scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

Exactly. I just got a craftsman electric saw for finish work on logs. It's fine for small limbs and such but I've got 3 gas stihls. A 660 with 48" bar, a 390 with a 28" bar and a 190 with 16" bar. The electric won't even touch the big logs compared to a gas. Sounds like big government in N.H. and of course California are hell to put up with. Wouldn't do it.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

The problems getting non-ethanol gas here in New Hampshire has not gotten any better. My source for 100 oct LL has been threated by the State Gov. The company told me that if he was caught selling Av Gas to people who don't own a airplane, he could loose his lease, and his brand "Phillips 66" Plus, a huge fine. So, no gas at Concord Airport. I've made a safe station in the woods behind my house to remove the ethanol from gasoline. It is easy, but can be dangerous due to the containers, and possibly of a explosion due to the nature of gasoline. I make about 3 gallons of ethanol free gas a day, until I get 15 gallons in 5 gallon gas cans. That should last my snow blower, tractor, and wood chipper until Spring. I've not had a problem using my de-ethanol gas yet.

BusterCrabbe Loc: Montreal

My buddy has a Stihl chainsaw and I have a Husqvarna. He is always having starting problems where mine is two pulls, turn off choke and then usually one but sometimes two pulls and away we go. I recently bought a Dewalt battery chainsaw for around the house (have ~ 2 acres of surrounding forest)....fantastic. Works just as well as the gas Husqvarna but much lighter. I have all Dewalt battery tools so have plenty of back up batteries ... power is never an issue. Once you go battery you usually stay with the same manufacturer so you can swap batteries. I went with Dewalt because I was told that they often use metal where others use plastic parts thus making them hardier and less prone to breakage over time.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Interesting. Do you you raise the temp above 173 deg F and boil off the ethenol? Do you keep it or discard it?

Effate Loc: El Dorado Hills, Ca.

I too have two commercial Huskys and a Stihl. I do spring for the ethanol free Husqvarna fuel as I don’t always run them dry and the gas is cheaper than carbs. I run a Makita electric for limbing and yard cleanup for convenience. I would say for small jobs around the yard an electric would suffice but for felling or serious bucking you need a hot rod. By the way in California (most expensive energy in the country) some jurisdictions don’t allow wood burning while others have no burn days. Watch out, California is coming to a state near you!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If I’m not mistaken, commercial grade Huskys are in the league with Stihl, but the consumer grade, sold by the big box stores isn’t as well constructed. I have one of the later, and it’s not as well made as my Stihl.

Effate Loc: El Dorado Hills, Ca.

You are correct.

Scouser Loc: British Columbia

I am gradually moving towards battery powered equipment in place of previously gas powered stuff. I will be 81 this year and am finding pull-start equipment is becoming an issue. I recently bought an electric chain saw, 110volt. Huge improvement over the many gas ones I have worn out, misplaced or otherwise discarded, but the extension cords limits the distance from the house. Looks like a battery one is in my future.
This winter I bought a 40v Snow Joe electric snow shovel, absolutely fantastic, made me aware of how batteries have improved in recent years.

Regarding Stihl chainsaws, which have been referred to by several responders to the initial post, we love them. My son inherited one from his father-in-law many years ago. We eventually got it running, but my son did not pay enough attention to the gas/oil ratio and it soon seized. We gave it up as junk but I decided to look at it anyway. When I finally removed the piston, which involved some serious abuse with a block of wood and a mallet, I set about resurrecting it. The bore was deeply scored and the aluminum piston had wiped material right across the piston rings, sealing them in place. Careful scraping, prying and prodding released the rings, and scraping and polishing the bore smoothed it fairly well. When the cord is pulled now there is almost zero compression as you would expect, but it starts on the second pull and works well even on his alaskan mill. He has a blade on it 4" longer than the original. He still throws a drop of oil into the jug of gas until it looks about the right colour, and generally misuses and abuses it, but like the old Timex ad, it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. Yes, we love Stihls.

therwol Loc: USA

I live just above you in Placerville. I can see the point of banning gas powered blowers and lawnmowers, but the state expects us to maintain our property and minimize the risk of fire, and electric tools just can't always do the job. There needs to be some common sense when it comes to this. A tool like a chain saw isn't used day in and day out, so there should be some compromise if there is a need.

Effate Loc: El Dorado Hills, Ca.

Ah, but there you go trying to state the obvious to a group that will always let ideology trump pragmatism.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

Got my Dewalt battery powered from Tyler tools. Good price. Came with two batteries. Order extra generic batteries online and they work OK also. Some are poor quality so be careful. Started my gas one once this past year and use the electric weekly or more often. Easy-peasy.

The twelve-inch bar will cut through a big log if you walk around but if you do a huge job, you will need gas also.
Oh, you use gas be sure and drain the fuel, so the carb does not gum up and used the right mix and always use alcohol free gas. It is available.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

I want one of those. Don't know what I'll use it for, but I want one.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

If you have a yard, you will find a use for it. I love my Dewalt. So handy and I show it to people all of the time.

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

I like gas powered saws. I have 2 saws with 18" bars and a pole saw. Before I start dropping trees I have 8 to 10 sharpened chains in addition to those on the saws. If I run the chain into the dirt or a chain gets dull I change chains. I usually buy 3 new chains a year. I have my own chain sharpener. My wife and I work together. I drop the trees using the Stihl saws. The extra saw is handy when the saw in the tree binds because I misjudged the setup or some stops by to help . The polesaw is used to remove limbs as high as I can reach and my wife uses it to delimb the fallen trees. Some days I go through a gallon of fuel. We feed the limbs and small tree trunks thru a 6" chipper we rent to get mulch. No way battery tools would work.

The woods currently has 10 or more downed or dangerous leaning trees that need cut up.
The crazy thing is if we get more fire wood than we can use can't even give it away. People want me to deliver free wood and stack it for them. They won't even help getting the logs into fire wood.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Where is the incremental cost in the electric saws - aren’t they pretty much mechanically the same as the gas saws, other than the motor?

Stan