Customer Reviews for RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 18 in. Battery Chainsaw with 5.0 Ah Battery and Charger

Ended up borrowing a gas chainsaw to cut up a tree that fell down in our front yard. The first thing that happened was the chain got rough and wouldn’t slide in the channel after a few cuts, and I had to file the part of the chain that goes in the channel to get it to slide again. And the batteries do not last long. The five amp battery that comes with the 18” saw lasted about five minutes and the four amp battery I bought lasted about four minutes, and then doesn’t charge right away because it’s hot so I ended up borrowing a chainsaw to finish the job. If I could return this to Home Depot because I just bought it two days ago I would exchange it for a gas chainsaw.

Saw works fine when cutting bur chain bar adjustment housing is cheap plastic that easily breaks rendering chainsaw useless. This has now happened to me twice, on my 2nd chainsaw. Can't get the small replacement part Ryobi warranty people refuse to stand behind. Caveat emptor!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I always start with 5 stars, and deduct for glaring design flaws. Our older 14" saw doesn't have a chain brake, which we decided we needed for heavier-duty work. My partner actually used this 18" HP saw to pass her professional chainsaw operator course; if you know how to read a stump or the butt of a felled tree you'll see not only the result of great skills but also a surprisingly competent saw. (The instructor, on seeing the result, said 'That's a picture-worthy stump!') My deductions: First of all-- believe all the reviews: Ryobi has NOT figured out how to keep bar oil from leaking out of their saws. My previous saw did it, this one does it, it's a perplexing thing. I really should deduct two stars just for this persistent, wasteful, destructive flaw. Second deduction: the guide bar is prone to loosening. Seriously, check the chain tension every dozen cuts or you will throw the chain. This can lead to injury or damage to the sprocket, the chain, or the (plastic) chain catcher. Despite these flaws it's a great tool. If you get one on sale, and look after the leaking oil and guide bar concerns, you won't be disappointed.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This will replace my gas saw. Very impressed with the power and the battery life. The battery also charges really quick. No fumes and low noise compared to gas saw.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I tend to cut small to medium trees on our property, along with the odd larger one. My lawn mower died, and based on recommendation from my brother, purchased the Ryobi 20 inch 40V HP. I was so thrilled with it that I sold my gas trimmer and bought another Ryobi. Then my wife asked me to cut down a couple of trees on the side of the house. I immediately put my 2 gas chain saws up for sale and purchased this, the 40V HP 18 inch. Hindsight is 20/20, I should have done this long ago. It may only be a bit lighter than my gas model, but makes working in the woods so easy. I was able start and stop at will, as I cut branches in order to fell the tree. It is so much quieter and generates no fumes. With no engine vibration, I had a better feel of the tree. I no longer need to store containers of fuel, and mix in oil, nor drive to the gas station 15 minutes away. As I am trying to stay in the 40VHP ecosystem, I have several batteries to pull from, so one can be on charge while another is at work. All that remains is to try larger trees, but I must say that at present, I am thrilled. Ryobi seems to suffer from a lack of respect by many tool users. It is highly unjustified. I have a more expensive brand in the city, and am not sure that it is any better in either build quality or function. To quote Mando, "This is the way."

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this saw after we had a couple bad storms that knocked down trees and limbs. It does great on 3 to 4 inch limbs and trunks anything bigger and it wears battery down fast. One Sugar Maple about 18 inches in diameter and a fresh battery charged overnight barely makes it through one cut.

This chainsaw worked great until the other day when the chain slightly got stuck while cutting a tree. The chain came off the bar, so I opened it up to check out what was going on. After about 2 minutes I realized the only thing holding this entire chain and bar together is a bunch of tiny pieces of plastic. When the tree caught, the cheap plastic holding it together exploded and is not repairable. There's almost zero warranty on these things after the first 90 days and good luck finding parts.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Bought this chainsaw back in the fall(oct) of 2022. This guy is a beast. Cuts thru logs with no problem. I even had some logs around a 24”-26” diameter. No problem cutting thru one side, then rolling the log and cutting thru the other. The saw has some nice weight to it, pretty balanced, and doesn’t clog up with the sawdust. Keep the blade sharp, and you’ll have no trouble cutting thru even the hardest wood.

bought this saw with high hopes, but can't run for more than 3 minutes without the battery overheating. I bought this for hurricane season so I did not have to mix fuel anymore. very disappointed. Might spend the money and buy the Milwaukee.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I purchased the Ryobi 40 Volt 18” Chainsaw about two weeks ago and love it

Third 40v Ryobi chainsaw. This one is much better than the previous version, that had a flaw in sprocket design. This one is powerful, balanced and well built, except for the under-designed chain tension bolt plastic casing. The plastic housing cracked/broke after tightening the chain while the housing’s lockdown nuts were semi-tight, the typical way. This breakage allows the bar to side and thus the saw is mostly unusable until fixed. Ryobi should make this saw ‘tool-less’ too.

