ChuckPinTX
Well-Known OPE Member
I've been a long time lurker, and figured it was about time I contribute. I am a local conservation ranger in a wildland conservation division. One of our main programs is endangered species and habitat protection/restoration. We have somewhere over 50,000 acres of non-public access preserves spanning 3 counties in central Texas with over 300 miles of boundary fences. Roughly half of that acreage is endangered species habitat, and the other half is for water quality protection and grassland prairie restoration. The is also, at the moment, an unknown number and mileage of caves.
Right now we are heading into the last month of "bird season." This spans March 1 - September 1 for us. This is when the endangered and threatened birds have settled in and are doing their mating thing. During this time we do not use OPE with internal combustion engines in the endangered species habitat preserves unless it is a real emergency. This was a serious departure from the norm for me when I got here. Just a few years ago, management wouldn't even allow cordless electric saws, so it was axe and hand saw season for those of us who actually work.
In 2020 I picked up a Makita 18V top handle to keep in my personal truck while out wheeling and hunting. It's a handy little saw. I came across a YouTube video of a dude running a bunch of battery saws with a decibel meter, and took it to the brass. Incredibly, they decided to allow us to use battery saws during bird season. We didn't know what saws we really wanted, but with my experience with the little Makita, the division having a truck load of Makita batteries, and price; I grabbed enough 18V 10" Makita top handle saws to outfit all of the ranger trucks. Just the XCU06, a quart of B&C oil, extra bar, 2 extra chains, chain files, a charger, and 2 6ah batteries.
These little saws have been a life saver. They use 3/8LP .043 chain, and actually work. They certainly don't run like a proper top handle, but they sure can cut your truck out of a bind, clear large limbs off of roads and fences, and you don't have to worry about packing a can of mix everywhere. Since we are usually on foot once we get into the preserves, I strap mine to my pack. It's pretty light, considering, and I don't feel any more fatigue after a 10-15 mile foot patrol than I do without it. Still, I haven't tested it against the 2511T we have, but I'm pretty sure the 2511T would beat it. The Makita is definitely easier to stall, and easy to over heat once outside temps are close to or over 100F. Even with that, the Makita has replaced little 2 stroke top handles for me at work. I can use it all year, and I just need to make sure the batteries are charged. It oils the 10" bar well, and a full tank will last me through the spare battery I keep in the pack. Since I would have to make it back to the truck to swap out to more batteries anyway, that means I don't even have to pack B&C oil while on foot. 2 batteries would also be an awful lot of cutting for just one day on patrol.
I did do a bit of a torture test to see how durable this thing is, and what it could handle. I took the 10" bar and 3/8LP chain to a 16-18" mesquite, felled it, and processed it enough for haul out or to get put into the chipper. Long story short: it was too much tree for the saw, obviously, but it DID get it done. I went through a lot of battery charging and was shut down often because of overheating. It struggled real hard to complete the face cut and back cut with the bar buried, but that was expected. It did well on everything that was 8" diameter and smaller though. That was the first week we had them, and it still runs just fine. The 18V saws have been in service since the middle of 2020. That's pretty good service life for tools where we are. I am pretty paranoid with electronics and rain, so I do put a grocery bag over the power head, at least I did when it still rained.
The little saws are nifty and all, and they are certainly impressive for what they are in a pinch, but we needed something with more power to at least be able to down small trees during bird season. We had initially decided to get and test out a Husqvarna 540i xp. We had seen some videos showing it perform well, considering, compared to what echo and stihl have out. Due to the unfortunate actions of a couple of our biologists and warranty/coat issues with our dealer, the bean counters have stopped us from purchasing anything made by Husqvarna and Stihl, or from our OPE dealer during this audit. Still, we wanted at least something, because we have a lot of work to do.
Thankfully I have a handy dandy government credit card, and they don't care about little ole Makita and Amazon business. We know the Stihl and Husqvarna battery saws perform as well or better than the construction tool offerings, but Makita and DeWalt show decent in videos. Since we have more Makita batteries than DeWalt, we decided I should buy the 36V Makita with a 14" bar. I tried to get the one with traditional bar nuts and tensioner, but the only one available was the tooless one. They appear to be the same saw, just with a different "clutch" cover and stud setup.
The XCU03 definitely feels more like a "real" saw. Outfitted with 2 6ah batteries, 14" bar, 3/8LP chain, scabbard and full of oil it is topping the scale at 12.3lbs. that's still pretty dang light ready to cut. I've had this one in the field for a month now, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it. It certainly isn't a 50cc saw, but it is very capable for a battery powered saw.
