Are you on the lookout for a great electric chainsaw?
Well, if you are then I highly recommend you look into GreenWorks Chainsaws, as they’re one of the leading companies in the world right now for the making of electric chainsaws.
Even though GreenWorks is a relatively new company, they’ve already established themselves as the leading name in the production of tools. They are a Chinese owned company that manufactures tools marketed towards homeowners primarily in North America. They make reliable garden and home care tools, and they have a sterling reputation with impeccable customer satisfaction rates.
GreenWorks Chainsaws come with a rich and helpful set of features and characteristics that puts them high above the competition. Not only are they really powerful, attractive, and efficient, but they’re also great value for money. As such, they’re the best chainsaws for homeowners who are on a budget.
In this article, I’ll give you a complete 101 introduction to GreenWorks chainsaws, explaining all their features and characteristics. Following that, I’ve also written down a detailed review of their three best chainsaw products.
We’ve tested a great number of electric chainsaws, and we’ve drawn the conclusion that these are the best GreenWorks chainsaws in the market: GreenWorks 80V Pro GCS80420 (aka “Gas Killer”), GreenWorks 20312 / 40V, and GreenWorks 20262 / 40V.
As you can see, we’ve listed two chainsaws from the 40V power range and one from the 80V power category. As such, no matter what your power requirement may be, you have a great option. If you’re confused about what’s the difference between a 40V and an 80V chainsaw, keep reading and you’ll find out.
Some of GreenWorks’ most innovative electric chainsaw features are as follows:
When the user’s fingers gets off the power switch, the chainsaw turns off automatically. This is an extremely helpful feature in terms of safety.
This is a feature that ensures that the chainsaw remains as silent as possible.
Their chainsaw allows a vast quantity of work to be done while consuming little energy.
In consideration of the fact that their chainsaws are marketed towards homeowners, they keep their costs low so that buying a chainsaw doesn’t drain your bank.
Their 80V chainsaws are also powerful enough to be able to cut down small trees. Furthermore, unlike gas chainsaws, they can do it without using fossil fuels. This scores them major point for being environmentally friendly.
Now that you know about the basic features of GreenWorks chainsaws, it’s time to get into the basic difference between the 80V and 40V chainsaws. On the outset, the very basic difference between them is obviously the battery power. 80V is higher energy output than 40V. However, that leads to some significant performance differences.
These chainsaws pack less energy than their 80V counterparts. As such, they’re ideal for small light weight projects. They’re ideally used by woodworkers, ice sculptures, etc, and they can also be used for light home maintenance. While you can use them for yard maintenance and cutting firewood as well, they’re not ideally suitable for those purposes.
The GreenWorks 80V chainsaws are extremely powerful, and they pack about 30% more power than 40V. These are perhaps the most powerful electric chainsaws in the market.
Electric Chainsaws in general aren’t nearly as powerful as gas chainsaws. In fact, the only reason people still use gas chainsaws is because of their power. Electric chainsaws are superior in all factors, except for power. However, these GreenWorks 80V chainsaws come close to the power wielded by gas chainsaws.
That’s primarily why they’re referred to as “Gas Killer”, because they can do what some of the lower end gas chainsaws can do, thus making them redundant. Fossil fuels are depleting and soon they’ll be entirely drained from this planet and there will be none left. As such, it’s extremely important for us to conserve fuel whenever possible. GreenWorks has come one step closer to making that happen with their 80V chainsaws. So far, the 80V chainsaws are powerful enough to cut through small trees, such as the Cottonwood tree, just as well as any gas chainsaw would. However, they can’t yet cut through larger trees. As such, they’re not yet powerful enough to completely replace gas chainsaws, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Now that you know all there is to know about GreenWorks chainsaws, you’re ready to go through my review of their 3 best chainsaw products. After you read the review, you can refer to the following comparative table to help decide which one you should buy.
The GreenWorks 80V Pro GCS80420 is the most advanced cordless electric chainsaws in the market right now. It’s one of the few electric chainsaws that can come close to gas chainsaws in terms of power. It can even chop down small trees with effortlessness. As such, it’s helping make gas chainsaws a thing of the past. As such, it has drawn vast praise for being eco-conscious. Electric chainsaws aren’t generally used by professionals, but this one is coming into professional use recently.
This chainsaw is powered by a heavy-duty 80V 2AH lithium-ion battery, which is the source of its great strength and power. Lower end chainsaws tend to get blocked, or stall, when they’re used to cut through thick lumber. However, the GreenWorks 80V Pro GCS80420 is completely smooth in functionality.
The battery used in this chainsaw is rugged and durable, and with it you can make as many as 150 cuts on a moderately sized 4”x4” piece of lumber, before needing to juice it up. However, that doesn’t come as too much of an inconvenience because it only requires 30 minutes to be charged to full capacity.