Unboxed and immediately charged the 5AH battery which took less than an hour. Grabbed my 4AH battery as well that i use for my string trimmer. Filled up with bar oil. The cap does need to be tight to help prevent leakage that everyone complains about. It's a chainsaw! They will get dirty with oil and grime. Yall need to get over it. I have an extremely large oak tree trunk that needed to be cut in 18" segments. The trunk measures 30" to 36" diameter and 22' long. The 5Ah battery was able to get through one side cut before hitting the thermal cut-off. Battery got too hot. Jumped to the other side of the long with the 4Ah battery. 1 full cut both sides complete. The 4Ah battery did struggle a bit but got through it. That battery overheated as well. Not upset about it. Two hot batteries and now im waiting for them to cool. Threw em in the freezer for 10 min and i was back in business. The 5Ah battery is now showing 3 bars and the 4Ah battery has 2. Batteries are warm so i made another cut on the massive log. Saw cuts and powers through with ease on the 5Ah. The 4Ah doesn't drive the chain as fast. Smaller battery. So the minimum AH battery needs to be 5Ah. Im going to buy the 6Ah battery soon. I do know the saw isnt designed to cut logs near 3' foot diameter but why not try right? I was burying the bar in the trunk too. I was able to completely cut up that huge trunk. I was impressed really. Pop in a battery and fill with oil and your cutting! That fast and easy. I did cut normal 16" diameter logs and was able to get a good 10 cuts in before the 5Ah battery hit the thermal cutoff. That was ok because i have an extra battery. Cut some more. Too be honest, the cordless battery saw lasts about as long as i want to before i want to stack wood and keep my work area tiddy. Take a break! Not a bad deal here. I have over 2 acres and i forecast that this saw will treat me well. Hope this review helps yall.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The saw worked great,however, all 3 saws (after exchanging each) leaked lube oil badly if left filled overnight. I will purchase again when the issue is resolved.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My Ryobi tools get more useful every time I add another battery. A single battery for this chainsaw is will cut a nice amount of wood, but when I use all my batteries, this saw becomes an beast! At a minimum there should have been a warning tag on the oil reservoir to warn the user that it is designed to leak oil even when not in use. I thought the cap was leaking. Fortunately it didn't dump oil on my driveway.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm tired of pulling stings and mixing gas. We starting going towards cordless outdoor tools about a year ago. Been very satified with the Ryobi brand as far as other power tools, so naturally Ryobi was highy considered when making my purchase for a new chainsaw. This chainsaw is awesome cuts like butter and battery last. had a 50 ft tree go down at the neighbors in the past storm. got through 80% of it before having to charge the battery. Was very impressed with the performance.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I can’t say enough about how pleased I am with this chainsaw. I’ve been using gas chainsaws for over 40 years and this little gem is a treat to use. No more fiddling with gas, adjusting carburetor and yanking my arm off trying to start it,...now it’s just push a button and go...and it's so much more quiet! I decided on the 18inch and it has as much or more power than my 50cc gas one, which has now died. If only I’d known how pain free chainsawing could be, I would have made the switch much sooner. From the images you can see that I cut down a 17 inch tree, with no hesitation from the saw...what a pleasure. I would highly recommend this saw to anyone that is looking for a yard maintenance style chain saw...we have a 2.5 acre forested property. The fact that my 6Ah battery from my Ryobi lawnmower fits as well, just added to the easy decision to purchase this saw. I must say that I am quite impressed by Ryobi cordless products. Absolutely no hesitation to recommend this chainsaw!

I bought this after a huge red oak limb landed in our yard. It easily cut it up into manageable pieces and had 3/4 charge left on the battery. It's light enough and the chain-adjustment is quick and easy with the on-board tool. This will be nice to have on hand for future emergencies. Don't forget the bar/chain oil!

I have cut a lot of wood with it and also own 3 gas saws. This is an impressive saw but not ready to replace gas saws for firewood (and not referring to the run time). The narrow kerf chain allows this to cut efficiently but keeps stretching a LOT under heavy work and sometimes it jumps off and gets bent quite a bit (being so thin) and that could be the end of it unless you work on it to restore. You could possibly replace bar/chain but at a power loss. I hope the next version is more powerful.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I wanted a battery operated chainsaw so I can move around the yard with the tractor and clear trees with ease, compared to stopping and having to recrank the gas one everytime. It worked as it should and I'm happy with my purchase

Another great Ryobi tool!! I made one mistake, out of the box, I did not tighten the chain bar bolts before use and the chain came off the bar, ruining the chain. I ordered new chains, set the tensioner and tightened the bar bolts and now all is good. This saw is amazing! The battery has plenty of power to work for about 45 minutes to an hour (see photo). I purchased an extra battery. So, do yourself a favor: 1. Read the manual 2. Verify that all bolts are tight before using

