Recommendations for chainsaw, budget around £200

[Heltor Chasca]

I would opt for more power as this will occasionally get you out a pinch and consequent kickback. I’m yet to see a battery saw up to the task. They are great for smaller brash.

A decent smart saw horse or similar https://www.lawnmowers-uk.co.uk/sti...ad-e775c2dc23a6&source=webgains&siteid=196673
will mean you can saw every piece of timber to the correct size. Chasing bits of wood round the yard will end in damaged machinery or a lump of wood shot up into your face.

Best chainsaw trousers you can afford, safety specs and decent helmet with visor. Steel capped boots as a minimum. Gloves perhaps.

Can you get away without doing a course? Probably, but the maintenance, safety and practical skills learned are invaluable. If you are going to skip this, invest a few bob on a good book and even more hours on YouTube. The Stihl videos are long, but worth watching over and over. Then it’s all about a mix of respect and confidence with your saw. They genuinely are very dangerous tools.

Enjoy the journey.

 

[Dave 123]

I should have posted this when I was doing my safety preach...

I used to own a Tanaka chainsaw. Bomb proof and a fraction of the price of the brands

https://www.tanakaspares.co.uk/new-equipment_petrol-chainsaws

 

[Profpointy]

I used leci chainsaws (mains) 20 years ago, and remain scetical of mains chainsaws never mind battery.
I am frankly scared of chainsaws, but if forced to use one, I'd very much want want with enough umph, which means petrol - and I have used small petrol ones too. Although much more powerful I thought it better behaved - a bit like a blunt versus sharp knife in teh kitchen
OK battery technology has advance a lot since the eighties, but doubt it's as good as a mains 80s model - which frankly wasn't up to it.


Edited / rewritten as was previously a bit miselading - same advice though- petrol

 

[Tin Pot]

I borrowed a chainsaw for my monster cherry laurel last year. Chain kept coming off. It was unwieldy and dangerous. It was much easier to use a normal saw. Went through the wood like butter.

 

[Reynard]

I borrowed a chainsaw for my monster cherry laurel last year. Chain kept coming off. It was unwieldy and dangerous. It was much easier to use a normal saw. Went through the wood like butter.

Sounds like worn / saggy chain or a bent bar. A well-maintained saw working at the proper chain tension makes easy work of just about any timber.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I borrowed a chainsaw for my monster cherry laurel last year. Chain kept coming off. It was unwieldy and dangerous. It was much easier to use a normal saw. Went through the wood like butter.

Good you are still with us @Tin Pot AKA ‘Scar Face’.

 

[PaulSB]

II’m yet to see a battery saw up to the task. They are great for smaller brash.

You should then take an opportunity to look at the Stihl MSA 120. As an owner I probably have a bias but these machines definitely have the power to easily deal with everything the OP requires. Obviously it’s not a saw for felling trees but for heavy pruning, logging up to 20-25cm etc. it’s ideal. It will tackle larger but needs care.

Other benefits I enjoy is Stihl offer a range of quality garden tools strimmer, leaf blower etc. which all work with the same battery. On top of this the chainsaw is literally on or off which eliminates the hassle of a petrol saw and is, in my view, safer. I feel being able to quickly put the saw down and off to move logs etc. pick it up again and start is a significant factor in working safely and efficiently.

On battery life I usually get 3-4 hours working time. If I want to work longer I put it on charge over lunch, do a bit of stacking etc. by which time battery is ready to go again.

Interesting to note battery run time varies from machine to machine. The chainsaw is 30-35 minutes work time, the leaf blower, which runs continuously, is 20 minutes. That’s a little frustrating but is overcome by managing one’s work.

Given the OP’s needs and age, both similar to mine, I’ve absolutely no hesitation in recommending the Stihl.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

You should then take an opportunity to look at the Stihl MSA 120. As an owner I probably have a bias but these machines definitely have the power to easily deal with everything the OP requires. Obviously it’s not a saw for felling trees but for heavy pruning, logging up to 20-25cm etc. it’s ideal. It will tackle larger but needs care.

Other benefits I enjoy is Stihl offer a range of quality garden tools strimmer, leaf blower etc. which all work with the same battery. On top of this the chainsaw is literally on or off which eliminates the hassle of a petrol saw and is, in my view, safer. I feel being able to quickly put the saw down and off to move logs etc. pick it up again and start is a significant factor in working safely and efficiently.

On battery life I usually get 3-4 hours working time. If I want to work longer I put it on charge over lunch, do a bit of stacking etc. by which time battery is ready to go again.

