Best Ryobi Battery Chainsaws
Ryobi 18V Brushless OCS1830BL
I was going to say this saw must’ve been designed by someone who’s never even seen a chainsaw before, but that’s too kind. No, this atrocity was… Read more
clearly crafted by someone who knew exactly what a chainsaw should do, and then made the conscious decision to make it do the complete opposite out of sheer spite. The chain tensioner? A sadistic joke. A labyrinth of plastic nonsense so over-engineered it could probably qualify for a PhD in uselessness, and yet it still can’t hold a chain tight for more than three seconds. The motor? Pathetic. It struggles harder than a dying mosquito. You could yell at a tree and get better cutting power. And the oiler? Don’t make me laugh. It doesn’t oil the chain - it oils you. Every squeeze of the trigger just baptizes your hands in disappointment and regret. I wouldn’t wish this saw on my worst enemy. If given the choice between using this sorry excuse for a tool or gnawing through an Ironbark with a single, loose tooth, I’d sharpen the tooth and get to work. Because at least that would be faster, quieter, and far less humiliating.
Ryobi 36V Brushless RCS36B1
More than Cogs’n’Chains – G’day! Back from the hidden cave, have I got a great little story for you! Usually I’d stay below ground with all the other hidden Ryobi gear I’ve… Read more
got stashed away, but I had to come up for a visit to Bunnings on this occasion. I’m sure you know the feeling - if you don’t get that weekly trip to Bunnings, the week just isn’t complete.
Before the weekly trip, I had to knock over a bit of tree-lopping. Can’t let those Gum’s get too far before a bit of a tree-shave, y’know! Out with the Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw, out with the bar oil, bring on the old Ryobi 36v battery.
“Righto, it’s you and me, tree”. Then… to my horror… half way through the 5th branch… click click click! “Well I’ll be buggered”, I did say! The ol’ battery is goneski! I have to say, about 7 years of honest service on 92% of the Ryobi 36v range is a pretty solid effort. I had a little tear leak out of my left eye. Looking everywhere for a siliver lining, I wiped my eye and had a think... “Well I guess the trip to Bunnings has come early”!
Loaded up, “fire in the hole” the old Land Rover chugged to life - we’re off! In and out after taking a look around all but the dunny. So the lovely new 4aH battery, a few nuts and bolts, and a bit of timber, let’s go try out that fancy new battery!
Whipped out of the box (with the bonus additional charger, I might add!) I lovingly removed and charged the new battery, then pulled it straight out for a test-run. Picture a 6 year old boy with a new train set!
In she goes (the new Ryobi 36v 4aH battery, not the minister of war and finance!) and Houston - WE HAVE A PROBLEM! I’ll be… the son of a biscuit doesn’t fit into the chainsaw! Who would have thought? And we’re not talking “she’s a big old battery, this one”… no no… the new 4aH 36v battery was less than a mosquito whisker too big to fit into the bugger! You could slip a feeler-gauge in there and give it a good flogging, but she was just too big for the old Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw’s filler port. I even took a happy-snap of this one - you wouldn’t believe it!
I pulled up for a breath and asked myself “what would Albo (y’know, the new PM) do”? Of course, I had to be diplomatic about it. On one side I have a beaut ol’ Chainsaw that has been a reliable old unit since about 1948 (ok, maybe it was 2017), and on the other side I’d just laid down a solid few-hundred for this brand-spankers new battery. “I’d best rip out the computer and email Ryobi about this one I think”, and so I did.
As the days passed, I could sense the tension and anguish approaching. I was losing hope that I could talk to the Auzzie Jedi-Master aka Ryobi Tech, but thankfully I opened up the Computer one fine morning soon after to be greeted with a response by Ben. “Send us a few pics and we’ll have a look at what we can do”, he wrote (or words to that effect). A pair of emails back and forth, to my surprise Ben told me to head in to Bunnings with a copy of the email and they’ll take my old Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw, and replace it with a brand-spankers Ryobi 36v 14” Chainsaw. The difference between the two (says Ben) is the location of the battery holder on the saw. Apparently the design change was to accomodate the new “bigger” batteries.
So, leaving Bunnings a very satisfied customer, I headed home with the Ryobi RCS36B1 36v Chainsaw! Happy as a pig in … well … it!
