Customer Reviews for Milwaukee M18 FUEL 16 in. 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Battery Chainsaw (Tool-Only)

I can't say enough about this workhorse. I've had professional lumberjacks up my property and they cannot believe that I've felled as many trees as I have -- and as big as they are -- with this saw. They were truly stunned. I started with an 18" Ego -- realized pretty quickly that it's an urban tool best used for limbing and cutting for firewood. Surprisingly the 16" M18 has run circles around the larger Ego. It goes through oil like a parched horse, but the power of the saw is undeniable. And if a pinch starts to happen, it's usually strong enough to pull you out of a jamb. The motor is quiet enough to start working at 6am without bothering the neighbors, and it cuts through 24" and larger trunks with no problems. The battery lasts a good long while, but I got a second battery so that I could stay out in the field for a few hours. I also like the chain tightening mechanism -- easy screw-in that requires loosening two bolts before you tighten the chain. And the tool you use is hitched to the underside of the body. Sometimes it's a pain to remove, but you eventually get the hang of it. No more worries about gas and pulling a cord to get started. This saw is a workhorse that will absolutely do the job without giving you any issues. When this bad boy dies out years from now, I'm going in right in and getting another one.

This chainsaw is great no hassle starting like gas has as much power as my small 40cc Jonsred however doesn't have the power or the capability of my 55 or 365 Husqvarna great saw ease of use goes with all my other M18 and M12 Milwaukee tools

Really nice battery high output lasts longer.

This saw is awesome. We bought two of these instead of one chain saw. I helped my buddy cut down 6 trees in his yard. The ranged from 1-2” branches to at the trunks being 2-4’ in diameter. We rented a lift to be able to cut these trees down since some of them were hanging over the house and the garage. These saws worked awesome. Quite and last way longer then I thought on a 12ah battery. The saws are light enough to be able to be safe up in the lift and will cut pretty much anything you put in front of it. We did use a gas saw to cut everything that was to big for the bar to handle. Chain slack says tight and don’t have to readjust very often. The on board tool storage Is nice as well. We didn’t have any issues with batteries over heating either even though the temps were in the high 80’s all 4 days we worked. Honestly don’t have anything negative to say. Thoroughly impressed. I honestly thing this could be a replacement for the saws on the fire trucks for the city I work for with a little more R&R. Plenty of power and no messing with mixed gas or broken pull cords when you need it for an emergency. Great job Milwaukee.

Outperformed my gas chainsaw and there's no carb to deal with worth every penny.

I work for a utility and this saw is regularly used to top broken/damaged poles or for clean up. I recently used this saw to cut up a tree that I felled at the house. The saw performed admirably, cutting quickly and powerfully. The only issue I ran into was that even with a 12.0 battery I had a few instances of the battery entering a thermal lockdown mode after extended continuous use. I would say Milwaukee would have a near perfect chainsaw if this issue could be overcome. Overall I would say if you cut trees occasionally for firewood then this saw should be considered. Side note wonder if a cold compress around the battery would prevent the thermal lockdown.

Lightweight, powerful, fast and easy to use. I have arthritis in my shoulder so pull start saws are painful. Pulling the trigger is so simple. I also have a corded electric but cordless makes field work so much easier. Have yet to run down the battery.

Excellent Chainsaw for the homeowner and more. I used it for the first time to cut down this Bradford pear tree. The Milwaukee chainsaw has plenty of torque. My M18 9 amp hour battery lasted just over an hour. I did have to change the battery to finish off the 20 in trunk. The Milwaukee blower is extremely powerful and handy around the garage and pool deck. All my Milwaukee tools are quality built and very well thought through.

I am not a professional cutting trees or an expert on the field. But this chainsaw in comparatives with others that I own, this one is really messy with the oil and the chain-link its always getting off under minimum circumstances. No matter how many times I adjusted in less than 15 minutes the chain came off from the rotor. When to HD and returned, just a headache. It have power but need to fix the bar and chain-link...