It oils the 14" bar fine. I believe the oiler is adjustable, but haven't had a need to even check. Outfitted with 2 6ah batteries, it runs for a surprising amount of time. With a full set of batteries I've taken down a 24" (at base) Ashe Juniper that was showing significant root heaving. These tree don't get super tall, so I think this one was right around 20ft ground to tip top of canopy. This saw handled it fine. It's definitely not as fast in the cut as anything 50cc or larger, but it really didn't feel like it was struggling. Felling, limbing, and chunking the juniper had the batteries pretty much done, but they still had a bit of life. Oil tank was getting close to needing to be filled as well.
I've been using it to clear branches and trees off of the boundary fences. It performed adequately while brushing, and hasn't failed in any of the wood we have here. Luckily I haven't had it in a bind yet, but like any smaller saw, you can stall it out if you don't let the little cutters do their thing.
The chains on both are the same 3/8LP .043, just different drive length count. They work acceptably if you're not worried about having lightening fast cut times. It is incredibly irritating not being able to borrow, when it would be wise to bore, so I'm looking for some non-safety chain for at least the "big" one. Not a single place around here sells it, so I'll have to find it online.
The bar on the little saw has held up fine, so I have no complaints with it. The 14" bar is the same bar, just longer. I'm not sure what I hit, but it was enough to split the end of the bar, and scrap a chain. It was most likely a nail or fence wire inside the juniper I was cutting since there was only air around the tree. I've had no problems with the second bar and chain so far. I would like to find a more robust bar for it, but I'm not sure what the mount is yet. If anybody knows a better bar and chain I'm all ears.
Are they serious pro quality in construction and cut speed? No, not really. Would I consider them over a 461 or 500i on a fire, or logging? Don't be ridiculous. Would I pick the 36V over a 260 or 501p? Not if I was able to use the gas saw, honestly. Still, they sure are handy, and I wouldn't hesitate to use one. They might not be incredible speed cutters, but they certainly work well. They're honestly pretty impressive, especially from a company known for construction tools. They sure make my life easier, and beat reefing on a hand saw. In our professional capacity, for what we need them to do, they're perfectly acceptable, especially for the price. Hopefully they last for awhile.
Hopefully the pictures attach and load up. Has anybody else been using any battery saw, without some ridiculous expectations about performance? What do you have and think?
Right now we are heading into the last month of "bird season." This spans March 1 - September 1 for us. This is when the endangered and threatened birds have settled in and are doing their mating thing. During this time we do not use OPE with internal combustion engines in the endangered species habitat preserves unless it is a real emergency. This was a serious departure from the norm for me when I got here. Just a few years ago, management wouldn't even allow cordless electric saws, so it was axe and hand saw season for those of us who actually work.
In 2020 I picked up a Makita 18V top handle to keep in my personal truck while out wheeling and hunting. It's a handy little saw. I came across a YouTube video of a dude running a bunch of battery saws with a decibel meter, and took it to the brass. Incredibly, they decided to allow us to use battery saws during bird season. We didn't know what saws we really wanted, but with my experience with the little Makita, the division having a truck load of Makita batteries, and price; I grabbed enough 18V 10" Makita top handle saws to outfit all of the ranger trucks. Just the XCU06, a quart of B&C oil, extra bar, 2 extra chains, chain files, a charger, and 2 6ah batteries.
These little saws have been a life saver. They use 3/8LP .043 chain, and actually work. They certainly don't run like a proper top handle, but they sure can cut your truck out of a bind, clear large limbs off of roads and fences, and you don't have to worry about packing a can of mix everywhere. Since we are usually on foot once we get into the preserves, I strap mine to my pack. It's pretty light, considering, and I don't feel any more fatigue after a 10-15 mile foot patrol than I do without it. Still, I haven't tested it against the 2511T we have, but I'm pretty sure the 2511T would beat it. The Makita is definitely easier to stall, and easy to over heat once outside temps are close to or over 100F. Even with that, the Makita has replaced little 2 stroke top handles for me at work. I can use it all year, and I just need to make sure the batteries are charged. It oils the 10" bar well, and a full tank will last me through the spare battery I keep in the pack. Since I would have to make it back to the truck to swap out to more batteries anyway, that means I don't even have to pack B&C oil while on foot. 2 batteries would also be an awful lot of cutting for just one day on patrol.
