Electric Pole Saw, A Comprehensive Guide to Safe and Efficient Tree Trimming

Taking care of trees is the hobby any responsible property owner has. It is impossible to overstate the importance of a healthy ecosystem. Trees shade the ground and clean the air. They purify water and provide a necessary habitat for the wildlife. To keep trees in decent shape, it’s crucial to prune branches that have peeled off or are too close to power lines. Ideally, trees should be shortened by around 8% every year, not to mention cleaning them of leaves in the autumn. All these tasks can be done at ground level with shears and electric saws. However, what about the branches that are located way up there? And what do you do when you have a shaky grip on the power tool? This is where electric pole saws shine brightly since they allow you to reach the tops of even the tallest trees without having to worry about climbing and getting the perfect grip.

This guide will walk you through electric pole saws to give you a thorough understanding. We will dive in and cover their types, benefits, recommended use cases, and feature sets. With electric pole saws available to suit a wide range of needs, this guide will help you determine the type that would handle your home maintenance jobs best. If you are a serious do-it-yourself homeowner looking to tame a few long branches, or a professional arborist taking on large bush-cutting projects, this guide will help you pick out the kind of electric pole saw suitable for your needs.

Types of Electric Pole Saws

Electric pole saws are divided into two parts: power and working environment. Electric pole saws are categorised mainly based on principle. These conclusions can help us choose the right electric pole saws.

• Corded Electric Pole Saws: Corded pole saws are powered via a standard electrical outlet, giving you consistent and powerful performance throughout the entire job, as opposed to the mid-job fluctuations you’re likely to work through with a cordless pole saw. Corded pole saws usually provide more power than cordless offerings, and they can be better for the task simply because they’re consistently powerful. But they’re also going to require a nearby power source, which can be a major drawback if you’re trying to work in the middle of your yard or in a heavily wooded grove miles from the nearest outlet. Corded pole saws work best if you have a job that allows you to stay put with a power source handy.
• Battery Powered Pole Saws: These operate much like gas powered pole saws except that they are more mobile. They can easily be moved from tree to tree since they can run on a rechargeable battery. Battery powered saws tend to work better for jobs that require more mobility and versatility, common with homeowners who use them as part of their small acreage duties or contractors who are working in a variety of settings. They are also great for when the user needs to access many different trees spread out over a tract of land, as this job entails repeatedly moving the pole to get across the tract. Cordless motion can also be useful when there are many stumps in the way, whereas breaking out a new section of cord is messy and dangerous. You also can get some cordless saws that allow you to easily move from the pole cutting mode to the scope mode. Cordless means added mobility but run times may be shorter than those that operate with cords, and the power could be slightly less. With battery operated pole saws, look for significantly increased run times.

Benefits of Using an Electric Pole Saw

With great many benefits of electric pole saws, tree care is now much convenient, speedy and safe than before: Electric pole saws are equipped with numerous benefits: they can be easily operated by almost anyone, work a lot faster than a hand-held version, and are safer to use especially if the user is well over 6 feet tall.

• Safety: The need for ladders is eliminated with the use of an electric pole saw. And since falling from a ladder is one of the most common causes of injuries while working up high, electric pole saws greatly reduce the risk of accidents such as this. Hence, installation of electric pole saws greatly contribute to making your yard a safer environment, both for you and others around it. Electric pole saws, however, come with their own set of instructions on how to use them, so it is important to follow those instead of trying to figure out the best way to use your pole saw by yourself.
• Efficiency: Their motors are fast and strong, making quick work of pruning and trimming. No matter if you’re taking out the last yard waste of the season or performing large-scale pruning work, reducing time and effort moves only starts with an efficient tool in the right size – the same pruning takes much less time with an electric pole saw compared with our manual saw, or even worse, with a ladder and a pair of loppers. [This advantage is] especially true for the professional doing any number of tasks in a tight timeframe. The key will be selecting a tool with the right power and cutting capacity for the task at hand. A less powerful saw is likely to be frustrating – and potentially damaging – to both tool and user.
• Convenience: This would be a battery powered model which allows a homeowner to work anywhere in the yard without a cord dragging behind or running extensions, and it’s especially good if you don’t have that many outlets available in your yard. And because this is a battery powered tool, it’s also portable and can be a really good solution for a landscape professional with a diverse portfolio of landscapes and gardens to tackle within your typical day. The caveat with using a cordless power tool that is battery powered, is to make sure you have another battery available and charged or a means to easily recharge the battery, especially if you’re doing a larger project and need to continue working for long periods of time. Battery run times are different for each model; on average, smaller models can run their batteries down in about 15 minutes.
• Lightweight Design: Keeping an electric pole saw lightweight is key for ease of use. Most electric pole saw chainsaws are designed to grip the product without tiring out the user’s arms when in use. This holds especially true for larger jobs which require brute strength and a use of force and attention extended for some time. Keeping a lighter electric pole saw cuts down on strain and fatigue when doing a job for a long time. Lightweight chainsaws just tend to be better for trimming branches, especially when you’re dealing with smaller ones that require more precise work. Besides this, the weight of an electric pole saw affects its handling and mobility.