Interesting to note battery run time varies from machine to machine. The chainsaw is 30-35 minutes work time, the leaf blower, which runs continuously, is 20 minutes. That’s a little frustrating but is overcome by managing one’s work.

Given the OP’s needs and age, both similar to mine, I’ve absolutely no hesitation in recommending the Stihl.

This is useful information for me. Thank you. I am hopeful there will be a revolution in the improvement of battery packs for power tools. My negative bias at the moment is based on price and battery life for a professional user. Over the years price has been dropping and battery life increasing, so it’s getting there. Batteries aren't a closed chapter with me. I hate the noise, mess, pollution and smell of chainsaws, but for the work I do, I need the power.

If you say these batteries can log firewood of 20-25cm, then I would jump at the chance. Blissful silence.

 

[Pale Rider]

This is useful information for me. Thank you. I am hopeful there will be a revolution in the improvement of battery packs for power tools. My negative bias at the moment is based on price and battery life for a professional user. Over the years price has been dropping and battery life increasing, so it’s getting there. Batteries aren't a closed chapter with me. I hate the noise, mess, pollution and smell of chainsaws, but for the work I do, I need the power.

If you say these batteries can log firewood of 20-25cm, then I would jump at the chance. Blissful silence.

When Volta first made his voltaic pile - the first battery - it was big and heavy.

Fast forward more than 200 years, and batteries are still big and heavy.

Progress is always being made, but it is very slow and incremental.

If you - or any of us - wait for a 'super battery' we will probably be dead or at least too old and infirm to make use of it before it arrives.

Buy the best you can afford now and get on with using it is the only sensible advice.

 

[PaulSB]

@Heltor Chasca I thought these might help which I took this evening. Working with 20cm wet alder - it blew down 6 weeks ago. Still very sappy. I think this is the largest the saw will handle.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

View attachment 406002 View attachment 406003 @Heltor Chasca I thought these might help which I took this evening. Working with 20cm wet alder - it blew down 6 weeks ago. Still very sappy. I think this is the largest the saw will handle.

Thank you. That’s impressive and I like the shape of the bar. Could be a good contender for carving perhaps.

 

[Reynard]

[QUOTE 5224445, member: 45"]Sturdy clothes aren't fine. You want the proper chainsaw stuff which is fibrous and clogs the blade.[/QUOTE]

Try finding some that fits someone my height.

It's all much too big - and baggy. Wearing circus tents while using any sort of power tool is asking for trouble. So I wear protective gear over sturdy work clothes.

 

[Randomnerd]

In the UK you may be fined by HSE if you’re caught using a chainsaw without the appropriate PPE, even at home. You have a duty of care to follow the recommendations, which does not include “ stout cavalry twill shorts” or “thick socks” or “some goggles”.
As a pro saw user with 28 years in the game, I would never start a saw without the gear on. I’ve seen the consequences.
£200 doesn’t get you much saw, and gets you no PPE. It’s almost that for a pair of chainsaw boots.
Get a handsaw OP.
IMO all posters who advocate saw use without first getting approved training, sharpening skills, safe working body position, fitness ( the op has arthritis), are offering potentially life-threatening advice.

 

[Profpointy]

In the UK you may be fined by HSE if you’re caught using a chainsaw without the appropriate PPE, even at home. You have a duty of care to follow the recommendations, which does not include “ stout cavalry twill shorts” or “thick socks” or “some goggles”.
As a pro saw user with 28 years in the game, I would never start a saw without the gear on. I’ve seen the consequences.
£200 doesn’t get you much saw, and gets you no PPE. It’s almost that for a pair of chainsaw boots.
Get a handsaw OP.
IMO all posters who advocate saw use without first getting approved training, sharpening skills, safe working body position, fitness ( the op has arthritis), are offering potentially life-threatening advice.

Fined by HSE when doing your own thing at home? I'd need some convincing of that

edit: I'm by no means pooh-pooing proper.kevlar.trousers mind. I'd buy a pair if I got a chainsaw

 

[Randomnerd]

? I'd need some convincing of that

It’s rare, but has happened twice in UK in last ten years. Of course, it relies on some snooping arb assessor to be around when you’re swinging atop a leylandii in your pants, straddling a 66cc saw.
HSE haven’t got the bodies to patrol the industry, and deaths and serious injuries are still not going down.
Be aware that you can also be liable as a homeowner if you get a firm / individual in to do tree work, and they aren’t using appropriate gear.