Recommendations for Gas or Electric Pole Saw (1 Viewer)

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Spike Strip

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In the market for a Pole saw for trimming and topping trees - Homeowner type stuff with the occasional large 6-8" branches. I've been looking at Echo models because I've been happy with their stuff before but not married to the brand. Partial to gasoline models, but just what I need, another engine to maintain.

I'm in So. Cal.

As far as price, I'd like to get something quality, but don't necessarily need Pro-grade, looking more at value than price.

Whatcha all got that you're happy with ?
 
Buy once cry once is always my motive with tools. I bought a Stihl HT101 6 years ago and all I’ve done is put gas and bar oil in it. I use stihls pre made gas in all my equipment that doesn’t see daily use and kinda feel hosed evertime I pay for the gallon of it but the equipment I use it in has had zero problems. My leaf blower and my 192TC have both had carb work.
 
I have the Stihl 133. Picked it up after an excruciating amount of research on Stihl, Echo and Husky. Very happy with it so far. (But was surprised to see that it uses a smaller chain than I expected. Not a big problem but less choice in chains. Guess I didn't do enough research....) Anyway, those are a fantastic tool, but rather expensive, specialized, and somewhat fragile. (Although the newer Stihls have a stronger pole than the previous gen.) I would buy a serious one, it'll be easy to sell to an arborist if you get tired of lugging that thing around. Good upper body and arm exercise, though, I'll say that... And sure is nice to keep all the trees cleaned up to 15' or so without having to climb all the time.
 
I also run a stihl pole saw. 0 complaints after purchase
 
Stihl equipment is worth the extra cost.
 
So the only way to buy a Stihl product is through a brick 'n mortar dealer? I see no on-line sales?
 
I have to raise my Stihl hand as well.
And you MUST use the Stihl premix if you dont use your tool every week.
and non ethanol if you do.
bobmo
 
Yes, I use the 40:1 Trufuel in the can in all small 2-stroke motors. Ethanol gas kills them.

Ethanol-free gas is easy to make, but it's simpler to buy a gallon of this and it last a long time, for me.

1928004
 
that's right, as far as I know you can only buy new Stihl products at their dealers and in principle it's the same price everywhere. So their stuff is higher-priced than equivalent ones from Echo or Husky as far as I can tell.

I don't bother with the fancy expensive gas, I just empty the carb and tank if I'm leaving it stored for a while.

But coming back to the main question: I would suggest you NOT buy the earlier generation of Stihl pole saws (as in more than a year or 2 ago) because I think their poles were more susceptible to damage than the Echo. I was leaning towards the Echo in fact for that very reason when the new Stihls came out. The Echo shaft was much beefier. It was rather disconcerting to waive those Stihls around and see the pole bending very noticeably. These things are not like a usual chainsaw that you can throw around. When extended, the chances of bending the pole are quite high if you are not careful and it only takes one big branch falling on it to ruin it and you then will have to fork a lot to get a new one (and more for the Stihl than for the Echo IIRC).
 
I have 80 acres of swamp to keep under control - or at least try. Stihl all the way. Not just for trees but cutting off obnoxious incredibly dense scrub at the ground.

So the only way to buy a Stihl product is through a brick 'n mortar dealer? I see no on-line sales?

Yeah that's the downside. You can't buy as much as Stihl branded spark plug online. Nada. Only chinese knock off parts. They really have it locked down. Good news for me I have a great dealer 2 miles away.
 
We use stihl on our rescue trucks. I run chainsaw/polesaw training. No matter which brand you pick be aware of binding the bar then bending it whist removing from cut, you have heaps of leverage on that little bar when pulling out of cut.
 
I recommend a battery powered saw. I have used and own Stihl equipment and it is very good, but battery powered equipment is so much cheaper and lighter and still works well for home use. If you are using it professionally, I would probably go Stihl. I don't own a Greenworks pole saw, but I own their lawnmower, chainsaw, and weedeater and they all work great.
 
For homeowner use, well hell even professional use: Sthil Kombi System, you can have a pole saw (get the extension tube), weedeater, hedge trimmer, edger, blower, power rake, and more!!! You buy which power plant suits you best, and then the individual attachments. I have two units, one of which is over 10 years old.
 
The Kombi system is versatile, but IIRC, it does not have the reach of a pro extendable polesaw, which is really much of the point of getting something like that. Having 15 ft of reach vs, say, 8 or 10 ft makes a big difference if you no longer have to climb in trees all the time.
I will say that if I had not bought mine recently, I would look seriously at the battery powered devices. From what I have seen of electric chainsaws, they cut well, but the run time and extra battery costs are a drawback. But dang, not having the noise is a major plus.
 
My reluctance for a battery unit is without maintenance the batteries die. Happens to most of my cordless tools as I forget to top up the batts and then they're Voltage is too low to charge, but the battery unit certainly has its advantages.

Haven't bought yet, but will probably walk into a local Stihl dealer and see what they've got.

@D'Animal - what do you recommend for a homeowner gas unit that will see use maybe 4 times a year?

Thanks Everyone !! Really appreciate the opinions and experience!
 
Spike, if the battery is too low to charge you may be able to use an old dumb charger to bring them back up enough to be recognized. Or another battery even.
What I do is I have a spot in the shop with all my batteries and chargers. And everytime I walk by and see it, I put another one on a charger so they are periodically charged and maintained through a rotation of sorts. (Now, that won't work with dumb chargers, of course.)
 
I bought the Echo PPT-2620 last fall to do a bunch of pruning. It was under $600.


I've had good experience with Echo 2 cycle. But I religiously run ethanol-free gas.
 

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