I did do a bit of a torture test to see how durable this thing is, and what it could handle. I took the 10" bar and 3/8LP chain to a 16-18" mesquite, felled it, and processed it enough for haul out or to get put into the chipper. Long story short: it was too much tree for the saw, obviously, but it DID get it done. I went through a lot of battery charging and was shut down often because of overheating. It struggled real hard to complete the face cut and back cut with the bar buried, but that was expected. It did well on everything that was 8" diameter and smaller though. That was the first week we had them, and it still runs just fine. The 18V saws have been in service since the middle of 2020. That's pretty good service life for tools where we are. I am pretty paranoid with electronics and rain, so I do put a grocery bag over the power head, at least I did when it still rained.
The little saws are nifty and all, and they are certainly impressive for what they are in a pinch, but we needed something with more power to at least be able to down small trees during bird season. We had initially decided to get and test out a Husqvarna 540i xp. We had seen some videos showing it perform well, considering, compared to what echo and stihl have out. Due to the unfortunate actions of a couple of our biologists and warranty/coat issues with our dealer, the bean counters have stopped us from purchasing anything made by Husqvarna and Stihl, or from our OPE dealer during this audit. Still, we wanted at least something, because we have a lot of work to do.
Thankfully I have a handy dandy government credit card, and they don't care about little ole Makita and Amazon business. We know the Stihl and Husqvarna battery saws perform as well or better than the construction tool offerings, but Makita and DeWalt show decent in videos. Since we have more Makita batteries than DeWalt, we decided I should buy the 36V Makita with a 14" bar. I tried to get the one with traditional bar nuts and tensioner, but the only one available was the tooless one. They appear to be the same saw, just with a different "clutch" cover and stud setup.
The XCU03 definitely feels more like a "real" saw. Outfitted with 2 6ah batteries, 14" bar, 3/8LP chain, scabbard and full of oil it is topping the scale at 12.3lbs. that's still pretty dang light ready to cut. I've had this one in the field for a month now, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it. It certainly isn't a 50cc saw, but it is very capable for a battery powered saw.
It oils the 14" bar fine. I believe the oiler is adjustable, but haven't had a need to even check. Outfitted with 2 6ah batteries, it runs for a surprising amount of time. With a full set of batteries I've taken down a 24" (at base) Ashe Juniper that was showing significant root heaving. These tree don't get super tall, so I think this one was right around 20ft ground to tip top of canopy. This saw handled it fine. It's definitely not as fast in the cut as anything 50cc or larger, but it really didn't feel like it was struggling. Felling, limbing, and chunking the juniper had the batteries pretty much done, but they still had a bit of life. Oil tank was getting close to needing to be filled as well.
I've been using it to clear branches and trees off of the boundary fences. It performed adequately while brushing, and hasn't failed in any of the wood we have here. Luckily I haven't had it in a bind yet, but like any smaller saw, you can stall it out if you don't let the little cutters do their thing.
The chains on both are the same 3/8LP .043, just different drive length count. They work acceptably if you're not worried about having lightening fast cut times. It is incredibly irritating not being able to borrow, when it would be wise to bore, so I'm looking for some non-safety chain for at least the "big" one. Not a single place around here sells it, so I'll have to find it online.
The bar on the little saw has held up fine, so I have no complaints with it. The 14" bar is the same bar, just longer. I'm not sure what I hit, but it was enough to split the end of the bar, and scrap a chain. It was most likely a nail or fence wire inside the juniper I was cutting since there was only air around the tree. I've had no problems with the second bar and chain so far. I would like to find a more robust bar for it, but I'm not sure what the mount is yet. If anybody knows a better bar and chain I'm all ears.
Are they serious pro quality in construction and cut speed? No, not really. Would I consider them over a 461 or 500i on a fire, or logging? Don't be ridiculous. Would I pick the 36V over a 260 or 501p? Not if I was able to use the gas saw, honestly. Still, they sure are handy, and I wouldn't hesitate to use one. They might not be incredible speed cutters, but they certainly work well. They're honestly pretty impressive, especially from a company known for construction tools. They sure make my life easier, and beat reefing on a hand saw. In our professional capacity, for what we need them to do, they're perfectly acceptable, especially for the price. Hopefully they last for awhile.
Hopefully the pictures attach and load up. Has anybody else been using any battery saw, without some ridiculous expectations about performance? What do you have and think?
