Electric Chain Saw vs. Gas-Powered Chain Saw

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[askthebuilder]

I have to totally disagree. The electric saw in this video worked well. Did it cut as fast? No. Some people may not want to store gasoline. Everyone here really appreciates your candor. :-/

[MrBBywaters]

Love that Worx saw! Just ordered one. Thanks for the post. My "forest" is a bunch of stubborn Rosemary bushes, a Sumac tree, and some other bushes that'll get 6 ft thick and tall if you turn your back on them. All of them are within reach of a 12-gauge, 100-ft cord. They don't stand a chance!

[davekauffman]

I was a die-hard gas enthusiast until I had to use an electric saw because I didn't have any 2 stroke gas available and needed some fallen branches cut up near the house where the noise of a gas saw was not appreciated. No, the little electric saw didn't have the power of a gas saw, but it cut through anything I used it on. I don't care about the precious environment, a campfire puts out more evil stuff, but I'm lazy, I don't want to mix the gas in proper ratios, or have to fill the saw every 20-30 minutes.

[aperson]

Electric plug-in Chainsaws: Good if you have like 1 acre of land with few trees. Great for light pruning, cutting smaller pieces of lumber, or cutting small logs and branches (6-10 in. diameter?). Perfect for the person who has asshole neighbors who can't take noise.

2 Stroke Chainsaws: Good if you have 3+ acres of land with a lot of trees. Great anywhere from cutting bigger pieces of lumber, cutting bigger logs, or doing small logging operations on your property even. More power and more torque. Come in a large variety. There are small lightweight saws such as the Stihl MS170 to big pro saws. Great if you have to work in the woods far away from a electric socket.

Battery powered Chainsaws: These suck. Don't waste your time with them. These have a limited run time of 30 min. and take 1+ hours to charge. More expensive then smaller 2 stroke saws! Way more expensive then electric plug-in saws! Just don't buy one, buy either a electric plug-in saw or a 2 stroke saw.

*I settled the debate. I hope everyone is happy.*

[askthebuilder]

The electric saw was straight out of the box with the factory tension set. It was perfectly within spec. If you feel it's too tight, I suggest you go to the manufacturer's website and get in contact with one or more of their engineers to continue the debate about chain tension.

[olympiuh]

This video is 7 years old but I just want to say that I find this kind of humor funny. Great video. 👌

[quinnjohn]

This will be a long post but hopefully it will be useful so here goes...

I have 3 saws, 2 petrol (gas) huskies (one is an older 3hp model 345 and the other is a new 365 rated at 5hp) and an electric Bosch rated at 2300w 220v (I'm in the UK, 220v is standard wall socket voltage) and I swear, the Bosch has substantially more torque than either of my petrol saws!

 That's not necessarily a good thing though, if you are cutting a tree down and it leans back and pinches the guide bar, the Bosch will keep on turning and cutting sometimes not even slowing down if it's not too large a tree which, I imagine could potentially have the tree fall back the wrong way if you're not used to felling and don't know what to look/listen for. Both my petrol saws will bog down noticeably, sometimes stopping completely, giving you clear warning that something's not right.

 I tend to use my huskies for felling and cutting to manageable lengths for transporting and the Bosch for processing ready for splitting.

The Bosch has a 20" guide bar and still weighs less than both of the huskies so is easier on my back if I have a lot to do. It does transmit vibration a lot more than both my huskies do as it doesn't have any vibration dampening. This saw is the worst for vibration that I own. I wear 2 pairs of padded cotton gloves under my safety gloves to help cut down on the vibration but I still have to take frequent breaks or my fingers will go numb! (Reynauds syndrome, known here as "White finger"). Also, there is a lot less maintenance with electric saws compared to gas saws, in 9 years all that I've had to replace (other than the normal stuff, chain and guide bar) is the chain tensioner and it took less than 5 minutes to change! It is built into the chain guard so it is very accessible.  

 If you have a lot of felling in relatively easy to access areas, the 365 is a joy to use It is fantastic at dealing with vibration and does have plenty of power to cope with the 20" guide bar but it can feel a bit heavy on my back after a while. I have never had any "White finger" issues with the 365 which I think is VERY important, my hands and arms don't feel tired when using it!

