Does The PowerStack 5Ah Unleash The Beast In The DEWALT 8" Pruning Saw?

- Watch our DCD999 Drill Test with More Batteries → • Wow! The DEWALT POWERS...
- DEWALT 20V MAX POWERSTACK 5AH Battery → imp.i284638.ne...
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When the 5Ah DEWALT PowerStack battery was announced, we assumed it would be a more compact version of the 5Ah battery. Once the PowerStack battery arrived, we were surprised to see it was as large as any DEWALT battery with 21700 cells. This changed a bit of our thinking as to what DEWALT was doing with the PowerStack line. With such a large 5Ah battery, this thing must be a beast.
In our testing of the DEWALT battery line, including the PowerStack 5Ah, we found this new battery was an absolute monster on a DCD999 drill/driver. It was able to bring power very similar to a FlexVolt battery. It was able to hold a higher voltage and rock out crazy tasks with a drill. You can watch our DCD999 Drill Test here → • Wow! The DEWALT POWERS...
So when it came to some tools that we thought might benefit, the DEWALT 8" burner came to mind. The Milwaukee M18 FUEL Hatchet is kitted with an 8Ah battery, so the DEWALT that is kitted with a 3Ah battery should benefit from this boost in power! We headed into this test with our voltage meter and thought we would be turning this saw into an absolute beast.
Excited to show this new tool with an updated battery, we jumped into testing and thought we were onto something. The voltage with the small 1.7Ah PowerStack was dipping into the 16's and we would get a cut out from the tool. As we moved up, voltages were held in the higher 17's, but we still saw cutouts. Then the 5Ah PowerStack was on stage. The voltage was high 18's, but we still found the tool cutting out at some points. We even moved into the FlexVolt line and found the same thing.
While the larger batteries did help slightly, they did not stop random cutouts that must be part of a binding or safety feature built into the tool.

[@WorkshopAddict]

Please Note - The wood used is Black Locust. The chain is razor-sharp. If I would have used a soft wood the saw would have cruised right through and voltage drop would have been minimal. My thought was to grab the hardest wood I have around to show the voltage sag (amp draw) and with this small saw it struggled. The Dewalt pruner has a faster chain speed and less torque.

[@BruceWayne-xu5bj]

Does the tool have like a sensitive anti-kick back or something that was causing the consistent cutout?

[@WorkshopAddict]

@@BruceWayne-xu5bj I believe so.

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

The only wood harder than locust may be Greenheart..? It was used on the Antarctic Sailing ship Endurance….

[@loucifer4205]

That black locust is badass wood it burns hot they don't recommend using it by itself in wood stoves

[@juketreks2192]

I made probably 260 cuts Saturday on a water Oak that went down during a hurricane a couple of weeks ago. Also used the 20” and made over 100 cuts with it and the 8” needed a new batter a lot less and was a total beast at one hand cuts in sub 4” cuts.

[@southsidetom]

Might want to use a 12" brushless chain saw on same locust tree. The test would be for cut outs. Good vid!

[@WorkshopAddict]

It is being shipped as we speak.

[@alexandercosta1777]

Man this saw update be a perfect gift for someone who has a lot of dewalt tools and doesn’t have a lot of wood to cut or yard to trim up, im sure this would be good with cutting small trees up too

[@SasquatchMelee]

Considering the price of the PS, I'd stick to the 6Ah XR. Pretty close in my opinion but XR is 1/2 the price.

[@akaredcrossbow]

100% agreed!

[@tccoggs]

Yea I'm a little disappointed by this release. I'll stick with the 6+8s I already have.

[@p01am3a]

5-6 amps batteries will perform the best with almost all dewalt tools; smaller ones are nice for repetitive light jobs due to the weight

[@frandal88]

I agree, its seems to cutout due to the stall protection in the motor circuit. I have the M12 angle grinder and it does the same thing with any battery, especially because I'm trying to use it for too heavy of a job.