This chainsaw is awesome! I honestly wasn’t expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been cleaning up a lot of storm damage and so far I am impressed. We’ve cut everything. From small pine branches up to the big stuff that is probably too large for this saw but it performed.

I cut down 4 full grown fig trees a trimmed a pine tree then prepped the trunks for fire wood all with one charge only skipped the chain once good tool

First off, the pros: I love how quiet it is compared to a gas saw! I don't have to wear ear pro. Doesn't use mix, so one less liquid to haul around. Pretty lightweight. The power is pretty decent for an electric chainsaw. Cons: The chain tension requires a tool to adjust. Yes, my gas saw does too, but when cheaper electrics have tool-less adjustment it makes this one look bad. The tool is stored onboard the saw (a pro) but it takes another tool to dislodge it in order to use it. If you lose either tool, you're done until you find something else to use. Perhaps this is why it is so tightly secured? The biggest con and the reason I've given it a single star: The chain either falls completely off the bar and sprocket, or just jumps out of the slot. You have to stop, loosen the bar, remove the tension, reinstall the chain, tighten everything back up, and then get back to working. Maybe not a big deal if it only happens once in a while but yesterday after using it a couple hours, it had done it possibly ten times. I lost track it happened so often. You didn't tension it correctly you say! I tried it different ways with the same result. I've run a chainsaw for many years and worked on a tree trimming crew for some of that without ever having a chain jump. I've used gas and electric saws. This is the first time I've ever had a chain issue. And this is a brand new saw. I tried using it for a while to see if with a little wear it would settle in and quite jumping, but it didn't. The time I saved by not having to get out a gas saw and fill it up was greatly outweighed by the numerous times of fixing the chain. If a saw loses its chain, it is worthless. I am glad I have other Milwaukee tools because if this was the only one, I'd never buy another Milwaukee tool. Cut the price down by 3/4 or improve the product is my advice. It isn't worth the price tag or the Milwaukee badge. I'd expect this performance from a $75 saw, not a $300 saw (plus the battery price). Actually, now that I think of it, the Remington $75 saw outperformed this one. I will be trying my Stihl bar on the saw to see if the bar is the issue. Perhaps that may solve the issue. But really, a saw with a faulty bar? Please get it together Milwaukee, you are better than this!

Couldnt wait to use this chainsaw, once it arrived i put my 8.0 ah battery in and went to work. I immediately noticed the chain was getting loose within a few seconds of cutting. So i kept needing to stop and tighten it, and then i notice the bolt to tighten the chain itself is getting bent after the first time tightening it! Unreal, why would a soft metal be used for such a crucial part

i bought this to do small things around my 42 acre property. today I had to cut a dead oak down and my Stihl was acting up, so I used the Milwaukee saw. wow it did better than my ms361 Stihl. hopefully one day they will make one with more power to use a bigger bar. I highly recommend this product. after I dropped the tree, I limbed it. I love this thing.

This last windstorm dropped a tree down right across my long driveway. I was cut off from getting my truck out to go to get a chainsaw. I've never owned a chainsaw. Fortunately, my wife was out running errands and was able to swing by Home Depot where I had placed an order online and had the tool waiting for pick up at customer service. With this beast, I was able to cut the tree into several manageable pieces in a matter of a few minutes. One of the best parts is it's very quiet compared to gasoline-powered chainsaws. For my needs, this is the perfect tool. It can hang in my shop until needed and I don't have to worry about premixed gasoline or fouled carburetors. I used a 12A/hr M18 battery and had this 20' tree cut up (only used 1 bar of battery). Amazing tool to have at the ready. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iHhyuP_CWA

This chainsaw is great being battery powered you can cut wood early in the morning or late at night without the neighbors being mad about the noise and no inhaling gas and oil fumes all day

Trimmed the entire tree on one battery. Appriciated how quiet it was with no gas motor running.

I love this saw, easy to use, lighter than a gas powered saw and has good run time !

