A Landscaping Pro Shares His Thoughts on the ECHO DCS-5000 Battery-Powered Chainsaw

[@jamesheitz8305]

Funny, I switched from my MS170 to this saw for my carry about saw in the mountains. It’s gone through 12-14” logs without any real issues. The convenience outweigh the issues with weight for me.

[@upgrayddable]

Bud, I just bought this saw to clear a maple tree that fell on my back fence. I think you seriously undersell this saw's ability to cut thick limbs of hard wood. I was using this to blow through old growth maple limbs up to 14" in diameter and it didn't skip a beat. I was talked into buying this over a Husqie gas saw and I couldn't be happier.

[@freeheeler09]

I have a big Stihl that is getting older. I want to save it for big oaks and pines that come down. My primary issues with gasoline saws are their unreliability, the gas and the mess, and mostly the noise. I have hearing issues, so I protect my ears. From your video, it seems like this saw would be great for clearing brush and limbing trees. After years of running a Stihl MS461, I’m used to heavy saws. Hearing is precious and priceless and I’m done with the noise of gas saws.

[@Meltdown900cc]

Sir - is there a reason why you didn’t show this chainsaw in action????Also echo makes a smaller battery that fits this chainsaw that would cut the battery weight in half !

[@paulmo4076]

I don't understand why people think they need power tools when they don't. Everything in this video could have been cut with lopping shears or four strokes of a HAND saw. The lopping shears would have been faster. As a matter of fact, using a chain saw near wire or chain link fence is extremely dangerous. I do not doubt that you come across jobs where a power tool is the best tool. This is not one of them.

[@giovannigarcia6786]

Time

[@edbartlett2352]

Mine leaks bar oil when stored and echo was no help if I store it on its side with bar oil cap up it doesn’t leak?

[@fernandogomez4065]

In the manual it says to put the oil back in the bottle before storage

[@slipprywenwet03]

The leakage is excess from the pump and line as chainsaws auto pump oil to the bar. Once not in use that oil slowly leaks the remaining oil in the pump and line. Every saw, gas or battery will leak bar oil.

[@Jonathan-bm9yy]

Gotta say, I'm really beginning to hate this saw. I bought one hoping it would replace my similarly sized Husqvarna gas saw and because I was so impressed with my Echo DCS 2500T, which is a wonderfully engineered smaller, arborist, top handle saw. This one should probably be recalled for safety considerations. 1. There is no on/off switch. If the battery is in, the saw is active. Someone picking it up could unwittingly activate the saw. As you say the "safety " switch is ergonomic and is compressed by you hand when gripping the saw. 2. There is no indicator light to tell you the saw is on and ready to cut. 3. The saw just quits working in mid cut or even when you've successfully finished a cut and pulled.the saw smoothly out of the kerf. When that happens you have to wait for the saw to "reset". This happens even though it wasn't being forced, the battery is not hot, there is no debris in the saw and the chain is perfectly sharp. This problem alone makes it way too dangerous for felling a tree. I've read reviews from others who have had this problem, so it is not unique to my saw. Additionally, the saw comes with a ineffective oiler. Mine stopped working on its fourth use. The dealer replaced it with an OEM oiler and it quit working while still on his bench. Echo told him they would send a whole new saw. It was five months and many, many phone calls to both the dealer and Echo. Eventually Echo sent the dealer a slightly updated oiler. I've used the saw since. It makes a lot of running before a useful amount of oil begins to come out. When cutting a large log, this saw is near useless. It can't finish a cut without quitting. When it cuts, it moves a good amount of wood out of the cut, but again it quits in the middle of the cut even when only the saw's weight provides the only down force. Many of the video reviews show the saw cutting small diameter limbs, brush or 4"X4" lumber. An saw with an 18" bar should be able to cut a 36" tree. My saw struggles with a fourteen in diameter hard wood tree. Echo, recall and then redesign this saw using the electronics and oiler technology that you used on the smaller, DCS-2500T. You would have an awesome larger saw capable of moving your company successfully into the new electrified future. I own six chain saws. Three are Echos, two Husqvarnas, and an old Stihl. This saw is the worst of the lot.

[@johncarnettie6804]

DCS batteries are trash.