 If the ground conditions are bad then I use my little 345. It's not as powerful as the 365 but still has enough to power the 18" guide bar and it is lighter than the 365. However, it does transmit more vibration than the 365. I have to take regular breaks with the 345 so my fingers don't go numb.

I'm not saying that any one of my saws are better than the others, more like they all have different advantages and disadvantages. I hope this post will be of use to someone because I have just given myself carpal tunnel syndrome with all this typing! lol.

[WorxUS]

Thanks for the review! The thing about using Electric is that you don't have to worry about gas :)

[askthebuilder]

Glad you enjoyed it and have a sense of humor. Not all who watch it think it's funny. I'll readily admit I'm no comedian.

[askthebuilder]

Thanks Vard. The video shows the electric saw is a serious tool indeed. At normal altitude, where most of us live, the gas saws are faster. Note that in this video, I was *not* using a pro gas saw. Get one with more CCs and it would have really cut that twig, er I mean log, faster. I urge you to get out your video camera and tape a video of you cutting down a 60' pine with your electric saw. That's what YouTube is all about. People with accounts posting videos. We'll be waiting for your video.

[theelwoodful]

this is like one of those really bad infomercials where they go completely blind and collapse once the shampoo gets in their eyes

[askthebuilder]

The power cord shouldn't be an issue. Gas saws offer unlimited portability. Just keep that in mind. Realize that as an extension cord gets longer, you can have significant voltage drop. Lugging around a 100-foot, or longer, 12-gauge extension cord can be a PIA. Then, remember what happens if it's raining, heavy dew, etc. Electricity and water don't play well together.

[CraigArndt]

Good video. What was the difference in weight, was it substantial? I'd go with the gas personally, electric's seem to bog down under load a bit. Plus wet fiberous wood calls for sharp chains and hp.

[davidoakley]

obviously in the woods gas is the only practical way to go. But, for bucking firewood at home, where plug ins are available. I'd take the electric first, everytime. Quiet, very little vibration, no mixing fuel, no pulling on a recoil, no flooding, no fouled plugs, no adjusting a carb, cheaper to run, and cheaper to buy. Just add oil, and sharpen when needed.

[askthebuilder]

Correct. Cheap saws can have plastic internal parts that fail. My attempting to use it in the forest at the end of this video was a humorous ending. I was hoping everyone would get the joke of taking an electric saw deep into the forest.

[Climax]

Great demo and illustration. To most of us gas over electric is a "no brainer" but to others less informed they'll find this cleverly & entertainingly helpful. Love this guy by the way.

[obeliskimi]

Really great work with the video, also the ending. No irrelevant BS, just to make the video longer.
I have an electric chainsaw, and for the work around the house and in the garden, which takes about a 3-4 days of work each year, it's the best possible choice.
No need for big maintenance, no gas refills, filter and spark changes.
Just the cleaning of the air holes and chain location. Sometimes sharpening and adding lubricant. You plug it to a decently long electric extension cable and you are ready to play 😂

[Kloque]

Sorry Builder, I was having a bad day, or week.... You seem like a cool guy and I appreciate you helping people.

[askthebuilder]

Very fascinating. Honda makes small and compact generators that are very quiet. The gator-type ATVs could easily transport one and everything else you need. Thanks for sharing!

[david.primerox]

👉 Chain Saw Corded Electric: Use in home residence with extension cord, if you lose electrical service, it will not work. (unless you have a generator and gasoline for the generator)
👉 Chain Saw Battery Electric: Use in home residence (preferably) if you lose battery charge, it will not work. (Unless you have more batteries charged or wait for the battery to charge for a few hours) also, these chain saw are not to work 8 hours a day
👉 Chain Saw Gasoline: Use anywhere (even at home to annoy sleepy neighbors) if you have enough 2-cycle gasoline ready, the day is yours (unless you don't like to work so much, still chain saw is good if not the carburetor or gasoline lines fail)