A nicely featured & powerful battery chainsaw. (Buy from Amazon)
The Snapper 82V chainsaw is a part of the Snapper XD 82v MAX series that includes a variety outdoor power tools all powered by one battery. This article will focus on the Snapper 82V chainsaw (SXDCS82) but we’ll also introduce to the other tools in the lineup.
Either, way Snapper has created and powerful and innovative battery chainsaw that homeowners will love and appreciate due to its ease of use and effective cutting power.
For many of you who are not cutting down large trees on a regular basis, a conventional gas chainsaw might not be the best option. Electric chainsaws are becoming more popular, particularly among homeowners and people who need to perform garden maintenance and cut some firewood from time to time.
Snapper 82V Chainsaw
Battery and charger sold separately.
The Snapper 82V chainsaw is a beautiful looking tool. Now, we know that few people buy chainsaws for their looks but thankfully they matched the exterior with a nice set of features that we think you’ll appreciate.
Features (Snapper 82V chainsaw):
82V Battery Chainsaw. Briggs & Stratton 82V Max 2Ah Lithium-Ion Battery
Up to 160+ cuts with full Battery charge (based on 2.0Ah Battery)
18-Inch Oregon Bar and chain
1200-watt high-efficiency brushless motor
Automatic oiling system for chain Lubrication
Blade safety lock-out handle pushes forward to disable the chain it’s not being used.
Durable metal handle with comfortable rubber grip and touchpoints
Onboard chain tension adjustment tool and it stores in the handle.
Metal gripping teeth aid in anchoring the chainsaw when operating.
Push button start : Blue light indicates when the chainsaw is on.
Battery and rapid charger not included : Compatible with the following battery and rapid charger models:
Snapper XD BSB2AH82 : 2Ah Battery
Snapper XD BSB4AH82 : 4Ah Battery
BSRC82 : Rapid Charger for Snapper XD 82V Lithium-Ion Battery
Overview | Snapper 82V Chainsaw — SXDCS82
The Snapper 82V Chainsaw (SXDCS82) is a powerful 1200W quality machine. It has an 18 inch Oregon bar and chain, which gives you about the best quality and durability available. At 18 inches you’ll be able to cut through most trees with very little effort and it will make light work of cutting firewood.
Video | Snapper 82V Chainsaw
The handy 82V, 2AH Briggs and Stratton lithium ion battery gives you a good amount of working time – up to 160 cuts. Being Briggs and Stratton, you can be assured it comes with a solid reputation for quality. What’s more, all Snapper garden tools use the same battery, so you only need one battery to use in any of their battery powered garden tools.The battery and charger are sold separately.
The Snapper 82V chainsaw is engineered for ease of use with low vibration levels and soft grip handles, meaning you can work for longer without discomfort. The self-lubricating chain with onboard tensioning tool keeps maintenance work to an absolute minimum amount of effort. The oil reservoir holds 200ml and has a window, making it easy to keep an eye on the oil level.
For peace of mind, you get an impressive 5-year limited warranty on the chainsaw and 2-year limited warranty on the battery. With this kind of backing, you can be pretty sure that you’re buying a product that the manufacturers are confident that it is of high quality. And it comes with all the safety features that you would expect from a modern chainsaw, including a chain catcher.
Snapper 82V Chainsaw tearing into a log
Powerful enough to replace a light-duty gas chainsaw.
Tech Specs (Snapper 82V chainsaw):
Model : SXDCS82
Max Voltage : 82.0
Battery (sold separately) : Briggs & Stratton 82V Max Lithium-Ion 2Ah (BSB2AH82) or 4Ah (BSB4AH82)
Rapid Charger — BSRC82 : Sold Separately.
Full charge in 30 minutes
Charge Time : 50% = 13 min. / 100% = 30 min.
Run Time (min) : Up to 160+ Cuts (with full 2Ah battery charge)
Motor : Brushless, 1200-watts
Chain : 18-inch Oregon w/ Micro Chisel Tooth
Chain Gauge (in) : 0.05
Chain Pitch (in) : 0.375
Bar : Steel, 18-inch Oregon w/ Plastic Cover
Chain Oil Capacity (mL) : 200.0
Product Warranty : 5-Year Limited
Battery Warranty : 2-Year Limited
It’s great to see Snapper stepping up to the plate and introducing a well-designed battery chainsaw alongside a full-lineup of 82V tools to run off of their new battery. This seems to be a popular trend these days among major tool manufacturers. I’m looking forward to a time when battery powered tools will equal gas power. It’s just around the corner.
All tools in the Snapper XD 82V MAX series include: Easy electric push button starting, an efficient brushless motor and easy-to-use touchpoints.
