Using a heavy chainsaw can be an excellent workout. But while working with such machinery, the last thing you need is a workout. You need your hands steady and not fatigued.
So naturally, you may want to find out how much does a chainsaw weigh. With so many numbers on the specification list, things can get really confusing sometimes especially if you are new to chainsaws.
So how much does a chainsaw weigh? The average weight of a chainsaw is between 10 to 15 lbs. Some of the smaller electric chainsaws can weigh just 6 lbs while some of the larger and more powerful gas operated chainsaws can even exceed 20 lbs.
As you can see the weight of a chainsaw can vary a lot. There are a lot of things that play a role in how much a chainsaw will weight like its guide bar, chain, the type of chainsaw, energy source, and so much more.
Keep reading as we explore why the numbers vary so much and what you need to know to better understand how much your chainsaw will actually weigh.
How Much Do Chainsaws Weigh?
The obvious answer is “it depends”, but instead of saying that, let me show you some real examples:
| Model | Type | Weight |
| Stihl MS 880 | Gas-powered | 22.3 lbs. powerhead weight |
| Husqvarna 372 XP | Gas-powered | 14.6 lbs. powerhead weight |
| Dewalt DCCS670X1 | Lithium-ion | 12.2 lbs. |
| Greenworks 20312 | Lithium-ion | 10.4 lbs. |
| Husqvarna 440-e series | Gas-operated | 9.78 lbs. powerhead weight |
| Stihl MS 180 | Gas-powered | 9.0 lbs. powerhead weight |
| Stihl MSE 141 C-Q | Electric | 6.38 lbs. powerhead weight |
| Makita UC3551A | Electric | 12.1 lbs. |
| Black+Decker LCS1020 | Lithium-ion | 7.2 lbs. |
| Makita XCU03PT1 | Lithium-ion | 11.5 lbs. with the batteries |
| Remington RM1425 | Electric | 6.25 lbs. |
As you can see, the numbers can vary widely. There are a lot of factors playing into this, with one of the most important ones being the type of the chainsaw.
How Much Do the Different Types of Chainsaws Weigh?
In the table above, you can easily see at a glance that the weight of the different chainsaws can, indeed, vary a lot.
So let’s take a look first at three different kinds of chainsaws we have today and how each one compares to the rest.
Gas-Powered Chainsaws
At first look, you will be able to see that the heaviest chainsaws tend to be the gas-powered ones.
And they are already standing out from the rest despite that not being their total weight.
We will get to that in a bit, but for now it is enough to know that they are the true representatives of the heavyweight class. They are usually quite heavy but also very powerful.
Of course, there are some exceptions like the Stihl MS 150 T C-E, which is a gas-powered chainsaw weighing at just 5.7 lbs (powerhead only). But this is a more specialized type of chainsaw for in-tree use only.
Battery-Operated Chainsaws
Now let’s move on to the battery-powered chainsaws. There are some lightweight models.
They are significantly lighter than their gas-operated counterpart. However, they can be considered the middleweight class.
Keep in mind that some manufacturers might not include the weight of the battery itself, which sometimes can add a few extra pounds to the total weight of your chainsaw.
And this is, in fact, the may reason why they tend to be a bit heavy – because of the battery.
The fact that a chainsaw uses a battery has both advantages and disadvantages to it. Yes, they are lighter but usually not as powerful as the gas-powered saws. And as the battery wears off, it will tend to have less output and can go flat much faster.
If you want to know how they compare to the standard corded chainsaws, check out this article I wrote.
Electric Chainsaws
Last but not least, we have the electric chainsaws.
They usually fall into the featherweight class. They tend to be lighter than the other two types of chainsaws.
They are operated by electricity, so there is no need for a heavy engine or batteries. However, you will still need to use chain oil for lubrication which will add a little extra weight to the chainsaw.
