A chainsaw for a Cape Town garden or a farm boundary no longer has to be petrol: this collection is cordless and electric chainsaws from Einhell, Makita, DeWalt, Hikoki and Metabo, plus pole pruners and the Festool sword saw for timber-frame work. Battery saws start instantly, need no fuel mixing, and the 36V and 54V machines handle felling and firewood.
Choosing a chainsaw
- Bar length. The number after the slash on Einhell models is the bar in centimetres: the GE-LC 18/25 and FORTEXXA 18/30 cover pruning and firewood, the GP-LC 36/35 and the 45cm DeWalt DCMCS574N take on larger trunks. Buy the shortest bar that does your usual job; it is lighter and safer.
- Corded or cordless. The Einhell GC-EC 2040, GE-EC 2240 and GH-EC 1835 run off a 220V extension lead, which is the cheapest route if you cut near the house. Cordless 18V saws suit pruning; 36V (Makita DUC302Z, Hikoki CS3635DB, Metabo MS 36-18 LTX) and DeWalt 54V suit felling.
- Top-handle saws such as the Einhell FORTEXXA 18/20 TH are built for one-handed use up a ladder or in the tree, not for ground work.
- Pole pruners like the Makita DUA301Z telescopic pole saw and Einhell GC-LC 18/20 reach high branches with your feet on the ground.
Electric chainsaw vs petrol
Petrol still wins on all-day cutting far from a plug or a charger. For everything else an electric chainsaw is lighter, quieter, starts every time and costs nothing to run beyond chain oil. If you already own 18V batteries from Einhell, Makita, Hikoki or DeWalt, a bare-tool chainsaw is the cheapest way in. Spares and extra packs are in batteries and chargers, and matching hedge trimmers and the wider garden tools range share the same platforms.
In stock in Cape Town with nationwide delivery, free over R2000. Call 021 674 2119 to talk through bar length and battery choice.
