Black and Decker Electric Chainsaw

I recently needed a chainsaw to take care of some wood that had found its way to my driveway.  I pulled out my 16 year old 16″ Poulan chainsaw that had not been used in over 10 years.  I quickly discovered that all the fuel lines had deteriorated.  So I bought replacement lines and filters at Lowes, only to discover that the fuel primer bulb had ruptured too.  Then I found that Amazon actually sells a Poulan fixup kit for well under $10.  When it arrived, I spent a few hours replacing all the lines, filters and primer bulb.   I got it running, and it performed OK… it ran a while, bogged down and stalled a while, then ran a while, then coughed…  I sharpened the chain and got to work.  I cut well for a while, then IT decided IT needed to take some more time off.  I had enough.  My hands reeked of gasoline, and my work was not done.  I decided that for the limited number of times I used a chainsaw, this saw would need more small engine work every time I used it.

Poulan gas chainsaw vs Black and Decker electric chainsaw

16″ Poulan compared to 18″ Black and Decker

 

I decided electric was the way to go.  Simple plug-in electric, no expensive batteries, that would also fail from prolonged lack of use.  I conducted a lot of research and settled on the Black and Decker CS1518 electric chainsaw for many reasons:

  • Good reviews compared to other models of electric chainsaws
  • 18″ bar (longest available in plug-in electric)
  • 15 amp motor (most powerful available)
  • Oregon bar and chain (a name brand standard bar and chain that I could get replacements anywhere)
  • Instant stop chain (let go of the trigger, the chain stops immediately, even though the motor continues to wind down)
  • Tool-less chain adjustments/replacements
  • Blade guard included

I was expecting that this saw would not be as strong as my gas saw, but figured the ease of operation would make up for its lack of power.  I wrong…. so wrong.  This electric chainsaw has more power than my gas chainsaw, even when that saw is running at its best, which it rarely does.

 


Just in case anyone thinks I am just doing light cutting with this saw, I was slabbing (ripping) a very large double stump of red oak.  The stump was roughly 40″ in diameter so even with cutting through on each side with the 18″ chainsaw, I still had about 4″ of wood running down the center that I had to cut with the hand saw.  I cut 6 slabs out of this stump, I did the first one entirely with the handsaw (just to prove something to myself…. and give the neighbors something to talk about) but the others I cut with the Black & Decker chainsaw.  It handled them all very well.  It is comfortable to use and is quieter than its gas brother.  I was quite surprised that even after running it pretty hard, the electric motor did not get that warm.  I figured it would be steaming from everything that I was asking it to do, but it worked very nicely.  I only have one complaint, and it is pretty minor.  When holding the saw as directed with two hands, the weight of the electric motor adds a bit of twist to the saw.  It is easy enough to overcome, but it does take some continual awareness to do it.

I am happy with this chainsaw, much happier than I expected to be.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement.  I paid full price for the saw.  Links are Amazon affiliate only.