Mini cordless Chainsaw - crazy choice?

[nickjb]

I've got one of the super cheap mini chainsaws. 100mm blade. It takes makita batteries, which I already have, so no issue with poor quality batteries. The saw is obviously of low quality but it works brilliantly. Cuts through thick branches with ease and is easy to use one handed. Way faster than using a pruning saw. The only issue is it overheats and shuts down after 20 or so cuts. Comes back to life after a few minutes so its an annoyance but not terminal. I would definitely prefer something of better quality but this was £20, a makita one is nearly £200 so I'll live with it for occasional use.

 

[foxhole]

The Saker is around £80, lots of fake web sites advertise it cheaper , but all you get is ripped off.

 

[footprints]

I have the Stihl GTA 26 great bit of kit, you can use it one handed, (although the instruction book says no ) good battery life, more than pleased with it.

 

[Tarquintar]

After much thought and a bit of research - YouTube - I'm going to get a corded Mac Allister Reciprocating saw from B&Q. It will do the job on the dead Leylandii branches as I won't need the elbow movement of a manual saw, I've also got some pallets to cut down and can see it coming in handy for a few other tasks I'd normally use a handsaw on. At £40 it's cheap and cheerful enough to give it a try.

 

[SFK]

Good choice.
Recp saws are all a Bit heavy.
But much much safer than a hand chainsaw.
And Reciprocating saws do not stop due to over heating.
And have loads of other uses (eg I've used it for demolition, cutting pipes, steel and cast iron - not cut bricks yet).
Use good blades (throw away any that came with kit).

Definitely Get these blades (which are often cheaper from other places than Screwfix).

Bosch S1531L Green Wood Reciprocating Saw Blades 240mm 5 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. For use with reciprocating saws with ½" universal shank systems. Delivers clean fast cuts for pruning wooden materials. Its pointed, sharp-ground teeth are excellent for exact pruning results and also prevent damage to plants. Moreover, the blades large tooth pitch...

www.screwfix.com

 

[JohnD]

After much thought and a bit of research - YouTube - I'm going to get a corded Mac Allister Reciprocating saw from B&Q. It will do the job on the dead Leylandii branches as I won't need the elbow movement of a manual saw, I've also got some pallets to cut down and can see it coming in handy for a few other tasks I'd normally use a handsaw on. At £40 it's cheap and cheerful enough to give it a try.

The Lidl one is cheaper.

 

[Tarquintar]

Good choice.
Bit heavy.
But much much safer than a hand chainsaw.
And Reciprocating saws do not stop due to over heating.
And have loads of other uses (eg cutting pipes, steel and cast iron - not cut bricks yet).
Use good blades (throw away any that came with kit).

Definitely Get these blades (which are often cheaper from other places than Screwfix).

Bosch S1531L Green Wood Reciprocating Saw Blades 240mm 5 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. For use with reciprocating saws with ½" universal shank systems. Delivers clean fast cuts for pruning wooden materials. Its pointed, sharp-ground teeth are excellent for exact pruning results and also prevent damage to plants. Moreover, the blades large tooth pitch...

www.screwfix.com

I missed your post but bought the saw and nipped round the corner to buy the Bosch blades. Great minds and all that...

 

[JohnD]

I've cut bricks with mine (the special blades are very expensive and you need a long one for a 9" wall)

Very slow.

If you have enough room to wok, try a manual TCT demolition saw.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

I've used those exact blades with a cheap recip to take down leylandii. I'm sure it's not as fast as a chainsaw, but it was good enough for me.

 

[SFK]

If (or when) you take down the whole Lylandi, cut off the branches but leave 6ft of trunk.

Then use the trunk as a long leaver to pull out the roots and root ball.

Using the Reciprocating saw to cut any big now exposed roots (typically damaging the blade on the stones/soil but in a relatively save manner as it is not a chainsaw).

Sfk

 

[Tarquintar]

If (or when) you take down the whole Lylandi, cut off the branches but leave 6ft of trunk.

Then use the trunk as a long leaver to pull out the roots and root ball.

Using the Reciprocating saw to cut any big now exposed roots (typically damaging the blade on the stones/soil but in a relatively save manner as it is not a chainsaw).

Sfk

I won't be taking it down as the road side, when given a good manicure looks damn good. The back's a different matter

 

[ericmark]

I have two petrol Aldi and twin 20 volt battery Lidi (40 volt) the Aldi blade is a little longer but both work well, but the petrol one is heavier and so tend to only use the Lidi one, both have other tools and are long reach, Aldi has a blower and Lidi has a scrub blade, both have hedge cutting, and trimming attachments as well as pruning which is what they call the chain saw bit.

It is not so easy to use on a long pole. easier when close up, but I don't want to climb trees and hedges to cut them, so long pole suits me. And being the same battery as my SDS drill suits me as well. The battery speeds up under load which seems a bit odd, pair of batteries last about an hour and take an hour to charge, I have 4 so when one pair goes flat the other pair have recharged.

Can't remember price but with batteries and twin battery charge think around £150 it may have been more, was using the Lidi one today, but mainly as petrol one is noisy and have to pull start it, the battery one does not need pull starting so I prefer it.

Before I used an saw like @SFK shows, no comparison yes worked but no where near as easy.

 

[JohnD]

I have two petrol Aldi and twin 20 volt battery Lidi (40 volt) the Aldi blade is a little longer but both work well, but the petrol one is heavier and so tend to only use the Lidi one, both have other tools and are long reach, Aldi has a blower and Lidi has a scrub blade, both have hedge cutting, and trimming attachments as well as pruning which is what they call the chain saw bit.

Do you mean you are using a pole saw with a chainsaw on the end? I've been thinking about one but doubt I would be able to manage it overhead. I have a long reach hedgetrimmer which is heavy.

 

[ericmark]

Yes it says 4 in one but the strimmer has either a blade or a cord. It says Pole-mounted pruner 4.5 kg not weighed it myself but that;s a lot lighter than the petrol powered Aldi one I have. Only down side it is two speed auto changing once it gets under load it speeds up, this is a bit off putting with the strimmer attachment.

But at last a battery powered hedge cutter with same power as mains electric one. Chain saw cutter length is 180 mm which is not really very long, power 40 volt 16 amp so that's 640 watt, a far output for a battery device.

It can be a bit unwieldy being so long, however I not into climbing trees, so need one with a bit of reach, and I don't what even more tools. One tool to do all seems to make sense.

 

[morqthana]

I can see they might help if you are disabled or have limited mobility but that in itself creates safety issues.

Or the other way round - their intrinsic safety issues might create disabilities or mobility limitations....