WESCO 36V Cordless Chainsaw Review

I tested 11 chainsaws in total (6 cordless and 4 petrol), and this was the only one that didn’t require any assembly. Everything, from the bar and chain to the gripper bar, was already attached. Needless to say, this made me very happy because, let’s face it, assembling 11 chainsaws isn’t a fun task. If assembling power tools isn’t your thing, then this is the chainsaw for you!

Having said that, you’ll still need to charge up the batteries before you can use the chainsaw. You’ll also need to fill the machine with oil, which will need to be purchased separately. It’s a shame that WESCO didn’t provide a small amount of oil with the machine – many other brands do.

Once you’ve got the chainsaw going, you’ll then need to run it for a minute or so before turning it off and adjusting the chain (the initial vibration will shake it loose). Again, WESCO makes this easy by providing a tool-free chain tensioning mechanism – just turn the plastic screw to tighten the chain.

Just like the Makita chainsaw that I tested, this one also instantly stood out because of how it has been designed to take two batteries, rather than just one. However, unlike the Makita, the WESCO has a sightly shorter cutting bar of 30cm, but this should still be long enough to make it suitable for a variety of different tasks around the home and garden.

The machine looks and feels a little chunkier than some of the other cordless chainsaws out there, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Due to their smaller size and lightweight quality, cordless chainsaws can often feel quite toy-like, meaning that people aren’t as careful with them as they should be. Thanks to its design, this one feels strong and sturdy.

A couple of other design features that stood out to me were the oil level indicator, the claw stop that enables the machine to be fixed to the wood that it’s cutting, and the conveniently placed on/off button. All in all, a design with plenty of merits and no major flaws!

After turning this chainsaw on, I noticed that it took a couple of seconds to really get going in terms of speed, rather than hitting its top speed straight away. However, that wasn’t really a disadvantage in any way – it literally only takes two or three seconds before the chainsaw can be put to use.

In terms of performance, this chainsaw did great. It’s 6m/s cutting speed is slower than some of the other chainsaws I reviewed, but also faster than a couple. For cutting branches and other bits of firewood, it’s all you really need. I wouldn’t use this chainsaw to fell a large tree, but then it hasn’t been designed to do that anyway. I would say that 50cm is roughly the largest diameter of wood that this chainsaw can tackle (you would need to do a cut from both ends), which, again, is more than enough for the average home user.

As I mentioned, this WESCO 36V cordless chainsaw runs on two 18V batteries. I went with 4aH batteries (which take a few hours to charge in WESCO’s dual charger) and found that the chainsaw gave me about 40 minutes of continuous cutting time. Interestingly, each time the chainsaw started to die out on me, I also noticed that the oil needed to be topped up – it’s handy that both oil and power run out at roughly the same time! 

This machine definitely feels more powerful than the 18V cordless chainsaws that I tested. However, I have to say that it wasn’t as powerful as the Makita, which was also a 36V. Its chain speed was also significantly slower, meaning that it took longer than the Makita to cut the same amount of wood.

Still, I would say that the power offered by this machine should be enough for the average user. Again, you wouldn’t want to use it for any heavy-duty tasks, but it’s powerful enough to cope with light work without any issues.

Like I said, this chainsaw feels quite chunky when you hold it. This is actually a good thing, as it gives it a sturdiness that allows you to hold it steadier when using it. 

This is helped by its weight. At 7.16kg (with both batteries in), this machine is pretty heavy for a cordless chainsaw – I even tested some petrol chainsaws that weighed less than this. However, if you’re going with a petrol chainsaw, then chances are that you’re going to be using the machine for long periods of time. With this cordless model, you’ve only got 45 minutes of battery time, so the weight wasn’t too much of an issue for me. That said, if you’re looking for a chainsaw that’s as lightweight as possible, then this isn’t the one for you.

In terms of manoeuvrability, the two different handle styles allow you to easily use this chainsaw in awkward spaces. Its claw stop is great – it gives you the leverage that you need to cut through difficult pieces of wood. The automatic chain lubrication feature is useful too as it keeps the chain consistently oiled, although this is something that just about every chainsaw has these days.

Like I said, this chainsaw feels quite chunky when you hold it. This is actually a good thing, as it gives it a sturdiness that allows you to hold it steadier when using it. 

This is helped by its weight. At 7kg (with both batteries in), this machine is pretty heavy for a cordless chainsaw – I even tested some petrol chainsaws that weighed less than this. However, if you’re going with a petrol chainsaw, then chances are that you’re going to be using the machine for long periods of time. With this cordless model, you’ve only got 45 minutes of battery time, so the weight wasn’t too much of an issue for me. That said, if you’re looking for a chainsaw that’s as lightweight as possible, then this isn’t the one for you.

In terms of manoeuvrability, the two different handle styles allow you to easily use this chainsaw in awkward spaces. Its claw stop is great – it gives you the leverage that you need to cut through difficult pieces of wood. The automatic chain lubrication feature is useful too as it keeps the chain consistently oiled, although this is something that just about every chainsaw has these days.

So, does this chainsaw offer value for money? I would say yes. It’s a great piece of kit that’s pretty much ready to go as soon as you receive it – that extra bit of convenience is often worth paying for, especially if you’ve never assembled a chainsaw before. 

Plus, the fact that it comes with two batteries, a dual charger, and a two year warranty also helps to add to its value. 

Surprisingly, there weren’t really many downsides to this chainsaw, other that its weight. However, if this isn’t an issue and your main priorities are a chainsaw that’s easy to use and doesn’t require much assembly knowledge, then you’ll love this one from WESCO. Whether you need to cut firewood, fell a small tree, or do some garden pruning, this chainsaw is versatile enough to handle all of that.