought home 2 batteries last night, only trouble was one of them was a 2 ah in a 4 ah box. Had a bit of a job explaining it to the Lidl manager that he had already been conned by someone else returning a battery. All sorted now though. 4 ah are thicker if anybody else is buying them

tabby aspreme

Buying a new saw here, I can get a 261 Stihl for €730, is there anything else I should look at, it has to have a metal crankcase, are the new light and skinny bars worth the extra money.

Discodog

I have just been told, by an Irish Stihl dealer, that the polesaw attachment isn't available until February 🙄

Discodog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118095231#Comment_118095231

Annoying when it's around a hundred euro cheaper in the UK.

00wyk

Fr Jones and Sons nearly want €700 without the VAT at today's exchange rates. Where are you seeing it for €630 plus vat in the UK?

Tabby - if it comes with a bar and chain, that's not too bad a price in today's market. There's currently a shortage of nearly everything. But this is also combined with shops needing badly to make a buck right about now. So maybe the prices mightn't go too mad.

Discodog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118173588#Comment_118173588

I will check when I get home. There's a lot of "confusion" regarding Stihl. One main dealer told me that the HT-KM was cheaper with the shaft than without. Another shows it as cheaper without the shaft.

One says that they can't get it until February another says next week.

Oh & another dealer just quoted me €50 less than their website price.

tabby aspreme

Bought the saw, very happy with it, no comparison with my ms250, dealer said prices going up 4% in January .

893bet

is the battery saw very light? Handy for running around electrical and barbed wire to keep free of briars and vegetation?

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118199980#Comment_118199980

It is yeah. At a rough guess between 3 and 4 kg. I think the beauty of it is the stop go jobs. For cutting heavy stuff there's nothing to beat a petrol saw, but for occasional light use the battery saw wins.

893bet

Thanks blue. I might keep an eye out.

I do like my toys!

n1st

Any recommendations on a petrol chainsaw, short 12 or 14 inch. For use with hawthorn hedge cutting.

Stihl or Husqvarana, under 300 euro.

n1st

Actually are battery chainsaws a good alternative to petrol, for infrequent use, hawthorn hedge trimming once or twice per year?

Discodog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118288625#Comment_118288625

Yes & the Lidl one is good value.

Easten

The battery saw is my go to saw. I just couldn't be arsed messing around carrying the Saw and the petrol can.

I've a good bit of heavystuff down from the storm mainly branches but some are are 10-12 inch's diameter. Battery saw cut em no problem, the only thing I find is with the bar being short you only get a few hours work before the chain needs sharpening

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118288625#Comment_118288625

For infrequent use there is only two choices, battery or Aspen type fuel in a regular saw.

The majority of issues infrequent users have saws are fuel related; wrong(no) mix, spoiled fuel etc.

If you are going to go battery and use other power tools try and keep to same brand as battery's can be sometimes interchanged.

After that keep on top of chain/bar maintenance and you should be good to go

blue5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118288676#Comment_118288676

Can't complain so far anyway. I think the batteries look very like Bosch stuff. Has anyone tried parkside batteries on a Bosch cordless tool?

Discodog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297316#Comment_118297316

The internet suggests that they don't fit as you can buy an adapter.