So, what type of equipment should you pick up if you’re considering a switch to battery-powered options? Our experts mentioned a few of their personal choic- es that they’ve used and have found suc- cess with. For electric chainsaws, Williams said his team at Tree Scouts Tree Service prefers Husqvarna chainsaws for worksites. “Husqvarna 550i XP is a highly efficient and powerful electric chainsaw that can fit a 14-to-20-inch bar,” he said. “It can be used for large tree removals and groundsman log bucking. It is great to use in areas where a large amount of noise is not appreciated.” Pole saws also have popular battery-pow- ered options for arborists. Overberg Ar- borists, for example, found that they get the most value from battery-powered chainsaws and pole saws, particularly when doing pruning work. “We really love battery pole saws, and we heavily rely on them,” said Pietersen, an ISA certified arborist. “We’ve done quite a bit of testing with our Milwaukee tele- scopic pole saw as well as Husqvarna’s version and have managed up to around 70 cuts on a High Output battery, de- pending obviously on the diameter and type of wood we’re cutting.” And while arborists don’t typically use string trimmers, Tadewaldt includes them on her list of useful battery-pow- ered equipment. “The newer battery-powered models accept some useful attachments,” she said. “We use the power-broom attach- ment to clean up stump grindings. There are also trimmer and hedge-trimmer at- tachments that work well for specialized hedging projects.” Specific Equipment
Once limited to light-duty tasks, battery-powered equipment is now becoming increasingly common in tree care thanks to recent advances in technology.
around as well as protecting the area they work in. Arborists, however, may need to bal- ance the advantages and disadvan- tages with adding battery-powered equipment to their toolbox alongside their more familiar, gas-powered options. “I don’t think professional arboricul- ture is at the point where we should pretend [gas] equipment is obsolete. We still need it and, in my opinion, we will for a long time,” Pietersen said. “The interesting change is that battery equipment has moved from being some- thing we’d use for a few light-duty tasks to something that now forms part of our everyday professional kit.”
ies, chargers, and essentially an entire battery platform,” Pietersen said. Runtime also needs to be managed, which can mean more money spent on batteries and chargers for work on a job that can last many hours. “On larger projects, you need enough batteries and charging capacity to keep the operation moving,” he said. THE BOTTOM LINE ON BATTERY POWER Battery-powered options are becoming more prevalent and have a wide range of use applications. They have more power and runtime than previous mod- els, start quickly, and are more envi- ronmentally friendly for arborists to be
22 | Fall 2026 ArborTIMES ™
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