Greenworks Pro 80V Chainsaw | GCS80420
An excellent choice with a proven history of reliability.
Features:
80V Li-Ion System takes the lead in highest and most powerful gas-free cordless system
Capable of 150+ cuts with fully charged 2.0 Ah battery
DigiPro digital controlled brushless motor for 30% more torque and 70% less vibration
Equivalent to 45cc gas engine
Steel bucking spikes and durable metal wrap around handle
Electronic chain brake for safe operation
On board chain tensioning tool
Auto-oiler keeps chain lubricated for the best cut performance
18-inch bar and chain
One battery system, multiple tools, professional grade quality and performance
Less maintenance, light weight and simple electric start
Zero Gas, Zero Fumes, Zero winterization
80V Li-Ion System takes the lead in highest and most powerful gas-free cordless system
Capable of 150+ cuts with fully charged 2.0 Ah battery
You can also purchase a 4Ah battery separately : GreenWorks GBA80400 (4Ah Lithium-ion)
Overview | GreenWorks 80V Chainsaw
If you’re not intending on working your chainsaw too hard and prefer to pay a little less, the Greenworks 80V chainsaw is a close second. It also has an 18″ bar and chain, so it will cut through the same thickness as the Snapper 82V chainsaw. The 2AH lithium-ion battery has 2V less power than the Snapper, which may not seem like much, but it does reduce working time. The manufacturers, specify about 150 cuts, whereas the Snapper is rated for about 160 cuts.
Comparable to the Snapper 82V XC chainsaw.
In terms of features and safety, the Greenworks compares favorably with the Snapper 80V chainsaw and from a users point of view, they should be pretty much the same. Where the snapper may well prove to be the smarter choice could lie in durability, however, this can only be seen over time.
What makes one think that the Snapper 82V chainsaw is of higher quality, is that it uses trusted brands like Briggs and Stratton and Oregon for major components. Personally, I feel that when a machine uses trusted parts, I have more confidence in its long-term reliability. In the end, you will choose which best meets your requirements and budget.
Best Chainsaw for Your Needs
Now that we’ve looked at the Snapper 82V chainsaw, let’s take a deeper look into electric chainsaws in general. The aim is to help you make an informed choice, as with decision, knowledge is king. Gas chainsaws are more common and most people will be more familiar with this type. Not many of you will know this, but the electric chainsaw has been around for just as long, it was invented in the 1920’s – around the same time as the gas chainsaw.
So why has the electric chainsaw not taken off like its gas counterpart? We’ll be answering this question through the course of this article and look at many other facts that will help you learn more about electric chainsaws, their benefits, and their pitfalls, along with a whole lot of other interesting facts.
Gas vs Electric
It seems logical to start by comparing gas chainsaws to electric ones. Firstly let’s go back in time to the early days, as I mentioned electric chainsaws have been around as long as gas, but have never been as popular. When the first electric chainsaws came into being, technology wasn’t what it is today. Heavy cast iron armatures, motors that used brushes and less sophisticated winding methods, made early electric motors extremely heavy, not very powerful (in relation to their weight), prone to overheating and required more maintenance than modern electric motors.
Over time the electric motor has improved dramatically. Firstly induction motors, often referred to as brushless motors, have made them more reliable and powerful. The use of lightweight alloys has given them a better power to weight ratio. The use of alloys and better airflow design has also helped the electric motor run cooler.
Though all this has improved the electric chainsaw’s performance, it will never achieve the same power to mass ratio of a gas chainsaw and for this reason, the gas chainsaw will remain the tool of choice for professional loggers, firemen and rescue workers. The truth is, most of us don’t need all that power, so if you’re not cutting down 20-30 inch hardwood trees on a daily basis, an electric chainsaw may well be your best option.
A really great benefit of the electric chainsaw is that it has greatly reduced noise levels when compared to their gas counterparts. Not having a gas motor, there’s considerably less maintenance. In fact, modern electric chainsaws are virtually maintenance-free, you’ll need to ensure that there’s oil in the oil reservoir to keep the chain lubricated, keep it reasonably clean and that’s about it. Another plus is that there’s no recoil starter (pull starter), so even in really cold weather, you can start cutting at the touch of a switch. You also don’t have the fumes and local air pollution caused by gas chainsaws.
Of course, traditional electric chainsaws have the disadvantage of being limited to the length of the electric cord. Not only does this mean you have to work close enough to an electric outlet socket, but the cord can also become entangled as you move about. This is where the battery chainsaw comes in. For obvious reasons, battery chainsaws eliminate the problems associated with electric cord chainsaws.
Battery Chainsaws
Improvements in battery technology over the last twenty years have changed the way we view power tools. Now any tool that once needed to be plugged into an electric socket, can run on battery power. This has given rise to chainsaws that combine the mobility of gas models with the advantages of using an electric motor. Though there are some drawbacks to using battery power.
