[dhd415]

I would say that infrequently used tools are an especially good choice for battery-powered cordless tools when the alternative is typically a tool powered by a gas small engine. For example, I need a chainsaw for infrequent jobs, but every time I ran it, I'd have to fiddle with the carb and the spark plugs, throw out old gas, make a new gas/oil mix, etc., so it was a major pain and I'd use it only if I really, really needed it. I replaced it with a 36v Makita chainsaw and it's a breeze to use every time.

[seec]

But I don't think it's about those kinds of tools. The type of power tools who truly benefit from having a combustion engine motor are not getting replaced by battery powered tools anytime soon because of energy density restriction.

If you could replace a gas-powered tool with a battery tool, either it would be way overkill or really old and inefficient.

In my opinion if the chainsaw you mentioned seems sufficient, it is probably not that necessary and you could get away with infrequent rental or even human powered tools. Then again if you have the budget and don't mind spending it on things that deliver less value, why not but arguably if you were to spend that much on this type of tool you could get a much better gas powered chainsaw for the price...

[rented_mule]

Not who you're replying to, but I also have a brushless 36V Makita chainsaw. I buck and split 2-3 full cords of firewood every year for myself. The biggest logs I've cut with it are ~30 inches in diameter. I only have a 16" bar, so that means coming at it from all around. The Makita is stunningly good for my use case, much better than the gas saw I used to have.

I have two sets of batteries, and they'll get me through more cutting than I want to do in a day. Occasionally weather will cause me to need to do more than I want in a day, and one set of batteries will charge in just enough time for me to get through the other set and take a little break, so I can go all day long. In my case, the only time I'm not cutting near grid power is when I'm clearing a log that fell across a trail I'm riding in my UTV, but I'm not going to keep riding down a trail that has enough downed trees to consume a set of batteries.

There's no place to rent chainsaws within an hour's drive of where I live (I live in a rural, forested area). There are certainly more powerful gas-powered saws, but I don't need the power. If I suddenly feel like getting some cutting done, I much prefer not having to worry about whether I have gas and premix (I still have to worry about bar/chain oil, but a gallon lasts me 2-3 years). The nearest gas station is a 30-40 minute round trip. I love not having to worry about disturbing my wife or the neighbor when their windows are open. It was fun last summer when my neighbor came out of his house to be surprised that I'd bucked 3 logs, each 30 feet long and 18" in diameter, while he slept with his windows open. Saying there are "much better gas powered" saws implies a single dimension of comparison. That's not the case - there are just different trade-offs.

[bombcar]

The battery tools are rapidly catching up; five years ago none of the tree maintenance crews I saw had anything but the gas; now they all have a Milwaukee or similar battery chainsaw in the truck. It's much quicker, lighter, and easier for all sorts of things that don't need the biggest gas saws.

And the price difference is dropping (the Milwaukee is about $500 including battery and charger, without sales) which is "close enough" to a quality saw, once you take into account the consumables.

That's the whole "golden age" - we are at or passing the point where the cordless tool is just better even accounting for all the various options.