One homeowner posting, appropriately, in the r/Chainsaw subreddit, sought advice about what type of chainsaw to buy. Specifically, the poster wanted to know whether they should go electric.
"How do battery powered tools like chainsaw / pole saws etc compare to petrol?" the poster asked. "I'm considering a new chainsaw and a first time multi tool for medium level work for a large garden with logs which need chopping up and branches need chopping off etc."
The consensus from the chainsaw lovers in the comment section was clear: Battery-operated is the way to go.
🗣️ If you're thinking about switching to electric yard tools, which of these factors would be most persuasive for you?
🔘 Better for the environment 🌎
🔘 Cheaper to fuel and maintain 💰
🔘 More enjoyable to use 💁
🔘 Produce better results 👏
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"I work in a big box home improvement store. If you'd told me 5 years ago, our garden power tools aisle would now be predominantly cordless, I'd [have] said you were nuts," one commenter wrote. "The power and ease of use of these tools are pretty phenomenal."
"Electric chainsaws have more torque and work with pretty much zero maintenance so are handy for jobs that are infrequent or aren't lasting hours at a time," another wrote.
"For garden use it's usually the best option to get a battery chainsaw in the ecosystem you already have batteries for," a third commenter chimed in.
The fact that people who devote their time to posting on a subreddit dedicated to chainsaws are now recommending electric chainsaws over gas-powered ones is great — gas-powered chainsaws have a massive negative impact on our environment.
Although gas-powered vehicles and machines get more press, the pollution they produce is astounding. Because gas-powered products are loosely regulated, they are not designed to prioritize fuel efficiency at all. Gas-powered mowers produce as much air pollution in just one hour as you would driving a new car for 45 miles, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Luckily, battery-powered alternatives now exist — and as the members of the r/Chainsaw subreddit can tell you, they get the job done just fine. (And also, you don't have to keep buying gas.)
Although the most powerful battery-powered chainsaw is still less powerful than the biggest conventional one, the technology continues to improve, and what's on the market right now is plenty powerful for a home gardener.
"Obviously, a gas tool can run all day while a battery saw would require several batteries rotating through a charger to do the same. A gas saw also can be bigger and more powerful, but even my cheap electric saw will do stuff up to about a foot," another commenter laid out. "You can just set an electric saw down for month and it will be ready to go. No clogged carbs, flooded motors, stale gas, mixing, etc which is really convenient when you need to just make a few cuts."
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