The Different Types of Cordless Chainsaws
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How many types of different cordless chainsaws are there?
That depends on how you segment the cordless chainsaw market.
And there are plenty of ways to do that!
You could divide them up into different brands such as Makita or Greenworks or Dewalt and so on.
Another way of differentiating cordless chainsaws would be according to bar length. Some have a bar length as short as 4-inches while others can boast of an 18-inch bar length.
And of course there are battery powered chainsaws with bar lengths of just about every length in between!
Type of battery, number of batteries, brushless or brushed motor, safety features, self oilers or not. All of these are potential ways to differentiate between battery chainsaws.
But perhaps the most logical way to differentiate between cordless chainsaws is according to design. In other words, the basic shape of the chainsaw.
That radically reduces the options and from there you can then think about brand or bar length, type of electric motor and so on.
So here goes!
Mini Chainsaws
The versatile mini chainsaw!
So as you can see from the picture of the (brilliant) Omola 4-inch bar mini chainsaw on the left, a mini chainsaw is usually designed to be used with one hand only.
They generally have a bar length of 4, 6, or 8 inches although, as always, there are one or two that buck the trend with a 5-inch or 7-inch length bar.
By the time the bar gets to 10 inches long, two hands are normally required!
Mini saws are small and relatively light. They are designed for small jobs where pulling out a larger chainsaw would be tiresome and perhaps not delicate enough for the job at hand.
They are great for pruning and other small around the house DIY jobs.
NB WARNING: Mini chainsaws are designed for mini jobs. They will break pretty quickly if you try use them for big jobs. The better made ones will survive a few short sessions doing something bigger than they were designed for but it’s really not a good idea!
As a rule of thumb, try not to use them on anything that is more than 2 inches shorter than the bar length.
To illustrate that. If you have a 6-inch bar mini chainsaw, don’t use it on branch/tree with a diameter bigger than 4 inches.
They will last much longer that way.
Top Handled Cordless Chainsaws
The top handled design is illustrated by the Makita in the picture on the left.
It differs from the more traditional chainsaw design in that the main weight of the chainsaw is below where the trigger hand is placed.
The more traditional design has the weight in front of the trigger hand (see picture in next section)
The main advantage of this type of design is that the weight of the saw is not ahead of your hands and the tool is shortened. This makes it easier to work with the saw in confined spaces e.g. when up a tree in a dense canopy
It also (muscle power allowing) makes it possible to use the tool one handed. However, this is not why this design was developed and no manufacturer would ever recommended you use their top handled chainsaw in this way!
Lastly, note that while the general assumption seems to be that top handled chainsaws are lighter than their rear handled counterparts, this is not really true. They might in some cases be slightly lighter, but certainly not to any significant degree
Negatives? Well the design puts your hands closer to the cutting surface of the chain. That shouldn’t be an issue if you are sensible and don’t take chances. However, some people are not comfortable with that thought.
You will need to make up your own mind on that point.
Like mini chainsaws, top handle chainsaws are produced by a range of brands, come in different bar lengths, with or without a brushless motor and so on.
Finally we have the:
Conventional Design Cordless Chainsaws
So on the left you see a picture of the classic design for a chainsaw.
As you can see, the trigger hand is behind the main weight of the tool.
The left hand thus plays a major role in supporting the weight of the tool when you are using it.
The left hand is also the primary hand for directing the chain where you want to cut.
This design originated with the classic gas powered chainsaws. It would not be comfortable to have your trigger hand constantly situated above a high revving, hot 2-stroke engine.
That issue is far less of a problem with the battery powered cordless chainsaw.
However, the bigger the chainsaw, the bigger and weightier the batteries are likely to be.That, and the resultant overall tool balancing issues, will probably keep this design pertinent to cordless chainsaws for some time to come.
Not So Conventional Cordless Chainsaws
Garden and tree pruning Loppers such as the The B & D LP1000 Alligator are well worth a look if your main aim is pruning branches of trees and bushes up to about 4 inches (10cm) in diameter!
Summary & Options
So those are the 3 “main” different types of cordless chainsaws available to you.
As discussed, these can be broken down further in a multitude of ways. Here are some examples of that:
Four of the Best 4 Inch Mini Chainsaws
Six Hard Working 6 inch Mini Chainsaws
Who Needs An 8 Inch Mini Chainsaw?
How About 10 Inch Cordless Electric Chainsaws
12 Inch Cordless Chainsaws with Buzz
Is a Brushless Chainsaw Better?
Best Brands For Cordless Chainsaws?
The Lightest Electric Chainsaw
Top Quality Big Cordless Chainsaws
Top 10 Best Rated Cordless Mini Chainsaws
The Best 16 Inch Cordless Electric Chainsaws
And the list goes on 🙂
It’s not difficult to get confused by all the options available out in the market. The most practical way to approach the conundrum of which cordless chainsaw is best for you is to define what you will need it for (mainly) and work from there.
You can read more about how to do that here!