Stihl, Husky, whatever... who has them and what are the pro's and cons?
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Stihl, Husky, whatever... who has them and what are the pro's and cons?
I have Remington electric.
Pros: cheap to buy, cheap to replace (should I ever need to do so), lighter and easier to work with overhead. Terrific performance - very aggressive, no fuel mixing, no plugged carb from old fuel, no fowled plug, no cold weather starting woes. Safety plus... when you turn lose of the trigger it stops not just slows down and maybe eventually stops.
Cons: Have to have electricity, have to have extension cord. If you don't pay attention you can bury your extension cord in fallen limbs and create a nightmare (totally avoidable if you just exercise the grey cells.)
I have a generator I can pick up and put in the bed of truck. I then pull the truck under or near the tree in question and stand in the bed for extra height, if needed. This works well. I can also carry a 12 ft painters ladder or 24 ft extension (or both) in the truck bed for when I want extra height.
This works well for me. I have a friend with a gas unit and it works well for his hired hand (overhead work quickly shows the difference in weight and he hired someone to use his super gas pole saw) I don't recall if it is Stihl of Husqvarna but either would be fine if you want gas.
There are times where I probably couldn't get to a tree with electricity. Hasn't happened in 5 years but it is theoretically possible. Who knows, you might want to horse pack your trimmer but not a generator and gas would really shine.
Pat
I can second Pat's vote on the remington, we gave father-in-law one for Christmas last year, he has used the heck out of it. I have sharpened the chain a couple times for him with my bargain Cummins tools sharpener.
When he has to move out of extension cord range of a building, he just pops the generator in the bucket of the tractor ( or pull it behind the lawnmower, his generator has wheels ) and off he goes...he turned around and got us one for Christmas last year.
How are you at droping heavy limbs into the truck box Pat?
Or is it on the cab! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Gee Egon, So far I have thought to not cut heavy limbs where they will fall on me, the truck, or anything else fragile. I have a goal to cut off most anything within 8-9 feet of the ground. This takes a few years for the tree to send new growth within 7 ft of the ground where it could interfere with tractor passage.
Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Ahh - Foresight Pat! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
It all depends on how much work you have. I chose not to buy a powered pole saw. I bought a Silky Hayauchi that extends to 21 feet. Great blade design and cuts like butter. I just finished a state stewardship program using this saw. My forester wrote a project plan and marked 175 white pines. I pruned them up to 17 feet and the state paid me $450. Great saw.
rozett, Thus proving once again there is no BEST tool, just a best tool for a specific job. I prune mostly for tractor clearance and aesthetics and until or unless I get a MUCH LARGER tractor I don't thiink I'll need quite so much vertical reach as 21 feet. I rarely cut anything above 10 feet, usually no more than 8-9 feet.
So are you the BIONIC FORRESTER or what. Even a carbon fiber and Kevlar pole strong enough to withstand the rigors would weigh a bit and require plenty of arm strength for more than casual use.
Remind me to not challenge you to best two out of three in arm wrestling.
Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
This is an old thread but someone may have the same question. Well, I just went thru this. I have 62 acres and about 5 is in yard. It just grew. I'm a Shindaiwa fan by experience. Problem was a Shindaiwa pole saw was over $400 bucks. My neighbor bought a Poulan pole saw for $180 and I borrowed it. Rule I learned. You can cut more limbs in an hour than you can clean up the rest of the day. Little saw worked good and the actual use time is small even for a place like mine. If I was gonna have a limb cutting bidness, I'd by Stihl or Shindaiwa. Otherwise, rent or borrow one. Failing that look at the Poulan. I only found about two limbs that bothered me on the tractor since then, and a hand saw did that. My advise (IMHP), spend your money on other tools (i.e. toys) and go cheap on pole saws. cheers