Totem Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 So my 2 year old italian efco 20 inch 2stroke gas saw just died the other day; has no spark but everything seems to test good. I had already just replaced chain and gas primer bulb so naturally i was mad. I thought to myself, well they will be banning gasoline and propane soon so what is California doing? (insert free laugh here) . I read that everyone in Cali switched over to the 60 Volt Dewalt saws and the new 20 inch model. I then saw it beat a gas 555 Stihl head to head in a hickory cookie cutting contest on youtube. i thought no way... this cannot be. So i got on the waiting list to buy one through the home repo. when the saw came it was ready to go, just had to charge battery. That took about 4 hours or so. that was basically the only Debbie downer of it. the thing has so much torque and cuts so fast I won $200 betting my friends it would beat their gas saws. It whoopped a husqer and a poulan. Both guys grumbled that my chain was "new" as the saw had just arrived however both had just replaced their bars and chains themselves, so pay up. So, while we may never see an electric RV, i have found an electric tool that is hands down my favorite thing I own now. as long as you don't stop, it cuts so fast you cant even believe it. Its tempting to let it stop by taking finger and thumb off trigger while cutting but don't; will pop the chain if you let it stop buried in a log, but even that they have made effortless to fix. Overall it was lighter and faster than my gas. I fell and bucked and cut a decent tree with it on same charge also. Im not usually an immediate fan of e-tech but in this case its worth it. no gas, filtersm plugs or other crap. just a plug and bar lube. it starts paying itself off immediately with today's gas prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Yeah no gas soon in California for tools or generators. Too much stuff. I went out and bought an Onan portable 2800 generator because of it. I live in a remote area with no local electric power. Everything has to come through the power lines from hundreds of miles away. Power goes out or they turn it off to prevent their crappy maintained wired from starting a fire in a windstorm and we can go without power for days. Solar doesn't work too well when we also can have heavy clouds for weeks. I can deal with replacing some tools but power to the house out for days your food goes bad and oh yeah, you can freeze to death. City folk just don't get it. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_M Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 The whole left coast is getting that way too. I still keep my wood stove and a kerosene heater with plenty of kerosene around. I do have solar but Linda's right it only lasts so long and the fire smoke from the fires does it no good as well. I have a homemade wind generator but had to take it down, the blades I made gave this whooop whooop sound like Chinook helicopter. Gave my neighbor flashbacks of Vietnam. The toy is the backup with the propane fridge though not much room for the freezer stuff. Totem, I have a electric 14" Homelite, does okay for small things, not battery but the plug in type. If I need power I grab my neighbor's Stihl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 I had a 18 volt 14” battery powered ryobi chainsaw; great for small branch cuts. the 20” 60 volt however is a different animal. It will out speed cut most 550 gas saws including stihl. It was comparable in price to a new gas saw also. Sorry to hear about the electricity and sadness, but hey no more mean tweets. Look on the bright side right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 My household stuff is 40v. I've got 3 batteries, pole saw, chain saw, string trimmer, leaf blower, hedge trimmer. I bought some tools without batteries, much cheaper. I figure I'm only going to use 1 or 2 tools at the same job. 40v is great for home owner level stuff, not sure I would like it at the pro level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john*thomas Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 We still aren't there for people who use tools in a commercial way. I can put my tool on a charger and get back to what I was doing later and no big deal. Someone doing it for a living can not. That said, as far as for me, I love battery tools. I have drills, weed eater, lawn mower, etc. Could I use the lawn mower to run a lawn business with? No. But for me it's great. Quiet, lightweight, and no gas to mess with. I can take my weed eater wherever I need it and it works great. I love my battery drill. I have a small saw attachment that does most anything I need done around the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 Battery stuff sure has its place, all of my hand use stuff is battery powered however when you are in the middle of 80 acres cutting firewood nothing beats a Stihl, I would need a backpack full of batteries. That being said my wife's chain saw is a battery handheld Stihl oh that's a slick little tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 (edited) except a comparable echo chainsaw. and i do have a little stihl 170 . but my trimmer and blower are Echo. the 170 was a used gift from a freand. so light for an old guy . a great yard and camp saw . echo has a line of battery tools also dont know if they are as good as the gas stuff . still using that gasstuff. and my old metal illegal eagle gas can. with a home made spout. LOL ya i am a redneck. ant no city boy here. Edited October 14, 2022 by 5Toyota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewanderlustking Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) The biggest secret to keeping a gas saw alive is rec fuel. My Ryobi chainsaw I hadn’t used since the Irma cleanup in 2017. I had left gas in it too. But, it was rec fuel and 2-stroke mix. Popped off on the third pull with 5yr old gas. With that said, my pole saw is corded. And all my mechanics and homeowners tools are Milwaukee M12 or M18 battery stuff. I killed the last gas lawnmower when I left a tank of normal gas from the prior season in it. We grabbed a greenworks mower and weed whacker. I would consider a Milwaukee M18 chainsaw. But I am not fully convinced it would be better than what I already have. Now if it was going to live in the back of a pickup truck, for sure. Edited October 15, 2022 by thewanderlustking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Hope you have a really big battery pack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 i dont buy that premade i live near a place that sells no ethanol gas bought a gallon today 6bucks but last me maybe near a year. put twice the called for amount of stabill. in it i use echo oil which has some stabill in it . i have never had a gas line or carb problem. i dont leve gas in the 2 cycle stuff. put same gas in my 11 year old flat head briggs mower no oil in it but heavy dose of stabill in that gas can. end of season put a little more stabill in the gas tank of mow er never had the carb open never had gas line ate up on anything. change mower oil clean air filter use ngk plugs in everthing. my neyebors stuff spits drives me crazey whey it runs but they said that gas cost too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 I have been using pump ethanol fuel since it came out never had issue one. Chain saws, backpack blowers, push lawn mowers, zero turns, weed wackers etc. I have to deal with 80 acres my stuff gets' a good workout. Ethanol is an alcohol it evaporates when stored any way. Fuel dragsters burn pure ethanol (ethyl alcohol) there is more energy in that than gasoline! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 actually, top fuel dragsters run methanol (wood alcohol). with nitromethane added. methanol used today is derived from natural gas. alcohol can't evaporate if it is stored in an airtight container Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 Actually , there is a class for alcohol dragsters. But Top Fuel is Nitromethane, usually in the 85-90% range. They need a little alcohol to get the fire lit. FWIW a TF dragster will burn about 15 gallons of fuel in 4 seconds and the life span of the engine is less than 30 sec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extech Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 point i wanted to make is that all of them run methanol-not ethanol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 7 hours ago, extech said: actually, top fuel dragsters run methanol (wood alcohol). with nitromethane added. methanol used today is derived from natural gas. alcohol can't evaporate if it is stored in an airtight container Gas tanks are vented otherwise there would be not be fuel flow. When I push my gas powered stuff undercover come spring there usually is zero fuel in them. Two strokes aren't as bad. There really is little difference between the two ethanol is drinkable form of alcohol, while methanol is highly toxic when consumed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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