Cordless chainsaw experiences and recommendations?

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Originally Posted by Carnut1100

I am a lawn mowing contractor, and for the last 7 months I have been running AEG 58v equipment commercially.
I don't have the full range yet, but I have used them all.

First the mower.
Pits main drawback is 18" cut. Ego does a 21" self propelled model now which will probably be my next purchase.
the AEG has similar grunt to an old Victa 2 stroke.
It weighs 26kg so it's not heavy to push around, but I'd still like a SP model.
4ah battery gets me around 45 mins of mowing on a well maintained lawn, 27 mins on a thick feral mess.
It has constant speed load sensing technology so it ramps up power as needed.
For my taste the blades are lacking in lift. Also they are too far above the chassis base height for me.
The Victa has a better base design, as does the Ego.
I have had 3 sets of handles fatigue crack through the lock pin holes in 7 months, but have just been sent the new improved handles that are redesigned to not crack....they do listen to feedback!
high lift blades are also on the drawing board with a warning that run time will be reduced as a trade off for better performance.
I'll take that any day.
6ah batteries are hitting the shelves with the next month.

the whipper snipper...
i love it.
It will run slowly and trim lawn edges for ages, or it will power through waist high grass...I have had 3 battery chargers cycling through 5 batteries while I ran it flat out through a backyard jungle for 2 hrs straight!
plenty of power!
it is a split shaft and will accept Ryobi Expand-It attachments, or the better quality MTD Trimmer Plus units.
I've got a pole hedger for it and a lawn edger. Getting the pole pruner saw shortly.
Run time with a hedger is awesome...over an hour and less than half a battery used.
Lawn edger chews power big time but works well.
whippy will run a battery flat in 20 mins if pushed at full power into waist high thick grass. Much longer on easier work.

the leaf blower is not bad. 400cfm is not super, and the Vocta is nearly 500cfm with the new Ego being almost 600 and Ego bringing out a backpack blower which has even more grunt...but the AEG does the job.

Hedge trimmer is relatively heavy. Similar weight to my Husqvarna petrol hedger.
It easily matches the Husky in cut capacity although the cutter bar speed is a little slower. Quiet and smooth with no fumes in the face, I'm buying one very soon and the petrol one is for sale.
An hr and a half on pittosporum hedges used less than half a battery. I was sad to give it back to the rep after having it for a week.

Chainsaw...feels a bit heavy and the body is a little longer than most petrol ones due to the battery slot.
Cuts well and is pleasant to use.
My 50cc Husky will eat it for breakfast, but I'd expect that.
Id happily cut a load of firewood with it.

Ive got 3 chargers and 6 batteries and I use this gear exclusively now. The chainsaw and hedger are my last remaining petrol tools and both are getting replaced with AEG stuff very soon.

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Awesome, thanks. You must have picked up the chainsaw before they pulled it from the Australian market?

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Originally Posted by weeds

I'm yet to see one of these in action......

Every camping trip seems to be only petrols.

Stuart, just reading some of your feedback

- no sudden stalling is this in relation to petrols or the smaller cordless units?

- impossible to get kick back, what do the unit ha to prevent this? Although I cannot recall the last time I had a kickback on a petrol.

- ease and convenience...both petrols and cordless easy and convenient.....

The only pro (a big pro) I see with cordless is no petrol smell which means it can be stored inside the car

The con is charging batteries.....I wonder how many batteries you would go through compare the the 2L of fuel I carry.

I'm not convinced on them yet...but that might change when I see one in the flesh and if it can do a decent job.

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Only way to tell is to borrow one and have a play. I borrowed an 18 volt unit to try and that would have done me fine for cutting small stuff up but I'm glad I went the 36 volt unit in the end.

As you pointed out one of the biggest bonuses is no petrol smell so it can go in the back of the Rangie or any other car - that was the main reason for me. Easy starting also - while a good petrol saw will generally not give any issues I've seen plenty of people struggle to start a cheap Chinese version after it's been sitting for a year. Noise levels are also low - no hearing protection required and it's completely silent between cuts. :)

Hope you find one to borrow - I'd like to hear your feedback - either way, once you've used one. :)

Come to think of it I have seen Ranga's in action....18v I'm petty sure and yes fine for small stuff for fires but it didn't convince me to rush out and buy one.

The 56v range that carnut posted up sounds interesting along with he uses it for his day job.

I suppose when one has an investment in petrol equipment one looks for reason not to change.

I have 2x petrol saws 1x 240v saw and yesterday I brought back a cordless 18v Ozito impulse buy saw, I now have to go back into town to get a battery and charger for it because to my dismay there wasn't one in the box and apparently they are sold separately [bawl]
I have been reading the various threads about these cordless saws and I got curious enough to try one out, I will report back after I give it run.

Don't expect miracles from an 18volt saw! It is what it is.

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Originally Posted by Vern

Don't expect miracles from an 18volt saw! It is what it is.

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Well the little 18v Ozito finally carked it, No wonder the abuse I threw at it.
Yes I got a 5yr warranty But seriously I got my 99 bucks worth out of it so I won't be BSing Bunnings for a free replacement, Instead I simply bought a new one[thumbsupbig]

Love our Ryobi 18volt chainsaw.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Love our Ryobi 18volt chainsaw.

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My Ryobi 36v version is a pearler...
Keeps the 36v Line cutter and 36v mower happy.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

My Ryobi 36v version is a pearler...
Keeps the 36v Line cutter and 36v mower happy.

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I've got the 36 volt chainsaw too - great little bit of kit. I only have the 18 volt trimmer, which does my backyard easy (around 4 times per charge) and I'm waiting for my cheap Chinese petrol mower to die before I get the 36 volt Ryobi mower, but the bloody $250 piece of crap is now 6 years old and still starts almost first pull every time - I thought I'd get a couple of seasons out of it, but it just keeps going. It does need new blades - is that a good enough excuse to buy a new one...? [biggrin]