Makita and the like

[Jacqueline & William]

We have just bought a small wood an hour+ drive from where we live. We will take the our Cali to camp in but will sometimes also take our run of the mill Transporter which has hubby's tools. (Just about retired joiner but, not quite.)
Lots of wind blown trees we would like to saw our way through to see what we have got. Makita has been the battery tool of choice after many years of "no I can manage, I don't need battery power." No more swearing at the petrol chainsaw!
Batteries obviously need charging so, to get to the point, we are up for getting a Jackery, Bluetti or something like that to power the battery chargers and maybe a cement mixer and a solar panel to charge it. We don't want a petrol generator as we would have to remember to buy the petrol!
Haven't a clue where to start powerwise so any advise would be great.
What have you got and why do you like it?
Jacqueline

 

[Wannabecamperman]

Hi @Jacqueline & William We use a 2kWh Bluetti AC200 Max, plus a mroe recent Jackery V2 1kWh for everything but the 1600w grill.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...able-power-station-is-best.58636/#post-749824 will help you with recommendations, etc

 

[Fishface]

Do your sums - not only for power but also energy consumption.

So - for a cement mixer of 400w - this means 400Wh of energy per hour. The bluetti quoted above has battery capacity of 2000Wh, but in reality you get about 90% of this.

So your Bluetti will run the cement mixer for about 1800/400 = 4.5 hours.
You can do similar calculations with the battery chargers for your tools- some fast chargers may draw up to 100-200W but only for as long as it takes to charge the battery.

Solar will help, but you might be surprised just how much sun and how much solar panel you need to make any impact.

 

[flying banana]

Never bought a small wood or coppice before. Stick with petrol engines for unlimited lopping power

 

[andyinluton]

We have just bought a small wood an hour+ drive from where we live. We will take the our Cali to camp in but will sometimes also take our run of the mill Transporter which has hubby's tools. (Just about retired joiner but, not quite.)
Lots of wind blown trees we would like to saw our way through to see what we have got. Makita has been the battery tool of choice after many years of "no I can manage, I don't need battery power." No more swearing at the petrol chainsaw!

The makita 36v (2x18v battery) chainsaws are pretty power efficient. It sounds like you’ve already got a couple of batteries? Do a deal on a new saw with a pair or two of 6amp batteries.
For concrete mixers you really need petrol if you’ve got a lot of mixing to do, or just a shovel if there’s not a lot.

Just be careful with the saws, I went on a proper training course & hadn’t realised that the proper clothing that is designed to clog a saw & stall it is pretty much ineffective with the electric ones. Can’t be much fun sitting in a remote woodland bleeding out!

 

[Tycho]

Just be careful with the saws, I went on a proper training course & hadn’t realised that the proper clothing that is designed to clog a saw & stall it is pretty much ineffective with the electric ones. Can’t be much fun sitting in a remote woodland bleeding out!

I have a 36w Makita chainsaw at home. It is not a toy. I used to be a professional gardener and worked a lot with a chainsaw and this one is just as powerful. It cuts to the bone in the blink of an eye. Only thing is it eats battteries when cutting anything bigger. I have 5amp batteries and they do not last very long, i use 3 pair in rotation when cutting firewood, so not good if you can not recharge them continuously. But it is quiet, strong, recharges for free on our solarpanels. So, happy with it in this household setting, but would not take it to work in a forest.

 

[andyinluton]

I have a 36w Makita chainsaw at home. It is not a toy. I used to be a professional gardener and worked a lot with a chainsaw and this one is just as powerful. It cuts to the bone in the blink of an eye. Only thing is it eats battteries when cutting anything bigger. I have 5amp batteries and they do not last very long, i use 3 pair in rotation when cutting firewood, so not good if you can not recharge them continuously. But it is quiet, strong, recharges for free on our solarpanels. So, happy with it in this household setting, but would not take it to work in a forest.

So would you spend the money on a Jackery or similar power bank to recharge the makita batteries or just buy more makita batteries to take with you? Easy decision for me but then all my companies cordless tools are makita & I’ve probably got 40 or so batteries knocking around.

I’ve also got a couple of petrol chainsaws but can never get the horrible things to start!