We are clearing up hurricane Michael (Cat 5) debris on 200+ acres and have been for 15 months. I was tired of cranking a gas chainsaw a zillion times a day and saw a video on youtube comparing it to a gas chainsaw. I said Merry Christmas to ME and off we went. OMG I love this chainsaw, it has improved my productivity by leaps and bounds. I carry a lot of extra batteries every day and I do use the gas powered chainsaw for YUGE oak trees but 99% of my cutting is done with this Milwaukee and I am ecstatic that I have it. I absolutely love it!!! Yes I am a girl! :D We git rrr done around here. Thank you Milwaukee Tools!!!!! We have a LONG ways to go and this will make my life easier. Picture of what we are dealing with.

Bought this from here tool only. I wasn't sure because of the price. I'm from Europe and to me Makita and Bosch are the quality brands. I am slowly realizing that Milwaukee is just as good as these. The chainsaw is awesome cuts like a knife through butter. I did a you tube video of me using it. Hope it helps https://youtu.be/k7jsGJuc0Pc

Bought this from here tool only. The chainsaw is awesome cuts like a knife through butter. I did a you tube video of me using it. Hope it helps https://youtu.be/k7jsGJuc0Pc

This battery powered chainsaw is light, quiet, and works well. The battery lasts a long time. Milwaukee really did well with their M18 line of tools. We've used it on logs and small tree felling, and had no problems.

Has great power . easy and fast to use And a lot lighter than gas

As battery technology improves, it is great to see power tools that have been traditionally gas-driven, moving over to battery power. I have long enjoyed using an electric chainsaw and I was excited to see that Milwaukee released an M18 chainsaw. I compared the 16” Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw with the 16” Makita UC4030A and a 14” 33cc Homelite machine. I hate having to mess about with gasolene engines. It is almost impossible not to spill gasolene, and then there is the issue of getting these beasts started sometimes, even when well maintained. This is why I have for years been using the Makita 16” UC4030A which has a 15 Amp motor and of course it starts every time. The downside to a 120 Volt chainsaw is of course that one has to have a heavy power cable long enough to reach the wood you are cutting. (At times I have had to connect more than one extension cable!) and of course the cable tends to get caught up on branches and twigs. Recently, in order to harvest some wood that was available ¼ mile from home I had to borrow my neighbor’s gas powered chainsaw and I was reminded how awful it was working in the exhaust fumes of a two stroke engine, mixing in oil, getting it started, etc. I decided it was time for a battery powered machine. I had some 7” pine logs that needed to be cut up so we timed making cuts with all three machines. There was no discernible difference in cutting time between all three machines, with the cuts all averaging 6 seconds per cut, and only 0.5s variation in the average across all three. So cutting power and hence, speed, is not a differentiator, but other issues certainly are. Since the battery powered machine has as much portability and ease of movement, clearly, the hassle of handing gasolene, 2-stroke oil, fuel maintainer, noise, fumes and starting issues of a gas-powered chainsaw, wipes it out of the running. It is time to move on to electric motors. So between the 120 Volt electric and battery, what factors make a difference? The first thing I noticed is that the Milwaukee machine is wider than the slim Makita. The Makita motor axis is aligned along the length of the machine while the Milwaukee brushless motor is transverse, inline with the chain drive hub. This makes it a bit wider, but they have also extended the handle too. I think this actually makes the machine a bit safer as I am in the habit of placing my left foot on the log to steady it while cutting, and I found I had to keep it further away from the cut line in order to get the handle past my knee. The Makita machine chain can be adjusted and removed without any tools. The Milwaukee saw has a tool (they call it a scrench) for this work which is kept on the underside of the machine, but needs something firm such as a screwdriver or nail to be extracted from the casing! The Makita no-tools-needed adjustment is better in that department! My kit came with a whopping 12Ah HD Lithium-ion battery. There is even space for a slightly larger battery, so I wonder if one day we will see an even bigger battery available! Of course, the biggest challenge is how long the charge will last. They claim the battery will provide 150 cuts in 6x6 cedar, and a corded tool will keep cutting as long as one has electricity, so there is the tradeoff. One can of course use other M18 batteries, and I have a few of them, so I am sure I will get worn out long before I run out of battery reserves with this machine. Here in Maine, storms blow trees down which often take down the power lines, and that is when you need a chainsaw… when there is no power! Weight comparison: The Makita weighs 11 lbs (without the cable), Milwaukee 13.9 lbs, pretty much the weight of the battery more. The portability of the Milwaukee machine makes it the choice for work a long way from the house and the first choice for jobs closer to power, since one does not have to also fetch a long cable to get started. I can’t see me using the Makita much more, the Milwaukee saw is just so handy. General observations on the Milwaukee: There is a helpful note on the oil fill cap urging one to put bar/chain oil into the machine before using. Chain is low kickback type. It is well balanced around front handle, even with the battery installed. Bar oil reservoir has a clear side allowing one to easily monitor the oil level. I tightened the chain a bit before use and again after the first use, as one would expect is needed with a new chain. It cuts through wood like butter. It starts and stops almost instantly. The instructions contain a number of pages about how to go about using a chainsaw, felling trees etc. All good reading for anyone new to using a chainsaw. They are provided in English, French and Spanish. Packaging is mostly mostly cardboard, (recyclable) with just one plastic bag to keep it dry. Chainsaw and charger made in China . Battery cells made in Korea and processed in China Three year warranty on chainsaw and battery. This is the future, highly recommended!

