Craftsman 4 hp 18" Electric Chain Saw

Our most helpful positive review

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Bye bye shrub-tree! The Craftsman 4 hp, Electric Chainsaw April 03, 2011

I bought the chainsaw to get rid of an over grown used-to-be shrub that had become too overgrown to trim back. It needed to go. We priced several saws on the Sears website and the Craftsman 4 hp chainsaw fit our needs best. One trip to Sears later and it was waiting in the garage to be used.

The instructions were straightforward and the safety precautions well spelled out. The chainsaw was easy to set up and within no time, I was using it on the aforementioned tree. I would not recommend this saw for any really thick trunks. As it was, I had to dance around the circumference of the tree as I cut it close to the ground. The saw blade was not long enough to go straight through. Occasionally there was some slight kickback but nothing that concerned me. It took minimal effort get through the tree and some branches that fell during the winter. I wish I had more stuff to use this on!

Our most helpful negative review

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Sounds great until you consider the power requirements... April 02, 2011

I bought this with the full understanding of a 12-Amp power draw as advertised on the box, which is what your average vacuum cleaner might pull. However, after doing my homework and assuming that the "4hp" claim is accurate, I found that a 4-horsepower peak means it may actually pull somewhere between 24 Amps at 120V to 27 Amps at 110V! While it MAY never see peak horsepower unless you bury all 18 inches of the blade into a tree, this means you should be concerned about possibly melting down some extension cord or house electrical wiring if you're really using this saw anywhere near its full potential. Your standard house outlet is rated for 15 Amps, heavy duty outlets are rated for 20 Amps, and the wiring in the wall is probably of the 14 gauge to 12 gauge variety.

Then, consider the cost of the proper extension cord. The box recommends 12-gauge for no more than 50 feet, which will set you back an additional $40 or more. So you're tethered to within 50 feet of the closest outlet that is hopefully on a circuit that is powering nothing else while using this saw. I thought about cheating with a 10-gauge, 100-foot cord until I saw that you'll easily spend $120-$150 for one.

Long story slightly less long... I'm not saying this isn't a great saw, but be aware of its limitations! I actually haven't even gotten it out of the box and will be exchanging it for a gas-powered model... say, the $140 16" 38cc model that doesn't require an additional $40-$140 worth of extension cord tethering. It'll take quite a few fill-ups with gas I already have for the weedeater before I spend that much on gas for it and I won't be screwed if I need to use it beyond 50 feet of the garage.

Where'd I get my numbers?
Math: Watts = Volts * Amps; 1hp = 745.7 Watts

So, 110 Volts * 15 Amps = 1650 Watts; 1650 Watts / 745.7 Watts-per-hp = 2.2hp max that should be run from a standard 15-Amp outlet. Same math = 2.95hp max if 20-Amp outlet.

So, 4 hp * 745.7 Watts-per-hp = 2982.8 Watts; 2982.8 Watts / 110 Volts = 27.1 Amps