Time for a test-drive, now the emotional stuff is all complete. Saw - Check! Bar oil - Check! Blade tension - Check! 4aH battery - BINGO!! Like picking the winning Keno numbers at the local waterhole, we were in business!
Sawing away merrily (as you can see in these pictures), the new Ryobi RCS36B1 36v Chainsaw was showing the skill of a mountain goat.
Good and bad points you ask? Yeah it’s got them. You be the judge!
It’s a saw that holds its own in the mid-size saw range. Ryobi say the 14” saw will cut a 300mm lump of tree, and I can attest to 250mm of that! No worries. I cut through a decent bit of tree with blunt blades in a video over on YouTube if you take a look at the end of this rant.
It’s got good weight and balance too - I’m sure I don’t need to tell you legends about the importance of a balanced machine.
The adjuster for the bar is very easy and kind to use. It holds the line well under load too, so it’s good to know you can get your tension right on the bar and have it stay right there too.
I found it nice and easy to pull it apart to clean when I finished the job too. It’s got sensible sized and easy to use bits that don’t seem unfamiliar to anyone who’s handled their way around a chainsaw before.
The 4aH battery was plenty for a solid hour or so of work. The 6aH battery was more than enough the following day. Given the old saw came with a 2.6-ish amp battery, both the 4 and 6aH batteries are plenty for a good day of cutting.
Easy to use - Yep!
Reasonable and evenly weighted - You got it!
Simple and tough - Sure thing!
In my opinion (for what it may be worth!) I reckon you should add this solid investment to your tool list, to be rewarded by a great and honest chainsaw.
Before you go, check out the sizes too. Ryobi have both larger and smaller size 36v chainsaws if your appetite is different!
HooRoo
Ryobi 36V Pole Pruner RPP3600
Cuts like butter! – The 36V Ryobi cordless Pole Pruner is easy to use, well weighted, has a lot of power and long battery life. The ergonomics ensure you don’t tire and it’s easy to maintain.
Ryobi 18V ONE+ 8" Pruning Chainsaw R18CHS20
This chainsaw is a money sucker. I bought it for tree pruning, however only after 4months of using, the chainsaw became very blunt and can’t cut even… Read more
very small branches. I called the service support of RYOBI and was told that the although I’ve had the warranty for the chainsaw for 4years(as I stupidly bought extended warranty), the chain only has 3month warranty. So if you buy this chainsaw, you have to keep purchasing the saw every 4 months!! Don’t fall for this trap!!
Ryobi 36V HP Brushless 18” R36XCHS26
I do not recommend the 36 volt ryobi chain saw. Having had 8 years of very occasional use I had to purchase a new battery only to find that Ryobi… Read more
have changed the battery design rendering my chain saw useless. I did many google searches for a solution but there is nothing. Ryobi's only solution is to buy a new chain saw. Not close to good enough. Ryobi clearly don't care about customer service. I bet my old Farm boss is still going. What a joke.
Very poor design – This chainsaw has a poor design of its lubricant tank and it is impossible to add chain lubricant. Obviously for a chainsaw, lubricant is critical… Read more
for operation. After purchase I tried to fill the tank and ended up with lubricant spilled everywhere and nothing in the tank. During my third visit to Bunnings the staff also tried to add lubricant to a replacement of the same model and were unable to. I ended up getting a refund. By that time I had wasted many hours trying to resolve.
During the process I messaged Ryobi Australia via their facebook page. While they were responsive, they were very quick to flick pass the issue straight back to Bunnings. Bunnings promised that the Ryobi rep would contact me. This never eventuated and I was unable to get the details of the rep from either Bunnings or Ryobi.
It's unfortunate because I did have quick try of the chainsaw on a small branch and it appeared to be a great little chainsaw other than not being able to oil the chain. I also have a 36V Ryobi pole pruner and was hoping to use the battery for both but now will have to source a different brand. This is why I did everything to try to resolve the issue.
While trying to resolve the issue I also discovered it is almost impossible to find device specific written or video guides for Ryobi products. So I'll avoid this brand in the future. And work out what to do with the now useless pole pruner too! Sigh...
So disappointed in this experience and the obvious quality issues on Ryobi's behalf.