Cut off saws - Cordless or corded

[mickavalon]

Hello folks, I've not been on here for a while, but thought it the best place to get possible advice I want. Has anybody any experience with the new Cordless ranges of 9" cut off saws, Stihl/Dewalt/Husqvarna and also with Husqvarnas k4000 wet/dry 110v saw? Our trusted old Stihl has finally had enough abuse from us so I'm looking to renew, but I don't want to go down the 2 stroke road, fed up of the noise/weight and having to run off to fetch fuel/oil or both!!! All of them have dust suppression/extraction capability, just not sure about the battery life and can't seem to find any reviews for the Husky K4000. We have a table saw for regular cutting in Porcelain and stone, but for in situ cutting, deeper cuts etc we need a hand held. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Tony McC]

I've not had a chance to play with any of them yet - a consequence of being off-the-tools, I suppose, but it's probably the way forward.

However, as with all lecky gadgets just now, the limiting factor is the battery life and the biggest cost saving manufacturers can make is that battery. The cheap 'bargains' from Chinese manufacturers selling via Ebay invariably have crappy batteries that are frazzled in a few months, but with names such as Bosch and Husqy, even though they tend to be Chinese manufactured, you'd hope the European quality expectations would ensure a least 18 minth's of service before needing (expensive) replacement.

Mind you, having said that, I bought a cordless Bosch drill with two "power packs" and neither lasted more than 6 months, despite oinly ever being used for light domestic duties such as shelf-erecting and screw fixing/removal!

Many of the recognised tool brands are actively shifting away from fossil-fuel engines wherever they can, and switching to rechargeables. Within a generation, anyone running a 2-stroke cut-off saw will probably be regarded as an antique!

[rab1]

The brickie's on one of our sites are using the Sthil battery powered saws. Personally never used one but the lads say there the mutts.

[mickavalon]

Thank's chaps, I've gone for the Husqvarna K4000, 110v electric, soft start, 14" blade, water kit and can be fitted to a dust extractor if required. Looks a solid bit of kit and alongside the table saw, should serve us well. I'm a bit sceptical about battery life too Tony, just like to see them about a bit longer, if you know what I mean. As it is we've generally got the client's permission to use their power or we have a generator if needs be, so not really much need to go cordless at the moment. It's tried and tested with smaller power tools and I know plenty of Garden maintenance teams who use them, but maybe next year:D

[Donk]

they wont cut through a block in one pass.

I use a cheap electric 12" which is great, supposed to hook it up to dust extraction....

[lutonlagerlout]

batterys are the way its going
makita do a twin battery chainsaw now which I have seen in action and works well
I spoke to my Stihl dealer yesterday and he reckoned they are working on a non corded start for the 2 strokes as battery technology has come on so much
cheers LLL

[Dave_L]

Yes, the battery Stihl cut-off saws are starting to appear on sites - and the feedback so far is very positive (no pun intended!)

I'll stick to my 350mm Stihl saw for the moment as cutting through kerbs and pipes in one hit is important to me.

[michaelthegardener]

not got a cut off saw but got a strimmer hedge cutter long reach hedge cutter and mower all stihl and all fantastic with the ap300 batterys and fast charger bonus right now is they are nice and quiet so can keep a low profile while there are still people who havent read the rules and think i shouldn't be out ! batterys are 160 quid a pop mind ! that said i get about a hour mowing from one but 6 hours hedge cutting !

[mickavalon]

OK, so even though we bought the husky we've also gone for a stihl cordless saw, 2 great pieces of kit, both with dust extraction, one we set up for prolonged heavier cutting the other for more detailed and slightly less strenuous cutting.
So far no battery issues, fingers crossed.

[Tony McC]

What's the typical running time from a single battery chgarge?