DeWalt 20v Chainsaw

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I just got me a DeWalt 20v chainsaw. All you electric and battery powered chainsaw haters, holster your flame throwers. I do own 3 Stihls. I am NOT saying that this is the best chainsaw to hit the market, BUT............
You could use it indoors in your shop. It wont spew any more chips than your lathe does.
It does have some incredible power, coming from a battery. Will it compete with a gas saw? Probably not. Well, NO. But, consider, IF you already own DeWalt 20v tools already, you will always have a charged battery available. Stick a battery in and pull the trigger....... It cuts fast. I used it to knock corners off and trim up 5 blanks. Used 1 bar of the battery.
It's pretty quiet, and you could use it in your shop. I'm sorry, studio.
It's brushless. It works in the rain. And it was raining.....
You could use it indoors since it runs on a battery. No fumes and no cord.
It sure beats filling the Stihl with gas, starting it up, and since I'm anal on my gas saws, I have to think, how much will I cut? Do I fill the tank, or put just enough, and hope I don't have to drain the rest out. Too much gas or not enough....... But, I am NOT going to grab this saw if I need to cut a lot of wood.
I think its a worthy consideration IF, and only if, you already have a good gas saw. If you don't already have a gas saw, try looking at the DeWalt 60v saw..... Ooops, another can of worms....

[Bruce Schoenleber]

Sounds very handy for when one or two cuts are all that is required. Besides combustion fumes, a downside to indoor chainsaw use is bar oil. All chainsaws are going to spray some oil, some much worse than others. How is the DeWalt in that regard?

[Don Frank]

I also use a non gas chainsaw for a bit of inside work when I don't want to fire up my big saw outside. Mine is a corded Dolmar (same as makita) and it's a wonderful saw. Not having a cord would be even nicer. I have also wondered about the bar oil. Mine does not noticeably fling oil off the blade and I have not detected any issues with using it indoors. I'm pretty sure mine has an adjustment I can set to regulate how much oil is released on the bar if that ever becomes an issue.
I noticed Baileys sells a non petroleum (environmentally friendly) bar oil. I'm guessing a vegetable oil etc.

[Jason Edwards]

In certain "environmentally" sensitive areas, loggers are required to use vegetable oil in their saws. I'm sure you could use veggy oil in the electric saws too, but check the manual first of course. While still messy, it might be easier to clean up and stain less than regular bar oil.

[Mike Goetzke]

About a year ago I picked up an EGO 56V 16" chainsaw since I had other EGO lawn tools and could share the batteries. Like Kyle said it is a very powerful saw. Issues I have read on the EGO forum from people using the saw heavily is that the chain dulls quickly and if you are not cutting straight the chain can fall off. When looking at this saw I think the reason for these issues is that the saw has a thin 0.043" chain/bar like many small corded electric saws. The manufacture doesn't recommend using a 0.050" chain but think this would work much better .

Mike

[Kyle Iwamoto]

It was raining when I was trimming up the blanks, so I can't really say how much oil the little saw sprays, but it is way less than my Stihls. The gas saws make a line of oil, even in the rain, this one didn't as far as I could tell. The chain speed is less, so maybe it doesn't spew as far. Drop a painters' drop cloth down. I just thought of that. That would also make cleanup easier too. I was excited about the new toy, err, I mean tool. Had to use it in the rain..... Didn't want to drag wet wood inside. Maybe just turn stuff until there's a layer of chips from the lathe, then trim up blanks and let the oil fall on the chips?

Mike, you can swap out the bar and chain(?) I'd do it. The DeWalt does come with a nice Oregon chain..... My only complaint so far is that the saw is a bit light. It jumps around a lot when starting the cut on the flat part of the blank. I guess you could get used to that.

[Rob Price]

I'm amazed the battery would run long enough. I do have an electric saw that I started with before I bought my gas chainsaw. I still use it occasionally inside the shop when it's raining outside.

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm amazed the battery would run long enough. I do have an electric saw that I started with before I bought my gas chainsaw. I still use it occasionally inside the shop when it's raining outside.

Batteries have come a long way. Last year I bought the EGO battery powered lawn mower with a 7.5Ahr 56V battery. I have a 1/4 acre lot and can cut my lawn twice and still have reserve (about 1hour run time).

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Upon further review.....
I cut and trimmed up another 10 8" blanks yesterday and the battery finally died out. The saw does spew out a significant amount of oil, so perhaps using it indoors isn't that great of an idea....... Never thought of that until Bruce mentioned it. Thanks!

On a different subject, a cordless reciprocating saw (brand of your choice) and a pruning blade can definitely be used indoors. That's my go to saw to prune those little branches when getting the real chainsaw is too much. I also don't care at all running the blade through the dirt. Faster than the demo blades I used to use.

It's a great little saw! Now I can visit the wood pile, grab a blank, pop in a battery and trim up the blank. I can see the production rate increasing already. Sigh. Now I gotta get off my chair and get to the bunch of trimmed up blanks ready to rough out.

