electric chainsaw for garage use - wow!

[motif]

I was thinking about buying electric chainsaw as a addition to my gasoline one
for small work in the garage etc. The gasoline smell and noise indoors is not  bearable.
Everything stands the same about electric saw like chain, chain oil etc?
What is the adequate power of electric chainsaw to do the work?

[Cut4fun]

I use $65 Roybi with 16" 3/8LP. Works fine indoors for small task and sure helps cutting up deer after de-boning them. Plenty of torque in the cut, just not speedy.

[Ironwood]

I tend to shop USED, the best use units I have found are the old yellow McCollougs. I have killed a couple, but that have really taken some abuse. The other cheapies  tend to be pretty much junk from what I have found. Wren brand  comes to mind and other ones like that.   

Ironwood

[Ironwood]

I was just at the shop and my current McCollough is a EM1300S. Dont recall what I paid for it at the flea market, but likely $10-25. That is my general expenditure when they look like the were used once and put on a shelf in some suburbanites garage or basement. I have also found others, some collectors items (like at the scrap yard) that are HUGE heavy oldies that might break your leg if they fell on you. One red one must be 2 HP and weigh 60 pounds I forget the brand, but it is a piece of history and totally rebuildable w/ brushes and so fourth.

Ironwood

[motif]

I use $65 Roybi with 16" 3/8LP. Works fine indoors for small task and sure helps cutting up deer after de-boning them. Plenty of torque in the cut, just not speedy.

yes, something like that would be nice. What is the power of it?
Not sure how electric power translates into mechanic.

[Al_Smith]

Electric is true horsepower while gasoline is derived from a rather complex formula which can be miss leading .

My granddad had a Sears electric which my dad got which I can have if I just retrieve it .Does fine for about anything you want it to do but it's no speed demon .Always starts though . :D

[Gary_C]

Electric is true horsepower while gasoline is derived from a rather complex formula which can be miss leading .

Horsepower is calculated the same and it is determined by the same formula regardless of where it comes from. What you are calling misleading is actually because horsepower is not the only thing that is important in a power source.

[motif]

Electric is true horsepower while gasoline is derived from a rather complex formula which can be miss leading .

Horsepower is calculated the same and it is determined by the same formula regardless of where it comes from. What you are calling misleading is actually because horsepower is not the only thing that is important in a power source.

so is e.g. 1.8 KW electric chainsaw power the same as HP equivalent for gasoline chainsaw 2.4 HP the same?

[Gary_C]

They are essentially the same. Multiply HP times 0.7457 to get KW.

[John Mc]

Electric motors tend to have a lot of torque at the low end as compared to gas, though this can vary with the type of electric motor.

One example of this: I have a 16 ton electric log splitter with a 2 HP, 110 VAC motor. Then company that makes this splitter also sells it in a gas version with very similar specs for cycle time and splitting force that uses a 6 HP gas engine.

John Mc

[motif]

in the shop the guy said I get more power from gasoline chainsaws, not sure what he meant.

[peterc38]

Also, FYI in case you did not know, if you wear chaps, they are not effective with electric chainsaws.

[John Mc]

in the shop the guy said I get more power from gasoline chainsaws, not sure what he meant.

He's probably thinking of higher cutting speeds... I believe the chain speed on a gas saw is much higher.

[pineywoods]

I kept one of the cheap remington saws in my mill shed for years. fine for triming off limbs and knots. finally just wore the plastic thing out.

[cpstrutt]

I use an electric chainsaw to cut logs for wood turning in my garage.  A few years ago I purchased a saw from one of the borgs and wore it out in about two weeks.  I brought it back and got my money back.  After that I got a Husqvarna 316E and it works like a charm.  I have been using it for about a year now and have not had an issue with it.  The cost was about $250 but it was well worth it to not have to deal with the fumes from a gas saw. Beside, my other saw, a Stihl 038 Mag with a 24" bar was a bit too much to be messing with inside the garage.

