3 Reasons Why I Switched to an Electric Chainsaw for Cutting Firewood (and Everything Else)

Cutting down trees for heat has been around since the dawn of civilization. Although the process has changed drastically over the years, chainsaws are used today to harvest firewood, including mine.

I’ve been helping cut firewood for myself and others since I was a kid, and when I was old enough to have my own chainsaw, it was like everyone else around me was: gas powered. But after years of maintenance and dealing with common small engine problems, my wife gave me the gift of an electric chainsaw. After some initial skepticism, I am now a definitive convert. Let me tell you why.

1. Safety

Cutting firewood can be very dangerous, regardless of the saw you use. From dealing with falling trees to tripping hazards, with 36,000 chainsaw-related injuries per yearAny head start you can take to make the process safer is critical. Battery-powered chainsaws offer a safer alternative to gas-powered saws in a number of important areas.

First, and perhaps my favorite part of using an electric chainsaw, is that the saw stops almost immediately when I let off the throttle. The chain of a traditional chainsaw often continues to rotate, sometimes very slowly and sometimes a little faster. This is usually due to a poorly adjusted saw, where the idle speed must be set high enough to prevent the tool from sputtering out and dying.

Secondly, you are not dealing with flammable materials. Although chainsaw fires are rare, there is always an additional risk of fire if gasoline is present. Not to mention the mess associated with spills when filling the fuel tank and ensuring the correct oil-to-fuel ratio for the two-stroke engine.

In addition to these safety benefits, battery-powered chainsaws also come with all the other safety features found in their gas-powered counterparts, such as chain brakes, dual triggers, and more. The fantastic Husqvarna Power Ax 350i I also used a boost mode button, which increases power by 25%.

While this may not be considered a safety measure, when cutting through a knot in a tree, saws will often try to tie up and kick back at you. A power boost from hitting this spot can help the saw cut through and reduce the chance of you getting caught and coming back on you.

2. Serenity

I could put this in the safety section, but it’s important enough to me that it deserves its own section. As mentioned above, when you release the throttle on a battery-powered chainsaw, the chain comes to a complete stop almost immediately. While that’s great for keeping you from accidentally hurting yourself or someone else, it also means no sound for these saws.

Because electric chainsaws are on-demand devices that only require power to drive the chain, they are completely silent until it’s time to cut. That silence helps keep the focus on the task at hand and makes communication with others in the workplace much better.

These saws are also much quieter during use. The Husqvarna Power Ax 350i is quiet when mowing, but I have a Greenworks 40V sawand it’s even quieter. Because a motor does not run at high speeds, with a battery-powered saw you will only hear a slight whine from the motor, the chain going around the bar and the wood being cut.

3. Less maintenance

One of my long-standing pet peeves is small engines. It’s always a struggle when I have to start a gasoline lawn mower, a chainsaw, a leaf blower, a brush cutter or the like. If it does start, it is a matter of fine-tuning to keep it running. This is not the case with battery-powered tools.

The only maintenance required for these saws is the unavoidable maintenance that comes from traditional chainsaws: sharpening the chain and maintaining the bar oil. Because these saws use the same chains as gas chainsaws, the sharpening process and replacing them are all the same. The same applies to the bar oil that is used.

But you don’t have to mess with spark plugs, air filters, fuel, carburetors, etc. As long as your chain is sharp, you have bar oil and a charged battery; your saw is ready to use when you need to cut.

The biggest disadvantage of battery-powered chainsaws is the battery. Although the Husqvarna Power Ax 350i lasts much longer than the Greenworks saw, I cut three full trees with the 350i compared to the Greenworks model and saw everything I needed. There is still a limited time before the battery needs to be charged. This isn’t a problem in most situations where you’re just cutting down one tree or something. But if you’re going to spend a whole day chopping wood, you’ll want one second battery to keep the work going.

I am deeply impressed with the Husqvarna Power Ax 350i when cutting firewood. When I first used it, I quickly put aside my reservations about whether it would be powerful enough to cut through green wood into hardened hard oak. The battery lasted three trees before it was time to put it on the charger, but that was enough time for me to rest and split the logs while it charged.

In terms of costs, prices for gas and electricity are often comparable. The cost of the Husqvarna Power Ax 350i is $480 MSRP, and the gas model, the Husqvarna 440 costs $379. In addition to the cost of the saw, you should also keep in mind that you will have to buy gasoline and two-stroke oil for it as long as you use the chainsaw. Although you won’t have those ongoing costs for the electric model, if you want second batteryyou are looking at almost the price of the combination of saw and battery.