Ryobi RCS1830-150 ONE+ Cordless Chainsaw Review

Written by: - Gardening Expert
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I have to admit that this Ryobi chainsaw exceeded my expectations. While I expected it to be good, I didn’t think it would be this good. There aren’t many cordless chainsaws out there that can compare in performance to the best petrol chainsaws, which is why I was so impressed with the Ryobi RCS1830-150. It’s a machine that I would recommend to just about everyone – whether you’re looking to regularly cut small pieces of firewood or you need to occasionally slice through large trunks, this chainsaw will handle it all.

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Tested

Ryobi RCS1830-150 ONE+ Cordless Chainsaw[ SAVE 28% ]

Ryobi RCS1830 150 ONE+ Cordless Chainsaw Review
Overall Score 4.8
Assembly Ease
5
Design
5
Performance
5
Power
5
Ease of Use
5
Safety
4
Value for Money
4.5
Voltage
18V
Battery
x1 5.0Ah
Bar Size
30cm
Weight
2.5kg

Ryobi is a brand that I’m very familiar with. I appreciate how their products are simple yet powerful and very capable, so I was hoping that the same would apply to the ONE+ Cordless Brushless 30cm Chainsaw. Since Storm Arwen had uprooted several mature trees around my farm, there was plenty of wood waiting to be cut up for firewood. This is exactly what Ryobi has designed this chainsaw for, which gave me the perfect opportunity to put this machine to the test

Assembly Ease

5

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-assembly

Assembling a cordless chainsaw isn’t too difficult, even if you’ve never used a chainsaw before. This Ryobi cordless chainsaw can be put together without any tools needed at all, which makes the process so simple.

To start with, I took the panel from the side of the chainsaw off by unwinding the plastic screw. It’s pretty tight, but that’s not a bad thing – you won’t need to worry about the cover falling off! 

After this, I attached the bar, unravelled the chain (this can take a few minutes!), and then fit the chain to the bar. I then put the side back on, wound the plastic screw back up, and then twisted the plastic wheel to tighten the chain. 

All of that only took about ten minutes. After this, fill the machine with oil (it comes with a small amount of chainsaw oil), and you’re good to go!

Design

5

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-design

Ryobi products are always very distinctive with their green and grey colour palette, and, visually, this one fits perfectly into their ONE+ garden tool range.

In terms of design features, there are a few that stand out. Firstly, the 30cm Oregon bar and chain. Anyone that’s familiar with chainsaws will know that this is a sign of great quality. Oregon chainsaw parts are very high-performance and are known for lasting the years, so it’s great that this machine is fitted with them.

This chainsaw has also been designed with a brushless motor. This basically means that the motor creates minimal friction when it’s running, resulting in higher power and a longer runtime for the battery.

As mentioned, the tool-less chain tensioning is a big plus, although all of the six cordless chainsaws that I tested have been designed with this feature. Just like the others, this one also has a claw stop, as well as ergonomic handles to improve the user experience. 

However, unlike the others, this chainsaw doesn’t have an on/off button – instead, it has a small grey sliding switch on the top of the rear handle, but I can’t see this making a difference to how the chainsaw performs. Its oil cap is also situated at the top of the machine, rather than on the side like many others, which makes it much easier to fill the chainsaw without spilling any oil.

Performance

5

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-performance

To start with, I gave the chainsaw a try on a few smaller branches. It sliced these up quickly and neatly, so I soon moved on to larger trunks to test out this chainsaw’s limits.

I managed to use it to cut up wood that was around 50cm in diameter. These were trunks that I previously used a petrol chainsaw for – although the Ryobi was a little slower, the end result was just as good. That said, don’t assume that this is a slow machine – its cutting speed is 10 m/s, which is faster than most of the other cordless chainsaws out there. The only faster one that I tested was the Makita.

Overall, I was very impressed with how this machine performed. It did get stuck in a couple of supersized trunks, but this was more my fault for pushing it past its limits. However, even then, the motor didn’t cut out – a little manoeuvring on my part and the chainsaw was quickly back in action.

Power

5

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-power

Ryobi recommends using at least a 4.0aH battery with this 18V chainsaw. While it’ll work with smaller ONE+ batteries, your runtime wouldn’t be long enough to make it worth your while. So, since I had a fair bit of wood to get through, I went slightly larger with a 5.0aH battery.

