Ryobi RCS5145N

The little easy to use(safe) chainsaw another addition to our Ryobi fleet.

Great for modest branches and even light firewood.

Always amazed what it does with little effort, Sometimes I think NO Way but yes,my wife uses it easily.

I purchased my Ryobi chainsaw because my old McCullough brand had died after much use. I was a little bit sceptical at first because I though tit might have been a bit light for the work I needed to do with it. But after cutting down and old mango tree with it I've decided that I love it.

This chainsaw is lightweight. That is the only good feature. After that, it is an endless road of pain and suffering. Almost impossible to start. Engine resists as though it were seized.
Even though its new. Rear guard gap too small to get my steel toe boot tip into...even a little, to hold saw down when starting. Once finally started, the idle rate is incorrectly set, as well as the peak rate. About 5 small tree limbs in, and the chain comes off.

I already had a Husqvarna that was a little under powered so decided on the Ryobi as I am somewhat a Ryobi fan. Really like this saw. Very easy to start, does an excellent job and cuts green timber really well. Like all chain saws, maintenance is high, but keeping the chain tension correct, and ensuring the blade is kept sharp, with regular touching up with a small round file, you will get many hours of work from this little gem. I have found that the chain is lasting longer than expected, and kept sharp it really gets through timber quickly and with ease. I have been cutting red and blue gum that was recently cut down, and most of the branches were around 300 mm diameter. This saw went through that like butter. Very pleased with results. Could not speak better of this saw.
At the price it is a steal, as most chain saws with similar cc are twice the price. I note some comments here are detrimental of the product. I would like to see how they are treating their saws. I suspect, very little or no maintenance. Look after this saw and you will be more than happy. One of the better efforts by Ryobi.

I'm really happy with purchase. I read some bad reviews but if used correctly e.g. correct fuel and lubricants, maintain at correct intervals it's a great tool for the price

Ran ok but the chain lubrication sucks. 1 month out of warranty took it apart and the plastic chain lubrication gear was worn out. You need to take just about everything apart to get to this

Purchased from Bunnings $269 within 2 min stopped the saw and tensioned chain 10 min of cutting later front front chain wheel guide seized. Took it back same day got a replacement, same again but this time the chain came off on step angle cut. Returned again, replaced again, then the 3rd one chain came off but would not sit back into bar...took it back all on the same day....asked for money back...NO MORE RYOBI CHAINSAWS FOR ME EVER, my old ozito electric chainsaw leaves this for dead.

At the $269 price, given how it performs and the Bunnings swap out warranty, I think it's good value. It's not perfect, but how many mechanical products are? Very few in my experience.

It's reasonably powerful and providing you keep the chain sharp, it will chew its way through most things. Not as quickly as my mate's big Stihl, but they're more than 4 times the price. I live an 60+ acres, so it gets used regularly and on some big trees and logs. It always starts easily, providing the air filter is clean.

After 2 and a half years it was getting weak and sloppy and I was seriously considering buying a Shindaiwa, but the one I wanted was $1,000+, so I decided to give the Ryobi a full service instead. The air filter, spark plug and bar were replaced, total cost about $95. After that it was as good as new.

The other thing that makes a big difference is taking 5-10 mins to sharpen the chain before using it. I use a file with a jig that clamps on the bar - all manual and simple. Everything works more smoothly after doing that.

Weaknesses:
1. The chain tension adjuster.
I saw another review on here where the guy had modified his tensioner after it broke. I got mine replaced twice with broken tensioners by Bunnings. The problem is the tensioner is a metal screw adjuster sitting in a plastic side panel. If you tighten it too hard it breaks. Since learning to treat it gently and not over tighten it, the current saw has been OK for 2 and a half years.

2. Sawdust gumming up the chain oiler
This happened on another chainsaw I had too, so perhaps it's a universal problem. After a cutting session, you need to take the side panel off and scrape out all the sawdust in the panel and on the saw. Takes 3-4 mins typically. If you don't do that, the chain goes dry, gets hot and it doesn't cut well. When I put it away after use, I usually oil the chain.

Returned my Ryobi on this date for a warranty claim.I have had an ongoing problem with the chain lubrication system.Oil everywhere except on the chain it was much the same problem l had with the last saw that i had.The saw is great when it is going well but seems to suffer a range of problems.The best point i can give this saw is the two year warranty.

Solid performance, sounds great compared to my old chainsaw and with a 2 year replacement warranty how can you go wrong? It's got large fuel and oil tanks and a decent gauge chain and bar. Easy to start and feels as if it can cut through just about anything.
I was close to spending over 3 x this price for a Stihl but I have no regrets after giving it a good hard workout. The chain doesn't even need adjusting.

Here's an update. The bar and chain were supposed to be by Oregon but the chain guides on the inside of the chain bent when I trapped the bar. I've done that lots of times and have never had that happen before so I can only assume it was a cheap and nasty chain. I replaced it with a $50 Bunnings chain and now it cuts even better. The engine is powerful enough that it doesn't faint under load but is very easy to start, often first pull, even from cold.

