Owning a chainsaw for home use can help keep your yard well-manicured and neat. As a homeowner, this machine can help to cut firewood, reduce log to perfect sizes, and makes pruning jobs quick and easier.
The market is flooded with different kinds of chainsaws and not all of them have the same functions and capacity. Some are more effective than others. For this reason, it becomes quite difficult for most people to decide which is needed for home use.
To decide on which chainsaw to buy for your home, there are certain factors you need to consider before buying.
How often do you want to use it and for what purpose?
This is the major factor that determines the type of chainsaw to buy for home use. Let’s consider the three possible occasions under this factor.
For light use purpose
Under this section, we mean that the chainsaw will be used for pruning shrubs and trees, and general home maintenance. For light use purpose, the chainsaw blade typically is less than 14” long. This is the type of chainsaw that is suitable for beginners who are just starting to use it. It is best used for pruning ornamental shrubs and trees that have soft branches.
Talking about safety, these categories of chainsaws are quite safe to use and a majority of them are of the electric model. Example include the pole saws, which typically have cutting bars that might be in some cases, as short as 6-7 inches. This type of saw is small, attached to a long pole, and is best for cutting tree and shrubs that are not thick.
The Moderate use purpose
This is slightly more sophisticated than the light use purpose chainsaw. Typically, the cutting bar of a moderate use chainsaw is between 16 and 18 inches long. In some occasions, this kind of saw can be tagged a multipurpose chainsaw. If you are looking for a tool for cutting through logs and thick branches, this category of chainsaw will be ideal for use. Majority of the models are powered by gas, while a few of them are electric models. A 16” or 18” chainsaw is best for cutting down “not too big” trees and shrubs.
The Heavy-duty purpose
As a homeowner, if you intend to cut down trees with thick branches regularly, then you should be looking at a chainsaw with a cutting bar of 20 inches long. This type of chainsaw is meant for cutting through wide-diameter wood. This may not be the best choice for you as a homeowner, but if you live in an area that requires heavy-duty tree felling, then this is what you need. Unlike the other two categories mentioned above, the heavy-duty saw is quite difficult to handle.
Other factors
Although the size of a chainsaw is very important because it determines the kind of tree it can cut, there are other factors to look out for such as the weight. A chainsaw that is too weighty will get you tired under few minutes. In a nutshell, a chainsaw that has a short cutting bar is lighter than one with a longer cutting bar.