Ryobi ECW-1835 240v Chainsaw 35cm 1800w

Impossible to tighten the chain !! no tension nuts or equivelant ! you have to hold chain part by hand,then to get cover on u need to loosen your grip,so it will never ever tighten ! Whoever designed this and left out the way to tension the chain makes the chainsaw redundant and useless once chain comes off !! STAY AWAY UNLESS YOU WANT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE !!!!!

ryobi rcs1835

This machine is a accident waiting to happen chain becomes loose by itself,and comes of bar Allso no spares when motor brushs fail Machine a compleat nightmare to use

I just bought the Ryobi ECW-1835 model from Mower Magic for a very very good price - sixty two quid and free delivery. It's the same machine but for a 14" bar. Same motor, same power, same chainspeed, same features, but a fraction lighter due to shorter bar length.

I was looking for reviews before I chose an electric chainsaw, but couldn't find any. I looked at Bosch, Bleck & Decker, McCullogh 2200 Watt, Flymo and also the B&Q and Homebase own brand model sat around £50 / £55. I already have a 16" petrol machine, and just wanted somethign small, light and cheap for light use around the garden. I know Stihl are regarded as "the best" but I can't justify that kind of money for just light domestic use.

I took delivery a couple of days ago, and immediatley used it on a previously-felled, hard & dry Hawthorne tree. I cross cut about 20 logs from two 3m lenght trunks of about 8" - 10" diameter. The saw cut though very easily, and seemed to have as much power as my budget petrol model. The oil level dropped by one notch on the guage. The chain was new, obviously, and I would expect a new chain to stretch a bit at first. I did take up a little slack after cooling down from its first usage.

Out of the box, the bar was a little tricky to assemble at first, only because the chain was new, unstretched, and the adjustor had to be backed right off to it's absolute limit. It was a little tricky to hold the bar, the chain, and stretch the chain over the drive sprocket, whilst lining up the bar over the location slot & peg. Just a theory - it MAY be possible to not seat the bar properly, and then tighten the securing knob? If this happened, then maybe oil would leak out due to an improper seal, and the chain alignment may also be wrong? (causing it to jump off the bar). I'm alarmed that some people have had oil usage / leakage problems and the chain jumping off. It hasn't happned to me yet, but I'll report back if I have any problems in the future.

Just an observation..... when my saw arrived, the boxed had been re-seasled well with sellotape. On opening, I noticed the handle was wet with oil. When I filled the chain lube reservoir, I noticed that although empty, it was wet with pink oil - it had obviosuly been filled before. Why? No need to test run surely? Motors could be pre-tested before mounting in the applications, and you don't need the bar on just to test the motor.

Was my saw a "return"? Perhaps sent back by one of you who wasn't happy? (if re-furbished, I don't really mind, but Mower Magic should make this clear)

So far so good - I hope I don't get the problems some others have mentioned. I may not have bought this saw, had I read these reviews first :(

Bill, in Nottingham.