Is DeWalt's New Compact Chainsaw The Lightest In The Competition?

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When selecting a chainsaw to use at your home, you'll need to consider quite a few different features to choose the right chainsaw for firewood and yard work. One of the key features to consider is the weight of the machine. A heavy chainsaw generally has a larger bar and can cut bigger pieces of wood. A general rule of thumb is that the bar should be 2 inches longer than the diameter of the largest limb or tree you want to cut. However, when you're using a heavy machine, you'll notice fatigue throughout your arms and upper body, which can lead to a loss of control and safety issues. Those new to using chainsaws may want to stick with lightweight models that have plenty of safety features and a bar length of 12 to 14 inches. Considering battery-powered chainsaws are easier to maintain than gas models, novices may also want to focus on battery-powered units.

If this sounds like an option that'll fit your needs, one of the most reliable power tool brands to buy from, DeWalt, has a newly announced small chainsaw that is worth considering. The DeWalt 60V MAX 12-Inch Brushless Chainsaw is available at Home Depot for $579 with battery and charger. DeWalt does not provide a weight for this model on its website. However, DeWalt's customer service team said in an email response that the tool weighs 7 to 8 pounds without a battery and 11.2 pounds with a 9Ah 60V battery. This weight is close to that of similarly sized models, but it's definitely not the lightest 12-inch chainsaw on the market.

Comparing weights among chainsaws can be a challenge because of inconsistent product information. Among other battery-powered 12-inch chainsaws, Echo offers the DCS-2500T that uses a 56-volt battery. Echo's website lists the DSC-2500T operational weight at 7.3 pounds, which is significantly less than DeWalt's 60V chainsaw. (The DSC-2500T's dry weight with no battery, bar, or chain is 3.7 pounds.) Milwaukee's 2826-20C 12-inch battery-powered chainsaw weighs 8.2 pounds, according to the Milwaukee website. However, that's the weight without the 18-volt M18 battery, which would add roughly 1.6 to 3.3 pounds, resulting in a total weight of 9.8 to 11.5 pounds. This would be slightly more than DeWalt's 12-inch tool. However, because the DeWalt uses a 60V battery, it offers more power for tough jobs than the 18V Milwaukee battery tool can offer.

Echo has several 12-inch gas-powered chainsaws. Its CS-2511P chainsaw has a "dry" weight of 5.7 pounds (meaning its weight without gasoline, oil, the bar, and chain, and Echo doesn't list the separate weight of these items). When the gas and bar chain tank are full, it would add about 9.5 ounces (or 0.6 pounds) to the weight. An Oregon 12-inch bar and chain replacement set weighs 1.3 pounds. Using these numbers would roughly give the CS-2511P an operational weight of 7.6 pounds, which is much less than any of the battery-powered chainsaws. Stihl's MS 194 gas-powered chainsaw also has a 12-inch bar. Its website lists the weight at 7.3 pounds, but this does not include the fuel, chain oil, bar, or chain (Stihl does not calculate the weight of these items). Using the previously calculated numbers for fuel, oil, a 12-inch bar, and chain, a ready-to-use Stihl MS 194 weighs around 9.2 pounds, less than DeWalt's unit.

DeWalt is one of the best-ranked power tool brands for indoor tools, and it offers innovative battery technologies. Consequently, reviewers tend to recommend DeWalt's battery-powered chainsaws for homeowners who don't want to deal with the hassles of maintaining gas models. DeWalt has more than a dozen models available, all of which are cordless electric models.

How do some of the other DeWalt models compare to the new 60-volt model in terms of weight? DeWalt has been selling a 20-volt 12-inch cordless chainsaw (DCCS621) for several years. It does not list a weight for the 20-volt 12-inch chainsaw on its website, but Home Depot lists the product weight at 9.5 pounds. Various websites say the tool weighs 7 to 7.6 pounds without the battery and roughly 9 to 9.5 pounds with the battery attached, which would make it slightly lighter than the new 60V DeWalt chainsaw during usage. This occurs in part because it uses a 20V battery, which is almost a pound lighter than a 60V battery of a similar capacity.

DeWalt offers a 14-inch 60-volt chainsaw (DCCS674), but it does not list this tool's weight on its website. Home Depot lists the weight of the DCCS674 at 10.8 pounds. This appears to be the weight with a battery attached, as an online reviewer lists the weight of the chainsaw without the battery at 7.9 pounds and with a battery at 11.1 pounds, making it similar in weight to the 60V 12-inch model.