Alligator chainsaws, newbie question

[HollowHill]

I was just reading over another post where mention was made of an "alligator chainsaw". I found this intriguing and starting searching around the internet to find out about it. The only one I could find was a Black and Decker Looper. It's supposedly works on limbs/trees up to 4" in diameter. Are there any other varieties that might work on larger diameters?

Would this be a good starter for a novice female who is no spring chicken? It seems like it to me. Being unfamiliar with chainsaws, it seems a safer or at least less scary design. Anyone have any experience with these?

Also, I have a ton of dropped limbs around the farm. Would it be possible to fuel a woodstove with limbs 4" in diameter and less? Or do you need bigger stuff to get the long, overnite burns? Would you risk overfire with smaller stuff? What percentage of bigger stuff would you need?

I guess I'm trying to figure out the best/cheapest way for me to work my way up to a woodstove. Figuring if I buy myself one of these puppies and start using it to get some wood in to start seasoning for a couple of years, I can determine if I can do this by my lonesome before I make a major investment in a woodstove. Also, by getting a start on the wood, I won't have to purchase wood of unknown seasoning and try to make a go of it with a new woodstove.

Any thoughts? Other than I'm a tentative chicken :red: ? Pros/cons... Thanks.

 

[Got Wood]

I was given the Alligator as a gift last xmas. It is electric, so it has range of use limitations. For limbing and cutting 4-5" diameter it works great. It is light and I think much safer than a chain saw. I think its a handy weapon in your tool group IF the cutting you are doing is close enough to get the electric hook up.

 

[LLigetfa]

It will depend on the stove but generally you want pieces bigger than 4 inch for overnight. No reason you couldn't use it to supplement your supply and if it's good and dry, it can help you get by with less than ideal wood.

 

[smokinj]

It will depend on the stove but generally you want pieces bigger than 4 inch for overnight. No reason you couldn't use it to supplement your supply and if it's good and dry, it can help you get by with less than ideal wood.

+1 perfect firewood is not going to happen unless your years a head!

 

[HollowHill]

I was given the Alligator as a gift last xmas. It is electric, so it has range of use limitations. For limbing and cutting 4-5" diameter it works great. It is light and I think much safer than a chain saw. I think its a handy weapon in your tool group IF the cutting you are doing is close enough to get the electric hook up.

I think they have a cordless model as well and that was what I was thinking of getting as I could take it into the woods and not be limited to just around the house.

 

[Gunks]

I am also a female who is no spring chicken. I found a corded electric 10" chainsaw very useful. It is light weight. No gas to mess with. I had used it to cut logs up to 14". I also have a 16" gas Husky and a cordless Ryobi for other purposes.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

No comment on the saws but those 4" diameter logs will burn nicely (but don't pack the stove with them) but you should have some bigger stuff for holding fires.

 

[HollowHill]

No comment on the saws but those 4" diameter logs will burn nicely (but don't pack the stove with them) but you should have some bigger stuff for holding fires.

Is that because of the chance of overfiring, Dennis?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It does depend on what the wood type is on the possible overfire but I would not worry a lot about it. In other words, it is a slight possibility. The best way to know is to try a half load first and see how it does and then the next time add more, etc. until you know from experience with that particular stove.

In the past we have burned a lot of small wood like you are suggesting. For instance, one year we ended up cutting a lot of dead elm that was small so we had lots of small stuff that we didn't need to split. In our stove it burned great but a neighbor had some problems with overfire. Same type of wood but different stove and chimney. That is why I suggest trying first a half-load.

Good luck.

 

[Wood Duck]

You'll find that it takes a lot of branches to add up to a significant amount of firewood. I have cut and stacked large piles of branches thinking it would be a lot of firewood only to be disappointed in the volume once stacked. There is nothing wrong with burning branches - like any smaller piece of wood they season faster and burn faster than larger pieces - but unless you have lots of them, it will be hard to keep the stove fed for long.