Great Performing 16 Inch Cordless Electric Chainsaws
These 16 inch cordless electric chainsaws compete with their gas powered counter parts and so have to be both robust and effective!
However, do remember that ALL these 16 inch battery driven chainsaws mentioned below are not designed for heavy commercial usage.
However, as with the slightly smaller 14 inch cordless electrical chainsaws, they perform very well when used for by the average householder for jobs in the garden or wooded back yards.
And of course they have major advantages over gas powered chainsaws such as:
- Don’t have to carry 2 stroke fuel around with you or deal with the smell.
- Vastly reduced maintenance requirements….no fiddling with carburetors etc
- Start with a press of the button. No more exhausting yourself trying to pull start the machine
- Quieter than gas powered devils 🙂
- Generally weigh less than their gas powered equivalents.
- Can have multiple batteries so no need to stop to refuel – just a quick change of battery and off you go.
In short – what’s not to like about them!
Here are five 16″ cordless electric chainsaws that will do the job for you.
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 16″ Cordless Chainsaw
The Milwaukee M18 Fuel comes in 2 options.
a) AÂ version that is the tool only
b) The “kit” version that includes a battery and charger
This is because some purchasers may already have one of the Milwaukee range of tools and not require a battery and charger.
However, be warned! Users advise that you shouldn’t run this Milwaukee M18 Fuel chainsaw with anything less than the 12 amp/hour battery supplied in the kit version.
If you use it with a smaller battery from one of your other Milwaukee tools then the performance will suffer. However, with the 12Ah battery then you are going to be mightily impressed with its performance!
Obviously there is a significant price differential between the the 2 options as batteries are pretty expensive! But please heed the advice on not scrimping on the battery power!!
This Milwaukee comes equipped with a brushless motor which is a big bonus as brushless motors out perform brushed electric motors in all departments.
There have been some complaints about leaking bar oil. But hey, this is a chainsaw….what else do you expect?
Some users have remarked that the chain that comes fitted could be of a higher quality so you might consider ordering a spare chain if you plan on using the saw regularly!
Overall however, this is a boss of a chainsaw that has received a resounding thumbs up from people who have actually bought and used the saw. Can’t argue with that!
Running neck and neck with the Milwaukee is the next one – the Makita 16″ battery powered chainsaw.
Makita XCU04PT LXT Cordless Electric Chainsaw
There are in fact two separate 16″ Makita battery driven chainsaws available to you. The difference lies in their basic design.
There is the traditional design as pictured here and they also make a 16 inch top handled design cordless chainsaw.
You can read more about the Top Handled vs Traditional design type chainsaws here.
As is common with many of these battery powered chainsaw brands, you can buy both designs of Makita 16 inch battery powered chainsaw with or without batteries!
This is to cater for people who already have battery powered Makita tools who want a chainsaw but don’t need another battery.
Some notable features of these Makita chainsaws are:
- All these Makita 16 inch cordless chainsaws are equipped with brushless motors.
- They have an easy to use tool-less chain adjustment system (NB Not the top handle design)
- Variable Speed Trigger
- A really impressive chain speed of up to 3940 feet per minute or 20m/s for the conventional design. An even more impressive 4720 fpm or 24m/s for the top handled design. That is getting pretty close to normal gas powered chainsaw chain speeds.
So Makita has delivered a lightweight chainsaw that has plenty of power, a demon chain speed and is low on maintenance and easy to use.
Not much to argue about!
SO…..Which is a better bet for you – Milwaukee or Makita?
As you can see, there is not much to choose between these two chainsaws. So your decision might be influenced by the battery aspect.
- If you already have other battery powered tools of one of either Milwaukee or Makita, then it probably doesn’t make sense to go with another brand, as long as the battery you have will do the job.(see remarks about Milwaukee 12Ah battery above).
- If you are starting from scratch then Makita has the edge in that their battery system is less complicated in terms of batteries for different tools. The same battery system powers over 300 different products. That gives you lots of options going forward!
Or – toss a coin! 🙂
Next up is the:
The ECHO CCS-58VBT 16″ Cordless Chainsaw
This 16 inch cordless chainsaw is powered by a brushless motor and a 58V Lithium Ion battery.
It is often sold without the battery and charger for people who already own another echo tool powered by one of their batteries.
You can however purchase a battery and charger here if you don’t already own an echo cordless power tool.
But of course, when comparing prices with other chainsaws, take into account which ones come with a battery and charger, and which don’t!
The latter will appear cheaper but that might not be the case if you have to add on the cost of a battery and charger in order to get the tool to work!
Back to the saw. It has been highly rated for ease of use, maneuverability and great battery life. Combine those aspects with a brushless motor it ticks most of the boxes for homeowners.
PS It does leak a bit of oil when stored …..but what chainsaw doesn’t!!
Worx Nitro 40V 16″ Cordless Chainsaw Power
This Worx 16″ battery driven chainsaw is powered by a brushless electrical motor.
This means the motor is more efficient and quieter than a gas powered chainsaw. However, in addition to that, it generates a chain speed of up to 59 feet per second (fps) or 18m/s.
That is not far off the chain speed of a conventional gas powered chainsaw – without all the hassles of a gas powered chainsaw!
Other featuress include:
- Tool-less chain tensioning**
- Automatic chain & bar oiler
- Battery Charge level indicator
- Weighs only 13.5 pounds or 6.1kg with batteries fitted
On the subject of batteries, this Worx is slightly unusual in that it uses TWO 20V batteries to achieve the 40V designation. The saw comes supplied with two batteries and a double charger so you can charge both at the same time.
NB! The chainsaw will not work with only ONE battery installed – it needs both!
** There is some debate around the chain coming off and this mechanism. Is it a weak point/poor design or in fact do some people just not understand how to use it properly? Of course, some individual tools might be faulty, but given that this mechanism is used in other Worx chainsaw models, it’s unlikely to be a widespread or fatal design fault.
In summary: A decent option but probably not on the same level as the Milwaukee or Makita models above.
RYOBI 16 in. 40-Volt Cordless Chainsaw
This Ryobi is powered by a brushless motor and a 40 volt battery which is sold separately (as is the charger)
Don’t be tempted to go lower than a 4Ah battery though. If you do you might be disappointed with the working time.
A neat feature is the on-board tool storage feature
Other than that a solid performer with the normal features of a 16″ chainsaw namely an automatic chain oiler and mechanical chain brake.
Other Options
There are other 16″ battery driven chainsaws that you can have a look at and compare with the top dogs.
Here are a few worth looking at:
O-CONN 36V 16 Inch Cordless Electric Chainsaw
WEN 40417 40V Max Lithium Ion 16-Inch Brushless Chainsaw
EGO Power+ CS1604 16-Inch 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Chainsaw
and the
Greenworks 48V 16 inch cordless chainsaws
[no_toc]