The GreenWorks trademark DigiPro brushless motor is extremely powerful and it can perform as well as a 45cc gas chainsaw motor would. This motor is used to power an 18” bar, which can help you cut through lumber as wide as 36” in diameter.
This GreenWorks 80V chainsaw also offers you a variety of purchase options:
You can buy the chainsaw with a battery and charger, as is customary.
You can buy the chainsaw with a battery, charger, and a GreenWorks lawnmower thrown in!
You can buy the basic chainsaw, without the battery and charger.
Ideal for: It’s ideal for those who are environmentally conscious, or simply don’t like using gas chainsaws, but still need a powerful tool that can cut through thick lumber effectively.
PROS:
Lightweight
Eco-friendly
Can cut through small trees
Battery recharge takes only 30 minutes
Engine is as powerful as a 45cc motor
Starts effortlessly with the push of a button
As powerful as some of the low end gas chainsaws
The 18” bar can cut through as much as 36” of lumber
CONS:
Expensive for an electric chainsaw
Stalls occasionally when cutting through thick wood
Still not powerful enough to completely replace gas chainsaws
The GreenWorks 20312 isn’t as powerful as the “Gas Killer”, however it’s still quite an effective and useful chainsaw. If your purpose isn’t to cut through large branches and trees, then you shouldn’t get an 80V chainsaw to begin with as it would be overkill. For light weight uses, the GreenWorks 20312 / 40V chainsaw is perfect. It can perform a number of activities and it’s also easy to use, convenient, and most of all affordable.
The GreenWorks 20312 chainsaw equip with the DigiPro motor, 40V battery, and it can get through a 100 cuts of a 4”x4” piece of lumber before needing to be recharged. The bar length in this chainsaw is 16”, which can cut through lumber as thick as 32” in diameter, which is more than enough for regular homeowners.
If you’re using a 4AH battery to recharge the machine, it will take 120 minutes to completely be recharged to full capacity. However, if you’re using the 2AH battery, it can be up to speed within 1 hour. This might not be as quick as the 80V model, however this chainsaw isn’t really used for extremely frequent work to begin with.
If you’re frustrated by the vibrations produced by gas chainsaws, then this is perfect for you as it produces about 70% fewer vibrations, thus it causes a lot less fatigue as well.
In addition to that, this chainsaw also comes with some great safety features in consideration of the fact that it will be used by beginners and novices, not trained professionals. It comes with a metal front guard to prevent any accidents by minimizing the possibility of kickbacks. There’s also a hand guard to protect your hands from flying debris. Finally, the chain break is another essential safety feature as it leads to the chainsaw stopping the moment your finger leaves the button.
Ideal for: The GreenWorks 20312 is meant for homeowners who need light maintenance with household work, yard maintenance, pruning and trimming of bushes, etc. It’s also ideal to be used by novices and beginners who are hoping to get a hang of using chainsaws.
PROS:
Reasonable
Eco-friendly
Great safety features
Great at yard maintenance
Ideal for home use and for beginners
70% fewer vibrations as compared to other similarly powerful chainsaws
CONS:
Only gets through 100 cuts on one charge
Takes 1 hour or 2 hours to charge completely, depending on the battery
Greenworks 12-Inch 40V Cordless Chainsaw, 2.0 AH Battery Included 20262
The GreenWorks 20262 is an extremely modest and lightweight chainsaw. It can be use for the most simplest of tasks. However, it’s a durable product and it’s great at what it does.
The GreenWorks 20262 chainsaw has a 40V 2AH battery. The battery that comes with this model is compatible across all other GreenWorks products as well, even those other than chainsaws. As such, you can get one model, and then upgrade to another model’s cheaper no battery set. This can prove to be cost efficient down the line.
The tool-less chain tensioning system allows you to tension the chain within a few seconds. Auto-oiler can lubricates the chain as it’s being used so as to increase the lifespan of the chain and keep it working smoothly.
Furthermore, this chainsaw is also incredibly easy to use. To start with, it just weighs 6 pounds, so you really don’t need much physical strength to be able to wield it. The top-handle model which is ergonomically designed is helpful to lower the strain on your wrists. The handle bar is rubber coated so as to minimize the vibrations as well.
Ideal for:Best for small house work and yard maintenance
PROS:
Light weight
Top handle bar
The DigiPro brushless motor is far more efficient than that of other brands
CONS:
Only 12” bar length
So now you know all there is to know about GreenWorks Chainsaws, and you also know what are the three best chainsaws to purchase for different purposes. Whatever you decide to use, feel free to comment about it down below and tell me about it. I’d love to hear about your experience with these chainsaws!
