Electric Chain Saw recommendation, please

This week I think I'll be buying a chain saw for a home landscape project.  This will be for occasional residential work.  I think I want electric, with a cord, not battery.  I think I'll use this so infrequent that I hope electric and cord means it will work with no fuss, every time I reach for it, which will be rare.  At least rare after I get done with the immediate project.  

That current project is to wrangle back some very overgrown shrubs.  This means I'll be cutting small stuff, not taking down a forest.  

In the past I once borrowed a really nice gas Stihl with easy start.  It was really nice but probably far more than I need on a regular basis.  Another time I borrowed someone's no name electric.  It got the job done. 

So, who makes a good residential chain saw?  What features should I look for?

Small stuff you say? I'd be inclined to look at a pole saw. 

I never really used one until last year or the year before, and I'm a convert. I love my big loud Stihl, but the pole saw is almost surgical for little E36 M3 like branches and roots, or knocking things back without needing a ladder.

I used some no name plugin once and that was enough to convince me. Try the cheap one from harbor freight and make sure you put bar lube in. I think it's $60-70 for the corded one. 

Although if you happen to have a power head for trimmerplus accessories already, just get the attachment for $100.

How small of stuff are we talking about?

I've used the Stihl battery saw it was..... unimpressive. 

I've got a Homelite corded electric I got from Home Depot for $80 (it was the more powerful of two) and it works great.  I also have a HF 40v battery cordless for cutting dead and down in the woods, which also works well, but for processing a bunch of 6-foot lengths down to wood stove size, the corded Homelite is super.

Here's the project...

I have a long hedge row on a portion of the north side of my property.  I love the "green wall" that this makes between me and the other house.  However, due to "seeking sun" from the other trees and its own over-grown-ness, the hedges have really grown wide.  I've had this house for 10 years this summer.  Last summer I trimmed out a lot of dead wood but this spring (now) I really need to wack back the "canopy" that has been created.  If I can get sunlight back to the bottom portion of the bush, new sprouts will grow at the lower portion. I see this as a couple of year project to get back to the "green wall" affect again.  For this year, I only want to trim on my side of the bush.  This will allow for the other side to then still provide the "green wall".  Next season, or two, I will then trim back the other side too.  

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I placed these red flags at 30" off from the bases of the trunks.  My intention is to cut straight up from this 30" marker.   These currently canopy out as much as 13 FEET away from the trunks.  Height is more than 20 ft.  

Many of the branches I'll be cutting are similar in thickness to a shovel handle.  Even the biggest are just twice that thickness.

This is the current view while standing in the neighbors yard or what are the back side of the bushes. You can't even see/distinguish the Prius parked there.  I'm not gonna cut any of this side, this year. 

I'm not sure what the best answer is but renting the proper tool might be a good way to go rather than buying a compromise.

I don't think that a chain saw is the tool for the job. Chain saw pole saw is what I would suggest. 
 

Since you're not going to use it frequently, corded >battery. 

I had not thought of pole saw.  That would be great for my high reaches. I figured I'd just use a ladder for the high reaches but a pole might be safer. 

A pole and a ladder gets me even higher! 

I have the corded electric pole saw from harbor freight and it works great, definitely recommended.

I've never used any pole saws except older gas stilh and echo, but they are great. An electrician of those would prolly be you answer.

After using cheap and better corded chainsaws, and not seeing much difference, they do fine, but staging around a cord was not for me. But the least mine spent way to go, except renting. 

I want a cordless electric, but have not shopped for one yet..

I have the 40v Ryobi one. I like it and the whole system. I have the weedwacker and backpack blower too.

Only issue I do not like is you have to judge the amount of bar and chain oil in it or it will be all over it's storage location.

X3 on the pole saw.  Not only will they reach up for pruning (well duh ) they’re great for reaching in under overgrown shrubs and bushes too.  I just did some “base pruning” of 50 plus year old overgrown shrubs here and the pole saw was the perfect tool for it.  

