We know already the convenience and ease of use that battery powered tools offer, as well as their strongly environmentally friendly nature, so on seeing the new ECHO brand range we thought it would be good to see how their latest 58v battery powered £450 chainsaw performed. Amazon UK | Amazon USA

Build Quality

From the off we can see that this is a substantially well built and robust looking chainsaw. The main body, with its distinctive orange colouring, is very solidly constructed, as are both the wraparound handle and, in particular, the chain brake lever. ECHO are to be applauded for this, because we have noticed that the all important brake lever is sometimes not as substantial with other battery chainsaws. It comes with a 40cm chain bar and includes a box spanner/screwdriver onboard for tensioning or changing the chain. The whole oil tank is translucent, making it simple to quickly check the oil level at a glance. The 58v 4ah lithium ion battery slides in from the top and once positioned balances the chainsaw well when handling; and the motor it powers is brushless, thus needing no maintenance. A speedy battery charger is included out of the box, and it is worth noting that ECHO also do a range of other garden equipment run from the same battery pack, so they could be the go to brand for your complete range of garden tools.

In Use

Once we had filled the oil tank, checked the chain tension and installed the battery, we were pleasantly surprised by the quietness of the ECHO chainsaw when running. The large trigger switch is very comfortable and the thumb safety pull switch is likewise well-placed and intuitive to use. On making contact with our first thick tree branch we were amazed how easily this chainsaw cut through it - no vibration, and it is possible to hold back on the speed of the motor by not completely compressing the trigger, thus allowing for more precise and careful cutting.

As we continued to cut our logs from the felled branch, we soon realised that this chainsaw has a genuinely quiet and particularly smooth way of working. It’s easy to handle at just under 5kg, and the chain rips through the wood but does not cause any vibration and very little noise other than the sound of cutting. Its speed and power make cutting, even when encountering larger logs, a very enjoyable and simple process.

Chain Tensioning

The process of chain tensioning is carried out by loosening the two nuts that hold the chain bar in place and then turning the adjusting screw. This is a tried and tested method often used with petrol chainsaws and obviates the sometimes flimsy inclusion of other mechanisms that many other battery operated chainsaw makers seem fond of including. The nuts and screw are all easily accessed from the outside of the saw and tensioning the chain is a simple process. As previously mentioned, ECHO provide the spanner and screwdriver for this and it is cleverly stored in a slot beneath the handle, so can be accessed at any time.

Battery and Charger

ECHO claim the 58v 4Ah battery will cut 112 six inch logs before it runs out of power. From our use it certainly kept us going busily for long enough to cut enough logs of many different thicknesses to keep our wood-burner going for a week, which is pretty good we think! This amounts to around 40 minutes of actual running time. The battery has good indicator levels and the speedy charger recharges the battery from flat in around an hour, so even when carrying out larger tasks, such as having to remove a complete tree, there would be minimum downtime.

Verdict

ECHO have designed and produced an exceptionally powerful but quiet battery driven chainsaw. It is up to the felling and logging needs of both private garden users and professional consumers and is a genuine workhorse in its power tool category. Amazon UK | Amazon USA