Customer Reviews

Troy-Bilt 14 Amp 3.5 HP Electric Chainsaw TB3516

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Troy-Bilt TB4516CC 4.5-Horsepower Electric Chainsaw is awesome. The motor is powerful and the 16-inch bar is more than sufficient for any job.

The only problem I have had is that the bottom of the plastic carrying case arrived broken and defective. The carrying case would not stay closed. I am waiting for a replacement to be sent to a local authorized Troy-Bilt dealer.

The saw that I got in June 05 just quit working. Per the local dealer it is unrepairable (no parts). It is still in warranty (2 years). We'll see how they back up their product.

5/17/06 - To Amazon's credit they attemted to solve the problem, but the 4.5 HP saw was no longer available so they sent the 3.5 HP model. When I noticed the difference, I had already used the saw, but I contacted Amazon. They told me to send the broken 4.5 HP and the working 3.5 HP saw back to them. The 3.5 HP saw made it back to Amazon via UPS. The 4.5 HP saw is in shipping limbo land because I sent it via the US Postal service. Amazon still gave me a refund.

About the saw itself:

The design of the no tools chain tension mechanism is poor. I needed to adjust the chain tension every 3-4 minutes of run time. There is also a metal/plastic interface designed into the chain tension mechanism that would wear out very quickly. This saw is rated just OK for the ocassional very light duty hoemowner.

I received this saw and at this point will only comment on the fact that it arrived without a case. I contacted Amazon, and they very politely said they couldn't send just the case, they had to send an entire set (saw and case), and asked me to return the original saw. The new saw arrived several days later, again WITHOUT a case. Obviously it is possible to send saw and case separately. Wish they would! I really think this is a case of Amazon's customer service reacting so fast and so well they failed to solve the problem. I have decided to drop the issue - it isn't worth sending back yet another saw.

After two uses, the chain stopped turning. I took it to be serviced and was told that it had been run with the chain brake on and just fried the innards!! They would not repair it - under warranty or otherwise! They said it was irreparably damaged - I took it to another dealer and they told me the same thing -- and that it was not the first time they had seen this happen. How can a chain saw run with the chain brake on? I suspect that is what happened to the other reviewers who reported that it smoked and stopped running. I spent $90 for nothing.
I should have read ALL the reviews - I bet others who reviewed this favorably by now have had it burn up on them!

P.S.- I bought a new (but more expensive) Makita electric chainsaw - it's designed so that if the chain brake is tripped, so is the power, so the saw can't be run with the brake on. That was the problem with the Troybilt -you can unintentionally run the saw with the brake on - and chew up the gears in no time. In reading the reviews, I see I wasn't the only one to have the problem. Spend your money wisely. To Amazon's credit, they did refund the purchase, net of postage which was pretty expensive, but ... so be it.

Mine dead after less than 10 time lightly use. As a mechanical engineer, today I opened just try to find out what cause the problem. Inside this chainsaw, there a metal wheel squeezed by a steel belt act as the brake as a safety feature. The belt is tensioned by spring, push the spring with the brake handle to released belt from the wheel. The problem is, the steel belt is so tight and hard that NEVER release the belt loosely in normal operation, this cause the heat built up and melt the plastic housing, that make the case even worse when you next time use it, eventually the steel belt, the plastic housing, and the drive metal wheel, all squeezed together. I spent more than 2 hours just try to remove the steel belt, try to save it by totally removing the brake.

Geared with the metal wheel, it's plastic gear(parts: Gear inner assembly, MC-6228-210104), that drive the chain. with generated heat from the brake, the plastic gear become soft butter, and gear teeth easily flat out. The parts cost more than $30 include S/H. With this junk design, it's not worth to repair. So I give up.

With this poor design, that's why it's failure rate is so high. I would not recommend it to anyone, any products from Troy bilt.

---- Update ---
Some reviewer blame themself for operating when brake is ON. That's not true. There is a lock that you can't push the switch button if you don't pull the brake handle to release the brake. The real problem is, the brake handle can't fully release the brake. Shame on you, Troy-Bilt and MTD!

I love this thing! It arrives almost ready to use right out of the box. All I had to do was provide chainsaw oil (bought at a local home supply shop), tighten the chain (very easy and no tools), and disengage the safety brake. I plugged it in to a very heavy duty extension cord and pulled the trigger. VROOM! Works great.

Took it out to the yard this weekend to piece up several fallen trees. Limbing was nearly no effort at all. Plenty of power - the chainsaw barely noticed them. Then I began cutting up the tree trunk - about 12" around. No problem. Go slowly, let the saw do the work. For me it took about 5 minutes to cut a 20' tree down into logs that I could use for landscaping. It never felt dangerous at all. I did of course follow the directions on how to use it safely.

My only regret is that this chainsaw doesn't come with a chain guard or a carrying case. So I'm storing it in the box until I can get one.

Overall: Highly recommended for light-medium duty.

UPDATE July 2008: The unit is still going strong! I'd still recommend it to anyone for light-medium chainsaw work. Remember to store it flat - I made the mistake of propping it up one afternoon and the oil leaked all over the unit. That was my fault - in retrospect it seems obvious. I've skirted dozens of branches now and taken out a few smaller trees with no worries at all.

The saw arrived just after a large pine tree fell in my yard. I chopped it up and hauled it away without any problems from the saw. I purchased the saw to prepare logs for lathe turning, but it can handle larger jobs as well. Runs very well and has plenty of power. I am very happy with it.

1st use, A little smoke can out of the motor vent. The blade was turning and the motor didn't seem warm, but the trans stopped working in about 2 minutes. Looks good just didn't work.

no instructions or case with, this item, as other vendor offer for same price.machine runs great.