Key Features to Consider

According to the information given, there are main features of an electric pole saw that you should evaluate when choosing one, so as to purchase the machine that suits both your needs and your bank account.

• Reach: The longer the pole of your pole saw, the greater the ‘reach’ will be. Some have a maximum extension of 20 feet and some stretch to 25 feet, giving you great height capabilities, allowing you to reach high into the thicker, sturdier branches of the highest trees. When shopping around for a pole saw, consider the average height of trees in your garden and what areas of the trees you need to reach. It is preferable to have as much reach as possible, however, this can make the pole saw more cumbersome to use or harder to get into tighter spaces. As with all garden tools, there is a happy medium between cost, reach, quality, maintenance and design that you will need to find on your own. It is best to buy as much as you can afford. Think about your personal ideal reach, considering that you may prefer a longer pole for overall reach, but a shorter one if you need the ability to be very precise in your cutting.
• Power: the power of your motor will determine how much of a dent you’ll be able to make into your limbs, and this rating is usually given in amps. The higher the amp rating, the more power your saw will have, meaning it’ll be able to work through larger branches without too much effort. If you’ve got some good-sized limbs prepared for your chainsaw, make sure you get a model with enough power to make a clean job of it. You will also need to think about the sort of wood you’re thinking of cutting through: softer woods such as conifers will take less power than the harder woods, such as deciduous trees, to get through. You will probably also need to have a think about overheating: overloading your chain saw with more work than it was designed for can cause your motor to overheat and – worse – burn out!
• Bar length: The longer the cutting bar of a chainsaw, the thicker branches it can cut. If you only plan on using the saw for light trimming work, you can get a saw with a shorter bar. Bar length is specified in inches, so select a saw that fits your needs. Longer bars are typically more powerful but can also be heavier and more difficult to handle than shorter ones. Choose a length that clears enough limbs to feel worth your money, but be ready to sacrifice ease of use and control for cutting power.
• Battery Life: One of the most critical features for cordless models is the run time of the battery. The saw’s battery should last long enough so you can finish the work without stopping, and run time is typically measured in amp-hours (Ah). For example, a 20-volt battery with 3.5 Ah air time offers a run time of 30 minutes. Do you have a large yard and lots of chopping to do? Will you be working above your head and then cutting curvy lines at ground level? It’s easy to see how the battery life could make a difference. Battery packs are replaceable, and you should factor the added cost of replacement batteries into cost-efficiency calculations over the long term.
• Safety Features: It almost goes without saying, but pole saws are dangerous tools and you must follow the safety instructions and use other protective gear yourself. Another safety feature that explains some saw’s price premium is an automatic lock when released.
• Weight: The lighter the design, the less likely you will experience fatigue from use. This will be most relevant for larger jobs that need more reach, where you might need to use it for a longer stretch of time. Keep in mind, a lighter saw = less ability for power and durability. Find a balance of weight and power to best suit your needs and abilities.
• Safety Features: Powermatic chain decks have chain brakes, automatic oilers, and comfortable grips to keep you safe. Any time the saw is released, the chain brakes stop the chain dead in its tracks, protecting the user from unexpected movements. Automatic oilers pump oil to the bar whenever needed, keeping it clean and performing at its best. Comfortable grips leave the hands in control and hug the saw to keep the operator in charge so he or she doesn’t become distracted. Other popular safety features include a safety guard or cover for the cutting bar that can be closed when not in use, and a trigger lock that prevents any accidental starts.

Conclusion

An electric pole saw is something that every home owner could benefit from since this gardening tool is great at preventing accidents while properly pruning trees. If you are under the impression that electric pole saws are one and the same, remember that there are some extra characteristics that need taking into account in order to make the right choice for you, your garden and your vegetation. Here is some fairly general knowledge about the best electric pole saws when it comes to features so you can pick the right one to do the trimming for you. Keep in mind that you need to follow the electric pole saw instructions provided by the manufacturer, and to always protect yourself with gloves and goggles when operating any type of electric tool in your home. Happy trimming!