Full Overview

The Oregon PowerNow CS250E 40V MAX Chainsaw Kit with Endurance Battery Pack is a lithium ion battery-powered chainsaw that delivers a combination of performance and features that makes it a true alternative to many gas-powered chainsaws. For removing trees, cleaning up after a storm, pruning large branches or clearing debris from property, you can depend on the Oregon PowerNow 40V MAX Chainsaw. The Oregon PowerNow Chainsaw, with its lithium ion battery pack, offers instant starting without a pull cord, powerful cutting with no-fade power, and long runtime. It is a smarter, quieter way to work free from the hassles of gasoline or cords. When not in use, the lithium ion battery pack holds a charge for months at a time, so the PowerNow Chainsaw is ready when you are. Equipped with a 14-inch bar, the PowerNow Chainsaw can power through logs as large as 10 to 12-inches. For smaller cuts, the CS250E chainsaw goes non-stop, cutting up to 250 two to three inch branches on a single charge. This performance may vary with user technique, chain sharpness, size and type of wood. At just under 11 pounds, the PowerNow Chainsaw is lightweight, easily portable and offers ergonomic comfort. The PowerNow Chainsaw starts instantly with the pull of a trigger, no pull cords, no gas, and no warm-up times. The PowerNow Chainsaw features the PowerSharp built-in chain sharpening system so you'll never cut with a dull chain again. When the chain dulls, simply pull the PowerSharp Lever for 3 to 5 seconds with the saw running and the chain will work like new. The Oregon PowerNow CS250E Chainsaw Kit features the 2.4Ah B400E 40V MAX Battery Pack. The B400E has no memory effect, charge maintenance and full discharge is NOT necessary to retain consistent capacity throughout the life of the battery. A completely discharged battery pack will take approximately 120 minutes to charge.

Technical Details

- Powerful 40-volt battery-operated chainsaw with tough 14-inch bar
- Long-lasting endurance lithium-ion battery pack provides no-fade power
- Powers through logs as large as 10 to 12 inches; instant trigger-pull start
- Trims up to 250 2- to 3-inch branches on single charge; built-in chain sharpening system
- 120-minute charging time; weighs 10.5 pounds (with guide bar, chain, and battery)

I own and have used a number of gas and electric chainsaws. My first impression of this saw is very positive. It appears to be well made, handles well, and is easy to trigger.

We used it to cut through a variety of wood, ranging from branches less than an inch thick, to a fallen spruce tree 14 inches in diameter. The power was sufficient to pull the PowerSharp (3/8 inch low profile) chain through almost anything we asked, as long as we let the saw do the work.

Battery powered saws are not for everyone. If you cut big timber, like to lean on your saw, or expect high revs, they are not for you. If you do occasional cutting, need a grab-and-go saw for maintenance tasks, don't want to (or can't) store gasoline, this is one you should definitely look at.

The saw is much quieter than a gas chainsaw; about as loud as an electric reciprocating saw. The noise stops when you are not actually cutting. There are no 2-cycle fumes. There is no pulling of a starter rope or the frustration of a hard-to-start saw. No gasoline to buy, mix, store, or dispose of.

It is too early to comment on battery life. As with any battery operated tool, work stops while the battery is recharging, so you should plan you work accordingly, or consider an additional battery for extended cutting.

I have been pleased with the PowerSharp chain on other saws, so I expect similar results on this one.

Due to the skeptic I am, I was prepared to return this saw when it arrived because I just knew that there was no way a battery powered saw could do much of anything compared to a gas powered saw, especially since the directions state not to apply alot of downward pressure while cutting. I figured that the chain would just sieze up if you did that. Well, I was sadly mistaken! Right out of the box, after putting a charge into the battery, I tested it out on some 5" and 6" limbs on my trees, what an amazing job it did! I couldn't ask for a better cutting saw. Oh, and by the way, you don't need to put alot of downward pressure on the saw, the chain is designed so IT does the cutting without the added pressure. Let's face it, you're not going to be using this saw if you're a professional logger, it's intended for light to medium use, and it is rather spendy ($500.00), especially if you get the extended run model like I did, but I think it's worth it. After it arrived I noticed that it was made in China, so we'll see how well it holds up over time. I wouldn't think Oregon would put their name on something that will beak in a week or two...but we'll see.

I am a 65 yr. old widow who wanted something I felt comfortable handeling yet would do the job.This has turned out to be exactly what I wanted.Now I don't have to hire someone to do the jobs around my home...I can do it myself.

I use a saw once or twice a year to clean up fallen trees in my woods, and every time I take out the gas saw, it is one problem after another. Even when it works it is a constant battle to keep the thing running.

So I decided that for the limited use I put to it, an electric saw might be a better tool. I bought this saw because of the battery and reasonable bar length. Went for the better battery option and ordered a second battery.

The saw works great. You need two batteries. The first day the batteries ran down rather quickly, day two I ran down quicker than the batteries as they outlasted me. I didn't get to day three 'cause I'm done :-)

Self-sharpening, great design gives you easy access to the sprocket chain and bar for cleaning, adjusting, replacing as needed. This is a nice tool for yard cleanup.

This is one of the best purchases I have ever made. I got tired of not being able to start chainsaws that had pull cords. I read the reviews for this one after seeing it listed in a magazine as one of the top tools. It is just what I needed. It starts with a push of the button, the batteries charge quickly, and it is lightweight. It cuts like "regular" chainsaws, only better. I did learn the hard way that it does not like branches less than an inch in diameter, the chain came off. But.... it was super simple to put the chain back on!
I cannot say enough great things about this chainsaw.

My Oregon PowerNow CS250E was purchased "used - like new" from the Amazon wholesale section of this site. The unit seemed unused, and had all the stuff bundled with it, including registration card.

The cost was $68 less used from the warehouse vs new from Amazon. Both offered free prime shipping.

The chainsaw came assembled, ready to use, but the battery needed about an hour to fully charge.

It cuts wonderfully, and does the trimming my yard has needed for a while.

Branch cuts up to 5" have been easy. The saw has a bit more plastic on the body than I'd like, but the chain and support for the chain are all metal. Power is good, better than expected for a battery powered chainsaw.

This is very lightweight, very quiet, and cuts very quickly. An hour to charge, and half an hour of run time is more than needed for my sporadic use.

The only con, and it's not the units fault, is price. Even at the lower cost from Amazon warehouse, this is still a very expensive chainsaw.

Having no oil to mix with gas, the unit being lightweight and quiet, always ready to be used, makes up for most of the ouch in my wallet.

This saw would not be appropriate for cutting any large tree. Even for large branches, a direct cut can stall the engine. Over 4" or a few feet out and tree limbs needed to be wedge cut to avoid having the chain get stuck in the tree. Not that big a deal for me, but for others, there may be a few extra cuts needed here or there on larger tree limbs being pruned with this saw.

As to safety, Oregon made a winning product. It is quiet enough to keep you aware of the surroundings, no deafening gas engine noise. No fumes, no mixing oil and flammable gas, no pouring of gas into a hot engine, no hot engine, light weight for easy handling, and a chain brake all help to assure this is as safe as current technology can make a chainsaw. The self sharpening feature is possibly a safety advantage as there is no need to sharpen the blades by hand or to even stop work to sharpen. Replacement blades with sharpeners cost $35, which seems reasonable to me.

This saw has performed better than I expected. It's a great saw for limbing fallen trees and for cutting down a tree up to 8" in diameter.

I was able to make one cut through a fallen 14" pine tree on a battery charge to reopen a trail. Cutting took probably twice as long as my Stihl but total time to prepare the saw, make the cut, and put it away were probably about the same. To cut the tree into firewood, I'll use a gas saw. (The problem with a gas saw is knowing when to run it out of gas because it won't be used again for months.)

It's great for limbing trees. I can cut off a few branches and then drag them away in peace and quiet. The PowerNow is my first choice if I have no more than a handful of cuts up to 8" in pine, or 5" in oak.

I like the automatic chain sharpener built into the saw.

This is a great chain saw. Just carry it to where you need to cut, push the power button and cut. Cleared out about 20 small trees and still cutting. Light weight.

I really do not like using gasoline powered tools because I am committed to living sustainably and reducing the usage of fossil fuel. I purchased the Oregon PowerNow CS250E chainsaw for a very specific purpose. I needed to be able to go out into my backwoods and fell a few trees and cut them up into lengths that I can carry to the work area where I cut and split my firewood (meaning 4 to 8 foot lengths generally).

The day after I got the saw and charged the battery, I went out and dropped two 50ft birch trees and de-limbed and cut them up. The battery ran out just as I was finishing up. That is perfect! At 10.5 pounds the saw does not feel overly heavy, even with the extra high-capacity battery, in fact it weighs only a pound more than my 16" electric chainsaw (HP Poulan), and feels about the same weight as my neighbors regular Husqvarna 16 inch gas chainsaw. The PowerNow cuts very aggressively and is a pleasure to use because it is so quiet. There is definitely no need for hearing protection, and you won't be bothering the neighbors with the typical racket of a gas chainsaw. One learns very quickly not to force the cut and let the saw do the work as the instructions explain. If you do bear down on the saw too much - especially in a thick cut, the saw will cut out to protect itself. This only happened once, and I learned my lesson.

I like the fact that you can press a button on the battery pack and see the battery state of charge on 4 green LEDs, this gives you a good idea of how much battery power you have left and is very helpful.

I am a 51 year old female and have never used a chainsaw. Upon arrival I charged the battery and read the manual. In two hours the battery was charged. I proceeded outside to my horse paddock and removed a fallen tree about 10 inches in diameter. The saw is quiet compared to gas powered ones, lightweight, very sharp, and has enough power to tackle decent size trees. It can be handled by a small peron . Excellent product.
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