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I live in a predominately Forestry community so i was laughed at when i bought this electric chain saw. Even after i explained that i need a saw that works when i need it to. my gas one (only a year old) would not start half the time. so now i carry the electric one in the truck at all times. Does not leak gas or oil on the seat, does not smell, starts and runs every time i need it. I was still laughed at until i came home with my chopping block. Nobody would believe i got it with the electric saw but i did and all in one go. this saw is a little power house.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The RYOBI 40V Brushless 18 in. Cordless Battery Chainsaw with 5.0 Ah Battery, Charger, and carry case are way ahead of the scale. This saw is reliably powerful with its Brushless 40 ah motor and battery combo. It has auto chain oiling system, on board tools, great carrying case, and unlike gas, its very quiet so ear plugs are your choice if you want to use them. The battery last a long time and quick to charge back up with its included charger, plus all 40 Ah batteries are interchanable. It will make quick work if all your DIY projects.. A KEEPER.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I got this saw a week ago and it is amazing! I did not need my earmuffs, I didn't need to take my gas can, I just put oil in the Bar oiler and inserted the battery and away I went. The 40-volt battery Lasted for 30 minutes of cutting and I got three wheelbarrows full of wood ready to stack. No noise, no heat or hot exhaust to dodge no gas smell on everything just smooth cutting. Very pleased with this addition to my battery tools.

Nice Machine cuts very well but the chain comes off frequently. Very good battery life.

Saw runs great! Has more power than my 18inch gas Poland saw. I mainly use it for cleaning up branches or cutting up small to medium logs for firewood. Nice not to mess with pulling a cord to start the saw when you only have 1 or 2 cuts to make.

bought the saw tonight to do some clean up on a few trees that we fell. the saw cut great. I thought the battery would've lasted longer but got through what is shown in the picture in one charge. my only complaint is that the bar oil reservoir leaked pretty bad. I thought maybe it wasn't seated correctly. I unscrewed and made sure to put it on straight but still had problems with the leaking. I'll try popping and extra o-ring in it tomorrow and see how it does.

Very well made and lots of cutting power. Battery life seems good so far. Pretty good storage case. Would & will recommend to anyone....

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This is a great saw and comes with a lot of great features. Very well thought-out, I love that the scabbard not only sheaths the bar and chain but the bucking spikes as well. The bucking spikes are plastic not metal which is part of the reason this saw lost a star. The handle is a little slick and does not have much traction. This chainsaw has an actual hand guard chain brake, the other Ryobi chainsaws that I have used lacked this feature. There was plenty of space between my knuckles and the chain brake, unlike anothet Ryobi chainsaw, so I was not constantly scraping my hand against it. This chainsaw also lacks a tool free tensioning system, I prefer that over the scrench because no matter what I am always able to tighten the chain, whereas with the scrench if I drop it or lose it, then I am out of luck until I find a replacement. This came with the rapid charger which is good, to me the chink in Ryobi's 40v line has always been the looooooong recharge times. The rapid charger charged my 5.0 Batt in about an hour, compared to about 6hrs with a regular charger. I used this to cut up a log and branches in the yard and this did a good job, this has a load sensing system so as it came across harder surfaces it picked up the speed. The chain brake worked right away, stopping the chain just about immediately. Whereas when you simply release the trigger it took about 3 seconds for it to stop . The carrying case work a great as well. I have about 10 battery operated chainsaws that I mainly use for storm debris removal, this will not be goto saw but will definitely be my #2 The manual is very informative Suggestion: Metal Spikes, an on board fuel Gauge, an LED( for storm cleanups when power is lost also, for the end of the day work when the day gets away from you and darkness falls)

I was always a gas powered chainsaw user as a homeowner, since I didn't think we were there yet with battery powered ones. I am totally wrong. This 18 inch Chainsaw worked comparable to my gas powered Craftsman chainsaw It was fun to compare when I first was a bit skeptical. The look and weight was comparable, so that was okay, since the 40v battery does have some weight to it but with good sufficient power. I found it cut thru some dried logs with good size chips, and when it came to harder woods like Crepe Maple the shavings were smaller. That is okay. The battery can be used on your other ryobi 40v products, so it works with my weed wacker too. Great. It did well and had very good power which did surprise me, and I think that can also be contributed to the brushless motor of this chainsaw, that is a big plus. There is a tool wrench that hides at the end of the handle, which makes it convenient as well, that it does rattle around in the plastic case and you have it handy. Nice plus there too. I found it to charge very fast and quiet. So for a kit this is great, an excellent chainsaw, battery, charger, and carrying case. This carrying case is also well made and comparable to my gas powered saw case. Let me tell you that I also experienced fantastic customer service, when I was having problems with the first one, they contacted me, troubleshooted and sent me a replacement right away. That is customer service and they kept in touch all along. Very important for this customer service and the following it generates. I'm looking to expand my Ryobi collection too because of this high level of customer service. Overall, really like this product, works well like a gas powered, and my customer service experience was excellent. To me it is comparable to gas powered chainsaw wthout the problems of gas mixing and carburetor problems with todays ethanol laced gasoline.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Isn't as loud as 2-cycle chainsaws either! And I don't have to drag a cord a couple hundred feet like my electric saw. Plenty of power from the 40V HP system. I took down a 10 inch and and 8 inch tree then trimmed and cut up the 10 inch till I was down to brush before the battery wore out. Comes with carrying case and integrated scabbard. Used about 3/4 of the chain oil in two battery charges. Many features to reduce kickback risk. It is no lumberjacking tool but is great for my occasional landowner use.