[@Whateva67]

You’re not actually supposed to push into the wood with any chainsaws, it should be sharp enough to pull itself into the wood. This little saw isn’t supposed to be used for cutting big wood , it’s for pruning and for that, it’ll work fine.

[@WorkshopAddict]

So..... We have a review of this saw out and we used it for pruning in normal wood. It is a few videos back. This video was us trying to get a bit more power out of the saw with the PS battery. I have to assume you skipped around a lot as we stated that the first cur was normal and the second we were going to push the saw a bit more to check voltage.

[@Whateva67]

@@WorkshopAddict I’m just saying it to not discourage people from getting this saw, hell, I just ordered one. I could make my 066 with a 42” bar stop in the wood if I was too aggressive with it. This little saw will work good with what it’s intended for, I wasn’t trying to make it seem like you weren’t doing it right. You’re just trying to show all the scenarios people might get into.

[@TKCL]

I own a lot of Dewalt batteries, the 6ah batteries always impress me. They last much longer and have a noticeable power difference.

[@chrisvaiuso6010]

It's a great saw for pruning smaller branches and small overgrowth but for anything bigger I still break out the gas. For only a few cuts, even the 2ah battery works well enough. It would be nice if it were easier to use left handed though.

[@TorqueTestChannel]

On the 6ah vs 8ah topic, have you opened your 6ah to see what cells it has? (the old 20700 vs newer 21700's used, or Samsung vs LG within 21700's)

[@WorkshopAddict]

It has the 21700's. While testing today on an Impact Driver the 6Ah kicked the 8Ah butt. Variations in wood can throw my stuff off slightly. Thank you for everything you do!

[@Jonesboy2398]

Glad you could get him to answer this, a few of us have asked this several times on a couple of older dewalt videos and no answer untill now lol

[@gabew3dev248]

The graphics on the 6ah XR indicates it's an older battery for sure. All the 6ah XR's from like MFG date 2021+ I've personally had, had updated graphics. I know my 1st GEN 6ah XR had those same graphics style that had the 20700 cells. I don't know when DeWalt made the change over. It would be nice to know that for sure

[@tgsgardenmaintenance4627]

From what I've seen, the Milwaukee M18 is the benchmark! I've ordered the Milwaukee M12, as all I need it for is pruning! Anything to big, I'll just use my Husqvarna 455 Rancher!

[@txvet7738]

Still waiting on you Milwaukee to get us a stacked lithium battery! I’m seeing these flexvolt batteries not do very well in these last couple test videos. Besides being dual voltage I’m not impressed.

[@OUTILSCLIPSQC]

Me either

[@notslowtube]

I don't get it. The flexvolt seemed to have the least voltage drop, though the 5ah PS was right there with it. The saw will cutout when it's stalled no matter the battery. Looks like it will stall easier on the small batteries, since the voltage drop will reduce the motors torque. Everything from 5ah PS and larger didn't have a low voltage drop. I'm betting with small softer wood, voltage drop wouldn't be an issue anyway. That would make the 4ah the sweet spot for runtime to weight.

[@philipdove1705]

I'd like to see a comparison vid of the Milwaukee 8" chainsaw vs the dewalt

[@robertpatterson7182]

That 5ah power stack is awesome

[@bringbackdislikebutton6452]

Workshop Addict convinced me to try them out. So far I have bought 4 ((3) 5AH and one 1.7 AH) and will continue to replace the remainder of my batteries with PowerStacks. For a casual homeowner/hobbyist they are divine

[@karunald]

I literally just bought this today. Sad to see it stopping constantly. Now I'm unsure which way to go here.

[@WorkshopAddict]

My use is on black locust, very hard wood. Go out and use it for 30 days and see how it works for you.

[@karunald]

Might get the 12" or the Pole version. Plus I find this hard to hold. Seems unbalanced and uncomfortable. IDK

[@karunald]

@@WorkshopAddict Working fantastic so far. I didn't see a video on how the Milwaukee did on Black Locust? Maybe I missed it.

[@ometofu]

Another round! love this!!! still love all my new 1.7Ah!!

