Homeowners largely prefer to use electric chainsaws rather than gas chainsaws because they’re often strong enough for all their light weight and medium-duty requirements, but they’re not as high-maintenance.
Gas chainsaws are often quite expensive, they make a lot of noise, consume a lot of fuel, and require a lot of strength. As opposed to that, electric chainsaws are light weight, noiseless, and relatively cheaper. This can be helpful because regular homeowners generally also have to worry about neighbors and not making too much noise.
Electric chainsaws are perfectly capable of cutting logs for firewood, pruning and trimming bushes, and sometimes even felling small trees or trimming branches. These are generally the only requirements homeowners have.
If you’re a homeowner on the prowl for an electric chainsaw, you have a lot of great options to contend with. To make the search easier for you, these are the 8 best electric chainsaws in the market.
Electric Chainsaws Reviews & Buying Guide
Once you read the review of the 8 best electric chainsaws in the market, you can refer to this comparative table to gauge their prime qualities and characteristics.
1.WORX WG303.1/Best Corded Chainsaw for Cutting firewood
WORX WG303.1 is an electric chainsaw ideally suited for some of the more heavy duty yard maintenance work. It comes with an 18” bar so it can easily slice through small trees, and it’s powered by a 15 Amp motor. The chain roughly moves at the speed of 12M/s.
It also has some additional features that make it stand out. The tool-free auto-tensioning tool ensures that you can effortlessly tension the tool by just turning the knob on the side. Furthermore, you can rest assured that it will stay at that tension through hundreds of uses. Amongst the safety features, it comes with the low kickback bar to minimize kickbacks, and a built-in chain brake so the chainsaw stops working in case your finger leaves the trigger.
It also has the auto-oiler feature, and as such the chainsaw remains well lubricated, and it continues working smoothly. There’s a clear window available on the chainsaw through which you can also gauge the oil level.
There’s no need to assemble it as it comes fully-assembled, and it brings with it a 3 year warranty.
Ideal for: Felling trees in the yard and cutting firewood.
| PROS:PowerfulLow costTop notch features | CONS:Oil leakage |
2.Makita UC4051A/Light easy to Handle and Powerful
The Makita UC4051A is a corded chainsaw with a 16” bar powered by a 14.5 Amp motor. This combination of bar length and power makes it powerful enough to be able to saw through any branches of trees, or feel small trees as well. The motor is also equipped with a current limiter which is a useful feature that limits power to the saw if it’s on the verge of burning out. This helps prevent premature destruction of the chainsaw.
You don’t need to worry about batteries with this chainsaw, and because of the tool-free tensioning system you can tension the chain simply with a knob. The auto-oiler feature keeps the chain running smoothly at a uniform rpm, and a single refill can last you through several sessions. A window is provided so you can tell when the oil is about to deplete.
As far as safety is concerned, perhaps the best feature of this chainsaw is the fact that it gradually gains speed till it achieves 2,900 FPM, and as such you can avoid kickback from the chainsaw suddenly jerking back.
However, the chainsaw offers only a one-year warranty, which is quite weak compared to the competitors.
Ideal for: Felling small trees and chopping branches.
| PROS:Auto-oiler, and tool-free tensionerPowerful enough for felling small treesGradually picks up speed to avoid kickbacks | CONS:ExpensiveOnly one-year warranty |
3.GreenWorks 20312/Great Chainsaw for Medium+ Jobs
The GreenWorks 20312 is one of the best 40V battery chainsaws in the market. It comes equipped with a 16” bar that’s powered by a 12 Amp motor hooked to a 40V battery. It can even cut through medium sized trees, however it’s ideal for pruning bushes. Compared to some of the other battery chainsaws, the GreenWorks 20312 has extra torque, and as such it has superior cutting abilities.
One of the features that we love about all GreenWorks chainsaws is that they have about 70% less vibrations than their competing brands. As such they cause far less arm fatigue in the user. The battery is powerful enough to keep the chainsaw going for a 100 cuts of a 4” x 4” piece of lumber.
Like some of the other chainsaws, this one also comes with the tool-free tensioning tool, and the chain-break feature is ideal for safety purposes. Perhaps the only problem we have with this model is that it has a slow start, however it makes up for it with some great safety features.
Ideal for: Pruning and trimming bushes.
| PROS:PowerfulLong battery lifeGreat safety features | CONS:ExpensiveSlow start |
4.Black+Decker LCS1240/ Power, Lightweight, Useful For Homeowner
The Black+Decker LCS1240 is a battery chainsaw meant largely for light weight projects because it comes with just a 12” bar length that’s powered by a 12 Amp 40 Volt battery. It can be used for pruning and trimming bushes, and other light work. However, if you try to saw through firewood or branches, it might struggle. The battery takes about 4-5 hours to charge to completion.
