First off a couple disclaimers. One, Ryobi sent this chainsaw to me to use and give my review on its performance, however, no money has exchanged hands and the thoughts and opinions on this tool are my own. Two, I have no experience using a gas powered chainsaw to compare and contrast this tool. I am strictly reviewing this chainsaw based on it being a cordless power tool.
When it arrived at my house I was taken aback by the packaging. The bar was covered with a sheath-like sleeve which was exposed from the box. I had not seen something like that before and I was worried it may have become bent in transit as many delivery companies are not the most friendly with their packages, I’m looking at you FedEx. But it was in perfect working order upon opening of the box. One thing I didn’t expect was that the saw required bar oil to fill a reservoir. I assume the reader knows chainsaws require a bottle of bar oil so if one purchases this tool at the home center be sure you have a bottle at home or buy one with it. I had to run out and purchase a bottle before I used the tool.
The tool did come with a 40v battery and charger. There are 2 types of batteries, a slim 55 Wh (right) and a hefty 180 Wh (left, rated at 5 Ah) in the 40v line.
I used the 180 Wh battery as I knew I would be putting the saw under a hefty load. Both batteries charge reasonably quickly (1 hour), and if you have 2 batteries you will not be out of juice for long so you can keep going with your task with little interruption, i.e. wait time.
The longest session in use was trimming a couple mature trees and then sawing a few firewood logs into bowl blanks for the lathe. The saw worked well as a multitasker, cross cutting and ripping, and had plenty of power for cutting through hard and dry mesquite and eucalyptus. As I mentioned, I have no experience with gas powered chainsaws so, much like my golf game I let the clubs do the work, meaning I let the saw tell me how hard to push while making the cuts. It really did power through several logs after trimming the trees…and it didn’t even fully drain one battery. That’s saying something. I have a cordless oscillating tool which will drain a battery in a matter of minutes. I was expecting something similar with this Ryobi chainsaw but I was not disappointed.
In conclusion, if you are in the market for a set of cordless power tools for your yard work, the Ryobi 40v 14″ Chainsaw is a great start for getting your trees trimmed or preparing your logs for firewood…or in my case, bowl turning.
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thanks for this very detailed post.