Which Chainsaw

Which chainsaw?

Which chainsaw you choose depends on many factors, some of which we will look at in this article.

Winter will soon be upon us and along with winter comes the cold weather resulting in high heating bills (electricity and gas prices are due to rise again!). In this current economic climate a lot of people are going to be cutting their own firewood for the first time and they’ll be purchasing a chainsaw to do this.

A Bit of History

Two important contributors to the modern chainsaw were Joseph Buford Cox and Andreas Stihl (Stihl chainsaws); the latter patented and developed a chainsaw in 1926 and a petrol-powered chainsaw in 1929, and founded a company to produce them. In 1927, Emil Lerp, the founder of Dolmar, developed the world’s first petrol-powered chainsaw and mass-produced them. The early models were heavy, two-person devices with long bars. Often chainsaws were so heavy that they had wheels! After World War II, improvements in aluminum and engine design lightened chainsaws to the point where one person could carry them. Nowadays most chainsaws are manufactured to be light-weight, high performance and safer and easy to use.

Some questions to ask yourself when deciding which chainsaw to buy

What size engine do I need? Petrol chainsaws range from 30cc to over 100cc.

What bar length should I be looking at? Bar lengths range from 12″ to over 27″ in some professional models

Which chainsaw – How will you be using the saw?
Will you be using the chainsaw on the ground for limbing, felling, cutting firewood or will you be climbing using it in trees? Will you be using the chainsaw for light trimming or for making firewood? If so, a good start would be a small top-handled chainsaw. They are  lightweight and agile with smaller cc engines. They are good for professionals in trees because of the D ring for clipping onto belts.

If you are going to be using your chainsaw for medium use, then consider using a more powerful engine with a rear handle. It will make operating the saw not only easier but also safer. Also consider using a longer bar and chain.

If you are going to be tree-felling, or doing heavier ground-work, then consider a professional chainsaw with a long chain bar and chain, high cc engine and rear handle.

Which chainsaw – Are you a novice or a professional user?
If you are a novice or occasional user, we would recommend a 30 to 40cc chainsaw with a bar length no longer than 16 inches.

If you are going to be using a chainsaw for everyday tasks such as cutting firewood or trimming back trees, then consider a 40-60cc chainsaw with a 16″-18″ bar length and a rear handle. It will cope with larger log/branch diameters.

If you are an experienced, professional or frequent user, then use a 16″-27″ bar length and use a 60cc+ size engine.

Other features to consider when deciding which chainsaw to buy

A large air filter will allow plenty of air in to give higher performance.

Does the chainsaw have a large intake area to keep the engine cool engine.

Does it come with an easy start recoil system? If it doesn’t, you might find the chainsaw harder to get going on a cold morning!

Does it feature a side chain tensioning system to allow tightening and loosing of the chain.

Does it have an automatic oiler? Is this system adjustable? Depending on the application u are using your chainsaw for you may need more or less  chain bar oil.

Finally, does your chainsaw feature an anti-vibration system seperating the chainsaw from the handle (using rubber gromets or steel strings), giving you complete control of your chainsaw.

Electric Chainsaws

Electric chainsaws offer many advantages. They are quieter, emission-free and ideal for lighter cutting, trimming and carpentry. In addition, they can all be used both indoors and out. Electric chainsaws are ideal for novice or occasional users. The main drawback to using an electric chainsaw is that it’s use is limited by the distance your work is from an electric power source. They are not designed to be go-anywhere chainsaws, but more for cutting firewood close to home.

Which chainsaw you buy depends on a great number of factors. For a closer look at our range of petrol and electric chainsaws please follow the links below:

Which chainsaw – Husqvarna Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Tanaka Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Mountfield Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Stihl Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Gardencare Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Ryobi Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – MTD Petrol Chainsaws

Which chainsaw – Choose from our extensive range of electric chainsaws