The auto-oiling features and the tool-free chain tensioning features make it very useful for chainsaw maintenance, ensuring that the chains remain lubricated and smooth for a long time. It’s also designed with safety given paramount importance. The front hand guard protects your hand from the flying debris, and the lock-off button ensure that no one “accidentally” starts the chainsaw.
The chainsaw is covered by a 3 year warranty period.
Ideal for: Pruning and trimming of bushes.
| PROS:Great safety featuresGreat for light garden maintenance | CONS:Small barNot very powerfulTakes a long time to charge completely |
5.Remington RM1425/Excellent Chainsaw for Small Jobs
The Remington RM1425 is perhaps the cheapest corded electric chainsaw in the market. It comes with a 14” bar that’s powered by an 8 Amp motor. As such, it’s definitely not a very powerful chainsaw, and it’s only suited for the lightest of tasks around the yard. If you’re looking for an affordable means of doing some light maintenance work, it doesn’t get better than this.
It comes with all necessary features such as a tool-free chain tensioning feature, with which you can tension the chain with a simple knob. Unlike some of the other chainsaws in this review, the Remington doesn’t come with an auto-oiler, it instead has a push-button oiler. With this feature you can release oil into the machine voluntarily. This might be great for oil preservation when you thing the chain is already lubed up, however it means you need to remember to routinely do so.
This chainsaw is covered by a 2-year warranty period.
Ideal for: Small yard work.
| PROS:Extremely cheapEasy to use and light weightIdeal for light yard maintenance | CONS:Can’t perform heavy tasksDoesn’t come with an auto-oiler |
6.Earthwise CS30116/Great Chainsaw For The Money
The Earthwise CS30116 chainsaw is a simple corded chainsaw ideal for most tasks around the house. However, it’s not ideal for professional use. The chainsaw comes with a 16” bar powered by a 12 Amp motor. As such, even though the bar length is large enough to cut through small trees, it’s not powerful enough to do so smoothly. One of the great features about this chainsaw is that it effortlessly starts every time.
It comes with the tool-free chain tensioning tool. In addition to that, it also comes with a plastic bar and a chain cover for safety purposes. It comes fully assembled and as such you don’t need to worry about assembling the machine. There’s a cord retention hook you can use to wind the cord when you’re not using it. The automatic oiling system comes with a window that shows you the amount of oil left. Furthermore, it’s light enough that it can be used by most people. Finally, the handle bar has a rubber coating to minimize vibrations felt by the body.
Ideal for: Clearing brush and stockpiling firewood.
| PROS:AffordableLightweight and easy to handle | CONS:It’s hard to find spare materials for this chainsawSome problems with maintenance have been reported |
7.Oregon CS1500/Works Great on Hardwood Firewood!
The Oregon CS1500 is quite a unique corded electric chainsaw largely because of its self-sharpening feature. However, we’ll get to that later. This chainsaw comes with an 18” bar powered by a 15 Amp motor and as such it’s powerful enough to perform some of the heavier home maintenance tasks such as pruning bushes, cutting branches, firewood, etc. It can even fell small trees, but it might struggle with them a little.
The PowerSharp Sharpening System is a feature that sharpens the saw while it’s in use, and it only takes a few seconds. As such, you don’t need to dismantle the machine and sharpen the saw manually any more. Furthermore, the tool-free chain tensioning system can tension the chain with a single knob, and the auto-oiler ensures that the chain is running smoothly.
It comes with a 2-year consumer warranty.
Ideal for: Cutting firewood, branches, or felling small trees.
| PROS:PowerfulAffordablePowerSharp Sharpening System | CONS:The chain doesn’t stay in place long regardless of the tension |
8.EGO Power+/Great Chainsaw For Non-professionals
The EGO Power+ is a corded battery powered chainsaw with a 14” bar length that’s powered by a 56 Volt 2.0Ah Battery. The brushless motor is high efficient and it runs at the speed of 6300 RPM. A single charge can take you through a 100 cuts before needing to be charged again.
The Oregon chain is the most reputed chain in the market, as it provides least chances of kickbacks. As such, it’s an ideal option for beginners concerned about safety. Another prominent safety feature is the chain brake, which makes the chainsaw stop immediately in case of a sudden jerk or change. It also has the other standard features such as the tool-free chain tensioner, and the auto-oiler.
The chainsaw comes with a 5 year tool warranty, and a 3 year battery warranty. It’s perhaps the best warranty in the market.
Even though it has received largely positive reviews from customers, some of the users have expressed concerns that the automatic oiling feature doesn’t work sometimes.
