Cordless Chainsaw - 60 V MAX

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I used this chainsaw and I'm never going back to gas

Bought this, was excited at first. Terribly designed. Leaks a tremendous amount of bar oil. It's good to have enough oil getting onto the chain, but this things gets covered in oil, and gets oil everywhere when I store or transport. There is no oil stop. Chain slips between washer and fly wheel, even though I check the bolt that holds the washer and fly wheel for tightness before and after each use. Over heats extremely fast. Constantly shutting off due to over heating. I also have 6 ah batteries and 9 ah batteries. Both sizes last same amount of time due to batteries shutting down from overheating. I bought this as a light duty chain saw to keep in truck, and not worry about gas and oil spilling. Well with as much oil that immediately leaks all over the bottom after filling for use, I am forced to keep the chain saw on old rags and towels to prevent getting oil on everything. This is the biggest waste of money I've ever spent. At this point I"m thinking about throwing this in the garbage. I can't believe how much the saw and batteries cost me just to be completely useless. I ended up buying a harbor frieght electric chainsaw for at home, and that thing works circles around this Dewalt flexvolt chainsaw.

1st year the saw worked amazing as advertised. Cutting down 16" trees. zero problems. The blade went amazingly far. Cut about 50 trees cut down before I had to sharpen it. Biggest issue was each time I charged the battery, the charge and # of cuts decreased slowly. I thought it was dulling of chain. 2nd year- I took the time during the winter to tune up, clean thoroughly, and replace chain and battery. I been cutting tiny 5-6" trees and it seemed like it was going the distance with the exception the chain brake keeps kicking its self out with or without a load. Its like it got to be extra sensitive. Went to go cut a 16" tree down, chain or motor was smoking, and I went through 2 9 amp batterys, and 3 6 amp batterys. Chain kept coming lose and I swear even the bar is starting to look crooked as well, likely it pointing upward more or somethign, but the bar is definitely put on right. The chain brake keeps kicking out, so much that im forced to hold the brake, so it wont kick out. I keep the lube fully loaded. Im taking the chainsaw apart further to see if maybe the inside needs cleaning. !st yar I was impressed, this year im going back to the gas one till i can get it fixed. I also want to say the 9 amp flexvolt battery after the 1st year, doesnt want to charge or hold a charge.

Its a great saw overall for the occasional tree branch trimming. Don't buy this thing if you are planning on cutting down trees, or for other chores requiring lots of run time. The batteries only give you about 10 minutes in heavy cutting scenarios. 15 minutes during light use trimming 4-5 inch branches...less than that and you have about a half hour of run time non-continuous use. Its an 18" bar, so it's more than capable of doing some heavy work, the limitations are the number of batteries you have, and the number of chargers you have to keep feeding it. The saw does leak bar oil like many other reviews mention, but I haven't found a chainsaw yet that doesn't. I also don't put bar oil in my saws I use vegetable oil. I still have a couple of gas powered saws when I need to cut firewood and other chores that require continuous use, but for the occasional tree trimming duties this saw is great. The ratchet mechanism for the bar/chain tension/retension isn't very good, that could definitely be improved upon, like a simple stud & nut design like most other saws have. That's really my only major complaint about the quality of the saw. It does its job within reason given its battery operated. I now have 3 batteries as I picked up the 60V weed eater as well, so I have a longer run time available to me if needed, but it'll eat through 3 batteries before you can charge 1.

While I have only had and used this over the course of a single weekend it blew my expectations away. I was able to do the same amount of work on a single battery that single tank of gas saw was able to complete but what makes this better though is the no mixing of gas and oil or letting it "warm" up. It was as simple as slapping the battery in and get to work. I had a tree come down this past winter and it was able to cut and trim branches as thick as 6 inches in diameter without any issues. In all I made 20 to 30 cuts of various sizes and used only 1 battery bar. I then took the saw to my brothers to help with some of his yard clean up and we were able to fell 2 dead trees about 5 inches in diameter, chop them into a bit more manageable pieces. As a true test he wanted to chop up some 11 to 12 inch thick stuff that was already down and sitting over winter and it did it no problem. While I was expecting it to last one full cut on that log since we had done all that other work on the same battery it ended up doing 3 or 4 cuts before the battery died. To wrap up I did all of the above on one single battery - so nothing short of amazing in my eyes. One thing to keep in mind is that when the battery is dead it just stops. There is no loss of power or spitting/ sputtering or any indication other than checking the battery pack itself occasionally to know when your running low on juice - it will just stop working.

