Customer Reviews for DEWALT 20V MAX 12in. Brushless Cordless Battery Powered Chainsaw Kit with (1) 5 Ah Battery & Charger

I bought this tool with the expectation of doing some light to moderate trimming around the house. I only have use of my left arm so its not like I expected to go cutting down trees or anything like that.... or so I thought. I decided to go across my street to try and improve my view of the countryside off of Bobtown Hill in SW Pa. I wound up cutting down about a dozen trees (4" to 6" dia) on a single charge. Far exceeded my expectations. I am completely pleased with the purchase. It is the best Xmas gift I have received in years. Thank you DeWalt!

I was very impressed with this saw. I own 2 larger gas saws that I use for felling trees and large logs, but wanted something that was light for smaller work and that I could bring camping to cut up firewood where gas saws are prohibited. This saw fits my needs perfectly. While I wouldn't normally use it for a 11" log I did this time just to test out this saws capabilities and I was very impressed. I was able to cut up all the oak logs and branches in my picture and still had 3 bars left on the battery. This does turn the chain slower then a gas saw and takes about 30% longer to cut through an 11" log, but with thinner stuff, especially in the 4-8" range, it is not noticable. The automatic oiler worked well without leaking and the chain tension adjuster is very simple with no tools required. The saw is very quiet. No ear protection is required. Hand, eye and leg protection is though as with any chainsaw. The chain stops quickly once the trigger is released and the kickback brake works quickly as well. One thing I ended up using this for that I hadn't thought about at first was trimming branches while on a ladder. It is so much safer then carrying a running gas saw up the ladder or starting a gas saw while up in the tree. This is off until the trigger is pulled, and though it isn't recommend it is light enough and we'll balanced that it can be used one handed while holding on to the ladder with your other hand. Overall I am very impressed with everything this saw can do. Will it replace a gas saw? No. Not unless you're only pruning smaller branches, but it really excels when used within its capabilities. My purchase also included a 22" hedge trimmer and I am impressed with that as well. I only have 4 bushes in my yard that aren't overly large so a gas trimmer is way overkill for my needs, but dragging out a cord to use my electric one was a pain so I avoided the chore until the bushes were over grown. With this trimmer I just pop the battery in and trim. I'm done in about 10 minutes. The time it used to take to just get setup with my old corded one. I noticed no power difference between this battery one and a corded one. As far as run time I can't comment due to only having to use it for 10 minutes. It is well balanced and easy to use though so shouldn't cause any problems using it for longer periods of time.

Great tool. Good for 8 to 10 inch or small limbs and clean up jobs. Can use it with one hand. Cuts well. Dried oak was not a problem.

Im a big power saw guy, love the noise and love the smell of exhaust. But I find myself using this DeWalt more every day. For its size, its a monster! The first day I had it, I worked it a bit harder than I probably should have - but it met every expectation. First day was about 8 trees ( 40 ft pine, pear, apple, cherry ) from twig size up to 18 inches. I have saws for the big stuff - but Im a guy, had to test it. After that day, its more of the more appropriate sized stuff and using this as it was meant - for the home owner. I know what it can do, and Im sure it will last a long time with good care and not stepping out of its bounds and pushing it to the max. The wife uses often as well. Light and easy to manage. Fresh battery and bar oil - its all you need. I use it about every week for basic trimming on my farm, and its a game changer all around. Thank you DeWalt. PROS: Light, powerful, easy to maintain, quiet and you get a good cut time off of the batteries ( 5 Ah - about an hour of cut time/ est 100 cuts ) CONS: The bar oil fill can be frustrating when pouring from a container. Fills fast and catches you off guard, and makes a mess. Suggest using a cooking baster to dispense if you are a clean freak. The area around the bar oil fill hole is a bit tough to keep clean of shavings, etc. I take extra time to ensure I don't get debris in the hole. Comments: Chain files ( 4.5mm ) are hard to find locally, the replacement chain is hard to find locally( 45 tooth, 3/8" pitch, .043 width ). I ended up ordering mine online ( chain: Oregon 90PX045 ) ( Sharpening kit: Oregon 38278 ). You can also go thru DeWalt with their part numbers in the manual - its still Oregon stuff from them too.

Good power , good run time . Easy to use and does not slow down in the cut . Battery charges just about as fast as it takes to clean up what you cut and grab a sip of ice coffee ! Cut 10 inch logs as good 2 inch logs

Amazing

Wow, you pull it ot of the box and go. Having several batteries is the key. Used it for building split rail fences. Trim to length and taper rail ends. Used to cut up a 10 inch fallen cherry tree for fire wood at the cabin. Cuts like a hot knife through butter. Have 4 batteries , never used more than 2 at a time .throw in my Ford or on the artic cat for fallen trees on trails or the camp road. Thanks Dewalt.

This an awesome little saw! Though this isn’t really it’s intended purpose, I’ve cut down a half dozen 6-12” balsams on one battery. That’s notching them too. Also cut down the huge poplar in the photo with it. This saw shines for cutting or grooming atv trails

We love this 12 in. 20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion Cordless Brushless Chainsaw by DeWalt. Saying this saw is so easy to use is an understatement. When you open up the box all you have to do is place the battery in the included charger. Then fill up the bar oil reservoir and your ready to start sawing. Yup. That's it. Pretty simple yes? The battery charger can detect a battery which is either too hot or too cold and it does, it will automatically start a hot/cold delay. What this means is the charger will not start charging until the battery has reached a certain temperature. The battery charger itself will warm up or cool off the battery and then start the charging cycle. The saw also has a Electronic Protection System. What it does is protect the battery from overloading, overheating or deep discharge and will automatically turn the saw off. No chain adjusting tool is needed because there is a chain tension knob that makes it very easy to get the proper tension on the chain. The chainsaw also has a chain brake which will stop the chain immediately in case of kickback. Kickback is almost completely caused by improper and unsafe use of the saw. Please read and completely understand what causes kickback before using this saw. That being said, I know I did not have my wife wearing the PPE Personal Protection Equipment) she would normally have on while making this short video. She would normally been wearing safety glasses, chaps, ear plugs and hard hat. If you buy this saw you will not be disappointed.