[Cut4fun]

I use $65 Roybi with 16" 3/8LP. Works fine indoors for small task and sure helps cutting up deer after de-boning them. Plenty of torque in the cut, just not speedy.

yes, something like that would be nice. What is the power of it?
Not sure how electric power translates into mechanic.

I havent a clue. Here is the updated one specs. Motor 3.5hp.    No Load Speed (Sprocket) 6200/min.  Input 120V, 60Hz, AC Only 13.0 Amps.  Net Weight 10.7lbs.

I compare the power to a 38cc-42cc size saws, just not the rpm, but sharp chain and lot of torque in cut.    The have manual bar oiler primer on top.   Here is a pic of the updated one, mine is older with manual side tensioner.  http://www.amazon.com/Reconditioned-Ryobi-ZRRY43006-Electric-Carrying/dp/B0013EOTQ8

[chopperfreak2k1]

Electric motors tend to have a lot of torque at the low end as compared to gas, though this can vary with the type of electric motor.

One example of this: I have a 16 ton electric log splitter with a 2 HP, 110 VAC motor. Then company that makes this splitter also sells it in a gas version with very similar specs for cycle time and splitting force that uses a 6 HP gas engine.

John Mc

exactly. electric motors and gas motors are not rated the same way. not sure what the difference is but my experience has been that a 3 hp electric motor will easily out work a 5 hp gas motor. i.e. you can stall a gas motor way easier than you can stall a similar hp electric motor no matter where you are in the power band. i have been taught that when buying or comparing electric motors look at the amps not the hp.

[Al_Smith]

Horsepower is calculated the same and it is determined by the same formula regardless of where it comes from. What you are calling misleading is actually because horsepower is not the only thing that is important in a power source.

That would be true in a perfect world where the truth is no skewed just a tad .

Let me rephrase that if I might .Electrical horsepower is 746 watts per HP .. Gasoline could use a zillion formulas depending on how tthe manufacturer wanted the final readings to say .Peak ,developed ,SAE net ,SAE gross .etc etc . .BTW if it makes any sense they lie about electric too . ;)

If it were the same then kindly explain why the conversion factor of say replacing a gas engine with electric is often about one half the rating the gasoline engine had with the replacement electric .For example a 34 HP Wisconsin engine driven air compressor is replaced with a 10HP 3 phase electric motor and gets the same output and with not nearly the cost to operate .You kind find the same deal if you cross refernce certain portable bandsaw mills .

[Gary_C]

Al, you are talking about two different things. First the calculation and/or the testing of horsepower is always the same, no matter the source. There are formulas and testing procedures that are standardized and the numbers will always be the same, no matter who does the calculation or testing.

And second the rating of power sources is certainly subject to whatever the manufacturer wishes to put on that power unit, within the capabilities of that unit. And there are many factors to consider when they rate a power unit like type of application, duty cycles, and ambient temperature and conditions. And most motors and engines do not actually run at max rated horsepower all the time. But that manufacturer also puts the company name and reputation on the line everytime thay rate a power unit and have to live with the consequences of their rating.

As far as the explanation, there are inheritant differences between electric and gas fueled power units that can explain why more HP is required for gas engines vs electric motors. Electric motors can respond to changes in load at the speed of light or rather the speed that electrons can flow thru wires. Gas motors have to physically move more fuel to the combustion chamber to respond and they can not do that anywhere near as fast. And electric motors have all the reserve capacity of the entire electrical generating system to draw from in an instant and gas motors are limited to the physical size of the fuel pump and lines for reserve capacity.

And finally horsepower is a very poor measure of a motor's ability to perform the work needed. I'd much rather see the peak torque and at what RPM that max torque is produced along with a nice flat topped torque curve to boot. Most chainsaw engines rely on very high RPM's to get HP and the torque curve probably drops faster than the RPM's.

[motif]

Electric motors tend to have a lot of torque at the low end as compared to gas, though this can vary with the type of electric motor.

