Cutting wooden planks, pruning trees, trimming or getting rid of unwanted bushes are common jobs around the house and garden. Which chainsaw will be best for such needs? Which models are suitable for intensive use, e.g. in a forest? Read our guide and find the answers to these questions.
Cutting wooden planks, pruning trees, trimming or getting rid of unwanted bushes are common jobs around the house and garden. Which chainsaw will be best for such needs? Which models are suitable for intensive use, e.g. in a forest? Read our guide and find the answers to these questions.
Basic chainsaw elements
The heart of the chainsaw is a spark-ignition two-stroke engine. Its design lets it reach sufficiently high revolutions without the need to use a transmission. This rotation is conveyed by a centrifugal clutch to a wheel that sets the chain in motion. These elements, together with the guide bar, form the cutter. Other important elements of a chainsaw are the spark plug and two tanks – one for fuel and one for oil to lubricate the chain.
When considering which chainsaw to buy, pay attention to whether it has a safety brake. In the event of the chain jerking, it prevents injury to the person using the tool. It is also important that the chainsaw is equipped with a floatless carburettor, so that the chainsaw can be used in every position. However, also check the handles in order to ensure a high level of work comfort, making sure they are appropriately profiled for comfortable use.
Basic specifications of chainsaws
When choosing the best chainsaw for your needs, you should above all pay attention to the technical specifications and intended use. With these aspects in mind, it will be much easier to determine what equipment you actually need. Using a chainsaw with a weaker motor for heavier work, such as cutting thick branches, will not only use more fuel, but will also wear out faster or even break down.
Chain saws for more demanding use, on the other hand, are relatively heavy and large, so they would be inconvenient for small jobs at home, and definitely not worth the high initial investment. Being able to assess you needs with regards to the above is therefore crucial.
How much power will you need?
The total power output of a chainsaw, shown in horse power or kilowatts, is the most important aspect to base your decision on. The higher the power, the harder and thicker materials you can cut using the chainsaw. For basic home use, such as trimming bushes or cutting branches, a petrol chainsaw with a 2.5 horse power engine should be enough. An advantage of such models is their low fuel consumption, and they are light and easy to use.
But if you want to use the chainsaw to cut big logs into firewood, then you will need more than 2.5 HP, especially that some types of wood, such as oak and beech, are very hard. For cutting such material you should consider choosing equipment with a power of around 5 HP. Of course such models will be louder, heavier and larger than weaker versions, and they will also use more fuel.
To sum up, if you know how you intend to use the chainsaw you can choose one with a specific amount of power.
The weight of the saw and the length of the guide bar
The weight of petrol chainsaws is what has the biggest impact on the work comfort. In the case of the lightest models, it is usually around 4 – 5 kg, but the more powerful the device, the heavier it will also be. Professional chainsaws for use in forests can weigh up to about 10 kg. Bear this in mind when choosing the best model for your needs, and also take into account the estimated working time as well as your physical abilities, to avoid ending up using a too heavy chainsaw for many hours on end.
Before making a final choice, check how the equipment lies in your hand and assess how easy it will be for you to use in terms of weight. In order for your opinion to be as objective as possible, ideally you should do this with the chainsaw turned on, so it’s worth asking the seller about the possibility of a test try.
Another aspect you should take into account when considering which petrol chainsaw to choose is the length of the guide bar. The longer it is, the thicker the material you will be able to cut with a given model. Of course, this goes hand in hand with the power of the device. The shorter the guide bar, the more convenient the chainsaw will be to use. For working at home or in the garden, a guide bar of around 40 cm should be enough, while chainsaws for professional use can have guide bars as long as 80 cm long.
Uses of petrol chainsaws
A chainsaw is a tool that, like other gardening equipment, can be used in the garden to trim a hedge, for constructing a garden gazebo, or cutting trees in the forest. It can be used to quickly cut dead branches off trees, trim unwanted bushes, cut firewood, and remove obstacles in the form of lying branches or tree trunks. Chainsaws can also come in handy in the event of renovation or construction works, for cutting wooden posts, boards or beams.
For some time they have also been used as a tool for creating artwork, as they can be ideal for making impressive sculptures. Viewers can admire the process of making sculptures during a live show using a chainsaw, evoking positive emotions.
Which chainsaw will be best for home use?
You should now know more or less which chainsaw to choose for home use. For basic gardening use it makes no sense to go for high-powered equipment, in fact anything between 2 and 3.5 horse power should be more than enough, even for cutting some harder types of wood. What is important when selecting the power of the chainsaw is to take into account the type of material that you will be using it on.
If you plan to use it on coniferous wood, such as pine, you will not need a high-level of power, but if plan to use if on hard deciduous wood, such as oak, then you might want to choose a model with more power. For felling trees or cutting tree trunk, a power of 5 HP and a guide bar length of no less than 40 cm is recommended.
Which chainsaw should a building company choose?
Chainsaws can come in very handy for various jobs on building sites, such as cutting various types of boards, beams and other wooden elements. A chainsaw can also be used for clearing the construction site of various types of shrubs and bushes. However, for such use you will not need equipment intended for cutting down whole trees in forests, so a power of 3.5 HP and a guide bar 40 cm long will be enough. For the needs of construction companies, equipment recommended for use in home and garden works is enough.
Which petrol chainsaw will you need for use in a forest?
The situation with petrol chainsaws is very different when it comes to professional tools for use in forests. Such models can weigh as much as 10 kg, but will easily cut through tree trunks. The absolute minimum in terms of power of such a chainsaw is 5 HP, although this will only be enough for light forestry work, or cutting firewood.
The most efficient chainsaws intended for intensive use should have a power of around 9 HP and a 50 – 80 cm long guide bar.
What chainsaw should you buy – summary
Knowing the significance of the main technical specifications of chainsaws, as well as how you intend to use it, will make it much easier to choose the right model for the jobs you intend to use it for, so you should try to buy a model that perfectly fulfils your needs. The most important aspect to look at is the right amount of power. For jobs at home and in the garden you can choose less powerful, cheaper models, which will not only use less petrol, but also be more convenient to use. Less powerful models are generally lighter and smaller. Models intended for more intensive use or more demanding jobs will usually be much heavier.
Share