I purchased the 60V Max Chainsaw on line and was impressed with the performance the first couple times of using it. I've owned 10-12 chainsaws in the last 30 years and generally understand uses, capabilities and functions related to their performance. DeWalt has a design issue related to this saw that could and should be fixed before other products replace their brand. The washer holding the chain on the sprocket will become stressed and wore out of shape, thus allowing the the chain to just jump off the sprocket or misalignment the chain along the bar. I'm not the only one stating this issue. On line are several others who are experiencing the same issue and more with these saws. I'm not here to bash DeWalt for I own and will continue to own many of their products. But to pay the amount of money to invest into this level of product, I would wait until DeWalt delivers the tool one is use to working with from this company. The electric movement on residential tools is a positive direction, in my opinion, since most activities related to home use are minor compared to gas powered tools that fail to run with infrequent use. To maintain a gas power head product for 1-6 uses a year is troubling for most home owners and just keeps the local repair shops in business waiting for the next failure. I hope to see a improvement to this product, chainsaw design and function hasn't changed too much in the last 80 years. Motor, chain and bar.

I don't use a chainsaw everyday, but I do use it often. I bought a brand new gas saw a few years ago, and it worked great the first days. After storing it though, the trouble begins! A few months later, you pull it out and you're in for a fight! Mix the gas, prime it, full choke it, pull 5 times... nothing. Half choke maybe? Pull 5 times. Nothing. Starter Fluid? Spark plug? Bad gas? You get the picture! By the time you finally get a gas saw started (IF you get it started), you are too tired to work and you're too scared to turn it off between cuts! Not with this thing! You KNOW that it will work every time as soon as you put a fresh battery in and pull the trigger. That piece of mind alone is priceless. It's quiet, it's reliable, with the brushless motor the battery has good run time, and of course, you can use the big battery with all your other 20v or 60v dewalt tools!!! I have the 60v string trimmer as well and I love it for all of the same reasons! No fighting with it to get it running each time. Your energy should be used on the job itself, not on getting your tool to work! The only bad thing I can say is that within 30-60 seconds of using it the very first time, my chain broke! 2 of the inside notches on the chain that contact the drive gear actually broke off. I was bummed at first, but I immediately went and bought a 2 pack of good chains, got back to work, and I have been happy with it ever since. Even with that one minor ding, I am so happy to have this tool that I wouldn't dare give it less than the full 5 stars. Thanks Dewalt, Curtis

Since I can't update my previous review: Heard back from DeWalt and I need to ship the saw to them for inspection before they'll determine if it's covered under warranty. The issue I'm having is widely reported and seems to be common across both type 1 and 2 of this tool. Guess I'm going to do my best to fix the oiler on my own and buy a Stihl or Husqvarna or something else that'll hold up for more than 12 months at a time if I can't. I really want to love this saw. It's got as much or more power and torque as my gas saw, and it SHOULD be lower maintenance by comparison. Unfortunately the reality is that I lose more time dealing with the various issues related to this saw compared to mixing oil/gas and doing basic maintenance on the gas unit. Common problems that you'll deal with (across 2 units, the one I purchased and the warranty replacement) include the bar flexing excessively (due to being sandwiched between 2 plastic parts) the chain popping off frequently due the the inconsistent tensioning system, frequently replacing the drive sprocket when the chain eats it due to not maintaining tension. (this was my original warranty issue, but after that I started buying replacements online and keeping multiple spares on hand). I've cut up exactly 2 large trees with this thing, but have mostly used it for removing brush honeysuckle and 20 or so trees under 3" in diameter. Pretty much regardless of how DeWalt handles my second warranty claim, I'm getting my gas saw tuned up and relegating this thing to backup duty. I love the rest of my DeWalt tools, but every company has a miss, and this appears to be theirs. :/

I have been using two DeWalt chainsaws (this one and a 20V DCCS620 which works great with a Flexvolt battery) very consistently over a year, both of them have oil leaking issues, which is annoying, but pretty easy to get over, just make sure to have something to sit the saws on to catch the oil and don't put them away with full oil reservoirs. The real problem with this saw is that the chain keeps coming off, which other reviewers have noted. I want to love this saw, it has so much torque and power when it works and with a sharp chain it just tears through hardwood logs, that is, until the chain comes off, which happens a lot. One reviewer had more specifics on how that happens, but I thought it was something off with my saw so I replaced my chain, bar, and spring tensioner which did get the chain to stay on a bit longer, but it still popped off. I have none of these problems with my DCCS620 chainsaw and have ended up needing to use it to cut through logs much larger than one would normally use it for and using wedges to keep the chain from getting stuck or pinched where a chainsaw with more torque would do just fine and have never once had the chain come off that small chainsaw, so there is something up with the design of this 16" saw that just causes the chain to come off and make it very unusable. I love DeWalt tools and have a small arsenal of them, but this saw has design flaws that make it so it isn't really usable in a real setting under any load. So for now, it's probably best to stick with a gas saw if you need power, or the DCCS620 if you only need small work done, which sucks, but I can't recommend this saw.