As battery technology improves, it is great to see power tools that have been traditionally gas-driven, moving over to battery power. I have long enjoyed using an electric chainsaw and I was excited to see that Milwaukee released an M18 chainsaw. I compared the 16” Milwaukee M18 Chainsaw with the 16” Makita UC4030A and a 14” 33cc Homelite machine. I hate having to mess about with gasolene engines. It is almost impossible not to spill gasolene, and then there is the issue of getting these beasts started sometimes, even when well maintained. This is why I have for years been using the Makita 16” UC4030A which has a 15 Amp motor and of course it starts every time. The downside to a 120 Volt chainsaw is of course that one has to have a heavy power cable long enough to reach the wood you are cutting. (At times I have had to connect more than one extension cable!) and of course the cable tends to get caught up on branches and twigs. Recently, in order to harvest some wood that was available ¼ mile from home I had to borrow my neighbor’s gas powered chainsaw and I was reminded how awful it was working in the exhaust fumes of a two stroke engine, mixing in oil, getting it started, etc. I decided it was time for a battery powered machine. I had some 7” pine logs that needed to be cut up so we timed making cuts with all three machines. There was no discernible difference in cutting time between all three machines, with the cuts all averaging 6 seconds per cut, and only 0.5s variation in the average across all three. So cutting power and hence, speed, is not a differentiator, but other issues certainly are. Since the battery powered machine has as much portability and ease of movement, clearly, the hassle of handing gasolene, 2-stroke oil, fuel maintainer, noise, fumes and starting issues of a gas-powered chainsaw, wipes it out of the running. It is time to move on to electric motors. So between the 120 Volt electric and battery, what factors make a difference? The first thing I noticed is that the Milwaukee machine is wider than the slim Makita. The Makita motor axis is aligned along the length of the machine while the Milwaukee brushless motor is transverse, inline with the chain drive hub. This makes it a bit wider, but they have also extended the handle too. I think this actually makes the machine a bit safer as I am in the habit of placing my left foot on the log to steady it while cutting, and I found I had to keep it further away from the cut line in order to get the handle past my knee. The Makita machine chain can be adjusted and removed without any tools. The Milwaukee saw has a tool (they call it a scrench) for this work which is kept on the underside of the machine, but needs something firm such as a screwdriver or nail to be extracted from the casing! The Makita no-tools-needed adjustment is better in that department! My kit came with a whopping 12Ah HD Lithium-ion battery. There is even space for a slightly larger battery, so I wonder if one day we will see an even bigger battery available! Of course, the biggest challenge is how long the charge will last. They claim the battery will provide 150 cuts in 6x6 cedar, and a corded tool will keep cutting as long as one has electricity, so there is the tradeoff. One can of course use other M18 batteries, and I have a few of them, so I am sure I will get worn out long before I run out of battery reserves with this machine. Here in Maine, storms blow trees down which often take down the power lines, and that is when you need a chainsaw… when there is no power! Weight comparison: The Makita weighs 11 lbs (without the cable), Milwaukee 13.9 lbs, pretty much the weight of the battery more. The portability of the Milwaukee machine makes it the choice for work a long way from the house and the first choice for jobs closer to power, since one does not have to also fetch a long cable to get started. I can’t see me using the Makita much more, the Milwaukee saw is just so handy. General observations on the Milwaukee: There is a helpful note on the oil fill cap urging one to put bar/chain oil into the machine before using. Chain is low kickback type. It is well balanced around front handle, even with the battery installed. Bar oil reservoir has a clear side allowing one to easily monitor the oil level. I tightened the chain a bit before use and again after the first use, as one would expect is needed with a new chain. It cuts through wood like butter. It starts and stops almost instantly. The instructions contain a number of pages about how to go about using a chainsaw, felling trees etc. All good reading for anyone new to using a chainsaw. They are provided in English, French and Spanish. Packaging is mostly mostly cardboard, (recyclable) with just one plastic bag to keep it dry. Chainsaw and charger made in China . Battery cells made in Korea and processed in China Three year warranty on chainsaw and battery. This is the future, highly recommended!