[@WorkshopAddict]

You might love it more after our next test. Coming Friday or Saturday.

[@ometofu]

@@WorkshopAddict kudos to u / your team came out with this test idea!

[@WorkshopAddict]

We have been doing it for a while with different brands. it is not perfect, but keeps it real world.

[@ometofu]

@@WorkshopAddict lol. i only watch dewalt and Milwaukee videos.

[@jupiter_thawk72]

Awesome! Thanks for your time !

[@ADN1996]

I'm guessing the cutout has to do with amp draw.

[@michaeldunson2531]

The saw wasn’t designed to cut trees! I have one and it works great for for what it was designed to do!

[@harrislandscapingpa]

Will you be taking a look at internals soon, to find what is triggering the tool to stop spinning? Maybe there's some weight savings to be had? Or if it's just a temp trigger maybe test in colder environment or with fan on the tool.

[@jeffmorefield]

Sharpen that chain!! You can see it burning the wood when it's stalling. It's leaving burn marks on the wood. Im not criticizing, just what it looks like to me. Great job on your videos.

[@WorkshopAddict]

I know it is hard to believe, but that chain is razor sharp. If I would have used a soft wood the saw would have cruised right through. My thought was grab the hardest wood I have around to show the voltage lag (amp draw) and with this small saw, it was overloaded. There is a reason DEWALT sends this saw out with a 3Ah battery as a kit and why Milwaukee sends out the 8Ah M18 with their kit. The Dewalt pruner has a much faster chain speed and much less torque. Milwaukee would have been slower but would eat that wood for breakfast.

[@dracwing24]

Motor temperature protection?

[@p01am3a]

you should measure the amp draw over time while monitoring the battery temperature for such comparisons; voltage drop is not that relevant in this case

[@brooklynboy4224]

I had enough, I aint buy this!

[@michaelmorar1858]

I believe the reason why the saw drops out at different voltages is because the dropout circuit is a current sensing circuit, not voltage sensing. The reason is that when the current is too much for the motor, it drops out to protect the motor. The reason why voltages vary is because larger batteries can hold a higher voltage as the motor draws more current, but if the current reached is too high, it will still cut off the supply to the motor when the current limit is reached.

[@absr1178]

Does someone knows if is possible to use a bigger blade and chain in this mini chaimsow? (the dewalt DCCS623L1)

[@chrisose]

To my knowledge, Dewalt puts their battery protection in the tools so any over current cutouts would be in the tool not the battery**. Re-running the tests with a more consistent cut pressure (see how Project Farm runs his chainsaw tests) might create better results. ** This is why you shouldn't use cross-manufacturer battery adapters.

[@jeffarnold1983]

Where did you get the saw? I only see pre order for bare tool or backorder for kit.

[@MatejKrhin]

Awesome video! I would like to use this small chainsaw for small carwing... But those cutouts are very anoing, don't like that at all.

[@MrDelgrigorov]

Is this the best prunning saw for that price range? Is it reliable?

[@tropicthunderbolt]

It's the perfect pruning saw for home use. It's on sale rn at the depo. I've seen all the others and comparisons. Each has there own goods and bads. So for the price. The couple complaints arnt a big deal to me.

[@ismaelmaquedaizquierdo4377]

Gracias por el video, pero no me parece un text fiable. Aunque sea una cadena nueva, se va desafilando a medida que se va cortando, aun más al ser una madera dura.

[@fredio54]

The cut out is always the tool, period. It's a motor controller stall cut out. Stronger batteries cut out less because the voltage stays higher producing more torque and lower chance of a stall. The other type of cut out from the tool would be motor driver over current. The final type of cut outs are thermal overload, they could occur in tool or battery.

[@fredio54]

The cut outs with higher voltage means a total lack of torque from the motor itself. Ie the tool is gutless.

[@lylewaters6161]

Maybe the chain is getting dull after so many cuts?

[@ismaelmaquedaizquierdo4377]

Of course!

