Thread: Battery chainsaws

Originally Posted by No.3

Kinda the equivalent of buying a pro model saw vs a homer series - if you are doing lots of work and expecting to get paid for it when a breakdown of the kit stops you getting paid, you tend to stump up for what is likely to be the most reliable. If you're only doing home work or the odd job the cheaper gear probably will work fine for you - I've had a crap run with the Ozito brand gear but to be fair it is actually quite nice to use. I understand that it has gotten better too, the issues I had were all due to internal failure of motors and switches - and replaced under warranty until the retailer ran out of the dodgy designed model when they substituted another. The main thing I had the issues with was a combo die grinder/router doohickey, bloody handy tool but died young. The other was a wet vac of all things, was great in use but the three I had all died young. Replaced under warranty with a Ryobi version, almost identical but a slightly better design electrically.

As far as the saws, I do hear that they go OK and for the price if you aren't using them commercially what do you have to lose? The only thing I don't like about the 36v units is having to charge two sets of two batteries, you end up needing a bank of chargers and them things are bulky. As bad as a 20L can of petrol!

If you ever met a guy who uses Ryobi, you know he sits down to piss