stihl battery tools

I used the 220 top handle and rear handle today, and the 86 blower. Both of the saws were really impressive, I'm pretty stoked to have those at 80% off from a state funded voucher. The blower was a little weak but that's okay, saws were great!
 
I used one of their battery pole pruners ages ago and thought it was great compared to gas tools which was all I'd used to that point. Based on that I ended up getting the Husky battery climber which I love, the rear handle which is pretty good and the pole pruner which is light and OK. Also ended up with the Milwaukee pole saw which is powerful but heavy, and the rear handle which honestly sucks. My employee has Stihls latest climber, the MSA 220 which is VERY powerful but also very heavy, and the MSA 300 rear handle which I haven't tried yet but seems..... OK from the videos I've seen?

I'm not very experienced in the Stihl system, I'd love to get more time with good chains.
 
Last edited:
27RMT0N said:
I used one of their battery pole pruners ages ago and thought it was great compared to gas tools which was all I'd used to that point. Based on that I ended up getting the Husky battery climber which I love, the rear handle which is pretty good and the pole pruner which is light and OK. Also ended up with the Milwaukee pole saw which is powerful but heavy, and the rear handle which honestly sucks. My employee has Stihls latest climber, the MSA 220 which is VERY powerful but also very heavy, and the MSA 300 rear handle which I haven't tried yet but seems..... OK from the videos I've seen?

I'm not very experienced in the Stihl system, I'd love to get more time with good chains.
Click to expand...
27, weigh the MSA 220 and a 201TC. Bet they are similar, I own both and love them equally.
 
Last edited:
I decided to go all in on these stihl battery tools, since they were 80% off not a hard choice to make.

The little pruner top handle 161 will be my best friend this summer I think. It may be slightly heavier than the 151 but I can tolerate it I think. Haven't tried the stick saw or 300 yet but I should have the chance for both next week.

The safety button on the 161 is a bit of a bother, I might figure a way to bypass that. Also, the hook for hanging it on your saddle is crap but I can easily remedy that too, just need to get off the computer and actually do some maintenance one in awhile!
 
I just yesterday had my first opportunity to do a full removal with my husky 542i and it was beautiful. 80% off would definitely get my attention too. Our local Stihl dealers are slow getting on the battery wagon though while our husky dealer is in with both feet.
 
Not Stihl related, but....

I just want to say yesterday, out of the FIVE Husky QC500 fast chargers I have had, I just had the THRID die on me. Husky knows about this problem, even on their own websites reviews! They are around $150 each.

00 bad charger 01.jpg

00 bad charger 02.jpg
 
Last edited:
I got real into the stihl battery stuff and it’s been years now no issues with any of it except , the pole saw finally just needed some electronic module replaced and it was like 200 something bucks for repair with parts included to make it work again. It’s been through the wringer it usually riding in bed of a truck Uncovered through all kinds of weather . All the other saws and clippers were kept in tool boxes. I’m impressed. Good luck with your new kit Levi! Happy Cutting Exhaust free!
 
I’m a big fan of the STIHL MSA 220C rear handle. The top handle version cuts well, but it’s awkward and heavy. My son bought the 300C… it’s nowhere near worth the $1700 - saw, two 500 batteries, and charger (my son already had the charger.)

We don’t have the one of the polesaws, but I’ve used one a lot and it cuts really well.
 
27RMT0N said:
Not Stihl related, but....

I just want to say yesterday, out of the FIVE Husky QC500 fast chargers I have had, I just had the THRID die on me. Husky knows about this problem, even on their own websites reviews! They are around $150 each.

View attachment 94358

View attachment 94359
Click to expand...
I wonder about the longevity of all this battery stuff, personally. Only time will tell I suppose. I did think that the 4 port charger I bought was a little glitchy right away, we shall see...
 
I think it's just a major design flaw with that specific charger. I have lots of battery stuff, this is the only one that has given me any such problems.
 
So I've been non combustion 100% for a few weeks now, here's some thought on the Stihl battery stuff:

The 161 T is a decent replacement for the 150. A bit heavier and bigger. I'm okay with that for now, it's nice with no fumes and no pull starting foe sure, huge benefit imo. Battery life is great on this little pruner too. Chain tensioner is a little whacky, hard to find sweet spot so far.... Aslo, the trigger safety is a pita but I'm slowly getting used to that. I might try to find a way to keep it constantly pinned down.

The 200 C-B is a great little walk around chop em up saw for processing brush or felling small trees, decent battery life for this little fella too. No real complaints on this one, I kinda love it.

The 220 TC is a nice saw, doesn't seem much heavier than a 200t but I don't have a scale. It works good enough for me as a limbing and topping saw but the battery drains pretty quick once you start getting into the wood. The safety and handle features in general are very nice and much more intuitive than the 161. Hopefully it is robust and doesn't fritz out too quick.

The 300 - C has got some great power imo, I buried the 20" bar completely into some stone dead ash and it kept a high chain speed no problem. I also love the trigger safety and handle features on this saw. This thing drains the battery incredibly fast though, it's honestly kind of disappointing. I felled and processed a small upright juniper then a short and squat pinion pine and it took nearly all of the juice from 2 batteries, maybe 1 hour cutting? I also started using the smaller saws to help out once I noticed how quick the 500 batteries were going. Doesn't seem anywhere near to a tank of gas which is what the saw shop guys said would happen... maybe I'm being dramatic, purely anecdotal here...

The blower, as I previously mentioned, a bit underpowered but it works fine for my needs.


The power pole saw is great, but also less oomph than I was hoping for, it's a pretty slow cutting speed. I really like the gas powerhead for the fast cutting speed, it seems safer to me. But, I can adjust to this battery one, overall it's still nice not to have to carry around gas and not buy the expensive premix all the time, plus the fumes and pull starting. Makes a difference when it's 100 degrees.

I was in this really spindly, sketchy dead aspen top the other day and it dawned on me that if I was having to yank on the pull cord it might create enough force to break the top I was in, or uproot the tree :ROFLMAO: So there's another fringe benefit.

Overall I'm happy with this gear, especially only paying 20%. If I paid full price might be a different story but hard sayin not knowin. Anyways, thanks for reading my novel about stihl battery saws.
 
levi r said:
I wonder about the longevity of all this battery stuff, personally. Only time will tell I suppose. I did think that the 4 port charger I bought was a little glitchy right away, we shall see...
Click to expand...
I can tell you that heat kills, even lithium. Fully charged cells left in a hot metal box in the sun wear out faster than if they are stored cool. Leaving batteries fully discharged for any length of time wears them out faster.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom