When the manufacturer of a battery powered chainsaw claims to have made the perfect replacement for a gas powered saw you need to sit up and take notice. The Greenworks 20312 G-Max 40v 16-inch cordless chainsaw just happens to be that product.

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Aug 29, 2019 After all, everyone has different needs and there is no such thing as one chainsaw for everybody. The GreenWorks 20312 may be absolutely perfect for you but for someone who requires more power but still wants the convenience of a cordless chainsaw, well, then the GreenWorks 80V chainsaw is the smarter choice. Make your life easier with this cordless Greenworks DigiPro G-MAX 16' Chainsaw. The innovative brushless motor technology providesup to 80% longer life andup to 30% more torque, It also creates less noise & lower vibration for user comfort-makingg this The first battery powered chainsaw that can replace your old gas chainsaw.

In this review we’ll check out the validity of the manufacturer’s claim. Offering great power, superb performance and ease of handling this saw is packed with some of the most up to date technology and is full of surprises.

Experienced woodsmen may not be ready to hang up their 2-strokes just yet but even they might be surprised by how far battery powered saws have come!

Performance and Handling

Contents

When it comes to performance and handling, the 20312 G-Max scores pretty highly. The manufacturer states: GreenWorks NEW G-MAX 16-inch DigiPro Chainsaw is powered with our innovative brushless technology allowing for longer life, greater efficiency and less noise with more torque making this the first battery powered chainsaw that can replace your gas.

The comparison to gas saws is based on the fact that unlike corded electric chainsaws, the 20312 offers the same flexibility in that users do not have to be close to a power source. This would therefore make it useful for taking on camping trips to cut some firewood, for example. Many people who live in areas of woodland, where fallen trees blocking roads are often a problem, carry chainsaws in their vehicles. In such circumstances, the 20312 offers an alternative to a gas powered saw.

The brushless technology refers to the type of motor in the DigiPro. Old-school brushed motors had a number of component parts, one of which was a set of carbon brushes. New-style brushless motors get rid of several components, including the brushes, and incorporate some new technology. The overall result is that motors can be more powerful as they don’t suffer voltage drop from the friction of the brushes dragging against other parts and there is also more room to make the copper windings larger.

In addition to this, new technology provides more efficient, smarter use by only using the power required to carry out specific tasks. In theory, therefore, the motor would not call on as much power to cut through 2 inch pine as it would say 6 inch oak.

Greenworks Digipro Trimmer Line Replacement

So what is the GreenWorks like to handle? The motor design claims to reduce vibration by up to 70% and having seen the 20312 in action I can see that it cuts smoothly and has a noise level which doesn’t seem much louder than a blender. It is certainly much quieter than a traditional gas saw of a similar size. The lack of noise and vibration is also confirmed by many users.

Many users commented that the saw is lightweight and it has certainly proved popular with many experienced women chainsaw users looking for something a little easier to handle than a gas saw. It has an operating weight, including the battery, of 13.3lbs which isn’t too dissimilar to some 16 inch gas saws, such as the Husqvarna 240 2 HP. While it is therefore lighter than some of the heavy duty chainsaws, it doesn’t particularly hold any advantage over gas saws designed for similar tasks.

Where the DigiPro does come into its own compared to its gas counterparts is how easy it is to start. There is no need to mix gas and oil. You simply need to press and hold the on/off button which allows you to operate the switch trigger. The switch trigger is than pressed and held and the on/off button can be released. Whilst starting a gas saw is not necessarily a problem, if you are doing a number of small jobs which involves stopping and starting the saw, gas saws can become temperamental after a while. You will not have any such issues with the Greenworks. The other major advantage, of course, is that you won’t have to worry about breathing gas fumes from the engine.

Having considered the handling, let’s have a look at what the GreenWorks 20312 is capable of doing. This saw is designed to carry out light and medium duties and the manufacturer advises that it is ideal for heavy pruning, removing small trees such as birch trees, clearing debris and dismembering fallen trees for easy disposal. In addition to felling and limbing, it can also be used to clear buttress roots. The manufacturer says that it is capable of cutting logs with a diameter up to 25 inches, although this should be treated as an occasional cut.

Although the saw has a 16 inch bar, you shouldn’t assume that it can comfortably cut through large logs. If you try to cut through a dense 25 inch oak, for example, the saw would struggle and power would drain from the batteries very quickly. Feedback suggests that whilst it can cut through logs with a diameter of 12”-14”, it is best suited to smaller cutting. You will find that it performs best when cutting logs with diameters up to around 10 inches.

In summary, this saw is not suitable for a professional and don’t expect it deforest the continent! However, it is definitely capable of coping with all those light and medium duty cutting tasks around the home and farm.

Cutting Equipment

The 20312 is equipped with a 16 inch Oregon low kickback bar and reduced kickback chain. In terms of the chain, it is a MicroLite (90px) and has a pitch of 3/8”, a gauge of 0.043” and 56 links. As with all saws, it is important to keep the chain sharp for optimum performance and to do this a 5/32” (4 mm) round file and holder is used. As far as bar size goes, a larger bar should not be used on this saw.

It has a cutting speed of 11 meters per second. This compares to around 16 m/s for the Husqvarna 240 and 12 m/s for the Worx WG303.1 14.5 Amp electric saw (both 16 inch saws). The higher the cutting speed generally translates into improved cutting performance so the Greenworks falls well short of the Husqvarna in this respect.

As with all chainsaws, it’s important that that the chain is kept properly tensioned at all times. On the G-Max 40v this is done by using the large ‘chain tension knob’ on the outside of the saw. This is a pretty simple procedure and involves removing the battery, loosening the chain cover lock bolt and then turning the chain tension knob clockwise to tighten. The chain cover lock bolt is tightened and that’s it!

As always, new chains tend to stretch more so the chain tension should be checked more regularly when it is first used. To ensure you have the correct tension, a cold chain will have no slack on the underside of the guide bar, the chain will be snug and it can be turned by hand without binding. During operation as the chain gets warm, it will hang around 1/16” (1.3mm) out of the bar groove. This is perfectly normal.

The guide bar itself has a narrow kerf nose sprocket. The kerf is basically just the width of material removed by a cutting process. The advantage of using a narrow, lean kerf cutting system is that it requires less power from the saw to make the same length cut. The sprocket itself improves chain rotation which results in improved sawing performance. To ensure the bar is kept in top condition you will have to remember to regularly grease the tip. This is done by adding grease to the lubricating hole using a grease gun which can be picked up for less than $10.

Some users did report issues with the chain coming loose quite a bit but these were in the minority. Providing the instructions are followed correctly you shouldn’t experience any problems you wouldn’t normally expect to see with most saws.

Check out the video below to see the 20312 in action.

Performance and Handling

Greenworks Digipro Trimmer Line Replacement

Cutting Equipment

Design and Construc

Greenworks Digipro G-max Chainsaw User Manual