I was impressed with its charging time – it only took about an hour, which is on par with the Makita batteries that I also tested. All of the other cordless chainsaw batteries I used took much longer to charge. 

In terms of runtime, my 5.0aH battery gave me about 20 minutes. Ryobi claims that it should last for about 40 cuts, but this varies depending on what you’re cutting. If I had focused on smaller and lighter branches, then I would have probably been able to use the machine for closer to 30 minutes. However, since I was cutting large and dense trunks, this took the runtime down to about 20 minutes.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the runtime – there’s only so much that you can do in 20 minutes! However, the sheer power of this machine made up for that. It definitely feels a lot more powerful and capable than most of the other cordless chainsaws I reviewed – unlike the others, this one could handle all of the jobs that I would usually use a petrol chainsaw for, with this one obviously being much lighter and easier to handle.

Ease of Use

5

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-ease-of-use

I found this chainsaw to be extremely easy to use for a couple of reasons. Firstly – its weight. At around 3.5kg, even with the battery in, this chainsaw is exceptionally light, which makes it so convenient to manoeuvre. I was able to climb into huge piles of debris and use the chainsaw in very awkward angles, which allowed me to get the job done so much faster.

This machine is also a great size. Its 30cm bar makes it very versatile, while the body itself is relatively compact. It’s easy to get a firm grip on the handles, and the minimal vibration makes things more comfortable. 

I found the claw stop to be very useful as well. Since the chainsaw is so light, it’s a little trickier to hold it steady while it’s cutting, so I ended up relying on the metal claws to hold the chainsaw straight much more than I did with the other chainsaws that I tested.

It’s also worth noting that this chainsaw has been designed with an automatic oil lubrication feature. This keeps the chain consistently oiled while the chainsaw is in use. However, this is a feature that all of the chainsaws that I tested had.

Safety

4

Ryobi-RCS1830-150-ONE+-Cordless-Chainsaw-Review-safety

Although a cordless chainsaw may not seem as brutal as petrol alternatives, safety is still key, even if you’re decked out in all of the right safety gear. Most of the chainsaws that I tested had a low kickback feature, which I don’t think this Ryobi has. I couldn’t find any information about this online, and I did notice a few minor kickbacks while I was using the saw, but these really were very minor.

I was happy to see that Ryobi has fitted this machine with a chain brake. This is a mechanism that’ll catch and shorten the chain if it ever breaks or derails, which saves it from spinning back towards you.

Just like the other chainsaws that I reviewed, this one was also sprinkled with several safety stickers. One of these stated that the noise level of this machine was 94 dB(A), making it one of the quietest chainsaws that I tested. If you plan on using your chainsaw in close proximity of your neighbours, then this is one that’s definitely worth considering.

Value for Money

4.5

Ryobi products are known for being relatively budget-friendly. They’re not the cheapest among competitors, but they’re also not the most expensive – they usually sit somewhere in the middle, and almost always offer fantastic value for money.

This cordless chainsaw falls in line with that. Yes, there are cheaper chainsaws out there, but they’re definitely not as good. Take into account this machine’s fast cutting speed and powerful motor and you’re getting a great deal. Granted, if you add on the cost of a battery and charger then this does push the price up significantly, but you’ll be able to save in this area if you already own other Ryobi ONE+ power tools.

While this chainsaw doesn’t come with any spare parts, Ryobi does offer a two year manufacturer’s guarantee for this machine.

Overall

4.8

I have to admit that this Ryobi chainsaw exceeded my expectations. While I expected it to be good, I didn’t think it would be this good. There aren’t many cordless chainsaws out there that can compare in performance to the best petrol chainsaws, which is why I was so impressed with the Ryobi RCS1830-150. It’s a machine that I would recommend to just about everyone – whether you’re looking to regularly cut small pieces of firewood or you need to occasionally slice through large trunks, this chainsaw will handle it all.

Tested

Ryobi RCS1830-150 ONE+ Cordless Chainsaw[ SAVE 28% ]

Ryobi RCS1830 150 ONE+ Cordless Chainsaw Review
Overall Score 4.8
Assembly Ease
5
Design
5
Performance
5
Power
5
Ease of Use
5
Safety
4
Value for Money
4.5
Voltage
18V
Battery
x1 5.0Ah
Bar Size
30cm
Weight
2.5kg

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