Electric chainsaws can be quite powerful, but that does come with a downside as many people hate dealing with an extension cord. If you are curious about the ups and downs of electric chainsaws, check out this article.
You can also check out this article if you want to know how they compare to gas-powered chainsaws.
Different Chainsaw Weight Grades
Remember when I said that the gas-operated chainsaws are heavy, but they will weigh even more? And the words that I used in the table I showed you above?
I mentioned powerhead weight. Let’s take a look at what these terms actually mean.
What Is the Dry Weight of a Chainsaw?
When listing the specification of their chainsaws, manufacturers can often mention it as dry weight. That may be very confusing at first. The first time I saw that I thought to myself jokingly, “So is there wet weight, then?”
Well, yes and no.
Dry weight simply means the weight of the chainsaw without any gas, oil, and any other kind of liquids in it. In other words, usually this is the weight of your chainsaw when you buy it from the manufacturer.
This is because they will usually give you the chainsaw completely free of any petrol, gas, and oil.
What Is the Powerhead Weight of a Chainsaw?
Here we are with yet another way that manufacturers may use to give us some information about the weight of the chainsaw which may leave some people wondering what powerhead means.
Take a look at your chainsaw. Remove the guide bar and the chain. Remove any fuel and oil it may have and you have the powerhead weight.
The powerhead weight is the dry weight of your chainsaw when you remove the chain and guide bar. You can consider this the weight of the engine and its surrounding equipment hence the name power-head.
What Is Considered the Total Weight of a Chainsaw?
And finally, we have the total weight. Do you remember me thinking about the ‘wet’ weight of the chainsaw? Well, this is it.
Although manufacturers will usually list their products mentioning the dry weight or the powerhead weight, I feel like this is the most important number for most of us. After all, nobody is going to use their chainsaw without any fuel and a chain, right?
This is the weight of the fully-loaded chainsaw: including a full tank of fuel and bar oil.
What Factors Affect Chainsaw Weight, and How?
Now that we have gathered some rudimentary understanding of how much the different kinds of chainsaws weigh and how manufacturers can measure that weight, let’s move on to some real-life numbers.
Take a look at these and keep them in mind as rough averages, because although researched and calculated with care, this is what these numbers are – rough averages.
Still, I hope they will be able give you a better idea of how heavy you can expect a chainsaw to get.
The Power Source
The main factor contributing to a chainsaw’s weight is its power source.
It can be either gas, a battery, or electricity, in which case there isn’t much added weight – unless you want to calculate the weight of the cable attached to the back of the chainsaw.
The gas-operated chainsaws typically have between 7 to 44 oz fuel capacity. Considering that fuel is roughly 6 pounds per gallon, we can calculate how much weight our chainsaw will gain when we fill up the tank. So in this case, it will be anywhere between 0.32 and 2 lbs.
The batteries are a difficult topic, so I took the time to look up some of the batteries for the more popular battery-operated chainsaws. What I found is that the batteries usually gravitate around 1.4 to 1.5 lbs. But it can be more or less depending on the model of the chainsaw. Also, there are chainsaws that need two batteries to operate – so keep that in mind when calculation the total weight of your chainsaw.
The Chain and Bar Oil
Additionally, the bar oil will also add some extra weight to your chainsaw. Even though some chainsaws don’t need gas to work, they still need chain oil.
The oil capacity of most chainsaws, on the other hand, is going to be between 5 and 24 oz. Calculating the weight of the oil is a bit tricky because of its density and some other factors. But generally speaking, we can expect to see a weight gain of about 0.25 to 1.25 lbs.
The Length of the Bar and Chain
The guide bar and chain can add a lot of extra weight, depending on their size.
Chainsaw bars typically vary from 12 to 36 inches in length. The ideal bar length is a different topic, but for now we can establish that a longer guide bar is going to weigh more.
However, you can expect the weight of a typical 16 to 24-inch chain & bar combo to weigh between 1.1 to 5.71 lbs.