Brushless Motor Equipped 12 Inch Cordless Chainsaws
12 INCH Cordless chainsaws are a boon for homeowners and small business owners who need the functionality of a chainsaw.
Traditionally these smaller battery driven electric motor chainsaws have just not had the same power and cutting capabilities of their gas powered conterparts.
This has contributed to many people buying a gas powered chainsaw and learning to live with noise, smells of gasoline, continuous starting issues and the like.
However, two advances in technology have meant that the performance gap between cordless and gas driven chainsaws has closed a lot. These advances are:
- The continued evolution of battery technology (think Tesla cars!) and
- The use of small brushless motors to power the chainsaw.
The gap has not closed entirely, but if you just need a 12 inch chainsaw for work around the house or to take camping, then a cordless chainsaw equipped with a brushless motor will more than meet your needs.
Lets look at some options in this class
DeWalt 20V XR 12 Inch Chainsaw
The DeWalt (pictured left and at the top of the article) is a pocket rocket of a small traditionally designed chainsaw.
With physical dimensions of only 25 x 9 x 9 inches (64 x 23 x 23 cm) and weighing in at 9 pounds (4kg) with battery, this chainsaw can be handled by almost anyone.
It also has all the normal features found in a traditional gas powered chainsaw including:
- Tool free chain tensioning system
- Low kickback bar and chain
- Chain brake
- Self oiling
- Bar Cover for when you store it away
And then of course the cherry on top – the brushless motor!
Think instant start up, low noise, no fuel smell or fuel cans or troublesome carburetors. All bonus points!
This chainsaw does form part of the DeWalt 20V range which has several implications.
- You have access to a whole range of tools that use the same type battery and charger
- If you already have Dewalt tools with batteries and charger then you need only buy the bare tool
So on the last point. Do be careful. You can get the bare tool HERE or if you have not bought DeWalt before you will need the option which includes a battery and charger
If you feel you would like an extra battery or two then the manufacturer recommends you get the 5Ah battery for the chainsaw. You can find a range of DeWalt batteries, including the 5Ah – HERE
Performance?
This chainsaw will get through most challenges a garden will throw at it and then some.
With a 12 inch bar it will cope with a 10-inch diameter branch without breaking a sweat. Apart from trees downed by a storm, its unlikely that you would need to handle that sort of size on a routine basis.
It will probably cope quite well with diameters bigger than the bar length if only done occasionally and you don’t force the pace! Just let the chain do the work (and make sure the chain is sharp!)
Best results however will be obtained when you use it doing what it is designed for.
Things to look out for?
Oil leaks, especially when storing.
But hey, this is a chainsaw so what do you expect?
Actually, if you are aware of the potential problem then you can do a lot to minimize the leaks.
- Don’t over fill the oil tank. In fact don’t fill it to the brim ever. Fill it half way, or even a third, and establish how long that will take to drain empty while cutting and work around that!
- Store it in such a way that gravity is your friend, not your enemy!
So that’s a quick peak at the DeWalt.
Lets move on to some of the competition.
Greenworks 24V 12 inch Brushless Chainsaw
This Greenworks is also part of a large range of Greenworks tools that use the same 24V system.
This means that the same point around bare tool vs tool with battery and charger applies to this chainsaw.
Some of their 24V batteries feature an interesting innovation. They have designed USB ports into the batteries. So apart from charging Greenworks tools, it can also charge other items such as mobile phones or tablets.
That is a pretty useful feature!
Back to the chainsaw itself.
Like the DeWalt, it has all the normal features you would find on a gas driven chainsaw.
- Low kick back bar and chain
- automatic oiler
- tool-less chain tensioning
It has a 4Ah battery and is very marginally smaller than the DeWalt. But we are talking so little as to not be of any practical significance. Ditto weight wise – marginally lighter but not enough to make any discernible difference.
So not too much to differentiate these first two chainsaws. In fact, possibly the biggest difference is color – yellow vs green! 🙂
Skil PWR Core 20 Brushless 12 Inch Chainsaw
And the color differential game continues with this being the red offering! 😉
Seriously though, the Skil also comes from a stable of cordless electrical power tools.
So although perhaps not such a well known brand to many, it need not stand back in this company!
So what do you get with this Skil option?
- Well you get a 4Ah battery and charger so no need to worry about accidentally just buying the bare tool
- Unique to this group is a storage bracket
- Auto lubrication
- Tool-less tensioning
- Anti kickback brake
Size wise its much of a muchness with the Dewalt and Greenworks although slightly heavier. Again we are talking perhaps a pound or so heavier (0.45kg) which is hardly a deal breaker one way or the other.
In Conclusion
Twelve inch cordless chainsaws with a brushless motor give options to home owners who need something bigger than a mini chainsaw for their work, but really don’t want the hassle of the traditional gas powered chainsaws and all the issues which come with owning one of them!
And to be fair, what’s not to like about these cordless saws:
- Small and compact
- Lightweight
- Instant start
- Low noise
- Same features such as auto lubrication, chain brake etc
- Brushless motors that are efficient and powerful
Its a pretty compelling proposition all in all!
If you are interested, you can find some 12″ cordless chainsaws with a brushed motor here!
You can find more options at ChainsawChoices.com
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