[Alex Zeller]

Just wish the price would drop on the batteries. I can remember the days of using a 7.2v Nicad Makita drill. I thought they were amazing. Now they are a relic of history.

[Bruce Schoenleber]

Amen to that Alex. Battery prices are out of sight. Seems like the Gillette school of marketing at play, "give them the razor, sell them the blades".

[Avirato Carol]

I just got me a DeWalt 20v chainsaw. All you electric and battery powered chainsaw haters, holster your flame throwers. I do own 3 Stihls. I am NOT saying that this is the best chainsaw to hit the market, BUT............
You could use it indoors in your shop. It wont spew any more chips than your lathe does.
It does have some incredible power, coming from a battery. Will it compete with a gas saw? Probably not. Well, NO. But, consider, IF you already own DeWalt 20v tools already, you will always have a charged battery available. Stick a battery in and pull the trigger....... It cuts fast. I used it to knock corners off and trim up 5 blanks. Used 1 bar of the battery.
It's pretty quiet, and you could use it in your shop. I'm sorry, studio.
It's brushless. It works in the rain. And it was raining.....
You could use it indoors since it runs on a battery. No fumes and no cord.
It sure beats filling the Stihl with gas, starting it up, and since I'm anal on my gas saws, I have to think, how much will I cut? Do I fill the tank, or put just enough, and hope I don't have to drain the rest out. Too much gas or not enough....... But, I am NOT going to grab this saw if I need to cut a lot of wood.
I think its a worthy consideration IF, and only if, you already have a good gas saw. If you don't already have a gas saw, try looking at the DeWalt 60v saw..... Ooops, another can of worms....

I own that one but gas saw is better for me. thanks for your review

[Rich Aldrich]

Upon further review.....
I cut and trimmed up another 10 8" blanks yesterday and the battery finally died out. The saw does spew out a significant amount of oil, so perhaps using it indoors isn't that great of an idea....... Never thought of that until Bruce mentioned it. Thanks!

On a different subject, a cordless reciprocating saw (brand of your choice) and a pruning blade can definitely be used indoors. That's my go to saw to prune those little branches when getting the real chainsaw is too much. I also don't care at all running the blade through the dirt. Faster than the demo blades I used to use.

It's a great little saw! Now I can visit the wood pile, grab a blank, pop in a battery and trim up the blank. I can see the production rate increasing already. Sigh. Now I gotta get off my chair and get to the bunch of trimmed up blanks ready to rough out.

Can you adjust the oiler for the chain like a gas saw? You could the oil flow back, but watch your chain and bar for heat. On my Husky, I adjust the chain lube so there is just a little left when it runs out of gas and it seems to be enough. Not sure what to use as a gage for a battery powered saw.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Rich, I don't think the oil flow is adjustable. This is NOT a pro level saw. Pretty much disposable if you ask me. It gets enough oil which is key. if enough is good, more must be better.

Kyle 2500 miles southwest from Steve and just about everybody else. As an engineer, that glass has a 100% safety factor from overflow.

[Dave Mount]

I have the Milwaukee 18V version because I was already invested in that battery line. I have 5 Ah batteries instead of the 12 Ah that comes with it if you buy it with a battery (I bought the bare tool). It works fine with the 5 Ah batteries, it just has less run time (though it is still considerable, surprisingly so). But I have lots of 5 Ah batteries. It is not a substitute for a gas powered saw if you need the power, but it is not a toy either.

I bought it for my wife (yes, she likes that kind of stuff) because she wants a chainsaw for clearing fencelines and trails, but she struggles to start a gas chainsaw. Though she uses a chainsaw she is less experienced with it, and I like that Milwaukee saw stops dead when you let go of the trigger, it doesn't have a bunch of momentum that has to coast down, and the chain *never* moves unless you pull the trigger (also has a trigger lockout button that you have to push to get it to go, which is mildly annoying but you get used to it). Still requires respect -- with a 16" bar it can still find a way to kick back if you let it. I later bought her the Milwaukee "hatchet", which is like a 6" or 8" mini cordless chainsaw. Shorter bar has less kickback potential because the lever arm is shorter. It's small enough that she can put it in a saddle bag if she's riding a trail that might have something down on it. It is only available in 12V however so. . .another battery size.

Chainsaw bar oil has additives to make it stickier than vegetable or regular motor oil. It's not a matter of working v not working, just a matter of performing a little better in that application.

I have used the Milwaukee saw inside the shop for trimming a blank. I have a small wood cradle I put blanks in to cut them inside or outside (gets them off the floor/ground and keeps round ones from rolling). I position in front of the lathe to use it and let the oil go under the lathe into where the shavings are (or will be). Self cleaning. Most of the oil off a bar goes forward, as it is thrown as the chain makes the downward turn at the nose.

Best,

Dave