We have a house that is surrounded by 40' tall trees on three sides and I'm continously having to cut up dead limbs or fallen limbs. Since I rarely used it and it was always a pain to get working after non-use I gave away my old gas powered chainsaw to the lawn care people years ago. Ever since then I have to use a bow saw or my sawzall to cut up limbs which gets old quick. I've wanted to get another chainsaw but I didn't want one that was to big and bulky and I didn't want to have all the pains of changing spark plugs, priming and pulling the cord over and over trying to get it to start. This 12 inch 20 Volt Dewalt chainsaw is exactly what I needed I just didn't know it. I always thought a battery powered chainsaw was kind of a fluke but now after using one I can tell you this thing has plenty of power. The fact that they can make these new Lithium batteries so crazy powerful is an amazing feat. Being able to take the chainsaw off the shelf, check the bar oil and slap in a battery is awesome! No more wondering if it's going to start is a huge relief. They have made adjusting the chain tension super easy. All you have to do is flip out the locking tab and adjust the locking knob. No more having to use wrenches. Adding bar oil is just as easy. All you have to do is flip down the locking lever, unscrew counterclockwise a 1/4 turn and remove the oil cap. This chainsaw will not fall huge tree or ever fully replace gasoline powered chainsaws but for the average homeowner it is perfect. I can not see the day I would ever go back to a gasoline powered chainsaw. Especially as technology evolves to where they can make these batteries more and more powerful and smaller and smaller. One small side note is I couldn't find anywhere on the box or the manual of what type of bar oil to use in this saw (since it didn't come with any) so I called Dewalt directly. I got a real nice lady who said on page 11 of the owners manual the following was written "use a high quality bar and chain oil for proper chain and bar lubrication". It goes on to say "as a temporary substitute , a non-detergent SAE30 weight motor oil can be used". I just thought I would add this in case anyone is a confused as I was and maybe missed it.

Great to be cord-free with this well-designed electric chainsaw! The controls are very easy to use (see picture - standard two-step process - button on side and the grip control must be engaged to activate saw). The most remarkable feature is the ability to tension the chain without tools! See the picture of the two locking tabs on the right side of the chainsaw are used. One loosens and the other makes the chain taut. This is great! So easy! Another great feature is the locking mechanism is for the oil filler (see picture) - very solid fit. This design with a retainer on the cap means no more hunting around amongst the leaves for the filler cap! The scabbard (see picture) supplied for the blade fits tightly so it will be very safe for transport and storage. The charging base for the battery (see picture) will not take up a lot of room on the workbench, and the battery charges very quickly. Like most batteries, it has a charge level indicator (see picture). I highly recommend this cordless chainsaw due to ts excellent design.

This thing stopped working after 20 minutes!! I’m so disappointed because I’m a fan of Dewalt tools. I’ve never had a problem with any of Their other products. When I googled potential problems online for this chainsaw, 100 different things on YouTube came up with people having the same problem. There’s something in the chain brake that doesn’t allow it to turn on. Avoid this one. Try Makita or Stihl

Pretty much what I expected. Perfect for small trees and branches when cleaning up an overgrown yard.

Chainsaw has a lot of power and cuts with ease. Battery last a long time. At least 20 cuts of 10 imch logs.

Good long lasting power

Used it on and off for about 4 years, regularly cleaned and oiled, all of a sudden it stopped working. Only a click when trigger is pressed. Also leaks a lot of oil. Have many other DeWalt battery tools, very disappointed that this did not last longer.

Fun and fast!!! Works great pushing down or pulling up.

Surprisingly powerful for a battery operated saw. Cuts very well. only slight issue, at least on my saw, is the chain oiling mechanism applies too much oil which tends to clog saw dust up around the drive sprocket.

I was fairly happy with the saw for light trimming but the motor or circuit board went bad just out of warranty. It wasn't used very much. Half the price of the saw for repair parts. Disappointed. Will try another brand next time.

I purchased this saw because I only need one once or twice a year and having to spend 45 minutes to get a gas saw ready wasn’t worth it. I got it on sale in November and didn’t use it until July. My plan was to give away the gas saw. Boy am I glad I didn’t! This saw can’t even cut through a 2X4. My Sawz All does a better job than this thing. I even had the chain professionally sharpened and it didn’t make a difference. Save your money.

Good size really easy to handle. I wouldn’t want to cut a big tree with it but it’s great for my needs.

The first one leaked oil out of every hole This 2nd one leaked too. I tired the o-ring and it still leaked. So I watched a YouTube video and ended up completely taking it apart and put gasket sealer around every hole that had a connection. After completing the task, I filled it oil, and it has been 3 weeks letting it rest on both sides and no leaks. It’s a shame the customer has to disassemble the unit repair it and put it back together. Dewalt can do better than this.

Excellent chain saw! Light weight and strong cutting capacity!