Great chainsaw with Oregon chain... When It Works! Didn't use it much as hard to start. Subsequent issues e.g. throttle jamming open or have to wait ages for it to warm up or it stalls. The choke lever is occasionally comes loose.
Now seems to flood or get no fuel at all and can't start it.

i have owned many chainsaws but this thing has survived many many hours of abuse where others have failed miserably , i have gone through multiple chains and cutting firewood and posts , i measure out my 2 stroke oil mix accurately and i use 20-50 motor for bar oil, i sharpen the chains by hand and for an aggressive cut, and it effortlylessly sliced up ironbark logs up to 12 inches in diameter , in sensible hands that maintains it it works and starts just as well as the day it came out of the box

2nd time using it suddenly stop. Chain come off put back on, started but would stall and clutch smoke, took chain off motor runs. Presume the clutch has died. I brought a Ryobi because it had a name for quality products. Will not buy a Ryobi product every again and judging on previous complaints not the only person,

Started second pull when brand new great beginning that very soon turned sour. Did the job for the first 2 fuel tanks but was getting harder to start each time. I was meticulous in cleaning the filter and ensuring the correct fuel mix and only using the best oils. Third tank of fuel wouldn't start, took it to my local mower shop ( always do a great job) the motor had seized!! I saw the damaged engine and couldn't believe it. I hope the store honours their warranty.

My chain saw has given good service and is the second Ryobi I have purchased from Bunnings. The supply of routine service items like Air Filter, Fuel Filter are not available off the shelf. There are no listed service facility within 250 km of my home in COWRA. Retailers of other brands of Chain Saw, locally refuse to service Ryobi. Both my chain saws for some unexplained reason will not start, despite all the usual checks, fresh fuel, new spark plug, new fuel filter, cleaned air filter whilst I await supply of a replacement. It seems I will have drive more than 250km to get the machines operational or abandon the Ryobi machines and choose a competitor product.

I used the saw for felling and cutting up dead trees. It started and ran well at first, but on its second tank of fuel its idle speed increased, so that the chain ran with no throttle. Not helped by backing off the idle speed. I used correct fuel mix and brand name oil. The problem was a clogged air filter. On washing and drying the filter, idle speed was fine but within two more tanks, back to fast idle and moving chain. As others have noted, oil seems to go everywhere but onto the chain, and some of it had seeped into the air filter, causing fine dust to adhere and clog. The filter material is frail, and despite gentle handling, it showed signs of abrasion after washing. The saw is not viable unless you have a box full of air filters, not stocked at Bunnings (but see Special Orders down the back).

Difficult to start...will often stall during the first 5 minutes of idling....but by far the biggest problem is that we when you start it, the throttle is fully engaged....that's right you have the chain brake on which pushes against the motor running at full speed....it blows enormous quantities of smoke as the clutch gets burnt out....release the chain brake and the saw chains starts at full speed with no user input to the throttle.

Purchased this chainsaw from Bunnings for $269.00, and within two hours, it has seized and, was given the option for a refund or replacement. Sadly, I chose a replacement.
The air filter is abysmal. Small, and held in by a black screw on black piece of plastic. It is near impossible to keep clean if you are doing any real work. Replacement is USD$4.00 with USD$27.00 shipping.

Initially, the saw was as expected. Then things became apparent which I should have done more research on.
The fuel consumption is quite high, and frequent refueling is required.
The chain lubrication system is only just adequate with a spot of external oil needed to keep the chain from over heating.
After about 6 hours of use, it will no longer accelerate. I took it to a Ryobi dealer who quoted $166.00 to fix it,
citing "quite common with these models", and the regular $166.00 service every 6 hours is normal.

If i were to use the saw for just 3 hours per month, this is a $996.00 per year service fee plus parts. Really Ryobi?
This is where you are screwed, $1000 a year, I could have bought a Stihl and had a quality product, albeit at a greater price, however, the total cost of ownership would be significantly lower.

If you are thinking of buying this chainsaw for some simple garden work, then it should do the job.
If you are thinking of cutting anything large (12-20"), or use for more than a few hours per month, then look towards spending the money up front to buy a quality product.

My opinion may be tainted by the fact that I'm relatively a novice chainsaw user and, before the Ryobi, only used/owned one el Cheapo eBay saw that was OK for my previous home just occasionally trimming branches, but moved to a new house with a fireplace and using it seriously for the first time for firewood was a nightmare! Replaced it with the Ryobi RCS5145N and it was a hallelujah moment! Starts with minimal effort and slices through logs with ease. Vibration dampening is good and not too heavy. After about 1hr15min of first ever use I got carried away and tried to force it through 3 logs lined up against each other and damaged the bar and it pulled excessively to the left while cutting and jammed in even smaller logs. I replaced bar with an Oregon Pro-Lite and is good as new. So far no issues other than the bar and a slight dribble of black grease from the top of the sprocket cover, but still lubricates chain alright. All in all I think it's an excellent saw and wonder where the extra dollars go compared to top shelf saws.

Ok, I use this chainsaw for getting firewood have cut maybe 5T. I have had 4 problems; 1) the tensioner is broken / does not work at all 2) The chain continues to rotate at idle 3) Same as the question / person below "wood chips inside the drive cover are saturated with oil but there doesn't seem to be any oil on the chain" Leading to the chain overheating. 4) the air filter is flimsy difficult to clean and made out of weak material (replacements are $4US with $27US postage) as their local recommended service department can't supply them (wtf). These are installed with a black screw with a non-standard head. Tell you what, you find a black screw you dropped in the dirt in the bush after cleaning the air filter.

Other than the above the chainsaw has been good. Point 1 requires parts that are difficult to get in Aus so I just tension manually Point 2, required me to pay for adjustment at a service center within 2 months of purchasing the chainsaw (as idle adjustment but the end user is not allowed / recommended). Point 3 NFI, back to the service center I suspect. Point 4 hot glue gun with a chux solution similar to others from comments I have seen.

In summary, when it works its a good saw. But it is unreliable with some very poor design points; tensioner, air filter, air filter screw, idle adjustments and poor support for their products. All in all, not recommended