I recently moved to a home with land and lots of trees. Here in this part of Massachusetts, there are still traces of the incredible ice storm of the Winter 2009, and our lot had a lot of trees down. We also got a couple trees down to clear up from areas of our property and in order to save some money, the tree company just cut the trees down, not into sections.
Choosing between an electric or gas chainsaw
So it was time for me to get a chainsaw that could do the job. I don't think i'll be cutting trees down too often and i also wanted to avoid having any real maintenance with it, so i left the gas based chainsaws on the side. From what i have heard around me now, i don't think a gas chainsaw would have been that much more maintenance, get some gas, mix with oil, and keep it cleaned but since i knew i wasn't going to use it on a regular basis, and you have to put gas stabilizer or empty it in this case, i went for electric. Granted if a tree falls down 200ft away from the house, either i need to carry a power generator to the area (which is not impossible but quite some work!) or i'll have to borrow a gas chainsaw from someone else (which i can, so it's not a big deal).
Where to buy a Poulan electric chainsaw?
I went directly to Amazon.com and i started to search for "electric chainsaws", ranked it by most popular and the Poulan 400E electric chainsaw ranked first. The price was $85, on sales from $169 i believe which caught my interest. It also had an impressive number of positive reviews (i believe it ranked 4.5/5 at the time i looked). So i got one. I also purchase a 100ft contractor type cord extensions since the trees where on the side of the house. I know i read reviews about not using a electric cord extension of 100ft as you might lose power (well it does take quite a distance for the power to reach the chainsaw!) but to my experience it has not been a problem. Also, grab a couple bottles of chainsaw oil, get 3 or 4, believe me you'll need it if you have to cut more than 2 or 3 trees, but it's pretty cheap (i got $7.99 a bottle). Don't forget the safety, i got a pair of contractor gloves at Home Depot (like these http://www.amazon.com/DPG20L-Purpose-Synthetic-Leather-Spandex/dp/B000FPAS2K/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1257710807&sr=1-2) and a pair of safety goggles (http://www.amazon.com/Dewalt-DPG82-11C-Concealer-Anti-Fog-Safety/dp/B000RKQ1NI/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1257710842&sr=1-1). i'll add reviews for these products.
Pros of owning an electric chainsaw
It's light, boy it is light and i really enjoy that. It's easy to maneuver and it allows you to cut trees for a couple hours.
Maintenance is simple: all you have to do, and please take my experience as a newbie is cleaning it up of debris after you use it (you can use a metallic brush and a screwdriver to go in deep in some areas), put oil in it before you are going to do some cutting, sharpen it (i will write a review for the best chainsaw sharpener ever and link to it from here), check that the chain tension is good (I am still very much learning that one but i discovered that loosen up the chainsaw a bit helps it rotate faster and it cuts relatively faster, but you get a little more vibrations...)
There are 2 bolts on the side panel that you can remove and access the chain area to really clean it good. I do it ever other time i use my chainsaw.
It has a safety handle you push which prevents any accident and i really like that when i put the chainsaw down (although i found that unplugging it from the electric cord is almost as fast and 100% sure :))
It is really not noisy at all, which was surprising.
It doesn't smell gas! Which is great if you store it in your garage.
It cuts small and larger trees: some of the base trunks are 2 feet wide and the chainsaw goes through it. It takes a bit of work, but it can handle it.
Cons of owning an electric chainsaw
You can't got deep in the woods cut any tree you want. As i said, unless you carry with you a generator (which you could if you had a small lawn tractor and attached your generator to it... not so easy though) but to me, it's not a problem for now.
Although it is powerful and i get plenty of power out of it for what i need, i suspect gas based chainsaw are more powerful, but once again, it does the job for me and i don't have to deal with gas.
I can't really come up with anything else for now (will update as i discover more).
Should you get an electric chainsaw?
It took me a couple weeks to assess my needs for a chainsaw and i am really happy i went this way. Over all, i spent less than $200 for everything i needed, and it has done more than i expected and i am having fun.
If your trees are not close from your home, there is no doubt you need a gas chainsaw.
If you are a home owner who just needs to cut a couple trees down or cut a tree down into pieces in a 100foot perimeter around your home only once in a while, go electric.
One thing i am going to do is write a review of the accessories i got with my Poulan chainsaw, i'll share why i picked them and why i like them or not. One thing you DO want to read when it's ready is my review of an amazing chainsaw sharpener i got and which will make a heck of a difference when you cut wood. Sharpen your chainsaw every 3 or 4 cuts and your chainsaw will almost improve its performance as you use it, trust me.
RSS
I recently moved to a home with land and lots of trees. Here in this part of Massachusetts, there are still traces of the incredible ice storm of the Winter 2009, and our lot had a lot of trees down. We also got a couple trees down to clear up from areas of our property and in order to save some money, the tree company just cut the trees down, not into sections.
Choosing between an electric or gas chainsaw
So it was time for me to get a chainsaw that could do the job. I don't think i'll be cutting trees down too often and i also wanted to avoid having any real maintenance with it, so i left the gas based chainsaws on the side. From what i have heard around me now, i don't think a gas chainsaw would have been that much more maintenance, get some gas, mix with oil, and keep it cleaned but since i knew i wasn't going to use it on a regular basis, and you have to put gas stabilizer or empty it in this case, i went for electric. Granted if a tree falls down 200ft away from the house, either i need to carry a power generator to the area (which is not impossible but quite some work!) or i'll have to borrow a gas chainsaw from someone else (which i can, so it's not a big deal).
Where to buy a Poulan electric chainsaw?
I went directly to Amazon.com and i started to search for "electric chainsaws", ranked it by most popular and the Poulan 400E electric chainsaw ranked first. The price was $85, on sales from $169 i believe which caught my interest. It also had an impressive number of positive reviews (i believe it ranked 4.5/5 at the time i looked). So i got one. I also purchase a 100ft contractor type cord extensions since the trees where on the side of the house. I know i read reviews about not using a electric cord extension of 100ft as you might lose power (well it does take quite a distance for the power to reach the chainsaw!) but to my experience it has not been a problem. Also, grab a couple bottles of chainsaw oil, get 3 or 4, believe me you'll need it if you have to cut more than 2 or 3 trees, but it's pretty cheap (i got $7.99 a bottle). Don't forget the safety, i got a pair of contractor gloves at Home Depot (like these http://www.amazon.com/DPG20L-Purpose-Synthetic-Leather-Spandex/dp/B000FPAS2K/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1257710807&sr=1-2) and a pair of safety goggles (http://www.amazon.com/Dewalt-DPG82-11C-Concealer-Anti-Fog-Safety/dp/B000RKQ1NI/ref=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1257710842&sr=1-1). i'll add reviews for these products.
Pros of owning an electric chainsaw
Cons of owning an electric chainsaw
Should you get an electric chainsaw?
It took me a couple weeks to assess my needs for a chainsaw and i am really happy i went this way. Over all, i spent less than $200 for everything i needed, and it has done more than i expected and i am having fun. If your trees are not close from your home, there is no doubt you need a gas chainsaw. If you are a home owner who just needs to cut a couple trees down or cut a tree down into pieces in a 100foot perimeter around your home only once in a while, go electric.
One thing i am going to do is write a review of the accessories i got with my Poulan chainsaw, i'll share why i picked them and why i like them or not. One thing you DO want to read when it's ready is my review of an amazing chainsaw sharpener i got and which will make a heck of a difference when you cut wood. Sharpen your chainsaw every 3 or 4 cuts and your chainsaw will almost improve its performance as you use it, trust me.