6 Simple Things to Consider When Buying an Electric Chainsaw

Michael Foley
3 min readFeb 13, 2019

--

Image source: jgtree.com

The electric chainsaw is a remarkably handy tool when you have a good deal of trees or branches to trim or cut down. Many trees have low-hanging branches which need the occasional trimming, but if they’re too big, a hand saw or a pair of shears won’t do much to fix the matter. An electric chainsaw is helpful for trimming your limbs to smaller chunks, which makes it easier to reduce massive quantities of logs and wood. For many folks, there is just no substitute for a chainsaw.

Your range and motion are limited by the length of the electric cable along with the extension cord. However, corded chainsaws are more powerful than battery-powered chainsaws. And you can also cut bigger and tougher trees.

Battery-powered chainsaws permit for a wider range and freer motion because the chainsaw is not limited by a cable. This makes battery-powered chainsaws more suited to larger jobs.

If you think you’re going to use your chainsaw for light tasks such as cutting small branches and trimming small trees, then you’d do nicely with a battery-powered chainsaw. For heavier jobs like trimming trunks and felling small trees, corded chainsaws would be the better choice.

Compared to petrol chainsaws, electric chainsaws are less powerful. But unless you are a lumberjack or a professional tree feller, you probably won’t require that much power in your chainsaw. Most homeowners simply require an electric one. Listed below are a couple of the numerous advantages of working with an electric chainsaw.

1. Easier maintenance

You just have to add oil to the chain and you may start cutting timber. Oiling the chain is the only real maintenance you will want to do since there’s no engine to keep and fuel to combine. Only charge the battery, pull the trigger and your electric chainsaw will immediately start.

Engines have to be primed prior to use, and you have to pull a cable to spark the engine. The weight of the engine along with the petrol tank makes for a hefty tool. Electric chainsaws remove all that and therefore are considerably lighter, which makes them easier to use.

2. Less kickback

Kickbacks happen if the moving chain in the guide bar runs into an object, or anytime the chain is pinched in the cut once the wood closes in. The contact triggers a reverse reaction, kicking the guide bar right back to the operator. Kickbacks can cause you to lose control of the chainsaw and you could seriously injure yourself and the people around you.

Electric chainsaws are fitted with safety chains to decrease the prevalence of kickbacks. And because electric chainsaws are not as powerful as their petrol-powered cousins, the violence of a kickback is substantially reduced.

3. No fuel needed

Since they operate on electricity, electric chainsaws have quicker recovery times in comparison with petrol chainsaws. In case a chainsaw runs on petrol, it ought to be turned off and left to cool before it may be refuelled. Meanwhile, an electric chainsaw only requires to be plugged into a socket. No fuel also means fewer contaminants are emitted, making electric chainsaws better to your environment.

4. Quiet operation

Electric chainsaws create less sound in contrast to their petrol-powered counterparts. When measured, the sound emitted by electric chainsaws range from 90 to 102 dB (decibel), whilst petrol chainsaws send 106 dB to 117 dB. Cutting wood in your home with an electric chainsaw will not disturb your neighbours as much a petrol-powered unit will.

5. Quicker storage

Electric chainsaws are easier to store than petrol chainsaws. You merely need to clean out the chainsaw and return it to its storage container. Meanwhile, you need to empty a petrol chainsaw of fuel and oil and remove the spark plug in case you happen to would like to keep it in storage.

--

--