Bought to replace my gas chainsaw. I used it to cut a 24" dia. dried white oak log into 16" logs. The saw cut excellent. Won't be buying a new gas chainsaw after all. Thanks.

I really wanted to like this saw. It cuts through trees like butter, and keeps up with gas saws in the same class and even higher.... That is, when the chain stays on. I have had constant issues keeping tension on the chain. It loosens ridiculously fast. That's not an extremely huge issue, but there is nothing you can do about it. I used the included scrench to tighten the bar retaining nuts down, and got it snug, until after a few go arounds and they finally destroyed the plastic housing they are sitting in. You absolutely HAVE to keep that in mind. They can strip out disturbingly easy. When I discovered this, I sent it in for repair. It took awhile to get it back, but I live in Alaska so it's kind of expected, but when it was returned, the battery posts weren't seated and set correctly so I can't get a battery into it. Now I have to disassemble it entirely myself to be able to use it again. Poor quality control. I'm a huge Milwaukee fan so it hurts to leave a review like this. Long story short, it has so much potential, but really needs to be redesigned to be functional. If you are spending this much, save yourself the headache and just get gas, you will thank me later.

Use for clearing downed trees and trails around my property. Nice not to have to carry a gas can. Battery life is way more than I expected.

Great cutting performance and almost 3 hours of battery with constant cutting. Tree fell in parents backyard after storm and cut whole thing on 1 charge of battery. Not as dirty as gas powered chainsaws either. Would highly recommend.

I have a Stihl 250 for 15 years and it has been an excellent chain saw. After last weeks tropical storm that came through south LA beginning of July 2019, I had to put the Stihl in the shop for carburetor and fuel line work and it was in the shop for 5 days. I read on the Home Depot site about the Milwaukee 18v ChainSaw and had excellent reviews. I knew from their 18v weedeater that the saw ought to be equally impressive and was that a correct assumption. This is an amazing saw, quiet, lightweight, safe-stops spinning when finger off trigger. I had a friend come over to try it, he spent the next half hour trimming on 3 downed trees and made an amazing difference. This is now my official go to saw. I wish home depot would have had the saw with the 12mah battery but they just had the tool only to purchase. I have 3 of the 9mah batts for chop saw and weedeater and they have long life with this chainsaw. This is a no regret purchase whatsover, just wish I could have made the deal on the saw with the 12mah hr battery and charger for $150 more. Zero regrets!