As we all know, using batteries means that your usable working time is limited to battery life and a battery chainsaw will typically run for about 30 minutes before it needs recharging. Battery chainsaws also cost a bit more and you have to lug around some extra weight, as the battery adds to the overall weight of the machine.
Rechargeable Batteries
Because the battery is a vital component of a cordless chainsaw, it’s probably a good idea to understand a little more about them. Technically speaking, a rechargeable battery utilizes one or more electrochemical cells to affect a reversible electrochemical reaction. Basically the “accumulator cells” accumulate and store electric energy that can be used later over a discharge period.
The type of electrolytes used in the battery will affect the discharge rate and current of the battery. There are several types of rechargeable batteries, namely: nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion and lead acid — understanding a little more about these batteries will help us understand which is the best battery for using in a chainsaw – or any power tool, for that matter.
Storage and Discharge Rate
Before we look at the types of batteries in use today, let’s take a brief look at the two most important factors that affect how to choose the right battery for a given application. Storage is very important, this is the amount of power that a battery is able to store and is measured in ampere-hours (AH). So, for example, a 2 AH battery will deliver 2 amps over a period of 1 hour or 4 amps over 30 minutes and so on. When it comes to discharge rate, we differentiate between high discharge and low discharge.
A high discharge battery will deliver a high current for a short length of time, this is common in a car battery that runs a high current starter motor for a very short time. A low discharge battery will deliver lower current over a longer period, this is better for power tools, as we want to use the battery for as long as possible. To make this possible one wants a higher battery voltage.
The equation P=VA determines the ratio between power in watts (P), voltage (V) and current measured in amps (A), so for the same power output at a higher voltage, your amperage required will be lower in order for the equation to balance. This means you are using fewer amps per hour as you increase the voltage when P remains constant.
Nickel-cadmium
These are the oldest of the rechargeable batteries and have been around since 1898, so they are a pretty well-tested technology. A benefit of nickel-cadmium batteries is that they perform well at low temperatures, recharge quickly and are not very expensive. They are high discharge batteries, which does not make them the best option for use in power tools. They also require regular maintenance, whereas most modern batteries are maintenance free. What’s more, they are heavier than other batteries and contain toxic chemicals.
Nickel Metal Hydride
Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are an improved version of the nickel-cadmium battery, they are lighter, non-toxic and don’t require as much maintenance. They don’t perform as well at low temperatures and have a high self-discharge rate (about 4%), this means they will run flat quite rapidly when not in use. Being high discharge batteries, they are also not the best for power tools.
Lithium Ion
Lithium ion the newest battery technology, it is also the best in many ways and has, therefore, become the most common battery in use today to power appliances and gadgets. It has a high energy density, meaning that it provides a lot of power, whilst remaining lightweight. It has a very low self-discharge and has no “charge memory”, this means that it’s not affected by being left at low-charge, like other batteries. They also have a very steady low discharge period and can provide good voltage levels over an extended period of time. The downside of lithium ion batteries is that they are more expensive and have a relatively short lifespan (around two years). Most power tools use lithium ion batteries, so if you’re looking at a chainsaw with any other type of battery, you’re wasting your time.
Lead Acid
These are very common in cars, golf carts and other forms of recreational use. However, there’s no point giving too much attention to them here, as they are completely useless for power tools because they can spill acid, making them pointless for use in handheld devices.
What to consider when buying a battery chainsaw
Chainsaw Safety
A chainsaw can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so regardless of any safety features that your chainsaw might have, make sure you learn how to use it first. When looking at the safety features on a chainsaw, loose chain protection is most important. When the chain comes loose from the guide bar, it will fling toward the operator and cause serious harm. For this reason, most chainsaws have a chain catcher at the front of the chainsaw to offer protection against a fast moving loose chain.
Size | Bar & Chain
You want a chainsaw that is convenient to use, so weight is a factor. Most electric chainsaws are smaller and therefore not too heavy, so you’ll probably find all of them quite easy to use. The bar or chain length is important, a longer bar can cut through a greater length. Because electric chainsaws are generally less powerful than gas ones, they tend to have shorter bars. Around 18 inches is a good length for a battery chainsaw, remember you can cut through thicker trees by going around it, cutting from all sides. This means you can cut through really thick trees, it will just take longer.
Durability
Whenever you make a purchase of this kind, you want it to last. So you want to buy a quality product that will give you good value for money. This brings us to the final part of the article, we’ve reviewed two great options, starting with the number one choice, the Snapper 82V chainsaw and a second, more affordable option, the Greenworks 80V chainsaw.
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