One question:

Are you sure you can prune it back that radically without killing it?

That's definitely pole saw territory there, chainsaw wouldnt work as well

Duke said:

One question:

Are you sure you can prune it back that radically without killing it?

 

Great question but this is just phase 2.  Last year, April 30, this was my second covid project during real "stay at home" orders.

I took out truckloads. My goal there was to allow some light in low. Sure enough, in some spots new green has grown and more is sprouting. That's what this picture was to show. This year's new green down low. 

Pics of last year's wrangling where I didn't want to take too much.  I pulled out a lot of dead wood and cleared some of the density. 

In this phase 2 I'll only chop back from my side but chop none the neighbors side. 

Phase 3 might be next year as I chop from the neighbors side.  Might even be a year after that if return growth is slow.  

Duke said:

One question:

Are you sure you can prune it back that radically without killing it?

 

I had that thought. I'm thinking that your plan to wait a season between doing the two sides makes killing the hedge much less likely. 
 

I've got an 80 volt rechargeable trimmer head from Lowe's, which I use with various attachments, including a pole saw. It's a beast. 
 

Using a pole saw will also have the advantage of keeping your body parts and the power cord further from the chain.
 

There's also a particular characteristic of electric chain saws. They don't bog down and stall like a gas saw.  While you can buy chaps or other gear to protect your own limbs from a running chain saw, they don't work with electric saws. I guess the electric motors have too much torque. 

Any thought on this pole saw?  $64 at Home Depot or $79 at Menards

Is this the best of both worlds?  Short trigger grip for low and then pole trigger grip for high.    I have not heard of the company but sold at HD, Menards and Amazon at least.    HD reviews are favorable

Sun Joe is supposed to be one of the better Chinese dropship brands. They've got a big line of outdoor stuff at decent prices, but I've not personally used any yet.

A lot of those I'd just take the sawzall to with a wood blade on it.

I did just buy a Ryobi pole saw to go wtih my One+ batteries and hardware.  I love it for what it can do, but the chain adjustment on it is real crap

I use one of these:

It looks like a lot of the new green in on what are called water shoots or water sprouts. It's generally good practice to cut them off. I usually use a loper to remove mine.

To answer your original question, I have a corded Poulan with 14" bar take I bought several years ago. It's adequate for what I use it for and from your photos, it should work well for you.  It's not fast,  I probably need to sharpen or replace chain.

I bought the same poulan above about six years ago to do some work around the house. There was a maple trunk on the property at least 22 inches and about 12 feet long. Sawed the whole thing up with that, as well as another trunk about twelve inches.Took some time obviously. Amazed it survived but I pull it out once a year to do something. Make sure you keep the oil going and tighten the chain. 

I haven't used the mini recip. saw, but I love my full size with a 10 (may be 12) inch pruning blade. Should have thought to mention that.

Also, as someone mentioned, the electric chainsaws will not stall out like gas. This does make do a different method to use safely. The gas saw chaps will not stop one as easily, but still better than nothing. They do make chaps that are designed for electric, but they are almost unheard if, so prolly a lot more expensive!

The SunJoe above arrives via Amazon on Thursday with Prime 2 day shipping... 3 days from now if you don't count today???

A friend of mine has the Milwaukee 18v pole saw and the 18v chainsaw.

I laughed at the thought of a battery chainsaw, but boy did I have to eat my words on that one.  We cut this tree down, cut it up for firewood, hacked up the brush, etc.  All on a single battery with plenty of life remaining.  That thing was awesome, and I would have a hard time considering anything different.  Might be more expensive than you are looking for.

This shows about 1/2 the tree (1/2 already on the ground from the storm)

I have a corded HD cheapie (Homelite?) that does the job just fine, but its more like a once every few years level tool.  The whole time you are using it, you are reminded that isn't the right tool for the job, but its enough to get it done.  Its like picking up mulch with a Prius.

Also it leaks all the chain oil in almost any orientation.  I'm glad I got it for free.