Ideal for: Perfect for cutting firewood and clearing the yard.
| PROS:Great warrantyOregon chain is usedPowerful for its sizeWaterproof construction | CONS:Expensive |
Best Electric Chainsaw Factors
Now that you’ve read all the reviews of the best electric chainsaws in the market, you might be wondering how you can possibly decide which is the best chainsaw for you. Well, to help you decide how to choose the best electric chainsaw, I’ve drawn up this brief summary of the factors you need to take into consideration. These will probably narrow down your search.
How to determine your Bar length?
A chainsaw with a longer bar length can cut through bigger pieces of wood. Generally speaking, a 16” bar length is ideal for felling small trees, even if it’s a bit of a struggle. You need to consider what are the surfaces you’ll be using the chainsaw on, and then decide upon the bar length accordingly.
Motor
This applies for corded chainsaws. The motor gives power to the chainsaw and determines how strong it is. While the bar length determines how wide the stroke will be, the motor determines how effortless it will be to cut through a hardwood. The higher the amps, the stronger the motor. If a motor isn’t strong enough, it might get bogged down.
Corded/ Cordless
Corded chainsaws are those that need to be plugged into a power outlet. On the one hand, you don’t have to worry about charging or batteries, however your movements are limited and you need to be dependent on extension cables.
Cordless chainsaws run on a battery and need to be recharged periodically. The recharge can take anything from 1-2 hours, and they usually run for about 1 hours, maximum. However, they offer you complete mobility.
You need to decide which one of these best suits your needs. How much will you be moving around with the electric chainsaw? How long will you be using it? These are questions you need to consider.
Battery Voltage
This applies for corded chainsaws. You need to focus on the battery voltage, as that will determine how much power the motor receives, how strong it is, and how long it lasts after being charged.
Safety Features
Safety is of paramount importance when handling a chainsaws. As such, you need to keep an eye out for all the safety features and make sure they’re in place. For example, the handlebars should be rubber coated to prevent vibration shocks. They should come with chain breaks so that the moment your finger leaves the trigger, the chainsaw stops. These are vital safety measures.
Additional Features
You also need to look into what are the additional features that the chainsaw is offering . You should look for a chainsaw that comes with a tool-free tensioning system, so that you can tension the chain with just the turning of a knob. You should look for an auto-oiler feature so that your chain remains well lubricated. These are just some of the many features you need to be looking into.
Warranty
You should ideally look for chainsaws with long warranty periods so that if something were to happen to it down the line, you can easily get it fixed or repaired.
Budget
Last, but most certainly not the least, you need to tally all the previous factors against your personal budget. A chainsaw may be perfect in every way, but if it exceeds your budget, that doesn’t matter. So before you even begin exploring the other factors, determine a maximum budget, and use that to narrow down your search.
How to use a electric chainsaw
The following are a collection of tips, strategies, DOs and DONT’s, that will ensure you use the chainsaw safely and don’t hurt either yourself or anyone else in the process.
Tips should be consider:
- Chainsaws should only be used to cut wood.
- Always wear heavy duty clothes when operating chainsaws. This includes heavy gloves, heavy clothes, chaps, boots, hearing protection, a hard hat, and even safety glasses to prevent debris from getting into your eyes.
- You need to get the posture just right. You need to hold the chainsaw firmly with both hands. The left hand should be on the front around the handle, and this arm should be straight with the elbow locked. The right hand needs to be on the back handle, and this arm needs to be slightly bent.
- Stabilize yourself by spreading your feet apart.
- The chainsaw should be held slightly to your right so you’re out of the axis of the flying debris, and you’re safe in case of kickbacks, i.e., when the rotation of the chainsaw gets thrown back towards you.
How to avoiddifferent types of Kickbacks
- In case of Rotational Kickbacks: This is the most dangerous type of kickback. This generally happens when the tip of the saw touches an object. This causes the saw to kickback and it comes straight towards you. This is why you need to be standing a bit to the left, out of its reach. Also, make sure the tip of your chainsaw never touches an object.
- In case of Linear Kickbacks: This happens when the chainsaw gets pinched on the side of the wood you’re cutting into. This can also send the chainsaw right back at you. Again, standing to the left could save your life.
- Pull-In Kickbacks: You need to know the surface you are cutting very well. You need to examine it carefully. There should be no branch on the end of it, and no protruding nails. If your chainsaw hits a nail or a branch, it may get yanked off your hands and be hurled across, possibly at an innocent bystander.
In Conclusion…
So now you know all about the different types of electric chainsaws in the market, and you know about the 8 best electric chainsaws you can purchase. While all of the chainsaws listed on this list are great, they’re not all ideal for your purposes. You need to find the one most suited for your needs.
That’s why you need to consult the list of factors I’ve listed out at the end. It will give you a blueprint on how to narrow your search and what are the key factors to look out for in the chainsaws.
Whatever you decide to buy, please adhere to the safety measures mentioned at the end of the article. Chainsaws can be dangerous if not handled properly. And please feel free to comment down below and let me know if this article helped you!