I own probably $5000 in DeWalt tools and use them daily, so I have no axe to grind. I'll be fair and tell you what's good first. It's got an impressive amount of power and exceptional torque, which is what is expected from brushless motors. The bar and chain are decent quality (Oregon) and the battery life is passable if not great. Now hold onto your hat for the bad. The bar retention system is ALL plastic and rubber, and the bar is so poorly clamped that it will deflect to the side as much as two inches, which is more than enough for it to cause the chain drivers to climb the edges of the bar and pop off. There is a clutching mechanism in the bar retention nut that prevents tightening the bar anywhere close to the required torque to actually secure it, but it appears that's actually engineered in to keep you from breaking the plastic retention system. The chain tensioner is a toolless spur-gear design that's a cool concept, but once again it's all held together by the cheesy plastic housing and any amount of torque applied to the bar (well below normal use) causes the mechanism to slip and the chain gets loose and bang, you're having to reinstall the chain again. It's also oddly shaped to accomodate the battery housing so it doesn't fit into a typical chainsaw box. Last and probably the worst part, the oil tank is too small and runs out of chain oil well before the battery dies, making it very easy to clog up and overheat a bar and chain, which will trash the chain and accelerate wear on the bar by about 20x. In short, if you need this saw more than 5 times a year for 15 minutes at a time, don't buy it, it WILL make you insane trying to keep it running. I'd expect this kind of quality from Harbor Freight, not DeWalt.

I read as many reviews as I could find. Developed my expectations and purchased the FLEXVOLT 60V Max for some clearing work that needed to be done on one of my properties. I've done a bit of work with my gas saw, but was getting tired of re-starting every time I needed to put it down. I'm not Paul Bunyan by any means, but I have work to do and this saw exceeded my expectations. From the reviews, there were some concerns about power, bogging or battery life. The images below are from this saw's first test and I experienced nothing but great performance. From the Images, you'll see good chips, 22" diameter cut and when finished had 2 bars of power left. I actually did some other cutting before checking the battery. What's that? You say the oil cap leaks or is too hard to fill? Use bar chain oil, it's got stuff in it to make it sticky, I experienced no leaking yet. Although, the saw does go through a bit of oil when in use. Keep some extra on hand. I just use standard hardware store issue bar chain oil, you can spend more for the fancy stuff. Buy a one dollar funnel (see photos). What's that? You say you chain went dull right away? Simple, keep it out of the dirt. It's an Oregon bar and chain. Good stuff. Notice the nice chips I made. I did this in three cuts. I was cutting white pine, so it's pretty soft, but big enough for a good test. I don't recommend cutting this diameter in, say, red oak. Your results may vary. I had good chain speed and the tool cut smoothly and quickly. I ran it up a bit when I first got it to make sure the chain is properly broken in and stretched. There was no problem with chain tension during the work. Actually, there were no problems at all. Good stuff DeWALT. Another good product experience.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When I purchased my DeWalt Flexvolt chainsaw almost a year ago now, I had previously been using 1 of 2 small 16" bar gasoline powered chainsaws. These were both identical saw except that one was several years older than the other one. The reason that I owned 2 identical chainsaws was that both saws were hard starting if sitting around for months at a time. These saws were NOT cheap off brand chainsaws. They are of probably the most popular brand that gasoline powered chain saws come from. So I had been trying to keep one of these saws working while the other was in the shop under repair, usually carburetor work. I am retired now and I am caretaker for a hunting "crew" from out of state.There are about 1,000 acres that I manage for these elite gentleman. I need a chainsaw that is quick starting but MOST of all reliable with little maintenance required.This DeWalt cordless electric chainsaw is the absolute answer for driving my 4-wheeler along the many miles of trails in these woods, clearing away fallen branches, dead fall trees etc. Gone now are the days of driving short distances, getting off my wheeler, having to start up a gasoline saw, cut for a few seconds, then shut it off and drive down around the next bend and do that all over again! Now with my Flexvolt, I just hop off the wheeler, push the button, cut, and be on my way. Also I have had several open area clearing projects with it. The first time that I used my DeWalt for that, I thought that I might need a backup,(I didn't know how long the battery would last) so I put both gasoline saws in my small trailer. Each time I ran my DeWalt for about an hour clearing 6 inch tress and small brush. I have run the battery down after over an hour of cutting, but never had the saw quit working. That might be because unlike a gasoline saw, the DeWalt is not using up power between trigger activation. Occasionally I would glance into my trailer and notice the 2 saws and remember how their chains would loosen, and then with small brush pop off. The automatic chain tension on the DeWalt cured THAT problem. The chain never came off once! After that first clearing escapade, I had more room in my trailer, because NEITHER of those gas saws were there anymore taking up room! lol