[@TheGameBoy56]

Another great video Srry bust ur chops on last video If u ever seen videos were they put 20$40$ amazon drill against each other MEANING CHUCKING TWO BITS TOGETHER SEEING WHICH ONE MORE POWER FULL ends up with them smoking and biting up the tool this video explains we’re all are money is going Into safety features in protecting the tool Any time the tool feels it could cause damage it times it self out If all those nanny’s were turned off chances are that 8 ah battery would if ripppped And u would had a smoked saw Why big tools can handle the 300lb grorlla hanging on them and not cut out Tool company programmed not to cut out and hand it Lol Guse alls I’m saying is Tool company knows best we’re only holding on for the ride

[@skliros9235]

Can you put a meter on and measure amp draw?

[@WorkshopAddict]

Working on it.

[@OUTILSCLIPSQC]

If you want to get power from dewalt you need to get the 60v line up otherwize it will be underpower the 20v dewalt is underpower home owner use.

[@rcud1]

Its a Pruning saw, not a log cutting saw.

[@wim0104]

I'd get 60V tools for serious gardening, but good to see powerstack is not just marketing BS

[@ErikAsquith]

I am disappointed to see all these cutouts with all the batteries tested. I wasn’t expecting such consistent cutouts, regardless of the battery used and the species of wood cut.

[@wim0104]

he's cutting very hard , old wood, but with a pruning saw, on purpose; he's pushing the saw to the limit to see if the battery makes any difference.

[@ErikAsquith]

@@wim0104 he stated that the initial cuts with each battery were lite/normal pressure and the follow up cuts were with more pressure. He wasn’t putting excessive down pressure on the first cuts.

[@ErikAsquith]

@@wim0104 regardless of how hard or old the wood is, he's making the first cut without pushing, as stated 54 seconds into the video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHOVaWmKi5eDbqM). I would expect this saw to take longer to cut through the harder and older wood, but not cutout when not applying down pressure on the saw. When I using my battery operated pruning saw on this species of wood, I typically don't get any cutouts, unless I start to put some excessive down pressure on the saw. Sure a cutout happens from time to time, but not at the consistency we saw across the lineup of batteries demoed during his first cuts, without down pressure.

[@tedmcdonald3377]

😎🛠️😎🛠️😎

[@clintnelson8785]

you got enough bar oil

[@stevennihipali3607]

And there it is... default sucks

[@franconieblas2326]

I’m a dewalt guy but does battery’s power stack don’t work they don’t run for long periods of time

[@Surmoka]

Powerstack has a higher ampacity to make up for voltage loss. Voltage alone is not very characteristic of a battery's performance.

[@WorkshopAddict]

"Powerstack has a higher ampacity to make up for voltage loss." That is exactly what I am showing. Getting the amp draw info out of the batteries while on the tools has been out of my reach thus far. So seeing what battery drops voltage the least shows what the internal cells are capable of and also what tools really care about the increased voltage.

[@Surmoka]

@@WorkshopAddict true, it is difficult to measure current. That'd require an added piece between the tool and battery to eavesdrop in a serial connection, even if you use a shunt resistor. Maybe a bit out of scope for you, but the easiest way to measure battery performance would be to connect an adjustable external load to a battery, not a tool.

[@WorkshopAddict]

You are 100 percent correct and @TorqueTestChannel does that better than anyone. But as we see here, and I will show you in upcoming videos, all tools do not need larger batteries. So there becomes a time when there is no return from using the larger battery. I need the tool to test that. I am working to do a combination of tool and battery testing. A bit more real world testing for what you are using. Our Drill test (the video just before this) demonstrates a lot better what the battery is capable of. Our hopes in this video was that we could help this tool from the cutouts we see in the field, and we could not.

[@Surmoka]

@@WorkshopAddict I'm correcting myself, actually your tool tests are the real deal. Because batteries are used with tools, and I as a user am interested in if this or that battery will cut me off when using that chainsaw. So, no need to nerd out too much, being practical has the best value.