One example of this: I have a 16 ton electric log splitter with a 2 HP, 110 VAC motor. Then company that makes this splitter also sells it in a gas version with very similar specs for cycle time and splitting force that uses a 6 HP gas engine.

John Mc

exactly. electric motors and gas motors are not rated the same way. not sure what the difference is but my experience has been that a 3 hp electric motor will easily out work a 5 hp gas motor. i.e. you can stall a gas motor way easier than you can stall a similar hp electric motor no matter where you are in the power band. i have been taught that when buying or comparing electric motors look at the amps not the hp.

yes, that's what I was asking for - so even on a paper both electric and gasoline chainsaw have same power in reality electric outperform gasoline and it's harder to stall. On the other hand when it does stall electric engine is probably damaged whereas gasoline engine is still fine, right? Also how I understand it's easier and cheaper to build high power gasoline chainsaw then electric.

[Al_Smith]

Well gentlemen I think we are on the same page regarding how power is both figured and alluded to by some manufactuers .It's just the way we individually look at it where in the differences lie .

A fews ago I built up a little splitter that orginally had a 5 HP Briggs engine .I replaced it with a 3450 RPM electric rated at supposedly 5 HP .It reality however it was a true 2.8 HP by figuring the amperage draw .It did jut fine for no bigger that it was though .

In other instances people have replaced or made provision for electrifying splitters and used a true 5 HP electric which would preform just as well or better than a 12 HP gasoline .Woodmizer offers either a 25 HP electric or a 50 some odd HP diesel on one of it's larger models .

Now then if in fact the HP ratings on gas were in fact true rather than embelished then and only then would you get a true rating regarding the option of using electric to replace gas .Until such time if that ever happens you just have to research it a tad bit . ;)

[chopperfreak2k1]

yes, that's what I was asking for - so even on a paper both electric and gasoline chainsaw have same power in reality electric outperform gasoline and it's harder to stall. On the other hand when it does stall electric engine is probably damaged whereas gasoline engine is still fine, right? Also how I understand it's easier and cheaper to build high power gasoline chainsaw then electric.

i wouldn't say an electric motor is damaged if it stalls, although it's possible i guess. i do know you can damage an electric motor if it stalls and you continue to feed it power.

yes i would agree that it's easier to build a gas motor chainsaw than an electric one.

[Gary_C]

Here is a very good explanation of the electric vs. internal combustion engine sizing differences.

Hydraulic Power Units

The article is a bit technical but look at Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 where they show torque-speed curves for ac electric and IC engines. And they give this explanation.

Diesel and gasoline engines are another matter. They have a much flatter torque-speed curve, so they deliver roughly the same torque at high speed as they do at low speed. This means an internal compustion engine may develop high enough torque to drive a loaded pump, but not enough to accelerate it to operating speed. Consequently, with all other factors being equal, a power unit requiring an electric motor of a given power rating usually requires a gasoline or diesel engine with a power rating more than double that of the electric motor.

So the bottom line is nothing is skewed, embellished or altered in any way. It's just that these different power units have differing characteristics that have to be taken into account.

[motif]

I just did some electric chainsaw wood cutting in my garage I brought before using my gasoline chainsaw
and I am stunned. What a torque! 1.8 KW sounds like a hell of a more power then my gasoline 2KM  8)
Cutting was smooth and quick, no stopping or smelling and after an 30 minutes the saw was not even warm!
Not to mention 10 times more quite...

Can I have electric socket in woods please?  ;D  
and all these for just about 50 euros, some CMI german/chinese product... (currently logging in Europe)

[terrifictimbersllc]

Can I have electric socket in woods please?  ;D  

someone should make a video of an electric chainsaw plugged into an outlet box in a tree and put it on youtube as a solar breakthrough.....bet it would "go viral".....could end by the saw trying to cut the tree down but getting turned off as fast as a Sawstop saw...... :D :D :D you can have my idea for free go for it :D :D